Bless Your Soul: A Music and Faith Series
2025-03-11 18:00 - 19:00, 2025-03-18 18:00 - 19:00, 2025-03-25 18:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York)
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
2025-03-11 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-03-18 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-03-25 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.

WLI Online Course: Womanist Biblical Interpretation
2025-03-11 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-03-18 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-03-25 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-04-01 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-04-08 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”

Pathways Online Course: The Christian Life
2025-03-13 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-03-20 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-03-27 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.

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, 2025-03-25 18:00 - 20:00, 2025-04-01 18:00 - 20:00, 2025-04-08 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.

Biblical Interpretation (Christian Educator Certification Course)
2025-03-25 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.

2025 National Faith + Climate Forum
2025-03-27 11:30 - 17:30 | Union Presbyterian Seminary: Richmond Campus, Lake Chapel, 3401 Brook Rd., Richmond, VA, 23227, United States
Yaupon Place is partnering with UPSem’s Leadership Institute and Virginia Interfaith Power and Light to host the upcoming National Faith + Climate Forum 2025 on March 27. This pivotal event is a call to all who are passionate about intertwining faith with actionable climate stewardship.
This year’s forum, themed “Seven Acts of Faith for Building Thriving Congregations,” offers an opportunity for us to explore impactful ways to integrate environmental stewardship and social justice into our faith practices. From innovative workshops to inspiring talks, each segment is designed to empower and uplift.
Whether you’ve participated in the past or are new to climate action, your presence will contribute to a collective effort to foster a sustainable and just future for all. This is a wonderful opportunity to engage with others in Richmond and beyond who are passionate about care for creation. Let’s come together to learn, inspire, and act!

Registration is easy, free, and filled with purpose:

To Register go to https://nationalfaithandclimateforum.org

Fill out the required registration fields.

Select the “Attend in person at a designated host location” Ticket Type.

Then select “Richmond, VA – Union Presbyterian Seminary”

Submit your registration and look out for a confirmation email with your registration details!

LifeNet Health Organ Donor Webinar with Bishop Autie Hines
2025-04-08
Bishop Autie R. Hines II, a native of Southern California, he is bi-vocational clergy in transplant health education and nonprofit & business consulting as the Vice President of DMG Professional Services.
He has amassed 28 years of ministry experience from the Westcoast to the East playing a crucial role in human redevelopment programs nationally impacting K-6 to K-12 students in workforce readiness, and gang prevention & intervention recruitment of at-risk youth to leave gangs. Known for his strategic planning, program design, and leadership coaching, Bishop Hines actively engages as a consultant for various business and ministry community organizations. Passionate about keeping the gospel relevant to today’s challenges, he is a dedicated servant-leader and executive coach.
He holds a master’s degree in ministry for Pastoral Leadership and a bachelor’s degree in theology from Andersonville Theological Seminary. He was consecrated to the Bishopric in 2019 in Virginia and serves on the Executive Staff as Director for Nonprofit Development at the Global Conference of Bishops & Leaders.

Author Event: Andrew Taylor-Troutman
2025-04-10 18:00 - 20:00
This Is the Day
By Andrew Taylor-Troutman
What does a slab of bacon have to do with marital fidelity? Who wrote the Chicken Dance? Why are there two days to celebrate eating ice cream for breakfast? Did Jesus have a tattoo?
This Is the Day is a yearlong journal of observing national days for things as diverse and weird as bobbleheads, Yo-Yos, hairball awareness, and serendipity. Taylor-Troutman explores his local North Carolina community and delves into ancient history. Alongside his family, friends, and church congregation, he finds hope in the ordinary, faith in small things, and joy in grief. He writes cheesy limericks, plays the ukulele, and prays with people in prison. He also learns new appreciation for hairdressers, mail carriers, and middle children. Taylor-Troutman even discovers the answers to questions he had never thought to ask, such as “What is the technical name of a flock of zebras?”

