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Capital Campaign

…Hall Renovation: $9.1 million Outcome: Renovations to Richmond Hall are providing improved single student housing, dining services, a recreation center, and community-building opportunities. Offices for the Syngman Rhee Global Mission Center for Christian education will serve as a hub for visiting leaders from developing countries. Seminary Operations: $8.5 million Outcome: These funds are dedicated to supporting facility maintenance, utilities, and…

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Christian Educator Certification

…synchronous (scheduled live class meetings) and asynchronous work (at-home assignments posted on Blackboard, the seminary’s learning management system, with logins provided). Four courses are offered through the seminary each year, with six (6) courses offered in total. A participant who completes all of the course work will receive a certificate of completion with 3 CEUs for each individual course. Course…

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Early Thinking about Slavery: The Hoge Years

In 1805, Moses Hoge was called to be the president and professor of theology at Hampden-Sydney College. He also presided over the school’s theological library, the institutional forerunner of Union Presbyterian Seminary. Dr. Hoge was an impressive man. Writing to Francis Scott Key (author of the national anthem), John Randolph of Virginia wrote: There is but one man in all…

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Opposition from Outside Campus

The marches and demonstrations also stimulated reactions from the public at large. There were many letters to the administration threatening to withhold donations: “Neither the citizens of Richmond nor the Presbyterians of Virginia approve of your behavior … and this is going to prove a great handicap when we again attempt to raise funds to subsidize your education.” Some letters,…

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Leadership Institute Book Clubs

…Thurman Book Club This book club read Jesus and the Disinherited, by Howard Thurman. The book club leader was Dr. Chris Burton. They explored the relevance of Jesus’ teachings for marginalized people. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. kept this book on his person and would cite it often.   Theopoetics Book Club This book club read Terraform: Building a Better…

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News

BLACK ALUMNI ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER: November 2022

…researching the program offerings and overall ethos of the seminary relative to what would best suit my vocational goals, everything seemed to align. I look forward to mutually rewarding experiences as I engage with this dynamic community. Through our encounters, I trust that we will thrive in/by God’s grace.” Geoffrey Kanyugi (MACE/Richmond) Geoffrey is here from Kenya pursuing the MACE….

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Black Lives Matter!

…of young Black men by police in the United States of America. I believe it will not stop as long as the police are afraid of young Black men and young Black boys; and, as long as many white Americans still harbor resentments, and in many cases, hatred and racism against Black people because many of African descent have proven…

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Gems for your journey

By Veronica Martin Thomas (M.Div’07) “And you will be gathered one by one, O people of Israel” (Isaiah 27:12b). The emphatic phrase in our opening text is “one by one.” It reveals the importance of the individual. God does not deal with people in masses only. In creation God who could have formed a million human beings formed one man….

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A look back at 2016 in pictures

…and the presidential election. Board of Trustees Elects New Leadership: Left, The Reverend Alex Evans (M.Div.’87), pastor for Second Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Virginia, was named chairman of the seminary’s board of trustees. Right, Edward L. Roberson, III, the president of Fountain Roberson Anderson Insurance Agency in Tarboro, North Carolina, was named vice chairman. Capital Campaign Gala and Cookout: UPSem…

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UPSem board of trustees elects new leadership

From left, incoming chairman Alex Evans, UPSem President Brian Blount, incoming vice chairman Edward Roberson. The Reverend Alex Evans (M.Div.’87), pastor for Second Presbyterian Church in Richmond, Virginia, has been named chairman of the board of trustees for Union Presbyterian Seminary. Edward L. Roberson, III, the president of Fountain Roberson Anderson Insurance Agency in Tarboro, North Carolina, has been named…

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Pastor/Head of Staff–First Presbyterian Church of Ocala–Ocala, FL

…ideas, try new things Guide the church in a fiscally sound manner Present ideas to committees for committee deliberation and decisions (move away from clergy-centered church) Coordinate monthly newsletter, weekly updates Manage conflicts Assist with stewardship Follow FPC Ocala’s Policies & Procedures Manual Please contact the Chairman of our Pastoral Nominating Committee, George Tomyn, at gtomyn2012@gmail.com, or self-refer on the…

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Started UPSem 2008: Rev. Jonathan Davis (MDiv 2014) 

