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A Ministry of Reconciliation: Hairston Reflects
on the Perkins Center's First Year
THE JOHN PERKINS CENTER for Reconciliation,
Leadership Training, and Community Development opened on the
Seattle Pacific University campus October 20, 2004, and just
marked its one-year anniversary. As a result of the Center’s
work — modeled on the life and teachings of the renowned
Christian civil rights leader John Perkins — Seattle
Pacific is not the same place it was a year ago, says Director
Tali Hairston.
What’s different is that faculty, staff, and students
are beginning to intentionally incorporate
reconciliation into the curriculum and into the many ways
in which they engage the culture, he explains. “What
the Perkins Center is doing is encouraging those who have
always wanted to become reconcilers but felt like they didn’t
have the ability or the support,” says Hairston. “This
is a holistic approach to reconciliation;
it’s not just about social or civic responsibility.
We want to help SPU and the church lead toward cultural change.”
In its inaugural year, the Center worked directly with faculty
members on projects that linked Seattle Pacific and the community.
For example, Hairston collaborated with Professor of Nursing
Kathy Stetz on a community-
nursing experience in the urban neighborhoods of Seattle.
“This was a first step in what I anticipate
will be future partnerships between SPU and community agencies,”
says Stetz. “Our nursing students are learning what
the issues are for those living at poverty level, for families
worried about raising healthy children.”
Hairston has reached across the various academic disciplines,
also collaborating with Stephen Newby, SPU assistant professor
of music and minister of worship. “Stephen’s work
in music — what I call reconciliation music —
is leading the nation and bringing people together,”
says Hairston.
The Perkins Center sponsored guest lectures,
hosted visiting scholars, and invited urban youth —
such as the acclaimed Renton High School Debate Team —
to campus.
It also established the Urban Youth Leadership
Academy, providing high school students with coaching in academic
and leadership skills, as well as college preparation.
Something else that has come out of the Perkins Center is
a first-of-its-kind partnership
with Duy Tan University in Vietnam. After two trips to Vietnam,
Hairston was instrumental in cementing a relationship designed
“to help Vietnam help itself,” using principles
of reconciliation and Christian community
development.
“It has been a thrill to watch this important work
unfold,” says Seattle Pacific President Philip Eaton.
“Tali has done an outstanding job of building bridges
with community leaders;
speaking at key events on and off campus; and working closely
with me, others across campus, and the Perkins Advisory Council
to provide vision and leadership for the future.”
And Hairston is just getting started. “This is the
tip of the iceberg,” he says. “There is much more
to come.”
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