Meet the Author

Andrew Taylor Troutman, as captured by a camera and as drawn by his daughter Sadie
Since his ordination in 2010, Andrew Taylor-Troutman (MDiv, 2009) has served two wonderful churches. He is the pastor and head of staff at Chapel in the Pines in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Taylor-Troutman is the author of eight books, most recently This IS the Day (Wipf and Stock). He and his wife Ginny (MDiv, 2008) parent three kids and chase a dog named Ramona after one of their literary heroines.
Join us in Lake Chapel on the Richmond campus of Union Presbyterian Seminary at 6pm on April 10!
RSVP Here:

Pathways Online Course: Church History
2025-04-22 19:00 - 21:00, 2025-04-29 19:00 - 21:00
Pathways Online Course instructed by Dr. Christine Luckritz Marquis: Church History

Dr. Christine Luckritz Marquis joined Union as Assistant Professor of Church History in 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, which is forthcoming with the University of Pennsylvania Press, is titled “Death of the Desert: Monastic Memory and the Loss of Egypt’s Golden Age.” 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.
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).
Dates: Tuesdays from 7-9pm EST, April 22 – May 20, 2025
Offered by the Leadership Institute at Union Presbyterian Seminary

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

Pathways Online Course: Mission & Evangelism
2025-04-28 19:00 - 21:00
Pathways Online Course instructed by Rev. Dr. Aram Feinberg: Mission & Evangelism

Before joining Bayside, Rev. Dr. Aram Feinberg was the associate pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville. The shape of her call began in ministry with youth & families before shifting towards outreach & adult faith formation.
Aram attended Smith College and taught fifth grade before going to Princeton Seminary (MDiv). She continued her theological education at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond (MACE) and Union Theological Seminary in New York City (PhD) where she served as director of family ministries at the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church. She is an instructor for Union Presbyterian Seminary’s continuing education program, teaching mission & evangelism.
Course Description:
The overarching goal of this course is to develop a contextual framework to understand mission and evangelism. Students will re-imagine the contours of mission and the task of evangelism, involving a theologically based approach to mission and evangelism and considering the impact of the growing demographic of the “unaffiliated” (or Spiritual But Not Religious) across the religious landscape of America. Students will examine an approach to mission and evangelism that addresses the needs of society, reflecting ways in which a local church continues its commitment to the gospel message (love God and love neighbor) and to the great commission (go and make disciples).
Dates: Mondays from 7-9pm EST, April 28 – June 2, 2025
Offered by the Leadership Institute at Union Presbyterian Seminary

Registration closes on April 23, 2025
If you are UPSem faculty or staff or are in financial need of a discounted registration fee, please contact Deborah Keyes.

THIS JOY WE HAVE: WOMANIST RESISTANCE IN THE FACE OF MANIFOLD EVIL
2025-05-01 08:00 - 17:00, 2025-05-02 08:00 - 17:00
THE KATIE GENEVA CANNON CENTER FOR WOMANIST LEADERSHIP
2025 SPRING BIENNIAL CONFERENCE
SAVE THE DATE – MAY 1-3, 2025 – CHARLESTON, SC

Pathways Online Course: Worship and Sacraments
2025-05-01 19:00 - 21:00
Pathways Online Course instructed by Rev. Dr. Donna Giver-Johnston and Rev. Dr. Diane Walton Hendricks: Worship & Sacraments

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).

Rev. Dr. Diane Walton Hendricks has served as pastor of Clifton Presbyterian Church in Clifton, VA, since September of 2020. She is passionate about nurturing a community that is growing in relationship with one another, with God, with the community, and with God’s ongoing work in the world. Before coming to CPC, Pastor Diane served churches in Arlington and Falls Church. In addition, she serves the greater church as a spiritual director (trained in the contemplative tradition), and has also served on staff at Wesley Theological Seminary and in the Pathways program of Union Presbyterian Seminary. She also served National Capital Presbytery as its immediate past moderator and is presently chair of the Leadership Council. She received her Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and her Doctor of Ministry from Virginia Theological Seminary.
Course Description:
This course will examine the history, theology, and practice of worship and sacraments. While rooted in the reformed tradition, the goal is to deepen appreciation for a variety of worship services and liturgical practices. Through reflections on readings and discussions of observed liturgical rituals, the course will seek to cultivate enlivened worship leadership practices and their theological impact within the particular ecclesial context for each person. At the end of the course, participants will be equipped and inspired to craft and lead worship that is lifegiving for them and their worshiping congregation.
Dates: Thursdays, May 1-June 5 (asynchronous only on May 29)
Offered by the Leadership Institute at Union Presbyterian Seminary

Registration closes on April 27, 2025. Late registration ends on May 6, 2025.
If you are UPSem faculty or staff or are in financial need of a discounted registration fee, please contact Deborah Keyes.