…University of South Carolina. While at USC, Davis completed a bachelor’s degree in marketing and management, ultimately completing a master’s degree in management at Webster University. Settling into a career in business, Davis was working in management at Liberty Mutual when he decided to go to seminary. An ordained Baptist minister, Davis was encouraged to enroll at Union Presbyterian Seminary…

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Dr. Leela Prasad to Present 2023 Dawe Lecture

…orientation. Sanmati, the practice of generous orientation, underlies Mahatma Gandhi’s moral ecology and ethic of pluralism. In Sanskrit, sanmati variously means “goodwill,” “wisdom,” “good sense,” or “truth perceiving.” In this lecture, Dr. Prasad will show how contemporary moments suffused with sanmati help us understand what Gandhi meant by “a religion which underlies all religions.” This understanding has immense potential; it…

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Presbyterian Polity, Program, and Mission

…program and mission of the PC(USA).   Required Reading Book of Confessions, Study edition. Online version is at http://www.pcusa.org/site_media/media/uploads/oga/pdf/boc2014.pdf or on course documents, Blackboard Book of Order, 2013-2015 edition. Online version is at http://www.pcusa.org/resource/book-order-2013-2015/ or on course documents, Blackboard Historic Principles, Conscience, and Church Government, adopted by 195th General Assembly (1983) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) http://www.pcusa.org/resource/historic-principles-conscience-and-church-governme/ or on course…

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Online Course: Introduction to Pastoral Care (Pathways Online Course)

…of Pastoral Care, Union Presbyterian Seminary Course Description: 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…

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Online Course: Proto-Womanist Thought

…Minister, Director of Christian Education, and Director of the Worship Arts Ministry, New Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church Leader Bio: Rev. Dr. Jean Derricotte-Murphy is a 2020 recipient of the Ph.D. in Theology, Ethics, and Arts from Chicago Theological Seminary. Also, holding a Doctor of Ministry and a Master of Theological Studies well qualifies her to teach various seminary courses….

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On-Campus Workshop: Multiple Ways of Teaching & Learning

…workshop, participants will be introduced to and begin to utilize various teaching and learning styles to aid in teaching and learning across differences. The workshop will specifically utilize Multiple Intelligence Theory and Kolb Theory. Participants will engage in various practices and exercises to become familiar with teaching strategies and tools targeted for each learning style and intelligence, and restructure a…

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Online Course: Awakening the Church to Social Justice

…of ministry. Presentation and class discussion will be complemented by various special guests invited to engage the class each week. These nationally and internationally renowned scholars and practitioners, who have successfully implemented historic Ministries of Social Justice, will provide insight into their methods and theology through weekly structured and facilitated conversations. Course participants will be provided the rare opportunity for…

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Playology Event – Experiencing God through the Art of Play

…variety of interactive approaches to reading, hearing, and sharing God’s powerful WORD. Games Galore – Start to finish, as many games as is humanly possible will be packed into this time! Active games, ‘no-equipment’ games, quiet games, name games–the list goes on and on! Day 2, Wednesday, March 16, 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ET Creative Worship Planning workshop, where…

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President’s Top Five

…and Sin-Talk: Feminist Conversations on the Human Condition, provides, according to reviewer Shannon Craigo-Snell, “a significant contribution to the field of feminist theology by tracing and analyzing the various feminist critiques of the content and consequences of patriarchal doctrines of sin.” You don’t know much about sin, you say? Well, as Craigo-Snell puts it, “The doctrine of sin is, in…

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Online Course: Womanist Theology (A Primer)

…of San Diego, Dr. Watkins served as the Gerald L. Schlessman Assistant Professor in Methodist Studies and Assistant Professor of Theology at the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, Colorado. Online Course Format: Weekly class meetings via Zoom Technology, along with assignments posted on Blackboard, the seminary’s learning management system (login credentials provided). Registered participants will receive a Zoom meeting…

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Webinar: Feminist Theology & the Historical Christian Faith

…and ethics. Her research areas include systematic and constructive theology, theological ethics, and political theologies. Her first book, titled Sexism and Sin-Talk: Feminist Conversations on the Human Condition, was published by Westminster John Knox Press in 2019, and she is the editor of a volume, The Political Theology of Paul Tillich, which is tentatively scheduled for publication by Lexington Press…

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