Author: Diane Riggs

Featured Post

April 16, 2026
Activism Community Relationships Distance Education VOICES

Dr. Ginger Morgan Announced as New Associate Professor and Program Director for Interreligious Chaplaincy

Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, April 16, 2026 — United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities is thrilled to announce that Dr. Ginger Morgan will join its faculty as the new Associate Professor for Pastoral and Spiritual Care and Program Director for Interreligious Chaplaincy. Dr. Morgan will come to United from Madison, WI, where she is concluding her role at the Presbyterian Student Center Foundation as director of Candid and Community Initiatives. She is a highly qualified program director and chaplain with experience in healthcare, campus ministry, and higher education. With a PhD in Religion and Psychological Studies from Iliff School of Theology at the University of Denver, as well as a Master of Theological Studies (MTS) from Vanderbilt Divinity School, Dr. Morgan draws from her theological and multidisciplinary education in her work. Interreligious studies is one of United’s four pillars, and the Interreligious Chaplaincy (IRC) program—unique among peer institutions—constitutes the largest and fastest-growing of the seminary’s programs over the past five years. In alignment with United’s ethos, Dr. Morgan is a gifted scholar of religious pluralism, highly educated in progressive theological education, and foregrounds justice in chaplaincy and pastoral care. These values are evident in a chapter titled “Many Doors: Expanding Thresholds for Grace,” written by Dr. Morgan for the upcoming book Dispatches from Campus (Augsburg Fortress Press). Dr. Morgan’s career also reflects her personal experiences and identity. Writing to the search committee, she shared, “My formation includes reconciling my lesbian identity with my faith and living as a religious minority in India during high school, both of which shaped my intercultural perspective and vocational commitments.” She continued, “Throughout my career, I have sought to create inclusive spaces of belonging, whether supporting LGBTQIA+ students, young adults in recovery from addiction, or building programs attentive to justice and equity." Rev. Dr. Molly T. Marshall, President, reflects, “United welcomes Dr. Ginger Morgan with confidence and great enthusiasm. Her varied leadership roles, especially in chaplaincy, equip her uniquely to lead our robust IRC program and to teach pastoral and spiritual care.” In his announcement to the student body, Dr. Kyle Roberts—Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs—noted that Dr. Morgan’s “career in chaplaincy spans hospital, hospice, and higher education contexts, and extensive program leadership experience.” He added, “I want to thank Dr. Demian Wheeler for leading this search process, especially during its formative stages during my sabbatical.” After participating in a months-long faculty search and on-site candidate lecture, being recommended by a unanimous faculty vote, and gaining approval from the Board of Trustees’ Academic Committee, Dr. Morgan will officially begin on July 1. Students, faculty, and staff are eager to welcome her to United for this exciting new chapter. For more information about United’s Interreligious Chaplaincy program, click here. About United Founded by the United Church of Christ (UCC) as a welcoming, ecumenical school that embraces all denominations and faith traditions, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities has been on the creative edge of progressive theological thought and leadership since it was established in 1962. Today, United continues to educate leaders who, through the eyes of faith, engage in the dismantling of systems of oppression, exploring multi-faith spirituality, and pushing the boundaries of knowledge. Contact Nathanial Green (he/him) Director of Marketing and Communications press@unitedseminary.edu • (651) 255-6138 Admissions and Enrollment admissions@unitedseminary.edu

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June 9, 2025
Activism Community Relationships Distance Education VOICES

