Author: Diane Riggs

Featured Post

April 16, 2026
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 12, 2024
VOICES

Isabel Nelson Finds Kinship between Social Justice, Religion, and Storytelling

A physical theater and devising artist, Isabel Nelson (’24) traces her passion for theater back to childhood. “I have always been really compelled by story and the meaning that we make and drawn to what I call ‘old story’—folk tales, fairy tales, myth, etc.” At the same time, as a UCC minister’s child and a Macalester College liberal arts graduate (’04), Isabel is deeply concerned with social justice. At United, she affirmed the kinship between justice, religion, and story, and gained a greater sense of self. Finding United Though Isabel double majored in theater and religious studies during college, she says her religious studies degree was “much more of an intellectual interest than a personal call.” Instead, she undertook a two-year intensive physical theater training program in London. Transatlantic Love Affair, the company Isabel founded in 2010, “takes the seeds of an old story, and reimagines it into something really fresh and imaginative.” The plays have no props or set pieces; stories are conveyed by the actors’ movements, some dialogue, and imagination. Back in Minnesota, working at Macalester College, Isabel was struck by how interreligious campus chaplains served the community in times of crisis. At one point during a racial reckoning, she recalls, the chaplains were able to “invite authentic dialogue, hold a space that contained multiple perspectives, and guide folks toward wrestling with the hard questions and reaching mutual understanding.” This example of faith in action inspired Isabel to reconsider the idea of seminary. On a Zoom call with a colleague, she learned about United for the first time and our Theology and the Arts Program. Three months later, she enrolled. Finding Home While at United, Isabel began to understand when her heart first felt the spiritual tug toward justice, story, and religion. She traces that feeling back to the mountains in western North Carolina where her mother worked at Eagle’s Nest Camp. “Every summer of my life, including in utero, I was surrounded by nature and music and play and physical activity. We moved around a lot when I was a child, and Eagle’s Nest felt like home.” Returning to the camp many years later with her own children, Isabel was able to see the use of ritual and the ways in which “leaders of that community...called us to live into an interconnectedness with nature and presence with a sense of the Sacred.” Isabel had come home again. Moving Forward Isabel credits United for helping her to gain a deeper sense of herself and the unique gifts she can share. Her social transformation course with Rev. Dr. Gary F. Green II, she asserts, “was the first class in which I really felt like I could start to articulate this intersection of creativity and social justice work and spirituality.” Courses like Arts Praxis and Art, Religion, and Contemporary Culture with her advisor, Dr. Jennifer Awes Freeman, have allowed Isabel the opportunity to continue to live into that vital connection. What’s next? Isabel wants to slow down for a time. “I want to gift myself as close to a fallow period as I have ever had.” In addition to her theatrical pursuits, she still works as the administrative coordinator for the Lealtad-Suzuki Center for Social Justice at Macalester College and is happy there. When the time is right, she will live into the dream of where art, social justice, and spiritual practice will take her next.

