The Perkins Lecture Series has been one of the most significant events at FUMC since 1943. Paul E. Martin, a beloved former pastor of FUMC, conceived the idea for the Perkins Lectures. Mr. and Mrs. J. J. (Lois) Perkins founded the Lectureship in 1943. Research indicates that this is the first lecture series of its kind nationwide, established in a local church. The Lectureship’s purpose is stated in its original charter, drafted in 1943:
“To bring consecrated, capable speakers of note to deliver in said First Methodist Church, talks or lectures pertaining to and in furtherance of the Christian Religion . . . for the benefit of the members of said Church, for the benefit of Methodism generally, and for the benefit of the public at large.”
The next Perkins Lecture Series is TBA.
Previous Perkins Lectures
| 1943 Dr. Roy L. Smith * | 1944 Bishop Edwin Holt Hughes * | 1945 Dr. Norman Vincent Peale * |
| 1946 No Lectures | 1947 Dr. G. Ray Jordan * | 1948 Dr. Richard C. Raines * |
| 1949 Bishop Paul E. Martin* | 1950 Dr. John Sutherland Bonnell * | 1951 Dr. George A. Buttrick |
| 1952 Dr. Elton Trueblood * | 1953 Dr. Charles Ray Goff * | 1954 Dr. Leslie D. Weatherhead |
| 1955 Dr. Paul Scherer * | 1956 Dr. James S. Stewart | 1957 Bishop Gerald Kennedy |
| 1958 Dr. Robert J. McCracken | 1959 Dr. Perry E. Gresham | 1960 Dr. Ralph W. Sockman * |
| 1961 Dr. James T. Cleland | 1962 Dr. Theodore A. Gill * | 1963 Dr. Maldwyn Edwards |
| 1964 The Rev. A. P. Tremlett | 1965 No Lectures | 1966 Dr. Carlyle Marney * |
| 1967 Dr. Harold Roberts | 1968 Dr. Albert C. Outler | 1969 Bishop Paul E. Martin |
| 1970 Dr. Browne Barr | 1971 Dr. Arthur M. Jackson | 1972 Dr. David H. C. Read |
| 1973 Dr. Ernest T. Campbell | 1974 Dr. Edmund A. Steimle | 1975 Leon Joseph Cardinal Suenens |
| 1976 Dr. Gabriel Fackre | 1977 Dr. Martin E. Marty | 1978 Bishop Roy C. Nichols |
| 1979 Dr. John B. Cobb, Jr. | 1980 Dr. Donald Coggan | 1981 Bishop William R. Cannon |
| 1982 Dr. Brevard S. Childs | 1983 Dr. Fred B. Craddock | 1984 Dr. Russell T. Montfort |
| 1985 Father Raymond E. Brown | 1986 Dr. Leander E. Keck | 1987 Dr. William H. Willimon |
| 1988 Dr. Walter Brueggemann | 1989 Bishop Michael E. Marshall | 1990 Dr. Morna D. Hooker |
| 1991 Dr. J. Pittman McGehee | 1992 Dr. Tex S. Sample | 1993 Dr. Thomas G. Long |
| 1994 Dean Alan W. Jones | 1995 Father John R. Claypool, IV | 1996 Madeleine L’Engle |
| 1997 Dr. R. Maurice Boyd | 1998 Dr. David Bartlett | 1999 Dr. Zan Holmes |
| 2000 Dr. George Carey | 2001 Rev. Barbara Brown Taylor | 2002 No Lectures |
| 2003 Dr. Harold S. Kushner | 2004 Dr. Arthur Caliandro | 2005 Rev. John M. Buchanan |
| 2006 Dr. James A. Forbes, Jr. | 2007 Dr. Fred B. Craddock | 2008 Dr. R. Maurice Boyd |
| 2009 Dr. Tex Sample | 2010 Dr. Amy-Jill Levine * | 2011 Dr. Alyce M. McKenzie |
| 2012 Dr. Luke Timothy Johnson | 2013 Dr. William B. Lawrence | 2014 Rev. Adam Hamilton* |
| 2015 Rev. Dr. Amy Butler | 2016 Rev. Lord Leslie Griffiths | 2017 Bishop Janice Riggle Huie |
| 2018 Rev. Dr. Luke A. Powery | 2019 Rev. Dr. Matt Russell | 2020 Rev. Michael Mather |