25-26 WLI Course: Womanist Pedagogy
2025-10-21 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-10-28 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-11-04 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-11-11 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-11-18 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-11-25 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York)
Course Description:
Focusing on Rev. Dr. Katie G. Cannon’s idea of “unshouted courage,” this course considers the question: What does it mean to teach for courage in various contexts of leadership and ministry? The course will consider three key theoretical and practical components of womanist pedagogy that yields courageous students who work for the humanity of all people, particularly Black humanity.
Meet the Instructor

Dr. Evelyn Parker is a distinguished visiting professor and accomplished scholar in practical theology, with degrees from Lambuth College, Prairie View A&M University, Southern Methodist University, and Northwestern University. She has authored and edited several influential works on adolescent spirituality, race, and gender, including Between Sisters and Trouble Don’t Last Always. A leader in theological education and advocacy, Parker has served as academic dean at Perkins School of Theology and held prominent roles in organizations such as the Association of Practical Theology and the Society for the Study of Black Religion. Deeply rooted in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, she has represented the denomination globally through the World Council of Churches, contributing to policy, education, and humanitarian efforts. Dr. Parker most recently published Tangible Grace, Ministry Interventions for Teen Dating Violence, Fortress Press 2025. The Amazon.com link is here.

Dates: Tuesdays, 7-9pm EST, October 21 – November 25, 2025
Registration closes 2 business days before the first class meeting on Friday, October 17, 2025.
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 “WLIWP: 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.

Senderos: Motivos Pastorales en el Antiguo Testamento
2025-10-21 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-10-28 19:00 - 21:00
Descripción del Curso
Curso introductorio del Antiguo Testamento desde una perspectiva pastoral. El curso busca proporcionar herramientas exegéticas y pastorales a ministros y personas laicas, dentro de los parámetros estipulados en el programa de educación continua.
Fechas: Martes, 7-9pm (tiempo de Nueva York, en línea) 23 de septiembre – 28 de octubre, 2025
Conoce al Instructor

Edesio Sánchez Cetina, mexicano
Reside en Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz, México

Maestría y Doctorado (PhD) en el Union Presbyterian Seminary de Richmond, Virginia, Estados Unidos
Grado Honorífico de Doctor en Letras Bíblicas (DLB) del Instituto Internacional de Estudios Superiores, Ciudad de México.
Es consultor emérito de traducciones bíblicas con las SBU (Sociedades Bíblicas Unidas) en las Américas. He participado en las siguientes traducciones de la Bíblica como Consultor: Maya de Yucatán, México; ´Tzotzil de Chiapas, México; Guaraní de Paraguay; Miskitu y Sumo de Nicaragua; Poqomchí de Guatemala; Kuna de Panamá; Biblia de Estudio de la Dios Habla Hoy; Coordinación general de la Traducción en Lenguaje Actual. Responsable del Departamento de Traducciones para todas las publicaciones para niños, Editor con Esteban Voth de los Comentarios para la Exégesis y la Traducción. Ha editado y publicado los siguientes libros y comentarios: Descubre la Biblia, Enseñaba por Parábolas, Sabiduría para Vivir (estudios en el libro de Proverbios), Qué es la Biblia, Antiguo Testamento y América Latina; Comentarios a: Deuteronomio, Josué, Jueces y Malaquías, 1y 2 Reyes, Proverbios. Autor de muchos artículos sobre exégesis y teología bíblica, formación y desarrollo de la Biblia y traducción de la Biblia.
Miembro de la Society of Biblical Literature (USA e internacional)
Miembro de la Fraternidad Teológica Latinoamericana.

Regístrese abajo

Las inscripciones cerrarán el 19 de septiembre, 2 días laborables antes de la primera clase.
Ofrecido por el Leadership Institute de Union Presbyterian Seminary
Si necesita ayuda financiera adicional, por favor contacte a Deborah Keyes e indique “Senderos: Ayuda Financiera” en el título del correo.
Miembros de la facultad, empleados y estudiantes de UPSem pueden inscribirse para esta clase de forma gratuita. Si usted es maestro empleado o estudiante de UPSem, puede inscribirse aquí con su email de UPSem.