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May 21, 2024

United’s Brief Foray into Football: 1967–1968

These days, it’s hard to imagine that United would ever have fielded a football team—flag or full contact. More than 50 years ago, however, it almost made sense. As Ted Meads (’71) and former seminary student Phil Johnson (pictured at right) recall, “When school started in the fall of 1967, a gaggle of seminarians played touch football on campus most afternoons.” There were also other sporting events. It is important to remember that seminarians and faculty in the 1960s were predominantly male. United’s first woman MDiv graduate, Marilyn Creel, didn’t cross the stage until 1972, and the first female faculty member on regular appointment, Patricia Wilson Kastner, wasn’t installed until 1975. So, when Mike Groh* (’69) asked his seminary mates if they wanted to play full-contact football against the Stillwater Prison football team, he was able to assemble a team, albeit a small one. At the time, Mike and Gary Miller* (’68) were ministering at the prison and had learned that the Colts (the prison team) had an opening in their schedule.  The Motivation for Playing Fielding a football team was not a meaningless diversion for seminary students. Between seminary classes, clinical pastoral education opportunities, and internships, the men were plenty busy. Ted and Phil like to think of this exercise as part of a continuum of practical social ministry promoted by United and its faculty. As they recollect, seminarians had driven to Milwaukee to march with activist Father James Groppi in support of a strong open housing law in the city. Others had gone door-knocking on behalf of candidates who opposed the Vietnam War. Several of their classmates interned with the Inner-City Project for Youth, formed by three Minneapolis churches in 1968, and those who took Wilson Yates’ Religion and Society course visited prisons in Lino Lakes and St. Cloud. Logistics Outfitting a team with protective gear was the first challenge. Happily, Gary was able to borrow used shoulder pads and helmets from the high school at which he was working in 1967. In 1968, Dave Rumpf (’70) collected used football equipment from Augsburg College where he was interning. The title of coach went to Professor Donald White,* United’s Professor Emeritus of Constructive Theology (1965–2002), pictured at left. Dr. White enjoyed the game and liked to view it from a process theology angle. As Don explained recently, “The key element of process theology demands a focus on the concrete, the specific at all levels, including the sub-atomic. For football, you are driven to the specific, the concrete, in all of its complexity. The second key element states that God is always seeking to lead us, as well as all things in the universe, at the same instant. “The problem remains that we are seldom aware of God’s leading, which seeks to move us toward the best possible outcome along with all of the particular universal participants. This means that God does not favor any team or player. [Phil and Ted] have often claimed that the best part of the experience of playing the prison football team remains the sharing of both food and conversation with the prison players, even though the prison team had lost. Seeing how their lives were not so different from our own, and being so accepted by their team members, demonstrates how harmony (rather than violence) feels better to us.  “As to the combative part of football, that is typical of human activity. We turn God's quest for harmony into combative violence, even though we can sometimes move toward a more peaceful and harmonious relationship. Notice how we flock to see violence and are bored by harmony.” United’s student coaches were Mike and Phil, both of whom had played football collegiately—Mike at Hanover College in Indiana, where he was a co-captain of the team, and Phil at North Park College in Illinois (see photo at right). Mike and Phil also determined the positions that each team member would play on offense and defense. Because they only had 11 players, each player needed to play at least two positions. According to Phil, who played quarterback and defensive tackle, “That’s the way to have fun!” Ted, an offensive and defensive lineman, didn’t remember it quite the same way. “I was running for my life!” he asserted last year. This 1964 photo from Hanover College in Indiana shows #86, Mike Groh (’69)—a team co-captain—in the third row toward the center. This 1965 photo from Elmhurst College in Illinois (Reinhold and H. Richard Niebuhr’s alma mater) shows three of United’s football players: in the first row are #44, Rich Grobe (’72),  and #51, Gary Miller (’68); #70, Hal Schippits (’69), is the third player in the second row. Game One at Stillwater Prison The Prison Mirror, a newspaper produced by inmates at Stillwater Prison since 1887, ran this headline in its October 20, 1967 edition: “Preachers Chill Colts.” The story began, “A good team from the United Theological Seminary combined an excellent passing and running attack to defeat the Colts in the rain by a score of 20–13.” Highlights of the game included two key interceptions by Mike, a fumble recovery by Ted, and a lot of running (with judicious passing on occasion) by Phil, the quarterback. Ted remembers that when he recovered the fumble, he heard Mike yelling, “Get up and run! It’s a live