Special Course: Healing Haunted Histories
2026-03-30 16:00 - 17:30, 2026-04-06 16:00 - 17:30 (America/New_York)
Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler’s Discipleship of Decolonization
Mondays, January 12 – April 6, 2026
Register and view full schedule at the bottom of this page

COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course utilizes social analysis, communal narratives, historical literacy, and biblical reflection to address deep-rooted injustices between settlers and the worlds of Indigenous (and other marginalized communities) in North America. Participants will engage with the Landlines-Bloodlines-Songlines (LBS) model tailored to their context, focusing on practical research and engagement rather than passive learning. Commitment to readings, research, and mutual accountability is essential for fostering Restorative Solidarity and deepening decolonization efforts. Please visit this website for more information about Healing Haunted Histories.
This course will require 3.0-3.5 hours per week for course preparation and attendance, and is 4.0 CEUs.
Meet the Course Facilitators
Rev. Dr. Lynne B. Caldwell, Pastor and Educator

While Lynne Caldwell’s “re-schooling” and personal work with her racism began in college, she only became connected with Healing Haunted Histories a few years ago. She sensed from the beginning that ‘doing the work’ (Audre Lorde) through Elaine Enns’ and Ched Myers’ model for Healing Haunted Histories is one of the best
Born in Asheville, NC, Lynne grew up in Black Mountain, NC. She earned a B.A. in Child Development, Berea College, Berea, KY; an M.Div., Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, KY; D.Min., Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC and two certificates in leadership from the Divinity School of Duke University. She has served appointments through the Western North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church for more than 35 years, including 10 years “on-loan” to the Virginia Conference. Assignments/appointed positions include Associate Minister, Lead Pastor, Senior Pastor, District Superintendent, faculty member, and administrator of a non-profit.
Among Lynne’s passions is the exploration of the intersection of real faith and real life through meaningful relationships, spiritual practices, and a commitment to learning something new every day. She’s energized by a lifelong curiosity about human development and community. Inspired to sustain learning about how we grow in love for God, self, neighbors, and our enemies, she seeks to pursue integrity between words and behaviors. And, so…she seeks to press on, in the company of others, daily practicing what it might mean to become God’s beloved community, until we’ve practiced our way into becoming embodiments of love, justice, equity, inclusion and forgiveness.
Lynne currently serves as pastor of Danbury Community Church in Stokes County, NC; and is an Adjunct Faculty member in the Religion, Ethics and Philosophy Department of Greensboro College. Lynne makes her home in Winston-Salem, NC.
Home Missioner Steve Taylor, Activist and Educator

Steve Taylor is a Home Missioner in the North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church, serving as Director of Anti-racist Discipleship and Beloved Community at Spring Forest New Monastic and Missional Community. Steve leads a transformative ministry integrating Christian discipleship with the pursuit of racial equity and justice. His work extends throughout the United Methodist Church, local congregations, and ecumenical partnerships, centering on peacebuilding, healing, and the creation of beloved community.
At Spring Forest, Steve develops and leads trainings and conversations addressing systemic racism—its historical roots, present realities, and spiritual paths toward reconciliation. He organizes community partnerships and advocacy efforts, helps congregations integrate antiracism into prayer and worship, and facilitates the Healing Haunted Histories process created by Dr. Elaine Enns and Ched Myers. Through these practices, Steve helps communities confront the past and embody God’s reconciling love in the present.
Steve’s vision is shaped by the Beloved Community — a vision of justice, equity, and unconditional love reflecting the Kin-dom of God on earth. “In intentional actions of education, advocacy, deep listening, honest and confessional truth-telling, and the work of antiracism as worship,” Steve says, “we build a community where every person is valued. Discipleship—patterning our lives after Jesus—must include the work of antiracism. It is the work of building peace and beloved community.”
Previously, Steve served as Executive Director of Connectional Ministries and Director of Missions for the North Carolina Conference and as a Church and Community Worker in Robeson County. His 35-year ministry has included work in both rural and urban settings and in Slovenian refugee camps during the Balkan wars. Across all contexts, he helps congregations engage deeply with their communities through shared spiritual and social transformation.
Steve is married to Sheryl Taylor, “the portrait of God’s grace,” and they have two children and four grandchildren.
Special Class Sessions with Elaine Enns and Ched Myers, Co-authors of Healing Haunted Histories

