Martha Daniel Newell (1921-2017)

Union Presbyterian Seminary learned with great sadness of the passing of Martha Daniel Newell — a great lady and devoted friend of the seminary. President Emeritus of Union Presbyterian Seminary Louis Weeks reflected, “We’ll really miss Martha Newell. She was a constructive and joyous Christian. She exercised a profound ministry in Richmond and more broadly in the Church.” Her pastor…

Alternative ministries trip yields new ideas and rainbows in Baltimore

…the big, uncomfortable world out there.” The weekend included conversations with leaders from The Center Baltimore, BUILD (Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development), and The Slate Project. Students also met with local pastors who are intimately connected with their communities—and had the opportunity to get to know some of their parishioners and participate alongside them in service work in the surrounding…

Our Reformation Tour lands in Berlin

…professor in Biblical Hebrew at Union Presbyterian Seminary. She is leading a “Tour of the Reformation” through Union’s Leadership Institute in partnership with First Presbyterian Church of Virginia Beach. Participants are traveling to Germany, France, and Switzerland, following in the footsteps of Martin Luther, Ulrich Zwingli, and John Calvin in commemoration of the 500th year anniversary of the Protestant Reformation….

Reformation Tour: Bridging the Divide

…and Calvin, traveling through Germany, France, and Switzerland, I’ve found myself reflecting a great deal on my own theological education and preparation for ministry. These first few years of ministry have involved learning how to integrate what I’ve learned in textbooks and classrooms into the everyday work that I do as I seek to serve God’s people. As one might…

Reformation Tour: Luther the disrupter

…for parallels between events in history and goings-on in today’s world. When I think of Martin Luther, the word “disrupter” comes to mind. An attempt to explain follows. The internet has drastically changed our lives. It is a technology that, coupled with cellular mobile devices, has facilitated changes in how we communicate, shop, get our news, entertain ourselves, and learn….

Women address gender justice for African-Americans

On Martin Luther King Day, more than 50 African-American women working in diverse contexts in the community participated in a “conscientization luncheon” to discuss how gender justice concretely transforms life in the direction of non-alienating experiences for African-American women and the wider environment in which they are situated. The Richmond campus event was led by Professor of Christian Ethics Katie…

Will Change Ever Come?

…not just in European institutions, but in our own institutions, including the Black Church. The challenge for us as pastors and educators continues to be, to unteach what has been taught in our Churches and seminaries for so long. Historically incorrect images still fill our textbooks and many Church buildings and windows. Images that cause many blacks to hate self….

APCE 2019: How does Jesus respond to generational suffering?

…excited about attending APCE and understanding how the content of the conference would impact my theological education journey. I completed my first portfolio-based assessment shortly before attending APCE, and one of the points I addressed in the portfolio is the fact that I feel drawn to social justice issues. So as I began attending the conference sessions I was looking…

What Preachers Can Learn from The Original Kings of Comedy

…Embody characters in your storytelling. Enhance your stories by including dialogue. Tell the truth. Remind your audience of “back in the day,” analyzing how “new school” has deviated from “old school.” Watch your time. Discuss family life. Talk about love. Address culturally relevant issues. Address current events. Invoke audience participation. Develop an eye for the everydayness of life. Call attention…

Living Generously

…the schedule that you have planned. God is a faithful provider who gives us our “daily bread”. It is our responsibility to respond similarly. Be a Regular giver. We should also be Intentional givers. Would you like it if God was not intentional in provisions for you – breathing, eating, loving relationships? Intentional givers remember to pledge, then pay. Give…

Fight Club?

…What if we post about our excitement to invest in an organization as much as we post about our displeasure in current events? More than numbers, I believe people are interested in stories. More than ‘yes’ and `no`, our children need explanations. We avoid money talk and favor time and talents; we avoid money talk in search for easy answers….

Assocuate Pastor for Children & Familes Myers Park Pres – Description

MInister for Children and Youth–Christ Church Christiana Hundred–Wilmington, DE

About the Church Christ Church Christiana Hundred in Wilmington, Delaware is a vibrant, inclusive, and welcoming Episcopal faith community, engaged in God’s work to bring all people into a loving, liberating, and life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ. Members come from far and wide and bring a richly diverse set of gifts and talents, living into the calling of coming together…

Middle East Travel Seminar: Entering the stomping grounds of Jesus

…into one of the favorites of the trip. Today was one such day for me. On the schedule, it looked like a day dominated by the bus seat — picking up camp in Jericho and driving north along the Jordan River to set up camp in Tiberias in the region of Galilee. The first group activity of the day was…

Central America Travel Seminar: Buzzing over Guatemalan coffee and a volcano 🌋

…visit the coffee plantation where the indigenous population was forced to work for low wages. Franciscans arrived in Guatemala in 1523. They first visited Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras on foot. The Franciscans taught the indigenous people Spanish, faith instruction and human instruction. The human part was teaching the different groups of indigenous people trades such as carpentry and bricklaying. The…

Union recognized for superior fundraising performance

…of what contributed to the total support figure, overall breadth in program areas, pattern of growth in each program area, pattern of donor growth among alumni donors and other individual donors, impact of the 12 largest gifts on total support, total support in relation to the alumni base, and type of institution. Judges use those factors to recognize institutions that…

India travel seminar: Joyful unpredictability

This is post 10 of 11 in the series “India travel seminar” India travel seminar begins India travel seminar: Religious and cultural diversities India travel seminar: Deep care & kindness India travel seminar: A dream fulfilled India travel seminar: Spirit of the Sikhs India travel seminar: Observing faith formation practices India travel seminar: Andhara Christian Theological College India travel seminar:…

A time to give thanks

…they are, who they are telling “Here I am.” On Monday, I lay in bed looking out the window at the changing trees and reflected on the day before. It was full of beauty and heartache, excitement and dread. There were moments when I wondered how anyone could question if there is a God, and there were moments that I…

Central America Travel Seminar: The day we met Jon Sobrino

…group visited the Pastoral Center of Monsignor Romero at Central America University in San Salvador, El Salvador. It is the site where six Jesuit priests and two women were murdered in 1989. We were taken through the museum, garden, and Chapel to see and learn the story of this atrocity. In the midst of our tour, we were invited to…

Let them be heard

…how they see it and what they need to live in it. I don’t know what I would do or say or where I would go if something happened at one of our local schools. I pray that I never need to figure it out. I do know that I can do everything in my power to make sure my…

Lonely & waiting: Walking through Advent with those who are grieving

…done this every year that has followed. In the shadow of a very difficult pastoral month with multiple deaths and hospitalizations, I think back to that year and the few that have followed. I think about the loss that my family prepared for in the midst of Advent celebrations, and I think of the empty space in the years that…

Rebecca Davis named APCE Educator of the Year

…every student I’ve had the privilege to teach shares in this award,” said Davis. “I am who I am because of the journey we share and Union’s enduring commitment to excellence in Christian education.” While pursuing her undergraduate degree at Marshall University in classics, philosophy, and religion, Davis served as the director of Christian education at Enslow Park Presbyterian Church…