ball!” By then, however, the Colts had covered him. Ted still has the number 76 jersey he wore in that first game (see photo at left). “I kept that jersey as a survival trophy,” he explains. Games Two and Three According to Phil and Ted’s research, the Colts team routed United in the second game of 1967. As they wrote, “Our understaffed team was no match for ‘Ron the Bomb’ Holmes, who ran through and past us for 263 yards.” Rumors were that Holmes had been released from solitary the day before and was very keen to get out and run. By the fall of 1968, when United played its third and final game at Stillwater prison, United’s roster had grown to 15. One of the 15 was Ken Groh, Mike’s brother, who, Ted asserts, “had never darkened the door of a seminary classroom.” Ken had, however, played football at Indiana University (see photo at right) and was a welcome addition. Highlights of that third game included United’s successful two-point conversion after their first touchdown, and a fumble recovery to keep the Colts out of the end zone. Phil took the ball in for United’s next touchdown and a second two-point conversion. Ultimately, the Colts came within one point of tying the game, and the final score was 22–21. Thank goodness for those two-point conversions! The Prison Mirror article from the game concluded with this sentiment:  “A salute to Head Coach Donald White and his fine crew that he brought in, who, along with the Colts, played an extremely clean game of football. We’d like to note also that most of the players from the United team played offense and defense, and one in particular, Steve Steiner* (’71), who played despite a broken tooth and having the wind knocked out of him; he also scored the first touchdown for United.” Breaking Bread Together After the first game at Stillwater Prison, representatives from both teams met in a small dining room for a meal. Ted remembers that “conversations were animated, much of it focused on game highlights.” The men also swapped stories about their lives and dreams for the future. During the meal and through the conversations, stereotypes on both sides began to dissolve. Phil and Ted note, “Inmates were tough guys, but they had families, thoughts, senses of humor, and feelings. For their part, seminarians were regular guys who weren’t afraid of a tough game, and were taking time to visit men in prison and share a meal.” Ultimately, the games and meals, Ted and Phil share, “were a true example of what United preached as being open and responsive to others. It was a valuable lesson.” Postscript Despite their success on the gridiron, not one of the seminary players took up football as a career. Phil finished his seminary degree at Andover Newton and held several jobs, including pastor. He also founded and edited the journal Pietisten for 24 years. Mike spent his life working in and consulting with nonprofit organizations and developing community leaders. During his career, he worked with 500 groups in North America, Eastern Europe, and the Balkans supporting food security, environmental groups, and NGOs in nations with emerging democracies. Through Mike, Ted got a job at the University of Minnesota as a chemical dependency instructor. Since finishing his MPH at the University, he has worked for a variety of healthcare companies, primarily in sales. He is currently the senior vice president for national sales at Welvie, a company that offers online learning programs to help people make more informed decisions about their care options. Vince Carroll (’71, pictured at left) was the last Protestant chaplain ordered “in-country” with the Major Marine Corps Unit, working with Force Logistics Command and supporting troops in Vietnam from Phu Bai to the DMZ. Hal Schippits (’69) served as a UCC minister in Minnesota’s National Guard and then directed Hennepin County’s Day Treatment and Dual Diagnosis programs. Gary Miller served as a military chaplain too, but spent most of his life as a UCC pastor. Stephen Steiner and Rich Grobe (’72) were also UCC pastors. Don Miller (’71)—the team’s center, long snapper, and place kicker—went on to earn a DMin from Eden Theological Seminary and spent many years in parish ministry. Closing Thoughts As Ted reflects:  “During my four years at United, there were a number of events that bound the community together and spoke to the words in Matthew 36:25. Given the uniqueness of the prison football experience, it was perhaps the most dramatic expression of ‘social gospel’ at the time, but [very much in keeping with] the ‘social gospel’ espoused by the seminary. The United football team in the late 1960s perfectly exemplified our classroom lessons and I’ll be forever grateful for my seminary experience.” Phil adds, “I definitely agree with Ted. United was intentionally a wide-open place. There was no lid on the freedom to try things.” United is delighted to be able to share a story about the remarkable 1967–1968 football program and honor the players who invested their faith and risked their limbs in the process. We owe Ted and Phil credit for drawing our attention to their story and conducting important research, and are delighted that Professor Emeritus and coach Don White was able to give us a primer on process theology and football. Thanks also to Alicia Groh, Mike’s daughter, who tracked down photos of her dad (including him on the beach at sunset) for this article. * Deceased

