Hood Theological Seminary will hold its annual Bishop Alfred E. and Mrs. Mamie White Endowed Heritage Lecture Series on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 12-13, 2021. This year’s featured presenter is Dr. Andrew M. Mbuvi, Ph.D. (Biblical Studies and Hermeneutics), a faculty member in the Religious Study Department at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC. The lectures, which are free of charge and open to the public, will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, February 12 and 10:10 a.m. on Saturday, February 13 virtually on Zoom. Please note there are two separate zoom links, one for Friday and one for Saturday.

The two lectures are “Where is the Black Church’s voice of Conscience Today?: On Black Bodies and Racial Violence in America” and “Re-Reading Select Lukan Passages in Light of the Black Experience of Violence.”

 Mbuvi has been a university professor for over 25 years, both in his native Kenya and in American universities including Duke and Wake Forest. He spent 13 years as a Divinity School professor at a Historically Black Theological School teaching Biblical Studies and preparing ministers. Mbuvi currently teaches courses in Biblical Studies, and African and African American religious history. 

Mbuvi is the author of numerous articles, essays, and books, including Temple, Exile and Identity in 1 Peter (&T Clark, 2007), an edited volume Postcolonial Perspectives in African Biblical Hermeneutics (SBL, 2012), a commentary on Jude and 2 Peter: A New Covenant Commentary (Cascade/Lutterworth, 2015), and the forthcoming Introduction to African Biblical Studies.

Mbuvi is married to Amanda and they have two children, Elijah and Rachel, and they live in Greensboro. 

Hood Theological Seminary, located at 1810 Lutheran Synod Drive in Salisbury, is a graduate and professional school sponsored by the A.M.E. Zion Church and approved by the University Senate of The United Methodist Church. Its student body, faculty and staff currently comprise persons from many different denominations. As a theological seminary, it provides for the church and the world an educational community in which Christian maturity and ministerial preparation take place together.

Summer nutrition programs offer meals for no cost while school is out

Nearly 1 million North Carolina public school students were eligible last year to receive free or reduced-priced meals at school through the National School Lunch Program. Many of these students rely on the nutritious meals available through the school nutrition programs as their primary source of food during the school day.

When schools closed in March 2020, students’ access to school meals was interrupted. Thankfully, the N. C. Department of Public Instruction received waivers from the United States Department of Agriculture’s to activate the Summer Nutrition Programs during school closures. These programs typically provide meals to children during the summer months when school is out of session; they are also activated during emergency school closures due to natural disasters, public health emergencies or other unanticipated school closures.

School nutrition professionals, community organizations and various advocacy groups have been working on the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide nutritious meals to children in every county in the state. These schools and community partners will continue to work together during the spring and summer months to provide meals to children as food insecurity continues to affect many families.

N.C. Summer Nutrition Programs, including the Summer Food Service Program and Seamless Summer Option, operate in a variety of locations, including schools, parks, faith-based facilities, residential properties, public housing facilities, medical centers, community centers and other convenient sites within each county. Schools and community organizations, serving as Summer Nutrition Program sponsors, have received guidance regarding pandemic protocols related to face coverings, social distancing and personal hygiene practices, including appropriate food safety practices in the preparation and service of food.

Regulatory flexibilities through June 30, 2021, allow children to get meals by curbside pick-up, meal deliveries by school buses or through meal bundles provided throughout the week. These service options vary from county to county, and all incorporate social distancing and other practices to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Meals served at summer nutrition sites are available at no cost to children 18 and under regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability. Registration and ID are not required. To find free, safe, nutritious, appealing meals for children near you:

Text “FoodNC” to 877-877 for information in English or “COMIDA” to 877-877 for information in Spanish, Call toll-free 1.866.3Hungry (1.866.348.6479) or 1.877.8Hambre (1.877.842.6273), or
Visit the USDA’s Summer Meal Site Finder, https://www.fns.usda.gov/SummerFoodRocks.
The text service is provided by No Kid Hungry.