At United, Kateri Boucher Is Inspired to Chase Her Childhood Dreams

Kateri Boucher, who is pursuing an MDiv in Church Leadership, felt a call to ministry very early. “I was three when I told my mom I wanted to be a priest,” she recalls. She adds, “I would preach homilies and make [my mom] write them down.” Raised in Upstate New York, Kateri’s family attended a progressive Catholic church untethered from Roman Catholic strictures. Watching a woman priest serve communion sparked her pronouncement. Years later, after attending a liberal arts college, Kateri jumped at a chance to work on an “urban agriculture” project in Detroit. The community she found through the Catholic Worker and an Episcopal church rekindled her sense of calling, so she moved there. Now, at United, Kateri is making her dreams a reality. Searching for a Seminary About four years ago, Kateri began searching for a seminary. She researched a few schools, but realized she didn’t want to leave Detroit. She had just been hired at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church and hoped to continue that work. Sarah Holst (’20) recommended United. The more she learned about United, the more it seemed like the best choice. “I wouldn’t have to sacrifice what I [wanted] to do an online program,” she remembers thinking, “and it would allow me to stay rooted in Detroit and…work at St. Peter’s.”  Transformational Teachers During her first semester at United, Kateri took two classes with Rev. Dr. Andrew Packman, assistant professor of Theological Ethics and Formation. Class assignments and interactions, Kateri notes, really opened her mind to ways in which theology has evolved. “It is such a gift,” she declares, “to get to study with someone for whom teaching is so clearly a vocational call. I’ve rarely interacted with someone who has such a sharp mind and such a generous spirit.” Dr. Jennifer Maidrand—visiting assistant professor of Bible, Culture, and Interpretation, supported by the Louisville Institute—taught courses that Kateri took recently. A guest poet in the Hebrew Bible class was a “really cool” highlight. And, in the Bible and Palestine-Israel class, Kateri asserts that Dr. Maidraid “led us so gracefully through really challenging conversations throughout the semester [and] basically every…assignment for this class is something applicable to the real world.” Rev. Dr. DeWayne Davis, Kateri’s preaching professor, created another memorable experience. “His passion [for preaching],” she quips, “was palpable from miles away over a Zoom screen! He really brought it to life and held us in a beautiful way.” Through the class, Kateri notes that she learned strategies for telling “compelling stories.” She can use that at St. Peter’s, when she preaches each month. Distance Learning Because she wanted to balance her part-time work at St. Peter’s, service projects, and seminary, Kateri sincerely appreciates United’s distance learning program. “I remember telling people in my first semester that it’s clear that this school didn’t just start doing online classes during COVID;” they’ve had years “honing the art of hybrid classes.” She’s also made a lot of seminary friends. It’s so easy, Kateri shares, to message someone and say, “Hey, do you want to connect out of class?” The chat feature in Zoom also makes the in-class learning process more interactive. Formulating a Future Kateri describes another support from United, the Dayton Scholarship, as a “total blessing and game changer.” The funding, she reveals, “has enabled me to keep working … at St. Peter’s and participate in the church’s service outreach programs.” She’s hoping to add a second MA, made possible by the scholarship. As she looks ahead, Kateri knows changes will come. She’s started ordination and will leave St. Peter’s for a new call. In the United community, she sees “a real beauty, that we are scattered like seeds around the country and the world,” asking key questions. Still, she admits, “it was nourishing to come to United for Symposium Week; it “helped me to feel more rooted in the community.” In sum, Kateri exclaims, “I just love United so much! I’m so grateful it exists.”

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April 23, 2025
Alums Open and Affirming Queer VOICES

Rev. A. Leon Tredwell, PhD (’06) Publishes Good News in His New Book

Rev. A. Leon Tredwell, PhD (’06) realized his spiritual calling at age 10. “I came up in the church,” he explains, at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Norfolk, Virginia—a Black church  wrestling with the “narrative of civility.” At the time, “we were down to one lady (Ms. Walker) who shouted” when she caught the spirit. One Sunday, Lee and his friends were in the back row when someone told the youngsters exactly when Ms. Walker would shout. When the prediction came true, the boys broke into suppressed laughter. That’s when Lee heard the Spirit speaking to him. “Why are you laughing at her?” Lee recalls the voice asking. It continued: “She’s only doing that because I’ve been good to her. And I’ve been good to you, too.” Since Lee’s family setting had changed from abject poverty to suburban middle class, he could only agree. The die was cast. Coming to United Though Lee fully recognized his call to ministry, he began his professional life as a grain trader for Cargill. After 10 years of moving with the company, Lee realized his purpose wasn’t being fulfilled. Through a connection with and encouragement from Rev. Drs. Ralph and Alika Galloway, Lee decided to give United a try. Thinking back, Lee says that the first thing he appreciated about United was that “the environment and the content were inclusive, innovative, and it was a place of freedom.” Because he was wrestling with his sexuality, Lee especially needed that kind of open-arms welcome. He continues, “To see other queer people who were just brilliant and living out their brilliance in the fullness of who they were” was remarkably affirming. “Being queer in the Black church,” he observes, “was an anathema.” He remembers Rev. Dr. Carolyn Pressler and Dean Richard Weis† with great affection. Both teachers, he asserts, “taught us to wrestle with the biblical text until it opened up and spoke.” They also introduced Lee to Black and postcolonial hermeneutics, and Rev. Dr. Weis led him to passages in Jeremiah 38 (Hebrew Bible) that sparked his interest in learning more about a Black character named Ebed-Melech. Spreading the Good Word These days, since earning his PhD in Theological and Religious Studies in 2017, and spending many years preaching and teaching, Lee is excited to be publishing a new book. Titled Black, Queer, and Blessed: My Story and the Biblical Story Churches Don’t Teach, the book is part memoir and part theological reflection on the Ebed-Melech revelation. Lee has launched a new website (blackqueerandblessed.com) to promote the book and serve as a touchstone for young people who are struggling with their faith and sexuality. He is also planning an upcoming tour, including podcast interviews and speaking engagements at universities and seminaries, to share the good news about “blessings and connectedness with God.” “The spirit of God and the energies that God has given us are toward purpose,” he asserts. Reflecting on his time at United, Lee feels gratitude for the openness and creativity he discovered. “I am extremely grateful for the experiences at United and the shaping of my life as a result of being there.” He continues, “Because I was there and they embraced me and encouraged me, they helped me to evolve…to be where I am today.” _______________ † Deceased