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March 20, 2024
Alums VOICES

Bishop Lorna Halaas (’08) Imagines the Future of Seminary and the Church

Born on the prairie of western North Dakota, Bishop Lorna Halaas (’08) grew up in a family of storytellers. She was raised in Lutheran churches and recounts that her faith community was central to her life. One special lay leader—Mrs. Kurth—inspired her to consider ministry as a possibility, even before women could be ordained in her denomination. She recalls, “We had women who served on church staff who did faith formation, who did youth ministry, but I particularly remember a woman who served almost as a pastor. She taught Sunday school, confirmation, and oversaw the Christmas program.” As a young woman, Lorna said to herself, “I want to be Mrs. Kurth when I grow up." Like many women called to ministry, Lorna’s vocational path was not without obstacles. “When I was a kid,” she shares, “women in the Lutheran tradition were not ordained and could not serve as pastors. That was a little over 50 years ago.” Lorna graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, in 1979, just nine years after the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) began ordaining women. For many years, she served as a director of Christian education in large congregations in Minot, North Dakota, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and also for the ELCA’s publishing ministry, Augsburg Fortress. So how did a Lutheran end up at United? She surprised herself: “I didn’t know much about United—I knew they had a good Women’s Studies program, and I knew they were very ecumenical and diverse.” While still considering her options, Lorna attended an event at United. The experience was transformative. “I felt like a kid,” proclaiming, “I have found my spot!” Lorna benefited tremendously from the instruction she received from United’s faculty, particularly Professor Emeritus Dr. Eleazar Fernandez and Distinguished Professor Emeritus Rev. Dr. Wilson Yates. She also prized the diversity of students. Citing interreligious and ecumenical partnerships she found at United, Lorna valued the ability to relate across differences through the power of stories. “I was the Lutheran; other students were Southern Baptist, Presbyterian, United Methodist, Muslim, Jewish, along with those from other Christian denominations. We had the most wonderful conversations.” For her, United’s interreligious and ecumenical learning environment felt right. “This is what the world was like... ‘This is my story, now tell me your story, and we will find common ground here in one another’s story.’” Lorna graduated from United in 2008 with an MDiv. In the years following graduation, Lorna served as a pastor in congregations in North Dakota and Iowa. In 2019, she was elected to serve a six-year term as Bishop of the Western Iowa Synod ELCA, overseeing 116 congregations. In keeping with her imaginative family—and, no doubt, the creativity intrinsic to United’s ethos—Lorna centers divine imagination in her view of the world. “If you ask the synod staff who work with me, they will say, ‘She is always asking us about our passion, what we’re curious about, and what might God be imagining for the church today.’” In 2025, Lorna will be up for reelection as Bishop. She believes, however, “it’s time for younger leaders... There are new voices, new ideas.” While many may view the future of congregational ministry warily, Lorna is looking with courage to what lies ahead. Present-day seminarians are preparing to serve a world with unique challenges not often faced by the generations of ministers who came before them. “I see pastors being equipped differently; I see people going to seminary not to do it all, but to preach, teach, and to equip lay people to go beyond the doors of the church and to be the church on the streets, in the shelters; wherever they may go, there God is.” We give thanks for Lorna’s humble, imaginative witness as a friend and alum of United.

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March 19, 2024
Public Theology students VOICES

