CONWAY, Ark. (October 19,
2018) – Two annual events to enrich and celebrate leadership in ministry, the
Willson Lecture and the Steel-Hendrix Awards, have been set for April 1 and 2,
2019, at Hendrix College.
The Rev. Dr. Alyce McKenzie,
an author, ordained United Methodist elder, and professor of preaching and director
of the Perkins Center for Preaching Excellence at Southern Methodist University’s
Perkins School of Theology, will deliver the 2019 Willson Lecture as part of a
worship service in Greene Chapel at 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 1. The service and
lecture are free and open to the public.
McKenzie joined the faculty
at Perkins in 2000, and in the spring of 2011 was named an Altshuler
Distinguished Teaching Professor, SMU’s highest teaching honor. She served as president
of the Academy of Homiletics in 2012, and in 2015 she delivered the Beecher
Lectures at Yale Divinity School, the longest-standing homiletical lectureship
in the U.S., begun by Lyman Beecher in 1871. In addition to her roles at
Perkins, McKenzie currently serves as “preacher-in-residence” at Christ United
Methodist Church, a 6,000-member congregation in Plano, Texas, where she
preaches monthly and works as preaching coach to their clergy staff. One of her
passions is helping younger preachers gain competence and confidence in their
vocation of sharing God’s Word. She frequently guest teaches and preaches at
various lay and clergy gatherings, and consults with groups of clergy around
the country on creating initiatives to foster preaching excellence.
In addition to delivering
the Willson Lecture on Monday, McKenzie will lead the annual John and Marjem
Gill Preaching Workshop from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 2. The topic, “Making
a Scene in the Pulpit: Vivid Preaching for Visual Listeners,” is also the title
of her latest book, published by Westminster John Knox Press. The cost for participants
is $35 and includes lunch in the dining hall. For details, visit www.hendrix.edu/gillworkshop.
Also on April 2, the
Marshall T. Steel Center for the Study of Religion and Philosophy will honor
three extraordinary church and community leaders at the 34th Annual
Steel-Hendrix Awards Banquet, which begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Student life and
Technology Center’s Worsham Student Performance Hall North. Tickets for the
banquet cost $25 and are available through March 25. Visit www.hendrix.edu/steelhendrixbanquet
for details.
The 2019 Steel-Hendrix Award
honorees are:
Michelle Kirk – Hendrix College Youth Minister of the Year
Michelle Kirk grew up in
central Arkansas, graduating first from Vilonia High School and later from
Baptist School of Radiography, which launched her career as an ultrasound
technologist. She has been a faithful member of Greenbrier First United
Methodist Church since joining the congregation with her family in 2002. In
2008, after serving for four years in the children’s ministry there, she began
to feel a call into ministry with youth. However, it wasn’t until 2010 that she
began to serve in the youth ministry.
After 6 ½ years as a
volunteer youth director, Kirk accepted a part-time position as the church’s
Director of Youth Ministries. She continues to work part-time as an ultrasound
technologist at Surgical Associates of Conway, but is quick to say that youth ministry
is where her heart is. She has attended Perkins School of Youth Ministry for the
last three years and is pursuing certification in youth ministry through that
program. In addition to her work in the local church, she serves on the
Arkansas Conference Council on Youth Ministries Adult Resource Team, the
Arkansas Conference Youth Ministry Resource Team, and as an adult co-leader of
the Central District Council on Youth Ministries.
William
A. “Bill” Waddell, Jr. – The Mary and Ira Brumley Award for Religious
Education
A native of West Helena,
Arkansas, Bill Waddell graduated from the University of Central Arkansas summa cum laude in 1978 with degrees in
history and Spanish. After studying Spanish literature at the Universidad
Complutense de Madrid, Spain, and teaching Spanish for two years, Waddell attended
the UALR Bowen School of Law and received his juris doctor degree in 1984. He
has practiced law with Friday, Eldredge & Clark, LLP since 1984 and
currently serves as the practice group leader for the Commercial Litigation
& Regulation Practice Group. A former chancellor of the Arkansas Conference
of the United Methodist Church, he serves as the legal advisor to the
denomination’s Council of Bishops, and is a member of St. James United Methodist
Church in Little Rock, where he currently serves as lay leader.
Waddell is a Fellow of the
American College of Trial Lawyers and has served as chair of the Financial
Services Committee and the Legal Services Committee of the Arkansas Bar
Association, and is chair of the Arkansas Access to Justice Commission’s Pro
Bono Committee. He is also the president of the Arkansas Access to Justice Foundation.
In 2013, he received the Equal Justice Distinguished Service Award and the
Philander Smith College Living Legend Award for his social justice work; and in
2014, the Father Joseph Biltz Award from Just Communities of Arkansas in
recognition of his efforts to provide equal access to the legal system for
those who are poor or otherwise marginalized. In 2017, he received the American
Bar Association Pro Bono Publico Award and the Arkansas Bar Foundation
Outstanding Lawyer Award.
Dr.
Keneshia Bryant-Moore – The Ethel K. Millar Award for Religion and
Social Awareness
Dr. Keneshia Bryant-Moore is
an associate professor at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in
the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health. Bryant-Moore has been a nurse for nearly
20 years, providing direct patient care, health education, program planning,
and implementation. As a health disparities researcher, she has extensive
training and experience in community-based participatory research (CBPR), with
particular focus on health disparities and inequities experienced by minority
racial/ethnic groups and vulnerable populations. She co-directs the Community
Engagement and Dissemination Core of the Arkansas Center for Health Disparities
(ARCHD), which is funded by the National Institute of Minority Health and
Health Disparities (NIMHD). She has been awarded contracts from the
Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to foster long-term
engagement in research with the faith community, and to support research
dissemination, training, and a platform to generate new research ideas. She has
led the development of the Faith-Academic Initiative for Transforming Health
(FAITH) Network. Through engagement with the faith community, she works to
address the health and social needs of diverse groups of vulnerable populations,
including pregnant women facing housing insecurity.
Bryant-Moore received her
Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Bachelor of Science in Healthcare
Administration from the University of Michigan-Flint; her Master of Science in
Nursing from Duke University; and her Ph.D. in Nursing from Azusa Pacific
University. She is a member of Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor
Society, American Public Health Association, and the Little Rock Black Nurses Association
of Arkansas (LRBNAA), and she is a lifetime member of the National Black Nurses
Association (NBNA). She serves on the board of directors for the Arkansas
Birthing Project, Immerse Arkansas, and the Arkansas Center for Nursing.
About
Steel-Hendrix
In 1984, Hendrix College
inaugurated the annual Steel-Hendrix Award Lectureship to celebrate 100 years
of its official relationship with the United Methodist Church. The award was
named in honor of Marshall T. Steel, a prominent minister and former president
of the College.
About
the Willson Lectures
The Willson Lectures were
established at Hendrix in 1956 for the purpose of bringing outstanding speakers
to discuss spiritual values, sound family relations and vital issues
confronting the world today. The Willson Lectures are made possible through the
generosity of Dr. and Mrs. Jim Willson, who have established lectureships at 23
United Methodist colleges nationwide.
About
Hendrix College
A private liberal arts
college in Conway, Arkansas, Hendrix College consistently earns recognition as
one of the country’s leading liberal arts institutions, and is featured in Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That
Will Change the Way You Think About Colleges. Its academic quality and
rigor, innovation, and value have established Hendrix as a fixture in numerous
college guides, lists, and rankings. Founded in 1876, Hendrix has been
affiliated with the United Methodist Church since 1884. To learn more, visit www.hendrix.edu.