Elaine Enns has worked in the field of restorative justice since 1989, first focusing on victim-offender dialogue in the Criminal Justice System, and over the last decade looking at how restorative solidarity applies to historical violations, including issues of intergenerational trauma, healing and decolonization. With a DMin from St. Andrew’s Saskatoon, Elaine trains and teaches throughout North America, and her latest book, co-authored with her partner activist theologian Ched Myers, is Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler Discipleship of Decolonization (Wipf & Stock, 2021); in 2009 the two-volume Ambassadors of Reconciliation: A New Testament Theology and Diverse Christian Practices of Restorative Justice and Peacemaking (Orbis Books, 2009); and has published over a dozen articles. An ecumenical Mennonite, Elaine was born and raised in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and lives in southern California where she co-directs Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries on traditional Chumash land.

A fifth generation Californian, Ched Myers is an activist theologian who has worked in social change and radical discipleship movements for more than 45 years. With a degree in New Testament Studies, he is a popular educator who animates scripture and its relationship to issues of faith-based peace and justice. He has authored over 100 articles and more than a half-dozen books, including Binding the Strong Man: A Political Reading of Mark’s Story of Jesus; Ambassadors of Reconciliation: A N.T. Theology and Diverse Christian Practices of Restorative Justice and Peacemaking (with Elaine Enns); Our God is Undocumented: Biblical Faith and Immigrant Justice (with Matthew Colwell); Watershed Discipleship: Reinhabiting Bioregional Faith and Practice; Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler Discipleship of Decolonization (with Elaine Enns, Cascade, 2021); and most recently Healing Affluenza and Resisting Plutocracy: Luke’s Jesus and Sabbath Economics (Fortress, 2024). Ched’s articles and books can be found on the linked sites.

Course Text:
Healing Haunted Histories: A Settler’s Discipleship of Decolonization, (The Center and Library for the Bible and Social Justice Series), by Elaine Enns and Ched Myers. Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, an imprint of Wipft and Stock Publishers, 2021. ISBN (pbk): 978-1-7252-5535-7. Also available in hardback and as ebook.

Students should have their own copy in format personally preferred as we will utilize the text each session.

Click to order Healing Haunted Histories
Register and purchase a copy of Healing Haunted Histories by December 31, 2025 to receive a 40% discount on the book, use code HHHEV225 at check-out (publisher, Wipf & Stock).

Register by December 15, 2025

This course is offered by the Leadership Institute of Union Presbyterian Seminary in collaboration with Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries and The Church at Spring Forest UMC in Hillsborough, North Carolina

We believe everyone should have access to this learning opportunity. If you are in financial need of a discounted registration fee, please contact Deborah Keyes, subject line “HHH: Financial Aid”.UPSem faculty, staff, and students can register for this class for free.

If you are a UPSem faculty, staff, or student, you can register here using your UPSem email address.

Schedule

January 12 WELCOME TO HHH! Practical Matters /Introduction to the course
January 19 MLK Day; no class; encourage participants to engage in service in their local communities
January 26 1st class session: Introduction and Chapter 1 of the book, Elaine Enns attending
February 2 Session 2, Chapter 2
February 9 Session 3, Chapter 3
February 16 Session 4, Chapter 4
February 23 Session 5, Theological Interlude, Elaine Enns and Ched Myers attending
March 2 Session 6, Chapter 5
March 9 Session 7, Chapter 6
March 16 Session 8, Chapter 7
March 23 Session 9, Epilogue and Preparation for Making Commitments for Next Steps
April 6 Closing and Session 10: Celebration and Commitment, Elaine Enns attending

Exploring Biblical Languages
2026-03-31 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-04-07 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-04-14 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-04-21 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-04-28 19:00 - 21:00
Course Description:
“Why are there so many different biblical translations and what’s the difference between them?” “What is the Greek or Hebrew word used here?” “What is an ‘Aorist’?” “What does ‘Jussive’ mean?” Questions such as these often arise when we engage the Bible critically. This course seeks to prepare you to answer them. Exploring Biblical Languages will offer a concise instruction to both Biblical Hebrew and Koine Greek, surveying grammatical concepts broadly so that readers of the biblical text are prepared for deeper engagement with commentaries and Bible study tools. We will also dive deep into the meaning of key Hebrew and Greek words to appreciate the richness of these ancient languages and how we can apply that appreciation to our lives and ministry.
Meet the Instructor

