May 16, 2002

THE REV. G. JEAN TREVIÑO-TEDDLIE NAMED PERKINS DIRECTOR OF MEXICAN AMERICAN PROGRAM

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DALLAS (SMU) -- Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University has announced that the Rev. G. Jean “Jeannie” Treviño-Teddlie will be the new director of its Mexican American Program, following the Rev. Minerva Carcaño, who was appointed in 2001 as district superintendent within the Oregon-Idaho Annual (Regional) Conference of The United Methodist Church. Treviño-Teddlie will be appointed to the position by Bishop Ben R. Chamness of the Fort Worth Area effective July 1.

The Perkins Mexican American Program, in its 28th year, is a center for assisting churches in their ministry to the growing Hispanic population in the United States while also working closely with The United Methodist Church’s National Plan for Hispanic Ministries and the Rio Grande Annual Conference, which comprises Hispanic congregations throughout Texas and New Mexico.

“Rev. Treviño-Teddlie has a deep commitment to helping churches expand their ministry with the Hispanic community, coupled with a thorough understanding of the challenges and opportunities we face in the next decade,” said Perkins School of Theology Dean Robin W. Lovin. “Her appointment to Perkins will move our efforts to prepare leaders for Hispanic ministry beyond the borders of both culture and country.”

Treviño-Teddlie is an ordained deacon in The United Methodist Church and is a member of the Central Texas Annual Conference where, since 1994, she has worked as a missionary for Hispanic ministries from the denomination’s General Board of Global Ministries assigned to the Commission on Church Growth and Development in the Central Texas Conference. Her long history of leadership in Hispanic ministries in Texas also includes work as a consultant with the Inter-conference Committee on Hispanic Ministries in the Central Texas and Rio Grande conferences, and in the early 1980s she was the executive director of the Metropolitan Board of Missions for The United Methodist Church in Fort Worth.

Treviño-Teddlie has completed course work at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill.; Brite Divinity School in Fort Worth; and United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. She earned her Master of Science degree in social work from the University of Texas at Arlington, concentrating in administration and theory of organizations and community organizations. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish from the University of North Texas and has her secondary teaching certificate.

She currently serves as a consultant to the General Board of Global Ministries and the General Board of Discipleship of The United Methodist Church, assisting Annual Conferences in strategic planning, development and training for Hispanic ministries. She is the author of Pentecost Journey: A Planning Guide for Hispanic Ministries. She currently serves as a member of the denomination’s General Commission on the Status and Role of Women. She also has served on the General Council on Ministries and has served as a delegate to the church’s General and Jurisdictional Conferences.

The Mexican American Program was founded in 1974 by the Perkins School of Theology, which had become a center for training ministerial students for work in the Spanish-speaking context and culture. Its first director was the Rev. Roy Barton, who led the program for 21 years. In addition to its work in the region, the program has established relationships with seminaries in Costa Rica; Monterrey and Mexico City, Mexico; and Matanzas, Cuba and is currently developing relationships with seminaries in Honduras and Chile.

Perkins School of Theology was founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church South, now The United Methodist Church, as one of the original schools of Southern Methodist University. Offering a variety of degree programs, it remains one of the few university-related theological schools in the nation.