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April 14, 2025
Arts Distance Education Innovation theology and the arts VOICES

Student Rev. Alicia Reese Creatively Mixes Ministry with Improv

Rev. Alicia Reese has followed the pull of two great loves: theatre and ministry. “I spent most of my life in theatre; I think I started when I was seven,” she recalls. As she grew older, Alicia also felt “a strong call toward ministry,” but there were no women pastors in her church setting. “I never saw,” she reflects, “how that call to ministry could be lived out.”  Through high school and college, Alicia threw herself into theatre. At a small Christian school in Florida, she met a theatre director who believed the arts and church could go together. He let her take over the theatre ministry troupe—“a sketch comedy-ish group that used Christian themes and scripture,” Alicia explains.  In her 20s, after moving to Chicago and working in theatre full-time, Alicia experienced another strong nudge toward ministry. This time, she earned an MA in Theological Studies, but had the sinking feeling that she might have to give up theatre. A minister at her church, who recognized her unique gifts, encouraged her to pursue an MDiv. One of Alicia’s professors at North Park Theological Seminary introduced her to a prison education program at a correctional facility in Joliet. She embraced this new challenge and wanted to help those who were incarcerated share their stories. “So I pulled out my theatre bag of tricks,” Alicia shares, and considered using improv. Finding United The success Alicia found using improv to get incarcerated students to re-vision their stories inspired her to go back to school for a DMin through which she could explore the “connection between spiritual formation and improv.” Why United? “From the moment I started interacting with United,” Alicia remarks, “I felt that deep connection between the arts and theology and ministry.”  After meeting with Dr. Jennifer Awes Freeman, she was hooked. Jennifer helped Alicia create an independent study that involved taking classes at The Second City in Chicago, “a life-changing” experience. Alicia credits United’s “openness to exploration,” the ability to have both “a classroom and a laboratory,” and the needs-based scholarship she received as keys to her success. In addition, “every professor has made a stamp on my work along the way,” and interactions with other students have been “just as fruitful and formative.” Real Life Applications For Dean Roberts’ class, Alicia “designed a whole Lenten series of spiritual practices that use improv” for her congregation. For example, one week she asked congregants to practice failure using the “failure bow”—an exuberant, joyous admission of failure that tricks the brain into getting more comfortable with and learning from failure.  More recently, she created a similar series for Advent. When the children’s minister asked her to devise something for the children’s pageant, he and Alicia designed an intergenerational service based on joy and improv. Toward the end of the service, Alicia used an improv game called “Slide Show” to help the children tell the story of Jesus’ birth. For the first slide, Alicia shared a piece of the birth narrative, and the kids acted out the scene on stage. On alternate slides, the children acted out another piece of the story, and Alicia had to explain what they were doing. Along the way, the kids added new characters and became very engaged in the storytelling.  The pageant, Alicia exclaims, was “probably one of the most joyful, wonderful experiences I’ve had in a faith community, ever.” It was also a reminder of how the DMin work is spilling over into her ministry.  This is “a full-circle moment,” Alicia declares. The gift of “bringing art back into my life through my ministry work has felt like I’m living into the fullness of who God really called me to be now.”

