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July 2023 News Perspective Online Top Story

Perkins Mourns the Passing of Two

 

Joseph L. Allen, Professor Emeritus of Ethics who served on the faculty of Perkins School of Theology from 1957 until his retirement in 1998, passed away May 3 at the age of 94. Among his scholarship, he wrote and published the 1995 Love & Conflict: A Covenantal Model of Christian Ethics and the 2011 Perkins School of Theology: A Centennial History.

 

 

 

The Rev. Carlton R. “Sam” Young was a comprehensive contributor to church music for decades. He was Director of the Master of Sacred Music Program at Perkins from 1964-75 and established the program as a vital force in graduate professional church music. He also founded the Church Music Summer Seminar at Perkins, a program that continued for over four decades, training countless local church musicians who could not attend seminary.

Young edited The Methodist Hymnal (1966) and The United Methodist Hymnal (1989), and earned distinction as a composer, arranger, conductor, teacher and scholar. Young died May 21 at age 97. Read more about Young’s life and legacy in this profile.

 

 

 

 

 

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July 2023 News Perspective Online

OEM gearing up for a full slate of recruiting events

Summer is in full swing, and the Office of Enrollment Management (OEM) continues to review Fall 2023 applications weekly in addition to the many other ways in which we are working to engage students. For Annual Conference season alone, OEM participated in nine trips to connect with our UMC constituents and alumni.

One summer event we look forward to every year is hosting our Project Transformation students on campus. This year’s visit included an impromptu piano recital — we have some talented students and look forward to seeing where their ministry goals take them!

All of us in OEM look forward to meeting prospective students and sharing the exciting story of how God is working through Perkins School of Theology. A reminder: everyone in the Perkins community plays a part in our recruiting effort. That includes faculty, staff, alumni, current students and friends. Please let us know about any of your church members, friends or associates who may be considering a theological education. We’ll reach out and support them in any way we can.

Much is uncertain these days; but Perkins OEM stands ready to receive inquiries and applications for Fall 2023 and Spring 2024. To that end, here are a few key dates to keep in mind:

  • Fall 2023 Dallas Campus Application Deadline: August 4
  • Spring 2024 Houston-Galveston Hybrid Application Deadline: December 1
  • Spring 2024 Dallas Campus Application Deadline: December 15

With this momentum, we are eager to approach the recruitment season and have already planned to increase the number of virtual sessions by continuing our creativity of content, format and sensitivity to prospective student schedules. Another exciting addition to our calendar for the coming year is the introduction of Saturday Inside Perkins events, allowing students to visit campus on the weekend. We also will be traveling across the United States, visiting schools and ministries with students who are discerning whether seminary is the right next step for them.

Lastly, we would like to congratulate Stephen Bagby on his new position, working with Church of the Incarnation. We are grateful to Stephen for his five years of service in OEM. We will miss his presence in the office and his natural capacity for connection but are excited for this next step in his journey!

Thank you for your continued support of OEM! We ask for your prayers as we continue striving to find the future leaders of our church and community.

All the best,

The Office of Enrollment Management

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July 2023 News Perspective Online

Perkins invites nominations for 2023 Distinguished Alumnus/a Award

Perkins School of Theology is accepting nominations for its 2023 Distinguished Alumnus/a Award. The deadline to submit is Thursday, Aug. 31.

Click here to read the full press release.

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July 2023 News Perspective Online

Upcoming Events

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.

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July 2023 News Perspective Online

Perkins Graduation 2023

Watch the graduation video here.

Click on photos to see full size image.

2023 Graduation Day Awards

The Faculty Award in Greek is given to the student who ranks highest in New Testament Greek scholarship.

Kenna Curry

The Charley T. and Jesse James Bible Awards are awarded to students on the basis of academic achievement in biblical courses and overall scholastic performance.

Tripp Gulledge
Ally Stokes

The W.B.J. Martin Award in Homiletics is given in recognition of the most outstanding student in the introductory preaching classes

Clayton Hall

The W. B. DeJernett Award in Homiletics is given to a senior student with the highest academic average in courses in homiletics.

Tripp Gulledge

The Paul W. Quillian Award in Homiletics goes to students who have presented the best-written sermon.

Luke Thomson

The Robert Weatherford Prize for Internship Preaching was established to honor the distinguished service of Robert Weatherford to the United Methodist Foundation.  This award is given to Master of Divinity students for excellence in preaching during internship

Keneshia Colwell

The Bert Affleck Award is given to a student for Creativity in Ministry during Internship.

Rachel Mumaw

The Fellowship Seminarian Award, established by The Fellowship of United Methodists in Music and Worship Arts, is given to a graduating seminary student who displays outstanding leadership in music and/or worship arts including but not limited to, dance, drama, fabric art and liturgical writing.

