The Womanist Leadership Institute offers online courses in Womanist theology and leadership, co-sponsored by The Katie Geneva Cannon Center for Womanist Leadership and the Leadership Institute. Open to all, these small Zoom-based courses can be taken individually or as part of a larger program of study and include CEUs for continuing education. UPSem students, staff, and faculty participate at no cost, and financial assistance is available for others. Courses are capped at 30 participants and all courses award 3.0 CEUs.

The Leadership Institute provides all the online courses required for the PC(USA) Certified Christian Educator (CCE) program, offering solid theological grounding and practical tools for those leading Christian formation. Courses rotate regularly, can be taken individually or as part of the certification pathway, and are open to anyone—not just those pursuing the credential. Each course blends live online sessions with flexible weekly assignments and awards CEUs to support ongoing professional development

Designed for pastors in their first seven years of congregational ministry who are preaching regularly, The Bridge provides the encouragement, skills, and support necessary for sustained preaching ministry.

Annual cohorts include:

Public programming includes quarterly webinars on issues facing early career preachers and the monthly Preachercast podcast featuring scholars, practitioners, and participants.

Funded by a grant from the Lilly Endowment’s Compelling Preaching Initiative, The Bridge strengthens preachers for long-term, faithful ministry.

• Quarterly workshops (three online, one in-person) focused on preaching amid social issues, diverse communities, digital technologies, and relationships

• Peer coaching groups and individualized coaching

• Digital media consultations tailored to each participant’s ministry context

• An annual retreat in Richmond for community, worship, and rest

The Center for Social Justice and Reconciliation (CSJR) was founded in 2017. Grounded in a ministry that is mandated in scripture, the CSJR was established to remind seminarians of the significance of social justice work as part of ministry and to bring the activist community into the seminary. They provide educational forums to help people learn about relevant movements for change and opportunities for students to be involved in these movements. They also center social justice in our larger seminary community, advocating for the inclusion of justice concerns in our collective ethos and in our course offerings.

The Katie Geneva Cannon Center for Womanist Leadership was formed “to inspire, equip, connect and support Black women divinely motivated to serve as change makers in their community.” The mission statement reflects the visionary insight of the late Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon, Annie Scales Rogers Professor of Christian Social Ethics at Union, who, in 1974, became the first African-American woman to be ordained in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). The Center is organized around three core values:

1. It is rooted in sisterhood, recognizing that the experience of Black womanhood is an isolating experience of overwhelming responsibility and persistent oppression.
2. It is unapologetically committed to the wholeness, liberation, justice, and self-sustainability of Black and marginalized communities.
3. It is in tune with the Spirit and the Folk, not isolated in academia, but anchored and grounded in the priorities and desires of those it serves and in the work of the Spirit that inspires these women.

The Syngman Rhee Global Mission Center serves the universal church by strengthening global leadership, equipping churches, enhancing the learning environment at UPSem, and expanding the reach and impact of its programs through international partnerships, internships, travel seminars, and formation opportunities.