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January 8, 2025
social justice social transformation students VOICES

Ryan Cagle’s Ministry Leads through Social Transformation & Eco-Justice

Student Ryan Cagle, who grew up in what he describes as the “backwoods of Alabama and the foothills of Appalachia,” is pursuing both an MDiv in Social Transformation and an MA in Eco-Justice. For the past three years, he has also been the driving force behind a social justice ministry in Parrish, Alabama, called Jubilee House Community. It is a big lift, but Ryan finds that his academic work at United is complementing his home ministry. “Seminary has always been a dream for me—something I always wanted to do,” Ryan shares. He’s been involved in ministry since he was 18 and supplemented his ministry with extensive reading. When he decided to pursue seminary, there were no local options. United, however, seemed like a good fit. “The theology and the place and the diversity that is here and embodied in the community,” Ryan explains, was what he needed. Social transformation was an obvious choice since Ryan was already engaged in community organizing and social justice work. Still, much of his ministry in Alabama deals with “ecologically oriented” issues, so he wanted to explore that side too. Fortunately, Rev. Dr. Justin Sabia-Tanis, associate professor of Christian Ethics and Social Transformation, supported by the McVay Endowment, allowed Ryan to create a self-directed study in Land, Food, Faith, and Justice. Once United added the MA in Eco-Justice, Ryan couldn’t resist adding that degree.  Ryan asserts he cannot “quantify the number of ways that what I’m learning [at United] is actively helping me refine the actual on-the-ground work that I’m doing.” His academic work, Ryan says, is enhancing how he relates, leads, and ministers to others, how they approach decision-making, and how they effectuate eco-justice for those in their community.  With no state funding, Jubilee House Community operates a 24/7 food pantry, a free store for non-perishable items, a community garden, and Alabama’s first, second, and third free 24/7 Narcan® (naloxone) distribution sites (part of their harm reduction efforts). It’s an amazing, heart-filled, and transformational ministry. “I love United.” Ryan avows. “It’s been one of the most life-affirming and vocation-affirming places I’ve ever been and experienced in my entire life.”

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December 17, 2024
Alums VOICES

Rev. Cyreta Oduniyi (’19) Ministers through Counseling and Relationships

“Since I was a teenager,” Rev. Cyreta Oduniyi reflects, “I always…said I would love to be a youth pastor.” So it made sense that she earned an MDiv in pastoral care and counseling. While at United, Cyreta was excited to learn more about womanist and Black liberation theology from faculty who had learned from some of the pioneers in those fields. This connection, she asserts, “brought [theology] into a different light for me and brought it to life.” Since earning her MDiv, Cyreta has held several positions at Liberty Community Church in North Minneapolis and founded a consulting business. Currently, she serves as the program director at Liberty’s Northside Healing Space and as an associate pastor for youth development at Liberty. The Northside Healing Space program that Cyreta directs intends to reduce Minnesota’s disproportionately high rate of infant and maternal mortality within Black communities and its unhealthy relationship with health care. “We are caring and walking with families who are pregnant, in delivery, or postpartum,” she explains, and connecting families with “trusted providers”— doulas, midwives, other birth workers, lactation consultants, elders, and others—who use culturally sensitive “rituals and traditions that help wrap around the family.” Since 2016, when she founded I Am Youthwork, Cyreta has also been offering extra support to “those who work with children and youth,” including youth pastors. “Youthwork, she shares, “is how to walk with children and families on their spiritual journey in today’s context.” Recently, Cyreta re-enrolled at United to begin work on her DMin! Why come back? There are too few “women who represent what I look like, where I live, and the way my family looks” who are conducting meaningful research about her community, she admits. In addition, she couldn’t ignore all the nudges she received from United, Liberty, and God. With a laugh in her voice, Cyreta tells the story of all the ways she tried not to return to school. Still, she confesses, “God was like, ’Girl, shut up!’” And she is happy to be back. For Cyreta, returning to United feels both like a homecoming and the start of a new adventure. We are truly excited to see what she will do next to support the common good.

