The Rev. Dr. Ken J. Walden, associate professor of pastoral care and counseling and director of the Supervised Ministry, will be the speaker for the Honors Awards and Closing Convocation at Hood Theological Seminary.

“Dr. Walden is a highly respected young theological scholar and admired by all at the seminary. I am proud to announce him as our speaker for this official Closing Convocation. He is certain to inspire our graduates as they begin the next leg of their journeys as leaders of faith communities around the world,” Dr. Vergel Lattimore, president of Hood Theological Seminary, said in a news release.

The Closing Convocation will take place at 7 p.m. on May 15 at Hood Theological Seminary. The service will be held under large tents on the Mona Wallace Plaza in front of the Aymer Center and is one of the highlights of the weekend for those graduating and their families. The program begins with an academic procession of the graduands and the faculty.  During the ceremony, graduands will be hooded in preparation for their graduation the following morning. As a part of the convocation, honors and awards will be presented to those students being so recognized.

Walden joined the faculty at Hood in 2013 as associate professor of pastoral care and counseling. He is a 1999 graduate of The Citadel and received his master of divinity degree from Duke University Divinity School. He received a doctor of ministry degree in ecumenical ministries from Graduate Theological Foundation in South Bend, Indiana and a doctor of philosophy practical theology: pastoral care and counseling from Claremont School of Theology in Claremont, California.

He also completed Officer Squadron School at the United States Air Force Air University at Montgomery, Alabama, and is a chaplain major in the U.S. Air Force Reserves. In this service, he teaches and preaches as well as provides pastoral care and counseling and assists military families in preparation for pre-deployment, deployment and post-deployment. Walden was chaplain and professor of philosophy and religion at Claflin University in Orangeburg, South Carolina, and most recently worked in the Wounded Warriors Program in Washington, D.C., where he provided counseling, led retreats and helped create workshops on marriage and family enrichment as well as spiritual growth.

He is the author of two books, “A Pastor’s Poetry” and “Challenges Faced by Iraq War Reservists and Their Families: A Soul Care Approach for Chaplains and Pastors.” Walden is an elder in the United

Methodist Church and has served as pastor at churches in North Carolina, Michigan and California. He and his wife, Michelle, reside in Salisbury.