Leanne Seabright

The Hoyt Hickman Award for Outstanding Liturgical Scholarship and Practice is awarded by The Order of St. Luke to the graduating student who has demonstrated quality scholarship in the study of liturgy and is an effective leader of Christian worship.

Tripp Gulledge

The Roger Deschner Prize in Sacred Music was established in memory of Roger Deschner, long-time professor of sacred music at Perkins. The prize is given to  M.S.M. students who excel in academic work, musical abilities and overall achievement in the M.S.M. program.

Fernando Berwig Silva
Mykayla Turner

The Albert C. Outler Award in Theology is awarded to the student contributing the most outstanding essays in theology during the academic year.

Jessica Spillers

The Phillip Schaff Prize in Church History, established by Klaus Penzel, is awarded to students who have demonstrated excellence in the historical study of Christianity, while participating in courses in church history.  It is named after the founder of the American Society of Church History.

Jeremy Clark

The Karis Stahl Fadely Award is presented to students who exhibit the qualities which were exemplified by Karis Fadely: commitment to Jesus Christ and to the total ministry and mission of the Church; responsibility in assigned tasks; ability to excel in a wide range of ministerial functions; and use and management of time.

Macy Block
Drew Scoggins

The B’nai B’rith Award in Social Ethics is given by the Harold M. Kaufman Memorial Foundation to students on the basis of scholarly competence in the field of Social Ethics and personal commitment as shown in voluntary activity in support of worthy social causes.  And we are delighted again this year to be joined by Sandy Kaufman who will present the award.

Marty Loman

The Harry Hosier Spirit Award, established by Perkins alumnus The Rev. Dr. Henry Masters, is given to a graduating student who best exemplifies the spirit of Harry Hosier expressed in what is described as his “elocution of faith: I sing by faith, preach by faith, pray by faith, and do everything by faith.”

Keneshia Colwell

The Dr. and Mrs. Glenn Flinn Senior Award is given to that member of the graduating class who, in the judgment of the faculty, best exemplifies the aims of the school and the church for its ministry.

Tripp Gulledge

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July 2023 News Perspective Online

Faculty News: July 2023

Dr. Harold Recinos completed two new collections of poetry while on a recent research leave: The Looking Glass: Far and Near and Tell Somebody (to be released in late July).

The Looking Glass: Far and Near (Wipf and Stock, 2023) also has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in Poetry, the second-such work of Recinos’ to be nominated. Pulitzer recipients will be announced in May 2024, and Recinos hopes to become the second Latino poet (William Carlos Williams received the honor posthumously in 1963) to be awarded the prize.

Of his latest work, Recinos said, “Tell Somebody is a collection of poetry that seeks to bring the overlooked human beings and existential conditions into public light. I welcome readers to step into the reality of persons who challenge the moral claims of society upon the marginalized found on the streets, the workplace and crossing borders.”

 

Dr. Priscilla Pope-Levison, Research Professor of Practical Theology, has been recognized as one of two recipients of the Florence Ellen Bell Scholar Award, presented by the Drew University Library.

Pope-Levison’s project, Negotiating Boundaries: The Emergence of the International Methodist Deaconess Movement, 1885-1918, to be published by Cascade Books in their Wesleyan and Methodist Explorations Series, will provide a thorough analysis of the intricate negotiations during the Methodist deaconess movement’s emergence on an international scale. This interdisciplinary book, integrating women’s studies, biblical studies, theology, history, and sociology, will focus on the twists and turns of the deaconess movement in its multi-faceted negotiations of church regulations, male clergy, women’s ministry, society’s gendered expectations, and its distinctive dress.

The award provides $2,500 for expenses relating to academic research at the United Methodist Archives and History Center at Drew University in Madison, N.J. The award supports scholars using the Methodist Collections of Drew University and the General Commission on Archives and History (GCAH) for The United Methodist Church.

 

Dr. Susanne Scholz, Professor of Old Testament, presented a paper – entitled “How to Read the Song of Miriam (Exod. 15:20-21) as a Literary Poem during the Time of War in the Ukraine” – at the European Association of Biblical Studies conference this month in Sicily, Italy. Scholz received a University Research Council travel grant from SMU to cover some of her expenses.

 

 

Dr. Dallas Gingles, director of the Houston-Galveston Extension Program and Perkins Fellow in Systematic Theology, was a speaker at the McDonald Centre Conference last month at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford. This international, interdisciplinary conference brought together those with dual expertise in both healthcare and ethics or theology to attempt to diagnose the conditions for corrosion that currently prevail and consider what should be done to address them.

 

 

 

 

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July 2023 News Perspective Online

Alumni Update: July 2023

Alumna tabbed to lead UWF

Sally Vonner (M.Div. ‘08) has been a part of the organization’s national staff since 2010. Read more at: https://uwfaith.org/press/2023/united-women-in-faith-board-elects-sally-vonner-general-secretary-ceo/