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November 25, 2024
Methodist Studies ministry VOICES

Rev. Gloria Roach Thomas (’98) Ministers through Love, Healing, and Hope in a Hurting World

Rev. Gloria Roach Thomas (’98) grew up in a small town in South Carolina. As she recalls, “I drank out of the colored water fountains, I went to the colored elementary school.” Still, she reflects, the surrounding community “told us we were someone, even when the world said we were not.” Her father was a community activist and civil rights proponent, and her parents gave back to the community. What brought Gloria to Minnesota? “I came to Minnesota in 1976 on a bet with my cousin,” she admits. “We wanted to live somewhere for one year away from our homes.” Much to the chagrin of her family and friends, Gloria ended up staying in the Twin Cities and started her ministry here. The Path to United Gloria’s years at Model Cities of St. Paul, Inc.—helping underserved families and individuals access education, financial knowledge, housing, and health services—inspired her to consider seminary. While there, she met successful United alums, and even got to know a person on staff at United. After a tour of the space in New Brighton and a fact-finding meeting, Gloria decided to apply. “My interest in attending United was met with interest and respect,” she remembers, “so it was United that I decided on.” Treasuring Experience At United, Gloria states, “I most treasured the overall theme of human inclusion in ministry.” She reveled in the variety of religions, denominations, and philosophies she found, the broad acceptance of gender expressions, “a variety of ways to refer to God,” and exposure to Womanist Theology. After graduating (MDiv, with a Pastoral Congregational Care emphasis), Gloria asserts that the pastoral care and grief education she received at United enabled her to reach the goal of supporting families who have lost kin to tragedies such as suicide or murder. For 14 years, she taught “Death and Dying across Cultures and Religions” in the Mortuary Sciences Program at the University of Minnesota. Gloria has led grief sessions with congregations, supported hospital staff, and worked with bereaved families. During that time, Gloria also became ordained as a United Methodist Elder, and ministered at several Twin Cities Churches, including Brooklyn United Methodist Church in Brooklyn Center, and Camphor Memorial United Methodist Church in St. Paul. While at Camphor, Gloria helped launch a building renovation and construction project to develop gathering spaces for community support programs. Re-fire-ment In 2018, Gloria announced her retirement from full-time work. She likes to call it “re-fire-ment”—re-firing into something new. In honor of her decades of dedication to community service and ministry, Governor Mark Dayton declared June 2, 2018, as Rev. Gloria Roach Thomas Day. In 2019, St. Paul & Minnesota Foundation named her as its local Facing Race Award recipient. In a video recorded for the Facing Race Award, Gloria credits her parents and home community for their strength and courage. “I stand on their shoulders,” she avows. “I would not take anything for that journey because it really began to take hold of who I am and it... set me on a journey.” More recently, Gloria shared that “God has allowed me many great ministry opportunities to assist in bringing love, healing, justice, and hope to a world that desperately needs it.” United is truly honored and blessed to count Gloria as one of its transformational alums.

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November 19, 2024
social transformation students VOICES

