Perkins Leaders Speak Out: UM Seminary Presidents and Deans Issue Letter on Race and ‘Fabric of Faith’

	William B. Lawrence Dean Professor of American Church History		Evelyn L. Parker Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Professor of Practical Theology

Leaders of Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University have spoken out against racial violence, which has increasingly been in the headlines from Florida, Missouri, and—most recently—from North Charleston, South Carolina.

Dean William B. Lawrence and Dr. Evelyn L. Parker, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Practical Theology at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, were among the presidents and deans of United Methodist seminaries who recently issued a letter on race and the fabric of faith.

Meeting during the gathering in Atlanta of the Association of Theological Schools, these leaders wrote in response to another letter titled, "Black Lives Matter," written by a group of African American Presidents and Deans in Theological Education—including Associate Dean Parker—which challenged their colleagues to "arise from the embers of silence" in the face of racial violence and injustice.

Read the full letter, and article by Dr. Jack Levison—W. J. A. Power Professor of Old Testament Interpretation and Biblical Hebrew at Perkins School of Theology—in his Huffington Post blog: http://huff.to/1yiS1CJ