Category: February 2021

Why do Protestants tend to shy away from Mary, the Mother of Jesus? And what might they be missing as a result? Attendees will have the opportunity to examine these questions at the Perkins Summit for Faith & Learning, which takes place online March 19-20.

Dr. Jeanne Stevenson-Moessner, Professor of Pastoral Care and Pastoral Theology, will teach a daylong class on “How Do We Solve A Problem Like…Mary?” It’s one of five offerings taught by Perkins faculty as part of the virtual event.

For a preview of the course, we talked with Stevenson-Moessner; here are excerpts.

Q. Your course title is “How Do We Solve a Problem Like… Mary?”  What is the problem?

Her invisibility. She was rather invisible in my upbringing in the church as a Protestant. The only time she popped up was in the crêche at Christmas, or at the foot of the cross, and then at Ascension.

Q. The course description talks about her “apparent passivity and helplessness.”  Is there another way to view Mary? 

Often, Mary is seen wringing her hands at the foot of the cross or fainting into the arms of John the Disciple. Or we read the Magnificat, her psalm of praise, as a declaration of acquiescence. These are images of passivity and blind acceptance. Even in the crêche, Mary is portrayed as just sitting there and staring at the baby. We see that in Christmas pageants and in some art and renditions. I think these are inaccurate stereotypes.

Consider that, if someone is going to accept what God has given them – like bearing a child out of wedlock – it takes strength. You have to be a strong woman to survive in the role of pariah or outcast.

In the Magnificat, Mary identified with a vision, in which people who are oppressed are lifted up and made important. It’s very similar to what we do on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. We remember that God is with those who are oppressed. It’s right there in the Magnificat, a central text for the liberation movement.

As we approach the Lenten and Easter seasons, consider that Mary was actually there at the crucifixion. Think it what it took to be able to stand there and watch that. Just as it takes strength to be able to sit in a waiting room for a sick child, or to identify a child in a morgue. How do you go on? That takes a huge amount of hope, faith and courage.

One of the terms the Catholics have for her is a “woman of valor.” Passivity and helplessness are not accurate descriptions of Mary, the Mother of God. We need to remember that the Council of Ephesus in 431 A.D. ruled Mary to be the Mother of God. Not just the Mother of Jesus; the Mother of God. That is in the tradition of our churches. That’s huge.

God is omnipotent.  God could have chosen to live amongst us in a myriad of ways – yet God chose to be born in the body of a woman. God became flesh (Jesus of Nazareth) in the body of a woman, Mary. Using Mary as she embodies incarnational theology not only elevates the status of Mary but of women in general. The Incarnation underscores the importance of the women’s body, even in cultures that objectify, degrade, and devalue it.

Mary as God-bearer makes her blessed amongst women. I never heard that growing up Methodist and Presbyterian. I want to make sure we can connect with Mary, see her tenderness, her wisdom, the guts to stand at the foot of the cross and watch her child die.

Q. Protestant Christians tend to shy away from Mary. Why?

I think Protestants have reacted to the Catholic and Greek Orthodox emphasis on Mary and Mariology. For fear of “worshipping Mary,” we’ve done very little with Mary. We’ve undervalued her and rendered her invisible.

Q. Tell us about how you personally became interested in Mary and how your view of her has changed over time. 

My children attended a Catholic school during the time we lived in Dubuque, Iowa. When my son was in 7^th grade, he had an illness and was hospitalized for a month at Mayo Clinic; that required me driving several times a week for five hours on one-lane Highway 52’s snowy, icy roads to Rochester, Minn. One of the nuns at the Catholic school, Sister Carmen, knew I was anxious about the drive. If the conditions got really bad, she said she’d go with me. But if not, she advised me, “Take Mother Mary with you.” She encouraged me to allow Mary, mother of God, theotokos, to accompany me.