Rev. Shannon Dycus Illuminates the Sacred in Education and Ministry

For DMin student Rev. Shannon Dycus, faith and education have been foundational influences and pursuits. “My story,” Shannon shares, “includes the nurture of wonderful Black women in my life and lineage. My grandmothers and mother modeled faithful and bold ways of living out their calls with ministries that were not allowed to flourish in their contexts.” In high school, a counselor saw her creative and leadership potential for guiding others. At Butler University, she earned a degree in secondary education. While she enjoyed working with young people in the classroom and after-school programs, Shannon felt something was missing. “I felt the gap,” she recalls, “of how to care for their spirits and lead holistically.” When she started at Christian Theological Seminary, Shannon intended to train as a therapist, but, as she recounts, “loving a congregation drew me in the path of an MDiv.” In 2019, she assumed the role of dean of students at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU), a private university in Harrisburg, Virginia, that “integrates Christian faith, academic rigor, artistic creation, and reflective practice.” “It all lives in my heart and body as ministry and education,” Shannon explains. “Since graduating from college, I have alternated between leading in ministry settings and learning communities, holding these two parts of myself as overlapping but not fully embraced in any specific space.” Pursuing a Doctoral Degree In early 2023, EMU promoted Shannon to vice president of student affairs and dean of students. Her priorities in this role involve strategically visioning co-curricular learning communities that promote social responsibility, holistic well-being, and academic success for EMU students. She also teaches several undergraduate courses, including a spiritual formation course. She earned a certificate in Spiritual Direction and Formation from San Francisco Theological Seminary. In her current role, Shannon asserts that she is responsible for “nurturing both spiritual and educational formation.” She felt compelled to enter a doctoral program to “do more development to integrate the two as grounding and strength.” While a PhD or EdD would have made sense in her academic context, she needed ample space for ministry too. “I believe the practices of education and ministry are sacred,” Shannon posits, “serving people and communities as they intersect with the hope of God around us. Seeking this degree is rooted in my hope to ground the rest of my career in practical perspectives that allow this belief to flourish.” Choosing United Shannon has been long drawn to those who “do their faith.” These public theologians operate with an awareness of their social context and with a determination to serve and support the common good. “In my search for public theology programs,“ Shannon observes, “United emerged quickly. Mason [Mennenga (’22), Admissions Counselor] was a prophetic voice in my discerning, and Dr. [Demian] Wheeler was the kind of thinker and leader I wanted to learn from.” For her dissertation, Shannon is researching and developing a tool to help faith-based higher education systemically engage practices of liberation. “That,” she explains, “is helping me advance the question of how structures teach power.” She continues: “My doctoral work and my vocation are in rich conversation with each other, like they are sitting on a warm porch drinking sweet tea while listening to each other and the wind hitting the trees. Not only has my role given me the chance to integrate my gifts, this program and my work at United is helping me give voice to the integration growing within me.”

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December 8, 2023
Alums students

Rev. Riva Tabelisma (’20) Reflects on Returning to United

Rev. Riva Tabelisma (’20), an alum and current student, reflects in her own words on what it meant to come to the United States and enroll in seminary at United. Like most Filipinos, coming to the United States—to live in the land of “milk and honey,” the “greener pasture”—was my dream growing up there. My uncle, the first in our family to go to the United States, has told us many times that living in America should be a life goal. I’ve also always loved to study and learn, and was interested in attending seminary. In 2013, thanks to my uncle’s connection with Dr. Subree Subramanian at the University of Minnesota, I found out about United. In a nutshell, factors that led me to United were, first, the opportunity to go back to school, and second, the chance to fulfill my American dream. After graduating with an MDiv in 2020, I accepted appointments to three different churches through the Minnesota Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church (UMC). During that time, I also organized Bayanihan Fellowship, a community of Filipinos living in the Twin Cities, and created an adult curriculum (Living in the Kin-dom: Exploring the Lord’s Prayer as a Spiritual Practice for Social Transformation) for United Women in Faith. I am currently the pastor at Discovery UMC in Chanhassen. In addition, I just started working on my DMin through United. Why did I decide to return to United? I was at United when my theological self was formed. Going back to United for a DMin is like coming home. United provided the space for me to explore who I am as a Christian and a church leader. This gift included the space for me to embrace my authentic identity, which in turn allowed me to better integrate the pieces of myself into one whole entity. I am forever grateful.   

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December 5, 2023
Leadership Center for Social Justice

