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Just As Jesus Was

By James Taneti, Director of the Syngman Rhee Global Mission Center for Christian Education and Assistant Professor of World Christianity Relevant Scripture Passages to Consider: Luke 4:16-30 Matthew 6:5-15 Matthew 25:31-46 Summary: Hunger, disease, malnutrition, economic disparity, untimely deaths, political violence, mass incarceration, and anxiety were not alien to first-century Palestine and the regions beyond. A careful scan of the …

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Lenten Devotional

…promise to care for our neighbors and for God’s creation. An important step in this baptismal journey is growing in our knowledge of the water we depend on for daily life. What is your local watershed? What is the closest river or body of water? A renewed emphasis on discipleship and earth care invites us to find ways to recognize …

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New grant to study diversity, equity, and inclusion in preaching and homiletics

…the academy’s emphasis on “unmasking white preaching” began. In 2018, the AOH launched a multi-year effort to understand and act upon the ways that whiteness has systematically impacted the research, practice, and teaching of preaching, especially since AOH’s leadership and membership has traditionally privileged white, mainline Protestant voices since its founding. “We are grateful to The Wabash Center for its …

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Union Seminary awarded $400,000 grant to support womanist leadership

RICHMOND, VA (December 11, 2019) — Union Presbyterian Seminary will use a $400,000 grant to lift the voices and perspectives of Black women in the church, academy, and the world. The three-year grant was awarded by the Henry Luce Foundation to the Katie Geneva Cannon Center for Womanist Leadership, which was established at the seminary in April 2018 to inspire, …

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Jane Towner, wife of former professor Sib Towner, dies

…Professor of Old Testament W. Sibley “Sib” Towner, has died. She was 81. Towner is responsible for numerous environmental and historical preservation efforts near her home in Kilmarnock, Virginia. She also was a founding officer of the Hospice Program at St. Mary’s Hospital in Virginia. She was married to Professor Towner for 61 years until his death in 2018. OBITUARY …

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Union awarded grant to show how pipe organs can lead community

…not typically associated with the organ. In particular, these services will feature music of the Black church, global music, and music composed by women. The award follows the seminary’s successful fundraising campaign to replace and install a state-of-the-art pipe organ in historic Watts Chapel, the first organ to be designed specifically for the 123-year-old worship space. “The primary objective of …

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Barbara Sue Ward passed away on Sept 9, 2022

Barbara Sue Ward, 92, former PSCE employee and a member of the President Advisory Council passed away peacefully on Sept 9, 2022. Sue and her husband Joe, were long time supporters of the Joe Ward Scholarship for first year’s seminary students entering Union. Last May we celebrated the 20th Golf Tournament to raise fund for the scholarship. Photo: Sue at …

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UPSem announces new Master of Arts in Theological Studies program

RICHMOND, VA (March 6, 2018) — Union Presbyterian Seminary’s new Master of Arts in Theological Studies (M.A.T.S.) program has begun admitting students for the 2018-19 academic year. The program will prepare graduates to respond to complex realities in a global context through academic exploration; to theologically and ethically engage the changing world, especially as it shapes and is shaped by …

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Voelz Elected Academy of Homiletics’ 2025 President

Rich Voelz has been elected to serve on the Executive Committee of the Academy of Homiletics, and in 2025 will serve as President. The professional guild of more than 200 scholars represents a wide array of denominations. Over the past year, Voelz has been co-directing a grant studying diversity, equity, and inclusion in the teaching and research of the Academy’s …

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Union Seminary announces new admissions directors

…is a Master of Divinity student at Union (UPSem). She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology and a Master of Business Administration from Georgia State University and a Master of Science in Patient Counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University. Marcy Wright is a native of Hampton, Virginia, and has worked in non-profit management for 28 years. She is a …

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Professor Charles E. Brown announces retirement

…adjunct faculty member at New York Theological Seminary and Columbia Theological Seminary. His course, “Working with Groups in the Church,” was one of the first courses he taught at Union. With this course, and others he has offered, his many years of service in pastoral ministry have been a rich resource for his teaching ministry. “Dr. Brown’s pastoral activities as …

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Looking…

When you’re hunting for a job, things can get stressful. Variables like salary, start date, location, etc. all come into play. If you’re looking for a job with a PC(USA) church, check out the Church Leadership Connection site for open positions. You can search by position type, location, experience, and more. You can also search on broad job sites like …

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Seminarians for Social Justice

…CSJR has helped me to have less of a theoretical perspective and more of a real-world perspective. I had the privilege of going on the Civil Rights Travel Seminar, and it helped me realize how much I did not know. The Civil Rights Travel Seminar showed me the people who suffered and sacrificed for the freedom we have now, and …

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Values

…defining your values in her blog post, “How to Live With Purpose, Identify Your Values and Improve Your Leadership.” Rebecca Shern — a registered dietician and lifestyle coach — of Minimal Wellness may help you understand how to prioritize your values by reading her blog here. Her site also includes a free downloadable worksheet to help you organize your values. …

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New grant to study how theological education can be more intercultural

…and the institutions they serve. It designs educational services, develops intellectual resources, and facilitates networks of institutions that cultivate a coherent vision of Christian institutional leadership and form Christian leaders. Leadership Education is a non-degree-granting initiative of Duke Divinity School funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. and based in Durham, North Carolina. ### Safwat Marzouk high-resolution image Contact: Mike Frontiero Union …

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2024 Graduate Study Fellowships Announced

Richmond, VA (Feb. 5, 2024)—Graduate study fellowships are awarded for further study and professional development. Through these awards, the faculty of Union Presbyterian Seminary recognizes outstanding academic work by students who also show exceptional promise for effectiveness in ministry. The Patrick H. and Mary P. Carmichael Fellowship This award is given to a student completing the M.A.C.E. degree at Union …

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Our Mandate for Justice: Inside and Outside of the Seminary

…of the issues of emphasis. We cannot think of healthcare and not consider the role of Jesus as a healer and that churches throughout time have founded hospitals and been instrumental in providing medical care. We cannot truly focus on climate devastation and environmental justice and ignore notions of Creation care that extend as far back as the first two …

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Dr. Robin McCall Named Seminary Librarian

Richmond, VA (January 31, 2023)—Welcome to Dr. Robin C. McCall, our new Seminary Librarian and Assistant Professor of Bibliography and Research! Robin received her B.A. from the University of Virginia, her M.Div. from the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond and her Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary. Robin also received her M.L.I.S. from the University of North Carolina—Greensboro. Her most recent …

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New book offers a fresh examination of a critical juncture in Christian history

…as a turning point of desert monasticism and considers how monks became involved in acts of violence and how that violence came back to haunt them. Luckritz Marquis pays careful attention to detail in this book to the dynamic relations between memory practices, the rhetorical constructions of place, racialized discourse, language, and deeds of violence, a nexus of issues that …

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