Perkins School of Theology will use an emergency grant from the Theology Program to fund annual conferences that will support efforts to provide vulnerable communities and frontline workers with essential needs including food, housing, health care, and partial salary help during the pandemic.

Perkins School of Theology at SMU is distributing $155,000 to United Methodist Annual Conferences and other ministry partners during the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to an emergency grant from The Henry Luce Foundation.

The Foundation recently approved an emergency grant of $150,000 to Perkins for urgent needs related to the pandemic. This grant was approved through a recommendation from the Foundation’s Theology Program and designated “to uplift the voices and experiences of vulnerable communities, to directly support community partners and community members in need, and to contribute to new and ongoing efforts to deliver an equitable and just emergency response for all.” Additional funds rolled over from a previous grant to Perkins from the Luce Foundation will also support the effort.

Perkins was selected for the emergency grant due to its network of contacts with local churches and organizations serving the Latinx, vulnerable, at-risk and other communities greatly affected by the pandemic. The funds will help provide food, healthcare, housing, or partial salary help for frontline personnel serving their communities.

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