I really respected Sister Carmen but did not know what she was talking about. Her suggestion did not fit my limited Protestant experience. But I would do anything for my kids, so I tried her suggestion.  I “took Mary with me.”  I played uplifting music, I sang, and I enjoyed not being alone.  Sometimes, I drove more cautiously because of the deer. Sometimes I drove a little slower because of foggy conditions or the late hour. But I never drove with fear, and I never drove alone

I came to realize that I could embrace the fierceness of Mary.  I did not make that journey by myself. Because I had the awareness of an accompanying presence, I can honestly tell you, I did not drive alone. Although I cannot rationally explain the experience, it changed me.

Q. Who should take this course, and what can participants expect to take away?

I hope they will have a new perception of Mary. When we contemplate the austerity of Lent and the horror of crucifixion, they will remember that Mary was involved in all this.  Every time they say the Apostle’s Creed – which reminds us that Jesus was “born of the virgin Mary” – they will have a new view of Mary. They will see her as a woman of valor, someone who knew what it meant to suffer, yet stay the course. Someone who is part of the “cloud of witnesses” that Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us about. A tough, fierce woman who is no stranger to grief, who is a role model of tenderness and mercy.

Registration is now open for the 2021 Perkins Summit for Faith & Learning, March 19-20. This year’s event will take place virtually. Visit this link.

With COVID-19 still a threat, worship leaders are urging increased caution in observing Ash Wednesday on February 17. An ecumenical team has produced a six-page guide to reduce health risks as Christians mark the start of Lent. The guide draws on a range of experts, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Among the contributors were Dr. Mark W. Stamm, Professor of Christian Worship, and alums Dr. Diana Sanchez-Bushong (M.S.M. ’86) and Brian Hehn (M.S.M. ’12). Lisa Garvin, SMU’s new chaplain, is also a contributor.

Click here to read the guidelines.

If just one word describes what brought Lindsay Bruehl to Perkins – at the age of 40 – it might be “trauma.” But that’s not the last word in her story.

In 2016, Bruehl says, her life fell apart. The presidential election, combined with some personal difficulties, sent her into a tailspin of negative emotions and left her struggling with the Christian beliefs she’d believed most of her life.

“I did not recognize the world I was in,” she said.

That triggered a spiritual quest which led Bruehl, unexpectedly, to a pastor on Twitter named Jonathan Martin of The Table, a Pentecostal church in Oklahoma City.

“I heard scripture in a new way,” she said. “I started asking questions. I started listening to a ton of podcasts. I wanted to hear everything: people from all faiths, people with no faith, people of color, people who had had different experiences in the church.”

In the Bible, she said, she discovered portrayals of pain she’d never recognized before. “I just fell in love with the Bible,” she said. “I wanted to live it, not just hear it.”

Her search eventually led her to her current church home, Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas.  Dr. George Mason, the church’s senior pastor, raised the possibility that Bruehl might be called to ministry. And that eventually led her to Perkins. Bruehl started full-time in 2019 and is now a second year M. Div. student.

The timing was fortunate, because Perkins had just launched the Baptist House of Studies, a program to nurture Perkins students from the Baptist and other Free Church traditions. Bruehl was offered a position as Baptist House Assistant, assisting the director, the Rev. Dr. Jaime Clark-Soles.  Mason is Lead Advisor to the program. Jonathan Martin, the Twitter pastor, joined the Baptist House of Studies Board of Visitors.

Attending seminary was a significant midlife pivot for Bruehl, who spent many years working in the oil and gas industry. Her undergraduate degree from Oklahoma State University is a Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in finance.  Now, she hopes to become a Baptist pastor who can serve from a trauma-informed approach.

“There are a lot of people who are traumatized by church,” she said.

At Perkins, Bruehl said, she’s rediscovering the divine feminine.  Having grown up in the Church of Christ tradition, she says, women’s roles in the church were limited and undervalued.

“When we don’t value women, we don’t value wisdom, justice or truth,” she said. “How we think about the kingdom of God is how we should be living right now. Everyone is invited to participate. Not just men.”

In addition to her work in the Baptist House of Studies, Bruehl is serving as a representative in the Perkins Student Association. To keep herself grounded, she turns to yoga and meditation. Studying and reading Greek have also become an unexpected form of meditation. Family life keeps her busy, too; Bruehl has a daughter, 14, and a son, 12; her husband is a teacher in the Sachse, Texas school district.

