Sixty-five people were in attendance for the Perkins Summit for Faith and Learning, which took place August 23-24 at St. Luke’s United Methodist Church Houston.
A highlight of the event was a Lunch and Learn featuring Darlene and Terry Wildman, the Grammy-nominated and Nammy award-winning recording duo who perform as RainSong. The Wildmans live in Maricopa, Arizona, on the traditional Pima and Tohono O’odham lands. Terry Wildman, who is Lead Translator of the First Nations Version, an indigenous translation of the New Testament, also delivered the keynote lecture.
“Attendees were fascinated by their conversation and their work,” said Bart Patton, Director of the Office of External Programs at Perkins School of Theology. “So much of our work now in ministry involves appreciating and including wisdom from different contexts and cultures. The Wildmans helped us understand how native cultures engage the particular narratives and key elements of the Christian message.”
The Summit, hosted by Perkins School of Theology, offers a wide range of theological mini-courses for laypersons, community leaders and clergy. This year’s audience was made up of about 45% laity, 23% lay professionals and 32% clergy, with most coming from the Texas Annual Conference and the Houston area. Among those in attendance were Cynthia Fierro Harvey (M.Div. ’99), Bishop of the Texas Annual Conference, who took a course alongside clergy and laity from the conference. Harvey was 2018 recipient of the Perkins Distinguished Alumni Award.
“We love creating these learning communities,” said Patton. “We had folks in their late 20s, all the way up to their 80s. And St. Luke’s is an ideal place for this kind of gathering. They’re always so hospitable and connected with Perkins and the annual conference.” He added that the Rev. Dr. Tom Pace (M. Div., 1982) is St. Luke’s Senior Pastor and a 2023 recipient of the Perkins Distinguished Alumni Award.
The Barton Lecture was also scheduled as part of the event, but due to a last-minute cancellation by planned speaker Erica Ramirez, attendees heard a lecture on “Faith and Film – Storytelling, Morality and Evangelism,” delivered by Hugo Magallanes, Dean ad interim of Perkins.