Rev. Clare Gromoll (’14) & Year One of the Leadership Center for Social Justice

In May 2023, 16 ministers—the inaugural cohort of the Leadership Center for Social Justice (LCSJ)—graduated from the nine-month program of education and formation. For their final project, each minister provided a showcase of their church’s social justice work. Some graduates have partnered with grassroots organizers to support migrant and housing justice. Others have implemented relational curricula for easing intergenerational conversations about race, gender, sexuality, and class. Rev. Clare Gromoll (’14, pictured at right) who participated in the inaugural LCSJ cohort, is the pastor of a church and congregation that was going through a transition. The congregation also had a passion for putting faith into action, but as the pandemic wore on, organizing grew harder. “My experience with LCSJ,” Clare asserts, “helped my roots sink into my way of leadership. I drew upon community organizing principles and strategies so I could equip our Pastoral Relations Committee to engage in one-on-one conversations with church members on the periphery.” Engagement was key since the congregation was experiencing “a significant time of multivalent discernment, change, and growth.” During its first year, LCSJ events have also attracted alums, United students, and others from local universities and faith-based organizations. The three-part Praxis series drew many participants. In December 2022, LCSJ presented “The Praxis of Love: A Community Conversation on All about Love by bell hooks.” In February this year, there was the “Praxis of Hope: An Evening with Ricardo Levins Morales,” and the series concluded in March with “The Praxis of Faith: A Panel on the Life and Faith of James Cone.” LCSJ even hosts its own podcast. Started in December 2022, podcasts have featured national and global social justice and theology experts including Beverly Mitchell, professor of systematic theology at Wesley Theological Seminary; Peter Linebaugh, historian and co-author of The Many-Headed Hydra: Sailors, Slaves, and the Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic; Bridget Anderson, director of Migration Mobilities Bristol and professor of migration, mobilities, and citizenship at the University of Bristol; and Lewis Gordon, author of Fear of Black Consciousness and head of the Philosophy Department at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. Episodes have been downloaded by more than 1,500 listeners from across the globe. As we reflect on a very successful first year, we are inspired by all the possibilities the Center has brought to life. And, in the spirit of hope, faith, and love, we eagerly anticipate the transformational work that will continue to unfold for those affilitated with United’s Leadership Center for Social Justice.

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December 4, 2023
Alums Chaplaincy