Recently, Bruehl preached her first sermon, via Zoom, to Pulaski Heights Baptist Church in Little Rock, Ark., and received her first paycheck for a preaching assignment. She jokes that she plans to frame it.

The sermon focused on two stories from the Bible: the Exodus and the road to Emmaus.

“Both are stories that start with anxiety, but God shows up,” she said. “Both Moses and the disciples wanted to quit, but they saw God or Jesus and went back to work. Moses went back to work on the Ten Commandments, and the Disciples went back to Jerusalem.”

Those are stories that resonate with Bruehl in the path that brought her to Perkins.

“I feel like the spirit led me here,” she said. “The spirit is still working and leading me. We can go to God, and God will pursue us. We are never out of the reach of God.”

It’s not surprising that Anthony Elia is an avid learner and voracious reader, given that he’s director of the Bridwell Library. Still, many might be amazed by the extraordinary range of his interests.

Elia is conversant in at least seven languages and has a working knowledge of about a dozen. He’s a composer whose works-in-progress include a choral cycle of Latin liturgical-style pieces and a cowbell concerto. And those are just a few of his side interests – on top of his career.

“Sometimes I ask myself—do I have too many interests?” he said. “I think that’s why I became a librarian after all!”

Elia has spent the last six months researching two distinct areas that are fairly new to him:  Environmental and Ecological Histories; and the Social and Political Histories of Museums.  He just completed a book chapter, soon to be published, on special collections and rare books, specifically related to the history of Bridwell’s collections and within the broader scope of theological special collections in North America.

“Bridwell has many fascinating stories—countless, in fact,” he said. “Many of them are hidden away in hundreds of boxes in its archives.  Part of this book chapter essay explores why and how the first Bridwell director, Decherd Turner, was so holistic a collector and how his vision crafted and drove the library into what it is today.  It’s astonishing.”Elia is also working on another article exploring the responsibilities of a theological library.

“Bridwell is built upon a nearly three-quarter-century history of oil and gas monies, which has afforded the expansive reach and resources it has today,” he said. “Yet, as we look to the future, it’s going to be necessary to consider not just how the library itself can be more efficient in its environmental impact, but also how we as a community can be the best stewards of a world impacted by environmental change.”

Many of his ideas about the environment stem from a 6,200-mile road trip Elia took this past summer through the west—and which he recounted recently in the latest edition of The Bridwell Quill.

“Nature is an amazing and fortuitous thing, and one we often take for granted, but it is so much a part of who we are,” he said.

Central Asia is another area of research and interest. Elia had planned to visit Russia last March to present and lecture, having co-edited a book of Tatar Literature, translated by a colleague in Russia. The trip would’ve also included working with the composers’ union in Tartarstan; Elia had written some cello music in honor of the traditional Tatar cultural heritage.   However, the pandemic cancelled the event just before his flight to Kazan (in Tatarstan) and it remains indefinitely postponed.

“That part of the world, Central Asia, is an understudied and undervalued place and idea—one which has so much to offer but is little known in the United States,” he said. “I’ve sought to examine how religions like Christianity have interfaced with the multiplicity of cultures there.  My most recent project in this area was to trace the translation of a 19th century American novel through Swedish into a local Turkic language translation, made in the 1930s, and find out why it was undertaken.”

Language is another area of deep interest and ongoing study for Elia. He started his career studying German, then Greek. He estimates he’s studied around 20 languages and is comfortably conversantly in seven or eight languages, depending on the context. He has a working knowledge of Latin, Greek and Hebrew as well as Italian, German, modern Hebrew, some Arabic, Chinese and various Central Asian Turkic languages like Tatar.  One of his favorite languages is Armenian.

“I once met the patriarch of the Armenian Church in Jerusalem,” he said. “We had Sprite and discussed Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Ha!”

