Faiths in Conversation
Robert Hunt, Director of Global Theological Education, will participate in Faiths in Conversation, a four-part program presented this fall by Interfaith Council of Thanks-Giving Foundation, Perkins School of Theology and The Dallas Institute on September 9, October 14, November 11 and December 9. The series will look at the question, “How can we escape our silos and find intersections of the diversity of faiths with which Dallas is so rich?” The opening conversation on September 9th, at The Dallas Institute, will feature panelists from five faith traditions–Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, and Muslim – and four universities – Rice University, Southern Methodist University, University of Dallas, and UNT Dallas. Hunt will speak briefly on the Christian tradition that evening; on subsequent evenings he will serve as moderator. Each event runs from 7–8:30 p.m., preceded by a reception at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are free for students. For details and tickets, visit the website.
Jack Levison at 2020 Pusey Conference
Jack Levison, Perkins’ W. J. A. Power Professor of Old Testament Interpretation and Biblical Hebrew, will speak at the Pusey House Theological Conference, July 6-8, 2020, at the University of Oxford in England. With the theme “Descent of the Dove: Knowing and Loving in Spirit and Truth,” the focus of the 2020 conference will be the person and work of the Holy Spirit, and the inevitable transformation which any encounter with the Holy Spirit both invites and enables. The 2020 conference is the third of a series following conferences in 2016 and 2018, “A Transforming Vision: Knowing and Loving the Triune God” (2016), and “Totus Christus: Knowing and Loving the Son of Man” (2018). Other speakers lined up for the Conference include Kallistos Ware, Assistant Bishop in the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain; Rowan Williams, Master of Magdalene College, Cambridge; and N T Wright, Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity, University of St Andrews.
Paula Dobbs-Wiggins elected Parkland Board Chair
During a July 24 special election, the Parkland Health & Hospital System Board of Managers unanimously elected Paula Dobbs-Wiggins, MD, to serve as its chairwoman. Dr. Dobbs-Wiggins, retired Professor of the Practice of Pastoral Care at Perkins, was named to the Board in November 2013. She is a board-certified psychiatrist and Distinguished Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and is in private practice in Dallas. She is as an ordained minister and member of Saint Luke “Community” United Methodist Church.
Recinos speaks at District Resource Day
Harold Recinos will speak at the Connecticut/Western Massachusetts District’s Resource Day on Saturday, September 28, at Trinity United Methodist Church in Springfield, Mass. Recinos will speak on “Jesus the Stranger Brings Down the Walls of Dividing Hostility.” He is an ordained elder in the Baltimore-Washington Conference and professor of Church and Society at the Perkins.
Recinos was also recently featured in a profile in the Dallas Morning News. Read “Grit and grace: SMU’s Hal Recinos left street life to become poet and professor” here.
New Book by Stephen Long
Publishers Weekly recently highlighted a new book by Stephen Long: Truth Telling in a Post-truth World by Stephen Long (Sept. 1, trade paper, $28.99, ISBN 978-1-945935-50-3). Long, a professor of ethics at Perkins, argues that truth promotes personal flourishing and that readers can practice truth telling as a principle of faith.
Wes Allen Cooks Up Meatball Exegesis
Wesley Allen, Jr., Lois Craddock Perkins Professor of Homiletics at Perkins, led an August 26 preaching workshop at Northern Hills UMC in San Antonio. Titled “Meatball Exegesis: The Busy Pastor’s Guide to Biblical Exegesis for Preaching,” the program offered guidance for pastors on a process by which the preacher can identify one clear theme that is faithful to the text and fitting for her/his congregation.
Obituaries
Susie Banks: The surviving spouse of the late Rev. Dr. C. Wayne Banks, assistant professor of Christian Education and associate director of field work at Perkins from 1957 until his retirement in 1982, Susie Banks died on June 6 in Longmont, Colorado, following a lengthy illness. Services were held July 12 in Longmont. She was on the staff of WFAA-TV in Dallas from 1970 until her retirement in 1990, when the couple moved to Colorado to be near their children and grandchildren. Read her full obituary here. Susie is survived by her daughter, Jane Banks Roberts, of Longmont, her son, Charles W. Banks Jr., of Sulphur, La., two granddaughters and a sister. Condolences may be sent to Jane and Charles at these addresses:
Jane Banks Roberts
2450 Airport Road, Apt. E141
Longmont, CO 80503
Charles W. Banks Jr.
6454 Ursan Drive
Sulphur, LA 70665-7663