Alums Sue Allers Hatlie and Lynda Lee Promote Healing in Prisons

For years, Rev. Dr. Sue Allers Hatlie (’85, ’04) and Rev. Lynda Lee (’14) felt a strong call to work with individuals in prison. For Sue, who grew up as a Missouri Synod Lutheran, ordination in that faith was not possible for women. Lynda was working in tax compliance for a wealth management firm and “drooling” over ARTS: The Arts in Religion and Theological Studies journal founded by Wilson Yates, United’s Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Religion, Society and the Arts. Fortunately, both ended up at United and found the support they needed to become extraordinary prison chaplains.  The Road to United Sue attended college at Concordia College-Moorhead, a Lutheran-founded liberal arts school in northwestern Minnesota. Her plan was to become a lawyer or probation officer, but she relates that upon graduation, college officials sent her directly to Luther Seminary instead. Sue expressed a desire to become a prison chaplain but was told that could only happen after serving as a congregational pastor. Frustrated, she stepped away from the seminary and took Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) classes at the University of Minnesota. While there, a Catholic woman asked Sue if she had ever considered the United Church of Christ or United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. Lynda, who graduated from college with a music degree in piano, was always drawn to creative pursuits. She found out about United through their joint project with Minneapolis Institute of Arts and through the ARTS journal, and immediately felt a kinship with the seminary. She had even started volunteering in prisons, playing music, because she felt compelled to be with the prisoners. When her friend Patsy Herbert,* another artist, said she was taking classes, Lynda was motivated to enroll. Suddenly it seemed that everything in her life was preparing her for this next challenge. Still, it wasn’t until another good friend—Rev. Dr. Verlyn Hemmen, then director of chaplaincy at Allina Hospital—told her to sit down and fill out the application, that she actually set the wheels in motion to attend United. Experiences at United For Sue, United and the UCC opened wide the doors of possibility. United created a formation process that would enable Sue to be ordained and work as a prison chaplain. To satisfy her preference for learning by doing, or contextual education, United approved a plan of independent study. Sue studied liberation theology with Robert Bryant, Professor Emeritus of Constructive Theology. Professor Bryant took his students on an eye-opening trip to Central and South America, including Mexico, Nicaragua, and El Salvador, where the poverty and oppression mirrors the US “school-to-prison pipeline” for people of color. Fittingly, Sue’s internship was at Minnesota Correctional Facility (MCF)–Shakopee, an all-women’s prison. Once there, she found a mentor: United alum Carrie Dorfman (’78).* Her next CPE took place at the Hennepin County Home School, a behavioral treatment center in Minnetonka for teens in the juvenile justice system. Since it took her six years to graduate while balancing full-time work and school, Lynda had a lot of time to explore her interest in art. “Cindi Beth Johnson and Jann Cather Weaver were so good!” Lynda remembers. Through their classes, she learned that art was less a product and more an expression and process. Failure wasn’t an option. During her last semester at United, Lynda attended The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) Ministers Institute where the keynote speaker was Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock. Brock had just published a book with Gabriella Lettini titled Soul Repair: Recovering from Moral Injury after War. The book, in reviewing the care needed for soldiers who sustain moral injury—an overwhelming sense of shame, grief, and remorse for having violated one’s core beliefs—covers narrative therapy and using art as a piece of that. During Lynda’s CPE placement at St. Francis Regional Medical Center in Shakopee, she connected with an alternative medicine practitioner who taught her to use aroma therapy and guided imagery for self-care. The premise, as Lynda explains, is that these techniques “release the deep care for another’s story that is not mine to hold.” She learned to hold space for a client’s story, without keeping its emotional weight. The Good Work While at the Hennepin County Home School, Sue worked to get a chaplain position funded at the Juvenile Detention Center in downtown Minneapolis. As it worked out, Sue was employed by the Greater Minneapolis Council Churches for more than 30 years serving as a chaplain for Hennepin County Adult and Juvenile Corrections. During that time, she decided to re-launch a CPE program that the county’s correctional system had ended decades earlier. To do that, Sue dual-tracked a DMin at United with the Certified Educator Training through the Association of Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE). At United, she worked with Christie Cozad Neuger (’80), United’s Professor Emerita of Pastoral Counseling and Pastoral Theology, to build her practice of using narrative therapy as a foundation for spiritual care and counseling with those who are marginalized. Once a year, from 1998–2010, Sue also studied in person with narrative therapy founders Michael White and David Epston through training offered by Minneapolis psychologist Dr. Walter Bera. In 1998, Sue began to offer CPE units in correctional settings. Many chaplains in the Minnesota Department of Corrections have completed CPE with her. In 2017, she started to take CPE students into the MCF–Stillwater for a six-week course in Restorative Justice led by incarcerated men serving life sentences. Photo from the Spring 2023 CPE Graduation at MCF–Stillwater. Two years later, Sue sought funding to allow the incarcerated leaders of the Restorative Justice Council to become CPE students so they could earn master’s level theological education credits and develop their spiritual care skills. Sue’s nonprofit, Social Justice CPE, offers the only units inside prison with incarcerated students in the US. These same students found narrative therapy as a foundation for interfaith spiritual care so life-changing, that many have become adjunct faculty for the Social Justice CPE program. Lynda retired from her 25-year career in tax compliance in 2014 so she could