Rev. Dr. Megan Fullerton Strollo is Assistant Professor of Biblical Languages, beginning in July 2020. She received both her Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy in biblical studies degrees from Union Presbyterian Seminary in 2012 and 2020, respectively. Her primary research interests include the Megilloth, post-exilic literature, Wisdom literature, biblical languages, biblical theology, women in the Bible, intertextuality in the Bible, and feminist biblical interpretation. She has published articles and reviews in peer-reviewed journals and is a contributor in Megilloth Studies: The Shape of Contemporary Scholarship (Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2016).
Dates: Tuesdays, 7-9pm, March 10 – April 28, 2026
Register below!

Registration closes 2 business days before the first class meeting on March 6, 2026
Offered by the Leadership Institute at Union Presbyterian Seminary
If you are in financial need of a discounted registration fee, please contact Deborah Keyes, subject line “SCEBL: Financial Aid”.
UPSem faculty, staff, and students can register for this class for free. If you are a UPSem faculty, staff, or student, you can register here using your UPSem email address.

25-26 WLI Course: Womanist Pastoral Theology
2026-04-09 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-04-16 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-04-23 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-04-30 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-05-07 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-05-14 19:00 - 21:00
Course Description:
This course explores pastoral care through a Womanist lens, centering the lived experiences, wisdom, and spiritual practices of Black women. Students will engage theological, psychological, and cultural frameworks that affirm Black women’s dignity, resilience, and holistic healing. Drawing on Womanist theology, African-centered psychology, and Black feminist thought, the course equips pastoral caregivers to practice care that is liberative, justice-oriented, and culturally relevant.
Meet the Instructor

Rev. Dr. Danielle “Danie” J. Buhuro is Assistant Professor of Practical Theology at Gammon Theological Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia. She is also Executive Director and lead CPE Supervisor at Sankofa CPE Center which offers innovative online Clinical Pastoral Education programming along with unique social justice-oriented clinical work settings and prepares clergy chaplains for board certification. Dr. Buhuro is passionate about issues of race, gender and sexuality. She is author of “Spiritual Care In An Age of #BlackLivesMatter: Examining the Spiritual and Prophetic Needs of African Americans Living In A Violent America.”
Dr. Buhuro attended Chicago Theological Seminary, where she earned the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Theology, Ethics and Human Sciences with a focus on Pastoral Theology. Dr. Buhuro also holds a Doctor of Ministry and Master of Divinity degrees respectively and has served on the national board of directors for ACPE: The Standard for Spiritual Care & Education. She facilitates numerous workshops nation-wide on African American Pastoral Care and African-centered psychology.
Rev. Dr. Buhuro is committed to excellence and community partnership. Her philosophy of education embraces a pedagogy of helping students enhance their pastoral identity and pastoral competence while improving their pastoral reflection.
Dates: Thursdays, 7-9pm EST, April 9 – May 14, 2026
Registration closes on April 7, 2026, 2 business days before the first class meeting.
Offered by the Leadership Institute at Union Presbyterian Seminary

If you are in financial need of a discounted registration fee, please contact Deborah Keyes, subject line “WLIWPT: Financial Aid”.
UPSem faculty, staff, and students can register for this class for free. If you are a UPSem faculty, staff, or student, you can register here using your UPSem email address.

25-26 Pathways: Church History
2026-04-14 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-04-21 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-04-28 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-05-05 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-05-12 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-05-19 19:00 - 21:00
Pathways Online Course instructed by Dr. Christine Luckritz Marquis: Church History
Course Description
This course is designed to provide an overview of and an appreciation for the history of Christian traditions, the broader contexts in which they are developed, and their continued significance for the life of the church. Participants will study select crucial historical moments (e.g., early Christian movements, church councils, Reformation, Christianity in America).
Meet the Instructor