Elia is also an active composer. Two years ago, he wrote an unusual work for quartet—tenor, oboe, cello and violin—in which the tenor part sings the words of an ancient Buddhist chant in the Mongolian.  He has often written choral works in Latin (or Italian, Portuguese, or German) – he enjoys experimenting with the sound of languages with music.

During COVID-19, he went back to working on a choral cycle of Latin liturgical-style pieces that venerated the Virgin Mary in the Catholic Tradition—tentatively a 12-piece set of choral works titled The Marian Cycle for a cappella choruses.  He started that project in 2013 and is about halfway through. He’s hoping to have one portion, the 56-page Stabat Mater, performed this year. He also wrote some viola and violin sonatas—Orpheus in Cyberspace for Viola and The Metamorphoses of COVID for solo violin.  His latest is an anomalous work “in the year of COVID”—both serious and comical: The Cowbell Christmas Concerto: for Cowbell, Organ, Bible, and Operatic Cow—An Udderly Festive Work.

“A composer has to have a sense of humor,” he said. “And even though Christmas is now past, that too is being rehearsed for performance.”

Currently, the library is undergoing renovation, so Elia has worked outside of the building, but his job as librarian has never kept him confined to the stacks. Last year, the staff discovered a homeless person had been living in the library secretly.  The spurred Elia to join the January term Homeless Immersion in Waco led by Hugo Magallanes.

“I wanted to see how to be more engaged, empathic and understanding of the homeless and homelessness,” he said. “There are serious problems in our country and world and getting a sense of what the issues are is just the first step.  It was a great experience to participate in the Waco seminar, and it’s helping me to reflect and better articulate considerations about what can be done here on campus and in the libraries.”

Research Interests:
Intellectual Histories; Christian Cabala; Near Eastern Studies; Islamic Central Asian History, Literature, and Art; Histories of Education, Technology, and Cybersecurity; Environmental Histories; Origins of the Modern Nation-State; and the Social History of Museums.

Favorite Bible verse:
Proverbs 26:11: “As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.” Says Elia: “I’m sure there are better verses, but let’s just say I try not to repeat mistakes that I have made!” Another favorite: 1 Corinthians 16:14: “Do everything in love.”

Book on his nightstand:
Make that “books.” Elia counts 36 books on his nightstand, plus there’s a pile next to his bed. His reading interests include historical works and fiction. Most recently he’s been reading works on the history of nationalisms: Edward Crankshaw’s biography of Otto von Bismark (1981); Benedict Anderson’s Imagined Communities; Denton’s Modern Chinese Literary Thought; Tisdall and Bozzolla’s history of Futurism in Italy; and Louis Fischer’s The Life of Lenin.

“I can’t put books down,” he said. “I just can’t.  If I want to know something, I will plow through it, sleep, and get up at 4 a.m. and read for several hours until it’s time to go to work.  Maybe I’ll take a break, exercise, drink coffee.  But books—yeah, they often take over!”

Fantasy Dinner Party:
Elia would love to serve tortellini, arugula and beet salad, and steaks to Napoleon, Malcolm X (in his non-vegetarian days), Abe Lincoln, Zhou Enlai, Susan Sontag and Maya Angelou.  He would ask them: “Does food matter to how we govern the church or state?”

Family:
Elia has “two parents, two siblings and two wonderful, brilliant and beautiful daughters” and lots  of extended family.

Pets:
A tomato plant named Cicco that produces no fruit, drinks too much and spawns gnats.
“I’ve thought of taking him out one of these days,” Elia said.

Favorite travel destination:
Very tall mountains and very clear oceans.

Something about him most people don’t know:
Elia climbed to the top of Mt. Fuji in Japan in the summer of 1997 and froze in nearly 35F temps at the top.  In 2013, he wrote a 21-movement ballet for orchestra about the Syrian Civil War titled Damascus at Night, which he hopes to produce one day.

Signature dish:
Elia makes a killer Sicilian style pizza.  “My kids love it,” he said. “I love it.  My stomach loves it.  That’s the problem.”

