Category: December 2019

Hal Recinos

Harold J. Recinos, Professor of Church and Society, represented Perkins well at the 2019 SMU Strongman weightlifting competition on November 14, placing 6th overall. Last year, he finished in 10th place overall. “I increased my training over the last few months and was able to move a lot more weight this year,” Recinos said. “I will be back next year and try to lift even heavier and get on the podium!”

Spanish Language Premiere

A Spanish-language version of Ted A. Campbell’s film, Five Waves Over Dallas (Cinco Olas sobre Dallas) will premiere at Casa Linda United Methodist Church on Monday, December 2, at 7 p.m. The 47-minute documentary tells of the overlapping migrations that shaped the Dallas area over the past 250 years – from the earliest native-American tribes to today’s global diversity. Campbell, Professor of Church History at Perkins, created the production. Casa Linda United Methodist Church is located at 1800 Barnes Bridge Road, Dallas, TX 75228. Admission is free. For more information, visit our website here.

Wes Allen in Great Plains 

Wesley “Wes” Allen recently traveled to the Great Plains Annual Conference, where he presented three Preacher’s Basic Toolbox workshops for local pastors in the Salina, Hutchinson and Dodge City districts. He kicked off his visit by leading a discussion about post-Way Forward proposals submitted to General Conference and preaching at the Church of the Cross in Salina. Allen, who is the Lois Craddock Perkins Professor of Preaching, also recently published a book, Protestant Worship: A Multisensory Introduction for Students and Practitioners with Abingdon Academic. The book “teaches and demonstrates how the actions, reactions, outpourings and responses of a worship service are all part of a powerfully interwoven and ever-evolving whole.”

Alyce McKenzie

Alyce M. McKenzie recently attended the Association of Professional Speechwriters’ annual gathering and offered one of the keynotes (topic: “Scene Is the New Story”). She writes about her experience in a blog post titled “My Fieldtrip to a Parallel Universe: A Homiletician’s Sneak Peek into the 2019 Worldwide Conference of Professional Speechwriters.” Read the blog post here: https://pcpe.smu.edu/blog/my-fieldtrip-to-a-parallel-universe

Harvey Elected COB President

Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey (M.Div. ’99) has been elected president of the Council of Bishops of the United Methodist Church. Harvey, who is area bishop of the Louisiana Conference, was elected at the bishops’ meeting at Lake Junaluska Assembly on Nov. 6.

Harvey was the recipient of the 2018 Perkins School of Theology Distinguished Alumnus/a Award and one of the first graduates of Perkins’ Houston-Galveston Extension Program. Read the story here.

BU Dean Announces Departure

Boston University’s School of Theology will lose its dean at the end of this academic year, when Mary Elizabeth Moore (B.A. ’66, Ph.D. ’67) hands off the leadership baton. Moore’s 11-plus years as dean saw increased funding for faculty research, reaccreditation by the Association of Theological Schools and the addition of new degree and certificate programs, including in Latin American and ecological studies and a Ph.D. in theological studies. Moore is also a professor of theology and education. Moore earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Southern Methodist University and another master’s and a doctorate from Claremont School of Theology. Read the story here.

Churches Forgive Medical Debt

Two congregations in Northwest Oklahoma, both led by Perkins alums, are teaming up to tackle $4.5 million in medical debt affecting families in need in their communities. The Reverend Jeff Hinton (M.Div. ’15) of Okeene United Methodist Church and the Reverend Emily Robnett (M.Div. ’17) of New Hope United Methodist Church, along with their congregations, are aiming to purchase a total of $4.5 million in medical debt. The churches are working with RIP Medical Debt, a Rye, N.Y.-based nonprofit that uses donations to purchase bundles of medical debt from debt collection agencies for pennies — sometimes less than a penny — on the dollar, and then forgives the debt. “What we have are people who are afraid to go see the doctor,” Robnett said, “because they are afraid it will cost them more than they can afford, which is often the case.” Read the story here.