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DALLAS (SMU) – Perkins School of Theology is honored to announce Dr. Lydia Bean, Dr. Kathryn S. Stream and Dr. Beverly E. White as recipients of the 2018 Woodrow B. Seals Laity Award. They will be recognized at 4:45 p.m. Thursday, March 22, 2018, during the opening worship service of the three-day Perkins Theological School for the Laity in Perkins Chapel (6001 Bishop Blvd, Dallas, Texas, 72505).

The Woodrow B. Seals Laity Award is presented annually to laypersons in the United States who embody the Christian faith and commitment of service to Christ in the church, community and world as exemplified by Judge Woodrow B. Seals, a distinguished layperson whose interest and energy were instrumental in establishing the Perkins Theological School for the Laity. Selection for the Seals Award is made by the Perkins Lay Advisory Board.

Dr. Lydia Bean is the founder and Executive Director of Faith in Texas, a multi-racial, multi-faith movement developing civic leadership in faith communities for economic and racial justice. As Senior Consultant to the PICO National Network, she also works to raise civic participation among low-income and moderate-income people of faith. Dr. Bean is the author of The Politics of Evangelical Identity and she regularly publishes research and analysis in outlets like the Washington Post and the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. She brings over a decade of regional experience in Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi since co-founding Friends of Justice in 1999. Dr. Bean holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree from Austin College. She is an active member of Life in Deep Ellum, an ecumenical Christian faith community and cultural center in downtown Dallas.

Dr. Kathryn S. Stream is the retired Senior Vice President of the Texas Medical Center collaboration in Houston, Texas. Dr. Stream began her career as a pediatric audiologist, earning a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University, a master’s degree from Northwestern University, and eventually the Ph.D. degree in preventative medicine from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. Throughout her career, Dr. Stream worked at Baylor Medical Center in Dallas and Texas Woman’s University until joining the Texas Medical Center in Houston where she engaged in groundbreaking work across over 42 institutions and countless agencies. She was also the founding Director for the National Center for Human Performance.

An active member of the First United Methodist Church of Denton, Dr. Stream founded, leads, and supports a number of ministries, while also teaching Sunday School class and serving as a member of the Staff/Parish committee. She also sat on several community boards including the Board of Directors of Our Daily Bread, the Board of Trustees of Texas Health Resources Presbyterian Denton, and the Board of Commissioners of the Denton Housing Authority.

Dr. Beverly E. White is a hospitalist at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas and an active member of Highland Park United Methodist Church. Dr. White’s passion for treating the underserved has taken her on medical and humanitarian mission trips around the globe, most recently to Guatemala with Great Commission Outreach, and to Bolivia with Flying Doctors of America. She serves as a lay member of the Haiti Partnership of Highland Park United Methodist Church committee and was instrumental in its expansion into multi-specialty medicine. In Dallas, Dr. White volunteers at Munger Place United Methodist Church in congregation care and children’s ministry, as a member of the Medical Volunteers committee at Baylor University Center in Dallas, and with Meals on Wheels. Dr. White earned a bachelor’s degree from Austin College in Sherman, Texas and attended Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

Perkins Theological School for the Laity is supported by the Howard-Holbert Endowment Fund. The fund was established in 1986 in honor of the late Dr. Virgil P. Howard, who was associate director of the Perkins Intern Program and professor of Supervised Ministry, and Dr. John C. Holbert, Professor Emeritus of Homiletics who served as Lois Craddock Perkins Professor of Homiletics at Perkins School of Theology from 1997 until his retirement in 2012.

For more information on Perkins Theological School for the Laity and to register for the conference visit our website.

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Perkins School of Theology, founded in 1911, is one of five official University-related schools of theology of The United Methodist Church. Degree programs include the Master of Divinity, Master of Sacred Music, Master of Theological Studies, Master of Arts in Ministry, Master of Theology, Doctor of Ministry, and Doctor of Pastoral Music as well as the Ph.D., in cooperation with The Graduate Program in Religious Studies at SMU’s Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences.

Media Contacts:

Rev. Connie Nelson
Perkins Director of Public Affairs and Alumni/ae Relations
214-768-2335
lnelson@smu.edu

Bridget Oswald Anderson
Associate Director of Perkins Public Affairs and Alumni/ae Relations
214-768-1319
boswald@smu.edu