Perkins Fall Convocation is an annual gathering highlighting various intersections of faith and culture through relevant lectures, presentations, workshops and liturgical expressions around a selected theme. Formerly Ministers Week, Fall Convocation offers a broad learning community for church and community leaders alike.
Fall 2024 Convocation, November 14 - 15, 2024
Registration is now open!
Jennifer Monet Cowley has been painting and drawing since the age of 5. Her talent was recognized at an early age through her artwork collected by her parents and grandparents. In high school, she studied fashion design and commercial art. Upon entering college, she focused on architectural design, but her love for art prevailed. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Art in Art and Performance from the University of Texas at Dallas. Jennifer works in various mediums: colored pencils, pastels, gouache, acrylic, watercolors, and collage. Jennifer also designs and paints wearable art. In addition to being an artist, she is a curator as well. While employed as Curator at Dallas’ African- American Museum at Fair Park, Jennifer curated several groundbreaking art exhibitions. Sammetria Goodson, an attorney and advocate for the arts, has remarked that Jennifer’s curating concepts are groundbreaking and rival some of the best in the world. Overall, Jennifer is an artist whose versatility and skills empower her to create distinctive works and concepts that give her a unique style and voice that is all her own.
Noreen Herzfeld is the Nicholas and Bernice Reuter Professor of Science and Religion at St. John’s University and the College of St. Benedict, where she teaches courses at the intersection of religion and technology. Dr. Herzfeld holds computer science and mathematics degrees from Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in theology from The Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley. She is the author of The Artifice of Intelligence: Divine and Human Relationship in a Robotic World (Fortress, 2023), In Our Image: Artificial Intelligence and the Human Spirit (Fortress, 2002), Technology and Religion: Remaining Human in a Co-Created World (Templeton, 2009) and editor or co-editor of Encountering AI: Ethical and Anthropological Explorations (Pickwick, 2024), Religious and Cultural Implications of Technology-Mediated Relationships in a Post-Pandemic World (Lexington, 2023), and Religion and the New Technologies (MDPI, 2017). Herzfeld is also a Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Philosophical and Religious Studies (ZRS) in Koper, Slovenia.
Robert Hunt was born in Dallas, Texas, in 1955. After attending school in Austin and Richardson, he majored in History at the University of Texas in Austin. He completed a Master of Theology at Perkins School of Theology (°ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â) in 1982.
In 1985, Robert and his wife Lilian went to the Philippines and Kuala Lumpur, where they taught at the Seminary Theology Malaysia. At STM, Robert was the Director of Extension Education. He received a PhD in History from the University of Malaya in 1993, focusing on the History of Bible translation and Christian-Muslim relations. From 1993 to 1997, Dr. Hunt taught World Religions at the Trinity Theological College and directed the Education by Extension and Field Education programs. From 1997 to 2004, he was pastor of the English-speaking United Methodist Church of Vienna and was an adjunct professor in Religions and International Studies at Webster University in Vienna.
Dr. Hunt is the Director of Global Theological Education at the Perkins School of Theology and Professor of Christian Religions and Interreligious Relations at °ÄÃÅÁùºÏ²ÊÔ¤²â. He is also an affiliate faculty member at the Simmons School of Education and Human Development, where he teaches in the Human Center and Interdisciplinary Study Program. He hosts the YouTube channel and Podcast Interfaith Encounters.
He is a Fellow of the Hunt Institute for Engineering and the Humanities and is on the Graduate Liberal Studies Advisory Council and Doctor of Liberal Studies Steering Committee. He authorizes numerous books and articles on Malaysian Church History, Missions, and Islam, including Islam in Southeast Asia, Muslim Citizens of the Globalized World, and The Gospel Among the Nations, a Documentary History of Inculturation. His most recent book is Muslim Faith and Values: A Guide for Christians. Upcoming with Wipf and Stock is Authentic Humanity in an Artificial Intelligence Age.
Cole Arthur Riley is a writer and poet. She is the author of the NYT bestsellers, This Here Flesh: Spirituality, Liberation, and the Stories that Make Us and Black Liturgies: Prayers, Poems, and Meditations for Staying Human. Her writing has been featured in The Atlantic, Guernica, and The Washington Post. Cole is also the creator and writer of Black Liturgies, a project that integrates spiritual practice with Black emotion, Black literature, and the Black body.
Rev. Victoria Robb Powers is the Senior Pastor at Royal Lane Baptist Church and is the first female to serve as the senior pastor of a Baptist church in the DFW Metroplex. She is a graduate of Baylor University where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in religion and philosophy. In 2012, Victoria graduated from Brite Divinity School at Texas Christian University with her Master of Divinity. After two years of serving as a hospital chaplain at Baylor Scott & White, Victoria has spent the last ten years in congregational ministry, eight of those years in the United Methodist Church. Victoria previously served as Board Chair for the Baptist House of Studies at Perkins School of Theology where she remains a board member. Her passions include reading and writing, and her first children’s book was published by Tommy Nelson, an imprint of HarperCollins, in 2023.
Please note that online registration will close November 1, 2024. Refunds (less $25 fee) will be available up to 7 days prior to the event.