Workshop: Navigating Turbulent Times
2025-10-23 18:00 - 20:00 | Charlotte Campus, 5141 Sharon Road, Charlotte, NC, 28210, United States
The Leadership Institute invites you to an in-person workshop on the Charlotte campus of Union Presbyterian Seminary.
A workshop for non-profit and corporate leaders for overcoming challenges through purpose, partnership, and perseverance
What you’ll gain:

Clarity: Tools to stay grounded in your values when the world feels off-center
Connection: Strategies to build meaningful bridges across differences
Courage: Practices to sustain emotional and spiritual strength in the face of injustice

Light snacks and refreshments will be provided.
Meet the Workshop Leader

Nisheena Clemons is the CEO of The Called Life Collective: an international coaching and consulting firm aimed at amplifying self-awareness, emotional intelligence, and fulfillment through goal-setting strategies.

Register early for a discounted fee of $15! Early registration ends September 23, 2025. Standard registration closes October 16, 2025.
Register below!

Offered by the Leadership Institute and the Center for Social Justice and Reconciliation at Union Presbyterian Seminary.
We believe everyone should have access to this learning opportunity. If cost is a concern, please reach out to Deborah Keyes at deborah.keyes@upsem.edu, subject line “Workshop: NTT” to discuss options.

25-26 Pathways: Teaching the Bible
2025-10-23 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-10-30 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-11-06 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-11-13 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-11-20 19:00 - 21:00
Course Description:
This interdisciplinary course examines selected approaches to Bible teaching from the perspectives of biblical scholarship and Christian education. The purpose of this course is to equip participants to develop planning, implementation, and evaluation skills for teaching the Bible.
Meet the Instructor

Dr. Rebecca L. Davis is the Sarah Belk Gambrell Professor of Christian Education, Director of the MACE program and the Center for Excellence in Christian Education at Union Presbyterian Seminary. She is a Teaching Elder and a Certified Educator in the PCUSA. For over thirty years, her teaching ministry was embodied in congregations and beyond. She now teaches those preparing for leadership and advocacy in the church and world. Her passion for child advocacy led her to serve on staff of the Children’s Defense Fund and the National Council of Churches’ working for justice for children and their families. She was the founding chair of the Presbyterian Child Advocacy Network and served on the National Committee for the Self-Development of People foe the denomination. She was named APCE’s 2018 Educator of the Year.

Dates: Thursdays, 7-9pm EST, October 16 – November 20, 2025
Registration closes 2 days before the first class meeting on October 14, 2025
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 “PWTTB : 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: Preaching
2025-10-27 19:00, 2025-11-03 19:00, 2025-11-10 19:00, 2025-11-17 19:00, 2025-11-24 19:00, 2025-12-01 19:00
Course Description:
Participants will consider the theological “why” of preaching and learn the practical “how” of preaching, including the basic elements of sermon preparation. The learning will then be put into practice by students crafting and delivering a sermon. Attention will also be given to the giving and receiving of sermon feedback.
Meet the Instructor

Dr. Donna Giver-Johnston is an ordained minister of word and sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Over her twenty years in ministry, she has served churches in New Jersey and Ohio, and most recently as Pastor of Community Presbyterian Church of Ben Avon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Currently, she is a member of the faculty and the Director of the Doctor of Ministry degree program at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. She has earned degrees from Vanderbilt University (PhD and MA), Princeton Seminary (MDiv), and Westminster College (BA). Her published books include Claiming the Call to Preach: Four Female Pioneers of Preaching in Nineteenth-Century America (Oxford, 2021); Writing for the Ear, Preaching from the Heart (Fortress, 2021); For Every Matter Under Heaven: Preaching for Special Occasions (Fortress Press, 2022).
Dates: Mondays, 7-9pm EST, October 27 – December 1, 2025
Registration closes on October 17, 2025.
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 “PWP : 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.

The Generosity Journey Workshop
2025-11-17 18:30 - 20:30
Workshop Description:
This interactive workshop invites participants to reframe generosity as a pathway to Christlike formation. Rooted in Scripture and shaped by a theology of abundance, The Generosity Journey offers practical tools to nurture a culture of generosity in both your heart and your church.
Drawing on their experience and insight, Erica and Steve guide participants through the three pillars of a generous church—vision, formation, and systems—using group discussion, storytelling, and a generosity culture assessment. You’ll leave with a clear roadmap to move from financial fatigue to spiritual momentum—and a renewed vision for becoming and forming generous disciples.
Watch our webinar with Erica and Steve, The Spiritual Impact of Generosity, for an intro to the workshop!