What question would you ask at the Pearly Gates?
“Do you serve Chicken parm here?  If not, I’m going to the other place!”

Hobbies:
Hiking, walking, playing the piano, singing in choral clubs, and exploring everywhere possible by car, foot or wing. Walks, especially solitary walks, clear his mind.  “I love going into nature—in the woods, walking and thinking about stuff,” he said. “There’s lots to think about!”

New Book

Congratulations to Perkins student Nerissa Grigsby, who published a new book, R.E.B.E.L. Faith 30-Day Devotional: Real, Empowered, Bold, Encouraged, Living in the Word, on December 26. This 30-day devotional aims to encourage readers through good times, challenging them where they are comfortable and motivating them to to achieve all that God has ordained for their lives. The book is available at Amazon.com.

Fighting Hunger

The Rev. Dr. Lael Melville, a Perkins alum and current D.Min. student, and her husband are fighting hunger during the pandemic, as co-founders of the Melville Family Foundation. The organization aims to enhance economic stability, food security and academic excellence for children in the southern sector of Dallas. The Foundation is a supporter of the North Texas Food Bank (NTFB). In 2020, NTFB provided more than 118 million meals to North Texans experiencing hunger — a 40 percent increase over 2019, reflecting significant impact that the COVID-19 pandemic had – and continues to have – on food insecurity. Read an interview with Lael on the NTFB website here.

New Bible Study

Jaime Clark-Soles’ upcoming book, “1 Corinthians: Searching the Depths of God,” was recently featured in a round-up of recommended “New Bible studies for a new year” offered by the United Methodist Publishing House. Clark-Soles’ book “delves into the breathtaking world of the first-century church as Paul addresses a community dealing with a myriad of challenges not unlike the church today.” The six-week study, which includes a leader guide and DVD, will be released by Abingdon House on March 2.

What Would Jesus Say?

When rioters stormed the U.S. Senate chamber during the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, some gathered to offer prayer in the name of Jesus Christ. Was their invocation of Jesus’ name enough to ensure that he was on their side? Did their flags that bore the name of Jesus make the insurrectionists his disciples? The Rev. William B. Lawrence, Perkins Dean Emeritus, ponders these questions in this editorial for United Methodist News.

Wes Allen Keynotes Preaching Program

Preachers are “preaching virtually in a virtual apocalypse,” according to the Rev. Dr. O. Wesley Allen, Jr., professor of homiletics at Perkins. Allen was delivering the keynote address at the Episcopal Preaching Foundation’s “Preaching in the era of COVID: Hitting the ground running,” a Zoom version of its annual Preaching Excellence Program II for practicing parish clergy. The Jan. 11-15 conference aimed to help preachers effectively connect with congregation members living in varying levels of isolation. “Preachers are also preaching to a congregation whose individuals are experiencing varying degrees of isolation,” Allen added, urging participants to fit their preaching both to people’s isolation and their online attention spans, telling them to be simple without being simplistic in their message. Read the Episcopal News Service story here.

The Rev. David L. Semrad

The Rev. David L. Semrad, a United Methodist minister and community advocate known for his commitment to education and civil rights, died January 6 at a Houston hospital at age 78.  He earned a Master’s in Theology at Perkins and a Doctor of Ministry (D. Min.) at St. Paul’s School of Theology in Kansas City, Miss. Semrad served as the Associate Pastor of First United Methodist Church in Great Bend, Kan; Director of United Methodist Campus Ministry at the Ecumenical Campus Center at Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kan.; and Director of United Methodist Campus Ministry in San Antonio from 1978 until he retired in 2008. He ministered to college students and people from all walks of life, and befriended international students from around the world by being a host family with his wife and daughters. A cultivator of relationships and devoted community action leader, he participated in such community organizations as San Antonio Communities Organized for Public Service (COPS) and Metro Alliance. Former San Antonio mayor Henry Cisneros said Semrad “was a significant force in the evolution of the best San Antonio we’ve ever had.” Read his obits here and here.

