Hood Theological Seminary
Dr. Bradley R. Trick, assistant professor of New Testament Studies at Hood Theological Seminary, will be the speaker for the annual awards ceremony and closing convocation Friday, one of the highlights of graduation weekend at Hood.
“Dr. Trick is highly respected and admired by his students and colleagues at the seminary. We are proud to have him as our closing convocation speaker,” Hood President Dr. Albert Aymer said in a press release.
Trick was born in Charleston, S.C., and grew up in Birmingham, Ala. He attended Harvard University, concentrating in computer science and graduating cum laude in 1996. He then went with the Overseas Missionary Fellowship to Qingdao, China, where he lived for about five months.
Trick received his master of divinity and master of theology from Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He completed his doctorate in New Testament at Duke University, where he was named a James B. Duke Fellow, and, subsequently, a Delores Zohrab Liebmann Fellow.
During the 2010-11 academic year, he served as a visiting scholar in New Testament at Hood. In the fall of 2011, he joined the faculty at Hood as assistant professor in New Testament. He is in the process of seeking ordination in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Trick’s research interests include the relationship of the early faith to its Jewish roots (especially in Paul), the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament, and the unity of the testaments (both together and individually).
He and his wife, Elizabeth, who is an architect, have a four-year-old daughter named Makara and live in the West Square Historic District.
The weekend of events on the seminary campus begins Thursday evening with the eighth annual Bishop James Walker Hood Donor Recognition Dinner. This dinner honors all donors who have made contributions to Hood Seminary of $1,000 or more during the year 2011-12. A traditional part of this event is the awarding of the Bishop’s Award, which pays tribute to individuals, couples or organizations who have made significant contributions to Hood, the community and to humankind. This year’s ceremonies will mark the seventh year on the new campus and the seminary’s eleventh year as an independent seminary and graduate school.
The Senior Barbecue, which is to honor the graduands and their families, will be held in the temporary refectory and outside by the Johnson Fountain on the campus beginning at 4 p.m. Friday.
The annual awards ceremony and closing convocation service will begin at 7 p.m. under large tents on the hillside overlooking the campus. This program begins with an academic procession of the graduates and the faculty. During the ceremony, graduates will be hooded in preparation for their graduation the following morning. As a part of the convocation, honors and awards will be presented to students being recognized.
At 8:30 a.m. Saturday, the graduates will gather in the temporary chapel for a final worship service as a class, and to share in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, officiated by Aymer.
The weekend culminates with commencement exercises beginning at 10:30 a.m. on the hillside overlooking campus. Bishop George E. Battle Jr. will deliver the commencement address. Battle is a Hood alumnus and vice chairman of the Hood Theological Seminary board of trustees.
Hood Theological Seminary is located at 1810 Lutheran Synod Drive. It is sponsored by the AME Zion Church.