PERKINS FELLOWS
PERKINS FELLOWS: VOCATIONAL DISCERNMENT THROUGH COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us walk together.
— Aboriginal activist Lilla Watson
Perkins Fellows explore vocation through weekly community engagement. Named after the great Christian community development leaders John M. & Vera Mae Perkins, this program builds bridges between the University and the community through mutually-beneficial partnerships. Perkins Fellows are placed with a community partner to connect their learning through service and theological reflection. Fellows receive mentoring and training in cross-cultural engagement and community development, with an eye towards vocational discernment in these fields of work.
8-12 Perkins Fellows are mentored by and work alongside Community Service Innovators
Attendance at the annual Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) National Conference (registration covered and help with travel/lodging if needed).
Monthly conversations with Christy Yates and other Fellows to explore the theological and personal implications of their service experiences within the community
Reading books like: Welcoming Justice by Charles Marsh and John M. Perkins, Dear White Peacemakers: Dismantling Racism with Grit & Grace by Osheta Moore. The Justice Calling by Bethany Hanke Hoang and Kristen Deede Johnson, The Power of Proximity, by Michelle Ferrigno Warren, Austin Channing Brown’s I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a world Made for Whiteness and Pilgrimage of a Soul: Contemplative Spirituality for the Active Life by Phileena Heuertz
Watching documentaries like: Re-Righting History (re: Aug 11/12th protests in Cville/UVA) and Raised/Razed (re: Vinegar Hill, a vibrant Black neighborhood that was plowed through when the city planners rerouted a major road), and Let Justice Roll Down, a brief documentary about the life and vision of John and Vera Mae Perkins.
Participation in a Charlottesville mini-plunge before the Fall Semester and occasional other events related to Christian community development.
2024-2025 Perkins Fellows
Arpan Sathiabalan (Community Partner: Abundant Life Ministries)
Christine Cheung (Community Partner: Kindness Cafe)
Eden Abebe (Community Partner: Abundant Life Ministries)
Eujine Kim (Community Partner: International Rescue Committee)
Fionette King (Community Partner: Music Resource Center)
Grace Jackson (Community Partner: Abundant Life Ministries)
Kaya Lynch (Community Partner: Abundant Life Ministries)
Lanie Moore (Community Partner: The Haven)
Megnot Abebe (Community Partner: Abundant Life Ministries)
Sara Holt (Community Partner: Bread & Roses)
Zac Toimil (Community Partner: Habitat for Humanity)
Participation in the Fellows is by application each spring.
To learn more, email Christy Yates at christy@theologicalhorizons.org
Learn more about the Perkins House, a multi-ethnic intentional community that existed from 2016-2021. Any student interested in re-starting this endeavor, please email christy@theologicalhorizons.org