Hood Theological Seminary will hold a Firm Foundation Covenant Service at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Aymer Center on the seminary campus. The service is open to the public.

Formerly named the Endowment Convocation, the annual service is sponsored by the Board of Bishops of the AME Zion Church. The bishops conduct an inspiring service and bring collections from their Episcopal districts in support of the seminary.

“Hood’s recognition as a viable and thriving institution has been made possible by the relentless and consistent support by the Board of Bishops of the AME Zion Church,” said Dr. Vergel Lattimore, president of the seminary. “While endowment growth will continue to be an important priority for the long-term well-being of the seminary, an expanded objective of this event and its updated designation as the Firm Foundation Covenant Service were affirmed by Bishop George E. Battle Jr. (senior bishop) and Bishop Kenneth Monroe (HTS board chairman).”

As HTS strives to build capacity to support viability and creative programming, unrestricted annual giving becomes more crucial, the seminary says. Unrestricted contributions to Hood for the Firm Foundation Annual Fund enable the seminary to direct funding toward its greatest needs.

Lattimore encouraged all Zionites, friends and supporters of the seminary to attend the service and participate in the fellowship.

Bishop Staccato Powell of the Western Episcopal District, AME Zion Church, is this year’s preacher. A native of Hallsboro, Powell is an accomplished preacher and teacher who began his journey in the ministry while a senior in high school. He served as a pastor while simultaneously completing his formal education – receiving a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a master of divinity degree from Duke University, and a doctorate of jurisprudence degree from North Carolina Central University.

Powell has been inducted into the Morehouse Board of Preachers and is the recipient of an honorary doctorate of divinity degree from Livingstone College. He was elevated to the Episcopacy in 2016 from Grace AME Zion Church in Raleigh.

Powell is a Central Committee member of the World Council of Churches as the AME Zion representative, as well as an adjunct professor in the doctorate of ministry program at Hood seminary.

Hood Theological Seminary, located at 1810 Lutheran Synod Drive, is a graduate and professional school where intellectual discourse and ministerial preparation occur in tandem within the framework of a community of faith. Sponsored by the AME Zion Church, its student body includes people from many different denominations. Hood’s mission is to provide an educational community in which Christian maturity and ministerial preparation take place together.