Youth 2023 – July 25-28, Daytona Beach, Fla.
Every four years, youth from throughout The United Methodist Church have gathered for four days of discipleship, fun and fellowship at the YOUTH event. The event is filled with interactive learning, worship, Bible study, service opportunities and fellowship time.
This year, members of Perkins’ Office of External Programs will be onsite to engage with conference attendees about the myriad programs Perkins offers. Also, 2023 graduate Tripp Gulledge will be one of the event’s 10 highlighted speakers, while three other Perkins alumni will be leading workshops: Melissa Gepford (“Pioneering a New Conference Youth Ministry”), David Magallanes (“A Ministry Strategy that Works”) and Chelsea Peddecord (“What’s a Methodist? It’s All in the Details!”)
Christian Congregational Music 2023 – Aug. 1-4, Ripon College Cuddesdon, Oxford
To further the understanding and practice of congregational music-making, the Christian Congregational Music conference brings together world-class scholars and practitioners to explore together the varying cultural, social, and spiritual roles church music plays in the life of various Christian communities around the world. This conference, which happens every other year, is among the premier academic events in the field.
At this year’s gathering, Dr. Marcell Silva Steuernagel – Assistant Professor of Church Music and Director of both the Master of Sacred Music and Doctor of Pastoral Music programs at Perkins – is chairing the panel “Issues of Performance,” participating in the roundtable discussion “Between Ephemerality and Stability: Timbre in Christian Congregational Music” and presenting a paper entitled “From Hybridity to Messiness: Power and Purity in Christian Musicking.”
Two 2023 Perkins graduates also will have central roles at the conference. Fernando Berwig Silva, who is moving on to doctoral studies at SMU, is presenting a paper entitled “The Sacred World of Futebol,” while Mykayla Turner will be chairing two panels – “Children’s Music Ministry in Local Culture” and “Creating Meaning Through Song” – while presenting her paper entitled “Reckoning Resources: Community Music in a Rural Mennonite Context.”
MARCHA 2023 – Aug. 10-12, San Antonio
MARCHA is the official Hispanic/Latino national caucus within The United Methodist Church and the Methodist Church of Puerto Rico that serves as an advocate for the Hispanic/Latino people inside and outside the church. By encouraging the creation of spaces for reflection on Hispanic/Latino pastoral work, MARCHA promotes a respect for human rights and a commitment to peace, justice, freedom and equality. Melissa Hernandez Probus will be onsite to answer any questions about Perkins’ Hispanic ministry initiative.