The Rev. Patrick Alton Hudson

Patrick Alton Hudson (M.Th. 1959) of Dallas, Texas, died on November 28, at the age of 87 from Alzheimer’s and the coronavirus.  Patrick served as a senior pastor in the United Methodist Church, serving congregations at St. Philips UMC in Garland, Texas, and First UMC Hutchins. He received his law degree from the University of Texas at Austin, served as Director of the Dallas Legal Aid Society and was in private practice for 20 years. Read the obituary in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette here.

Marietta Norwood 

Marietta Norwood (M.S.M. 1998) died December 13 at River Haven Nursing & Rehab in Paducah, Ky. An accomplished musician, she sang for several years in the Dallas Symphony Chorus, and in later years, worked in many churches as both an organist and choral director.  Her remains will be interred in the columbarium at the Dallas Ft. Worth National Cemetery next to her husband, James. In lieu of flowers, expressions of sympathy may be made to First Christian Church, 111 N. 5th Street, Murray, KY 42071. Read her obituary here.

The Rev. Wayne C. Odom

The Rev. Wayne C. Odom (M.T.S. 1955; D. Min. 1976) died December 17 at the age of 90. Before retiring, Odom served churches throughout the Texas and North Texas Conferences. In the last few years of his ministry, he served at Oak Lawn UMC and First UMC, Grand Prairie, retiring from FUMC Grand Prairie. Odom is survived by his wife, Carolyn Odom, 4120 Kirkwall, Plano, TX  75093.

The Rev. Dr. Norman Grigsby

The Rev. Dr. Norman Wesley Grigsby (M.Th. 1957) died December 20 at the Veterans Administration Community Living Center after a prolonged illness.  He served Methodist churches in Texas and New Mexico.  In 1985 McMurry College, Abilene, Texas, awarded Norman a Doctor of Divinity degree recognizing his accomplishments as a church leader and excellence in local church growth.  He is survived by his wife of 70 years, VonDell, of Amarillo. Memorials can be made to the endowment fund of St. Paul UMC, Amarillo, Texas, or a charity of your choice. Read his obituary and sign the guestbook here.

Cindy Perkins

Cynthia K. “Cindy” Perkins, 60, of Bloomington, Ill., died December 26 at Heritage Health Care, Gibson City, Ill.  Perkins earned a Master’s in Religious Education in 1983 at Perkins and a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Vocationally she served as a Consecrated Deacon in Christian Education in the United Methodist Church.  Read her obituary here.

Charles Evans Cole

Charles Evans Cole, age 85, died December 23 at his home in Santa Fe, N.M. While an undergraduate at Yale Divinity School in 1961, he participated in early demonstrations against Woolworth’s in solidarity with black students in sit-ins in the South. He received a master’s degree in ethics from Perkins School of Theology in 1965. In 1986 he became a staff member of the General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) of the United Methodist Church. After retiring in 1999 he continued working for GBGM as a consultant for several years, editing a seven-volume History of Mission of The United Methodist Church. Read his obituary here.

The Rev. Dr. Joseph Andrew Fowler

The Rev. Dr. Andy Fowler died January 5. He earned his B.D. (1963), S.T.M. (1964) and D. Min. (1970) degrees at Perkins. Fowler served as a missionary for more than 30 years in Malaysia, primarily with the Iban Methodist Church. He also served as Peace with Justice Educator in the North Texas and Central Texas Annual Conferences and as Conference Secretary for the Board of Global Ministries, Central Texas Conference. He is survived by Monica, his wife of 60 years; two children, five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Read his obit here.

The Rev. Betty Stone

Betty Charlene Stone died on December 29 at her daughter’s residence in Oklahoma at the age of 85.  She received her bachelor’s degree in ministry from Southern Methodist University. She served churches in Oklahoma, beginning with a dual appointment at Thackerville United Methodist Church and at Lebanon United Methodist Church. Her last pastorate was at Mill Creek United Methodist Church, and when it was closed, she retired from active church ministry. Read her obituary here.