Social Transformation Student Doe Hoyer Follows the Spirit

Doe Hoyer, who is pursuing an MDiv in Social Transformation, grew up southeast of the Twin Cities. Their grandfather was a Lutheran pastor. “I really had a strong love and resonance with him as a child,” Doe shares, but “as a queer child, I always felt like a misfit” at the family’s Lutheran church. It has taken some time, but since starting at United, Doe has found where their gifts can flourish and grow. The Slow Road to Seminary When Doe was 16, they experienced a “devastating loss” when a cousin tragically died. Retrospectively, they acknowledge there was a “missed opportunity for spiritual care there.” That trauma turned Doe away from religion and spirituality for many years. After earning a BA in linguistics at Macalester College, Doe’s early jobs included teaching ESL to Latinx and Somali adults. Though teaching a colonizing language bothered Doe, they learned how challenging it is for immigrants to navigate American systems. Meanwhile, through involvement with the local Reclaiming Pagan community, Doe found “a thread of earth-based spirituality” and “community singing.” They also made an important connection with United alum Colleen Cook* (’12), with whom they lived for six months. Not only did Colleen share stories about their time at United, they proved to be a “vocal encourager.” During what they describe as a “seven-year discernment process,” Doe took on more leadership roles, learned how to be a community song leader, and had experiences that affirmed the spirituality in nature. Then, just a few weeks before Colleen passed away in 2019, they texted Doe: “Maybe you want to apply to United.” Growing into an Organizer “Reckoning with my Christian roots and learning more at United,” Doe asserts, “has allowed me to have so much more flexible thinking about Christianity.” They made strong connections with other students in their “incredible” formation class with Rev. Dr. John Lee (’19). Rev. Dr. Jessica Chapman Lape’s “amazing classes” have “yielded connections with inspiring chaplains,” and they treasure the feedback and encouragement from professors Rev. Dr. Andrew Packman, Rev. Dr. Gary Green, and Rev. Dr. Justin Sabia-Tanis. For the past year, Doe has also worked as an organizer and song leader for the Coalition to Dismantle the Doctrine of Discovery. The Coalition, co-founded by Sarah Augustine—a Pueblo (Tewa) descendant—“calls on the Christian Church to address the extinction, enslavement, and extraction done in the name of Christ on Indigenous lands.” Doe’s local involvement with repair communities for Makoce Ikikcupi, the Dakota land recovery project, helped them get the job. Doe believes lessons learned in United’s social transformation and chaplaincy courses have strengthened their organizing abilities. As Doe explains it, chaplaincy’s emphasis on remaining present and open with another helps temper the social transformation push for action and systemic change. Moving between these skill sets helps Doe forge deeper and longer-lasting relationships with other activist organizers. Following the Spirit “I could not be doing this work,” Doe attests, “without the learning and reflective experiences I have had through United.” They now encourage others to check out the seminary. “We need people who are going to engage robustly with their own spirituality, what it means to bring that to others in this world,” and how that can play out in meaningful service. * Deceased

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June 20, 2024
VOICES

Amoke Kubat (’17) Transforms Artistry into Activism

In 1987, Amoke Kubat (’17) moved from Los Angeles to Minneapolis. “I wanted to work with Prince,” she explains. Two years later, she began a 25-year career teaching special education in North Minneapolis with Minneapolis Public Schools. Toward the end of that life chapter, Amoke discovered art, and art connected her to United. Connecting to United Chiaki O’Brien, a SAORI weaving artist from Japan, came to United for an artist residency during a summer institute. Amoke, who had already met Chiaki and wanted to learn more about SAORI weaving, came too. “I sat and watched United faculty and students learn to weave,” Amoke recalls. “I was invited to weave.” After the event, she continues, “staff encouraged me to apply to the seminary. As a non-Christian, I was very reluctant to do so.” Rev. Craig Lemming (’17), then a student who worked in admissions, walked Amoke to her bus stop and they began to talk. “Craig and I had a really deep conversation about United, social justice and religion, and Yoruba culture,” she recounts, and she missed her bus. After Craig chased down the bus, he handed Amoke an admissions packet and more information about United. “I felt I owed him that much for his time and making sure I got home,” she reflects. The Next Chapter Amoke earned an MA in Religious Leadership and a Certificate in Black Church Leadership at United. She also made lasting connections with fellow students and faculty—including Dr. Rufus Burrow, Rev. Dr. Jann Cather Weaver, Dr. Margaree Levy (’17), and Rev. Dr. John Lee (’19)—who were “inspiring and supportive.” United “definitely holds a special place in my heart,” she asserts, and seminary was “a challenging but stellar experience!” Looking back, Amoke has especially fond memories of Rev. Dr. Wilson Yates and the arts curriculum at United. “I loved the Art Practicum that [Rev. Dr. Cindi Beth Johnson] taught during United’s Summer Institute in Spirituality and the Arts and every member of that class. I would have loved to get a certificate in Art and Spirituality!” Leaning into Truth A lifelong learner, Amoke has earned a BA, two MAs, two certificates, and is still growing in knowledge. She has also experienced the worst of humanity—from the 1965 Watts and 1992 Rodney King riots in Los Angeles, to the 2020 murder of George Floyd and world pandemic—and fought tirelessly to empower mothers and families in disadvantaged communities. It is the grounding and divine practices of making art, living with honesty, and forging relationships, that bring her some measure of solace. The recipient of multiple grants and fellowships, Amoke is the founding executive director of YO MAMA’S HOUSE, Inc., an art and healing space for mothers. She is also the author of Missing Mama: My Story of Loss, Sorrow and Healing, as well as self-referential plays such as Angry Black Woman & Well-Intentioned White Girl, and many other short stories and articles. She and her work have appeared in installations at the Weisman Art Museum, the South London Gallery, the Minnesota Museum of American Art, and the Cora McCovey Health and Wellness Center. Though she will turn 74 in August, and lives with chronic pain, Amoke focuses on what’s next. On April 29, she became the YWCA Minneapolis’ Inaugural Camille J. Gage Fellowship Awardee, she is in discussion to have another show at the Minnesota Museum of American Art, and there is more writing and publishing to come in 2025. For her countless contributions, unwavering dedication, and indomitable spirit, we feel incredibly blessed to have Amoke Kubat as a United alum.