Register at the bottom of this page!
Register by October 1, 2025 for an early bird discounted registration fee

Details
Steve and Erica will co-facilitate this workshop simultaneously at both Union Presbyterian Seminary campuses—Richmond and Charlotte—on November 17, 2025, from 6:30-8:30 PM. Attendance is free, and the session will be held exclusively in-person with no livestream or recording available.
Upon registration, you’ll receive a confirmation email with workshop details, followed by a reminder email two weeks before the event that includes navigation directions and parking information.
Materials required:
Please purchase and read “A Spirituality of Fundraising” by Henri Nouwen in advance, as we’ll dive into part of it our program

Amazon Link / Thriftbooks Link

Please also bring any printed items from your church’s context on giving/stewardship/pledging, or print off the giving page from your church’s website to bring to the workshop. We will take a look at these together as part of the program

Meet the Workshop Leaders:

Learn more about Steve here

Learn more about Erica here

Register below!

Offered by the Leadership Institute at Union Presbyterian Seminary in partnership with Horizons Stewardship
If the cost of registration presents a financial barrier, please contact Deborah Keyes, subject line “GJ: Financial Aid,” for a discounted registration fee.

25-26 Pathways: Biblical Interpretation
2026-01-06 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-01-20 19:00 - 21:00
Course Description:
This course has as its primary goal the equipping of Christian leaders to interpret biblical texts faithfully. The course provides an overview of the ways in which the church has approached the work of biblical interpretation and then offers a practical guide for close reading of passages.
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 EST, January 6 – February 24, 2026 (8 weeks; 4 synchronous)
Registration closes 2 days before the first class meeting on January 4, 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 “PWBI : 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 Biblical Interpretation
2026-01-06 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-01-13 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-01-20 19:00 - 21:00
Course Description:
This course introduces students to the concept, methods, scholars, and practice of womanist biblical interpretation. Students will engage in diverse readings that center on the experiences of Black women and explore how womanist interpretation offers new insights into the biblical text, while sometimes challenging dominant interpretative traditions.
This is a core course in the 6-course Womanist Leadership Institute program
Meet the Instructor

Rev. Dr. Kamilah Hall Sharp enjoys examining the intersection of race, gender, and class with the biblical text and contemporary culture using a trauma-informed womanist approach. She is currently working on her manuscript examining survival in the book of Esther. Her experience in church planting, pastoring, and community organizing has shaped her interest in womanist ecclesiology, womanist leadership, and the dynamics of thriving in public ministry, which are also areas of her research interest. She is an ordained minister in the Disciples of Christ (Christian Church) and currently serves as a Co-Pastor at The Gathering, A Womanist Church.
Dates: Tuesdays, 7-9pm EST, January 6 – February 10, 2026
Registration closes on January 2, 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 “WLIWBI: 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: Reformed Theology
2026-01-08 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-01-15 19:00 - 21:00, 2026-01-22 19:00 - 21:00
Course Description: This course is designed to provide students with knowledge of and appreciation for the Reformed theological tradition in which the PC(USA) is rooted. The course will explore the central tenets of the Reformed tradition, its contemporary significance for the life of the church, and its relationship to the broader ecclesial and social contexts.
Meet the Instructor

Rachel S. Baard is an Assistant Professor of Theology and Ethics at Union Presbyterian Seminary and directs the Master of Arts in Public Theology Program. Originally from South Africa, her work is influenced by the anti-apartheid movement. She holds a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary and has published the award-winning book “Sexism and Sin-Talk.” Her research focuses on feminist theologies, Reformed confessions, and the responses of theologians Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Paul Tillich to Nazism.
Dates: Thursdays, 7-9pm EST, January 8 – February 12, 2026
Registration closes on January 6, 2026, 2 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 “PWRT: 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.

Special Course: Healing Haunted Histories
2026-01-12 16:00 - 17:30
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
