June 2022

Life is full of transitions.  As we successfully wrapped up the academic year, we said goodbye to our graduates.  We are pleased that they will be serving in many capacities in a world that is desperate for leadership.  This year’s graduating class totaled 95 students.  What an impact they will make through their ministries! Let me fill you in on a number of end-of-the-year endeavors. The Perkins Executive Board continues to be the backbone of our financial supporters. I [...]

Family and friends filled the sanctuary of Highland Park United Methodist Church to honor the 2022 graduating class at Perkins’ Celebration of Degrees and Academic Achievements on May 14. Ninety-five students received their SMU diplomas from Perkins, including eight December graduates, 77 May graduates and 10 summer graduates. Degrees were conferred earlier in the day at the university-wide Commencement Convocation at Moody Coliseum, and graduates received their master’s or doctoral hoods at the celebration service. MSM student and organist [...]

United Methodist Annual Conferences continue to gather this year in Texas and beyond, after nearly all met online the past two years because of pandemic concerns. Perkins faculty, staff and alumni are attending these in-person sessions, re-connecting with alumni and friends, reaching out to prospective students and doing some of the preaching at services. Sending Perkins faculty and staff to the gatherings helps nurture Perkins’ ongoing partnership with the Annual Conferences in theological education. In addition, Perkins hosts display [...]

Watch your mailbox for the 2022 print edition of Perkins Perspective magazine. Mailed this week, the issue should be landing in your mailbox by mid-June. With the theme “World-Changing Preachers Shaped Here,” the issue looks at the many ways that Perkins is emerging as a leader in preaching education. You’ll read how Perkins offers innovative teaching and a catalog of lifelong learning opportunities through the Perkins Center for Preaching Excellence. You’ll meet top faculty involved in innovative interdisciplinary collaborations [...]

In April, 29 students in Dr. Robert Hunt’s Interfaith Studies (HR 6302) class at Perkins joined a group of Muslim members of the Institute of Interfaith Dialogue and Raindrop Turkish House Mosque in Houston for two hours of guided dialogue and an Iftar dinner. Iftar is the traditional meal with which Muslims break their fast at the end of the day during Ramadan. After touring the dialogue center and its mosque, and learning about the work of both, Perkins students [...]

When he was a teen, Benjamin Chimwenga Simba had a dream that shook him to his core. He saw his mother die, but then God spoke to him, saying: “Do not worry. I am with you, and I have chosen you.” He woke up sobbing. His parents came to his room, prayed with him, and reassured him it was just a dream. But two weeks later, his mother passed away suddenly of cerebral malaria. Simba was devastated by the [...]

A desire to teach in a seminary initially brought Preston Williams (M.T.S. '12) to Perkins. He didn’t end up using his degree professionally, but he’s still thankful for his Perkins education. After graduating in 2012, Williams took a job in the healthcare benefits space, joining a startup, Compass Professional Health Services. Today he is Director of Product Management at Alight Solutions. Transitioning from an M.T.S. to a career in healthcare benefits systems may seem like a disconnect, but Williams [...]

George Mason’s Final Sermon More than a thousand people packed the pews on May 1 to hear the Rev. Dr. George Mason preach his last sermon at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas. “I want to thank the community for their generosity towards me over more than three decades,” said Mason, who has served as senior pastor since 1989. Mason has built bridges of inclusion, welcoming LGBTQ individuals and offering full membership to people baptized in other Christian traditions. Mason’s [...]

Michelle Ried’s design was selected as the winner of the SMU Staff Association’s t-shirt design contest. The new t-shirts celebrate the 80th Anniversary of the SMU Staff Association and help share how much the board members care about the staff as well. Ried is Assistant to the Director at Bridwell Library and, as of June 1, serves as Treasurer of the Board of the SMU Staff Association.