Union Presbyterian Seminary

Introduction to Pastoral Care, Pathways Online Course
2025-01-07 19:00 - 21:00 (America/New_York)
Tuesdays, January 7-February 11
Instructor: Dr. Rubén Arjona

An introduction to the theories of pastoral care and counseling. The course offers various theological and psychological perspectives and tools to help participants develop confidence in responding to circumstances of pastoral care and counseling in the context of parish ministry and other institutional settings. Topics include the art of listening, loss and grief, pastoral care with couples and families, and the pastoral function of worship and the sacraments.
For more information or to register, click here.

Reformed Theology, Pathways Online Course
2025-01-09 19:00 - 21:00
Thursdays, January 9-February 13
Instructor: Dr. Rachel Baard

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.
Register here.

Biblical Interpretation (Christian Educator Certification Course)
2025-02-18 11:30 - 13:30
Led by Dr. John Carroll
February 3-March 29, 2025
Synchronous meetings are on specific Tuesdays from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
Designed to address the calling of Christian educators to interpret and teach the Bible, this course provides a historical overview and practical examples of an array of approaches to biblical interpretation, emphasizing key elements of interpretation from the perspective of the Reformed Tradition. The course offers a guide for close reading of passages, featuring peer discussion of the meaning and message of selected biblical texts. In a final course project, students write a paper in which they present their exegesis (interpretation) of a biblical passage. Students also prepare a presentation in which they draw from the fruits of their exegetical study for a teaching-and-learning event.
For more information or to register, click here.

Bless Your Soul: A Music and Faith Series
2025-02-18 18:00 - 19:00
Dates: February 18, 25th, March 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th, 2025 from 6-8pm via Zoom
Instructor: Bill Buchanan

Join Rev. Bill Buchanan (aka DJ5) on a faith-filled journey through American music. We will look at the history, musicality, and theology of blues, jazz, soul, funk, and rap to glean the lessons they have for us in our current congregational ministries.
Session 1 – Blues: Prophets of resilience
Session 2 – Jazz: A model for post-empire church
Session 3 – Soul: Between the blues moan and the gospel shout
Session 4 – Funk: The music of the kingdom of God
Session 5 – Hip Hop: The Music of Reformation
Session 6 – Sharing our theological playlists

Pathways Online Course: Biblical Interpretation
2025-02-18 19:00 - 21:00
A Pathways Online course instructed by Rev. Dr. Megan Fullerton Strollo

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).
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.
Dates: Tuesdays, February 18-March 25, 2025, from 7-9pm via zoom.
Offered by the Leadership Institute at Union Presbyterian Seminary
Registration closes on February 13, 2025.

If you are UPSem faculty or staff or are in financial need of a discounted registration fee, please contact Deborah Keyes.

Pathways Online Course: The Christian Life
2025-02-20 19:00 - 21:00
Pathways Online Course instructed by Dr. Cindy Kissel-Ito: The Christian Life

Dr. Cindy Kissel-Ito, Retired UPSem Associate Professor of Christian Education
Dr. Cindy Kissel-Ito is a former Associate Professor of Christian Education at Union Presbyterian Seminary. She also directed the Master of Arts in Christian Education Program at the seminary. Her ministry has consistently embodied the importance of intentional engagement in the Christian Life that is invigorated by teaching/learning the Bible. Dr. Kissel-Ito is a Presbyterian minister in the PC(USA) and lives in New Kent, Virginia, with her husband, son, and two Scottish Terriers.
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.
Dates: Thursdays, February 20-March 27, 7-9pm EST
Offered by the Leadership Institute at Union Presbyterian Seminary

Registration closes on 16 February, 2025.
If you are UPSem faculty or staff or are in financial need of a discounted registration fee, please contact Deborah Keyes.

WLI Online Course: Womanist Biblical Interpretation
2025-03-04 19:00 - 21:00
Womanist Leadership Institute Online Course instructed by Rev. Dr. Angela Parker: Womanist Biblical Interpretation
Course Description: This semi-seminar course studies womanist biblical interpretation and its application to preaching. It examines womanist theoretical frameworks with special attention to the lived experiences of Black women in the United States of America and womanist thought and Black women’s experiences have conversations with various “isms” (racism, heterosexism, ableism, ageism, and anti-Semitism) as we read the biblical text. These conversations will explore strategies towards ethical biblical interpretation and preaching in order to engage community and society (i.e. such as politics).