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June 14, 2024
Academics Announcements

Meet the Sims Scholars’ Advisory Committee

Announced in mid-February, the Sims Scholars Initiative—through which up to eight theology students in the Twin Cities can earn a tuition-free Master of Arts in Leadership degree at United—has been put into motion.  At an advisory committee meeting in May, members expressed their excitement about progress made in the intervening months. Comprised of United alums, trustees, faculty, and friends who wear myriad professional hats, the committee members are committed to seeking qualified candidates and providing mentorship and advising services while the cohort attends seminary.  Rev. Stacey Smith (’16), Presiding Elder for the Fourth District of the AME Church’s Chicago Annual Conference as well as a board member for United and the Minnesota Council of Churches, asserted that the initiative provides “an amazing opportunity for students to come [to United], have immediate community, [and] experience the seminary in a way that will help them blossom and gain additional skills.” Rev. Dr. DeWayne Davis, lead minister at Plymouth Congregational Church—as well as a member of United’s board and adjunct faculty—is inspired by the widening breadth of theology being explored through the program, including Black spirituality and womanist theology. His greatest hope is that the Sims Scholars will have more expansive theological conversations and make strides in “confronting the fears we hide behind boundaries that we’ve accepted from tradition.” The “Sims Scholars” Initiative is designed to address racial inequities in society and to educate and prepare leaders who desire to constructively engage issues confronting Black spiritual communities. Through this initiative, students will form an intentional cohort for mutual support, special studies, and mentoring. “Representation matters!” emphasized Dr. William Hart, professor of religious studies at Macalester College and United’s board secretary. Dr. Hart reflected on his experience with a Black cohort during his PhD experience at Princeton University, and noted that “having a critical mass [of similarly situated colleagues] can be incredibly powerful for students who come into a predominantly white institution.” “Who better than me to join this committee?” replied Rev. Dr. Darrell Gillespie (’23) when asked why he joined the advisory committee. Rev. Dr. Gillespie is the pastor/founder of Proverbs Christian Fellowship and a dean at Hope Academy. As someone who recently earned his DMin from United, he stated that United’s curriculum will enable students who study Black spirituality to “do church holistically well,” without the “financial burden” of earning a degree. Rev. Dr. Alika Galloway, the final member of the advisory committee, is co-pastor of Liberty Community Church, and co-founder of the Northside Healing Space and 21st Century Academy within the church. Rev. Dr. Galloway headlined at United in 2015 as that year’s 24th annual Susan Draper White lecturer, and co-taught courses with Professor Emerita of Biblical Interpretation, Rev. Dr. Carolyn Pressler. New cohort members may include persons already engaged in a profession who simply desire to learn more about the richness of Black spirituality. There will also be special learning opportunities for students that speak to Black experiences in church and society and extend beyond the core curriculum. Rev. Dr. Gary F. Green, II (associate professor of pastoral theology and social transformation), who chaired the advisory committee meeting, also came through a cohort program at Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas when United President Molly T. Marshall was its president. From his perspective, a supportive cohort “makes a day-to-day difference in the reality of matriculating through a [seminary] program…at a predominately white institution [where students may be] confronted with ideas…some of which are not very comfortable initially.” This program falls under the growing umbrella of United’s systemic anti-racism work, which Rev. Dr. Green leads. A retired Cargill corporate vice president and former United trustee, Frank Sims, and his wife Robyn, are the generous donors behind the Sims Scholars initiative. “I am truly impressed and inspired,” he shared after listening to committee members’ statements. Like Rev. Dr. Green and Dr. Hart, he acknowledged that a supportive cohort of peers is key in education and needed in corporate America too. We cannot overstate, President Marshall concluded, the “magnitude of inaugurating this program and the horizons that it promises.” Learn more about the Sims Scholars’ program.

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