Dr. Howard Lynn Ramsey

Dr. Howard Lynn Ramsey, 90 of Georgetown, Texas, passed away January 24 due to complications related to COVID-19.  He is survived by his wife, Merrill S. Ramsey, three children and three grandchildren.  Ramsey held a Ph.D. from Columbia University as well as his degrees from SMU and Perkins. He was a lifelong educator and teacher of adult Sunday school. Ramsey had a distinguished career as a professor at Lycoming College, professor and dean at McMurry College and dean and vice president of academic affairs at Kentucky Wesleyan College. He changed careers later in life, and he became an executive at Owensboro National Bank.  Read his obituary here.

Lenten Webinar

Two Perkins alums were recently featured in a webinar series from Amplify Media, “A Season of Reflection: Lenten Studies to Prepare for Easter’s Celebrations.” The series highlighted Susan Robb (M.Div. 2006), author of Seven Words: Listening to Christ from the Cross, examining the last words of Christ on the cross; and Adam Hamilton, (M.Div. 1988), discussing Words of Life: Jesus and the Promise of the Ten Commandments Today, which brings modern eyes to the most important set of ethics in history.   Watch the series here.

Adapting to COVID

After Hurricane Harvey struck Faith United Methodist Church in Galveston, Texas, the Rev. Johnnie Simpson Jr. (M.Div. 2017) advocated for audio and visual upgrades during the rebuild, including better microphones, recording equipment and cameras as well as was software for live streaming and graphic presentation. When the pandemic hit, the church was prepared, Simpson said. He was featured in a story in the Galveston County Daily News about how COVID-19 affected local churches; read it here.

Crossroads Exec Retires

Jay Cole (M.Div. 2002), Executive Director of Crossroads Community Services in Dallas, will retire on March 15. Cole has served since 2001, when he helped First United Methodist Church Dallas open the agency. Crossroads Community Services seeks to ensure that all people in Dallas County have ready access to nourishing foods. Benaye Wadkins, Cole’s successor, will assume her new role as President and Chief Executive Officer on March 1, 2021. Read the story in Park Cities People here.

Anthony Everett

The Rev. Dr. D. Anthony Everett (M.Div. 2008) has been named executive director of Mission Behind Bars and Beyond (MB3) in Louisville, Ky. He becomes the first African American to lead the organization, which works to lead inmates into re-entry to the workforce. Everett, a current member of the Perkins Executive Board, is an ordained elder and was previously associate director of New Church Development for the Kentucky Conference of the United Methodist Church. He often is referred to as a “criminal justice minister.”  Read the story here.

Hermans-Webster at PSR

The Rev. Thomas G. Hermans-Webster (M. Div. 2016) will serve as Assistant Professor of United Methodist Studies at Pacific School of Religion (PSR) beginning July 2021.  Hermans-Webster is a Ph.D. candidate in Constructive Theology and Theological Ethics at Boston University School of Theology, a lifelong United Methodist and an ordained elder in full connection in the North Alabama Conference. Read the story at the North Alabama conference website here.

Miller-Yow to Lead Grant

The Rev. Ronnie Miller-Yow (M. Div. 2006) will serve as Assistant Project Director for a new $1 million grant made by the Lilly Endowment, investing in Philander Smith College to strengthen ministries in Black and small churches in Central Arkansas. Philip L. Pointer, Sr., is Project Director.  The grant is part of Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Thriving in Ministry, an initiative that supports a variety of religious organizations across the nation as they create or strengthen programs that help pastors build relationships with experienced clergy who can serve as mentors and guide them through key leadership challenges in congregational ministry. The grant period at Philander Smith College will run from December 2020 through December 2025. Read about the grant here.

Roller Derby Pastor

Strapping on her skates and heading into the rink for a roller derby match, she becomes “Slaydie Hawkins,” number 23 on the Spindletop Rollergirls team. The rest of the time, however, everyone knows her as Rev. Sadie Brink (M. Div. 2017), senior pastor at Silsbee FUMC. Roller derby, she says, provides an outlet for camaraderie, for promoting health and for evangelism, far outside her church walls. Read her story from the Texas Annual Conference here.