Meet the instructor
Rev. Dr. Angela N. Parker is an Associate Professor at McAfee School of Theology, specializing in New Testament and Greek. She holds degrees from Shaw University, Duke Divinity School, and Chicago Theological Seminary. Previously an Assistant Professor at The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology, she won the ESF New Scholar Award for her article “One Womanist’s View of Reconciliation in Galatians.” She teaches courses in New Testament, Greek Exegesis, the Gospel of Mark, the Corinthians Correspondence, the Gospel of John, and Womanist and Feminist Hermeneutics unto preaching.
Dates: March 4 – April 8, 2025 | Tuesdays, 7-9pm EST via Zoom
Offered by the Leadership Institute at Union Presbyterian Seminary

Registration closes on February 26, 2025. Late registration ends on March 8, 2025.
If you are UPSem faculty or staff or are in financial need of a discounted registration fee, please contact Deborah Keyes.

2025 Dawe Lecture
2025-03-13 18:30 - 20:00 | Union Presbyterian Seminary: Richmond Campus, 3401 Brook Rd, Richmond, VA, 23227, United States
Thursday, March 13th, 6:30pm
Union Presbyterian Seminary
3401 Brook Rd., Richmond VA, 23227.
Lecturer: Iyabo Osiapem, Senior Lecturer of Africana Studies and Linguistics, Co-Director WMSURE, William & Mary
Title: How Rastafari Moved the World
Description: Rastafari cultural symbols are recognizable throughout the world. We see its sounds and symbols represented in so many ways, although we rarely have a good understanding of what they mean beyond the One Love ideology that it expresses. We know its music, language, and often identify with its social and political movement—but why? In this talk, I’ll walk us though how a small and isolated community within Jamaica honed in on the anxiety of Black diasporic populations creating a religious and cultural practice that would inspire generations throughout the world.

Dawe Lecture 2025
Registration is free and is not required but helps us to plan the event.

Learn about DaweFest, our celebration of Rastafari Culture on March 14.

Contact Deborah Keyes with any questions, subject line “Dawe Lecture Question”

DaweFest 2025
2025-03-14 11:00 - 14:30 | 1101 Melrose Avenue Richmond VA, 1101 Melrose Avenue, Richmond, VA, 23227, United States
RSVP here to help us decide how much food to order!

Book Club: How to Say Babylon by Safiya Sinclair
2025-03-18 18:00 - 20:00
How to Say Babylon: A Memoir by Safiya Sinclair

Online meetings 6-8pm EST; March 18, March 25, April 1, and April 8
With echoes of Educated and The Glass Castle, How to Say Babylon is a “lushly observed and keenly reflective chronicle” (The Washington Post), brilliantly recounting the author’s struggle to break free of her rigid religious upbringing and navigate the world on her own terms.
Throughout her childhood, Safiya Sinclair’s father, a volatile reggae musician and a militant adherent to a strict sect of Rastafari, was obsessed with the ever-present threat of the corrupting evils of the Western world outside their home, and worried that womanhood would make Safiya and her sisters morally weak and impure. For him, a woman’s highest virtue was her obedience.
Safiya’s extraordinary mother, though loyal to her father, gave her the one gift she knew would take Safiya beyond the stretch of beach and mountains in Jamaica their family called home: a world of books, knowledge, and education she conjured almost out of thin air. When she introduced Safiya to poetry, Safiya’s voice awakened. As she watched her mother struggle voicelessly for years under relentless domesticity, Safiya’s rebellion against her father’s rules set her on an inevitable collision course with him. Her education became the sharp tool to hone her own poetic voice and carve her path to liberation. Rich in emotion and page-turning drama, How to Say Babylon is “a melodious wave of memories” of a woman finding her own power (NPR).

Led by Rev. Dr. Chris Burton

Register below. Registration closes on March 15, 2025. You can register late until March 21 by emailing Deborah Keyes

UPSem Students and Faculty can register for free. Contact Deborah to register if you are a UPSem student or faculty.