Dr. Christine Luckritz Marquis is Associate Professor of Church History, having been at Union Presbyterian Seminary since Fall 2013. Previously, she taught at Duke University, Lehigh University, and Moravian Theological Seminary. She is the recipient of several awards, including the Dolores Zohrab Liebmann Fellowship from 2010-2012.
Her teaching and research explore early Christian communities and their practices, especially those founded in Egypt, Syria, and the Arabian Peninsula. Her first book is “Death of the Desert: Monastic Memory and the Loss of Egypt’s Golden Age” (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2022). The book explores how memory and spatial practices were transformed by acts of violence among Egyptian ascetics. She has also co-edited and translated The History of the Great Deeds of Bishop Paul of Quentos and Priest John of Edessa: Texts from Christian Late Antiquity volume 29 (Piscataway, New Jersey: Gorgias Press, 2010). She contributed to Melania: Early Christianity Through the Life of One Family (University of California Press, 2016). Her translation work is found in the first two volumes of More New Testament Apocrypha and on the Coptic Scriptorium webpage.
Dates: Tuesdays, 7-9pm EST, April 14 – May 19, 2026
Offered by the Leadership Institute at Union Presbyterian Seminary

Registration closes on April 10, 2026, 2 business days before the first class meeting.
UPSem faculty, staff, and students can register for this class for free. If you are a UPSem faculty, staff, or student, you can register here using your UPSem email address. If you are in financial need of a discounted registration fee, please contact Deborah Keyes, subject line “PWCH: Financial Aid.

Multifaith Allyship & Solidarity
2026-05-05 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-05-12 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-05-19 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-05-26 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-06-02 18:30 - 20:30, 2026-06-09 18:30 - 20:30
Course Description:
In a religiously diverse society, working within and across religious lines requires intention, persistence, and care. This course will explore the theory and practice of multifaith allyship and solidarity. We will consider frameworks for fostering trust and building coalitions, and we will also explore the challenges and pitfalls of multifaith work. Throughout the course, guest panelists from diverse faith traditions and multifaith leadership roles will share their real-world experiences in building bridges across religious communities.
Meet the Instructor

Jonathan C. Zur is President & CEO of the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities (VCIC), an organization that works with schools, business, and communities to achieve success through inclusion. An experienced facilitator and consultant on issues of diversity and inclusion, Jonathan was appointed by the Governor of Virginia to the Commonwealth Commission on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, formed in the aftermath of the tragedy in Charlottesville in August 2017. In 2016, he was a speaker at the inaugural White House Summit on Diversity and Inclusion in Government. Jonathan is a graduate of the University of Richmond and he received a Certificate in Nonprofit Executive Leadership from the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.
Dates: Tuesdays, 6:30-8:30pm EST, May 5 – June 9, 2026
Click here to Register!

Offered by the Leadership Institute at Union Presbyterian Seminary
We believe everyone should have access to this learning opportunity. If you are in financial need of a discounted registration fee, please contact Deborah Keyes, subject line “SCMAS: Financial Aid”.
UPSem faculty, staff, and students can register for this class for free. If you are a UPSem faculty, staff, or student, please contact Deborah Keyes for a promo code you can use to register.

25-26 Pathways: The Christian Life
2026-05-28 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-06-04 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-06-11 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-06-18 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-06-25 19:00 - 21:00
Course Description: This course is designed to provide knowledge of Protestant perspectives on the Christian life. Participants will explore biblical and theological foundations that shape an understanding of the Christian life. Reflection on focused experiences of spiritual practices will engage students in critical analysis of their own spiritual lives and nurture opportunities for congregational ministry and leadership. Through assignments, online discussion, and class lectures, participants will engage in vital components of the Christian life.
Meet the Instructor: Karen-Marie Yust

Karen-Marie’s work nurtures spirituality and fosters theological reflection across generations. Currently, she researches the impact of digital culture on spirituality among children, youth, and young adults, using insights from media studies, psychology, and education. She examines how online interactions influence identity and community and how the Church can respond to modern realities. She also explores moral development in young children and how adults can nurture their moral sensibilities.
Additionally, she investigates changing dynamics in congregational life, seeking new approaches to faith formation and educational ministries outside traditional settings, including online platforms and non-religious spaces. She is an experienced pastor and Christian educator, ordained in both the United Church of Christ and Disciples traditions.

Dates: Thursdays, 7-9pm EST, May 21 – June 25, 2026
Registration closes 2 days before the first class meeting on May 19, 2026.
Offered by the Leadership Institute at Union Presbyterian Seminary

If you are in financial need of a discounted registration fee, please contact Deborah Keyes, subject line “PWTCL : Financial Aid”.
UPSem faculty, staff, and students can register for this class for free. If you are a UPSem faculty, staff, or student, you can register here using your UPSem email address.