begin a CPE residency at St. Cloud VA Medical Center the following January. It was there that she developed a specialization in trauma-informed care. Working with veterans in dual diagnosis and PTSD programs, Lynda wrote curricula, curated materials, and facilitated/co-facilitated groups to help individuals deal with inner conflict, self-acceptance, anger management, and image rehearsal therapy (nightmare management). After completing her clinical residency, job offers came in simultaneously from Allina Health Hospice and the Minnesota Department of Corrections. Once she remembered why she began her seminary journey, Lynda began chaplain work with the Department of Corrections in 2016. As she explains her choice, “I’m wired to see the underdog and advocate for the underdog, and I understand the oppressor and the oppressed.” She served at MCF-Oak Park Heights and MCF-Stillwater before being called to MCF-Lino Lakes. These days, in addition to providing spiritual care and all religious services, Lynda runs a quarterly grief and loss class for those incarcerated at MCF-Lino Lakes, a unique treatment facility with both medium- and minimum-security housing that also includes opportunities for secondary and higher education. In working with veterans and incarcerated individuals, Lynda encourages them to identify grief and loss in their life stories. Often trauma occurs in childhood, a time before one has the capacity to make sense of the events in their life. She uses the Internal Family Systems therapy model to identify individuals’ misbeliefs about themselves in a safe and nonjudgmental way so they can embrace those parts with compassion. “Part of the adult waking up,” Lynda explains, “is giving language to the deepest feelings/emotions we have absorbed as children in the midst of trauma.” She helps them to understand that the action that resulted in their incarceration was likely a desperate means of survival. At the same time, the action does not have to define them, and it doesn’t mean they are defective. By “peeling back layers” of protective veneer to expose foundational sources of grief and loss, Lynda can validate their pain, guide them to process past trauma, and teach them to feel compassion for their younger selves. She also offers spiritual direction in accord with their identified faith. Restorative Justice Both Sue and Lynda are committed to Restorative Justice and Liberation Theology. Their beliefs in and practices around trauma-informed care, narrative therapy, and relationship building are a far cry from the prototypically punitive “justice system.” It also offers prison leaders and those who leave prison greater self-awareness and renewed possibilities for hope and purpose. Wardens at MCF–Stillwater, Sue reports, have recognized that incarcerated individuals who went through the CPE training “make the prisons safer for incarcerated persons and staff.” The 20 trained “spiritual care mentors” (known by other incarcerated men as inmate chaplains) are on call 24–7 and use their well-developed spiritual care skills of de-escalation, conflict mediation, grief and loss processing, and trauma-informed and responsive care.   Damien, David, and John, three CPE alums, discuss the training and its ongoing impact. As Sue shared in a 2022 Social Justice CPE Newsletter, “As the CPE group forms and stories are told with such courage and accountability, there is a relational quality and sacred space that somehow happens. In the outpouring of stories—some horrendously tragic, some so pain-filled—there is yet the sparkle and shimmer of the spirit…the sacred…the light shining through the clouds.” As one of the incarcerated alums said at a Social Justice CPE graduation, “In this dark place, a little light goes a long way; sparking a hope is contagious.” Lynda also believes that the space she opens up with narrative therapy and internal family systems work can help each prisoner’s “soul spark” in recognition of their “divine self.” There’s a clear value to walking alongside each person, empowering them to be in charge of their own healing. When she helps prisoners prepare for parole hearings, Lynda explains, “we meet to process their life story, as the focus shifts from their crime and rehabilitation…to their inner story of change. My preferred metaphor is using ‘I am’ statements to ‘keep the boat out of the weeds.’ It is profound work to shift from ‘I'm not going to…and I'm no longer’ to ’I am.’” Gratitude To secure relevant spiritual resources for those with whom she works, Lynda says, “United continues to offer a deep bench of consults.” Sue asks, “What would I have done without United honoring my deep desire to do this work?” She has won national awards from ACPE for prophetic and innovative leadership. United is equally grateful for the spiritual dedication with which Sue and Lynda have ministered to those who have been exiled from society. We applaud their work to recognize that all people, regardless of who they are, what they have done, or what they believe, are beloved members of the community. * Deceased

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November 13, 2023
Alums Chaplaincy VOICES

Alums Rev. Dr. Sue Allers-Hatlie and Rev. Lynda Lee Promote Healing in Prisons

Rev. Dr. Susan Allers-Hatlie (’85, ’04) and Rev. Lynda Lee (’14) are prison chaplains. Sue, an Association of Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) Certified Educator, teaches CPE to prisoners and seminarians inside Minnesota Correctional Facility (MCF)-Stillwater. Lynda, a trauma-informed care specialist, runs a grief and loss class at MCF-Lino Lakes. In their work, both have created uniquely effective means of ministering within prisons. Answering a Call Sue was raised in the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and considered being a lawyer or probation officer. Directed by her Lutheran college to a seminary, her burgeoning interest in prison chaplaincy was deemed an unacceptable path. Stepping away, she found a CPE course at the University of Minnesota and a mentor who pointed her to United and the UCC. United offered a contextual formation process to meet Sue’s goals. She studied liberation theology with Rev. Dr. Robert Bryant, Professor Emeritus of Constructive Theology, who took students on an eye-opening trip to Central and South America where poverty and oppression mirrors the US “pipeline to prison.” She completed an internship at MCF-Shakopee, a women’s prison, with alum Carrie Dorfman* (’78). Lynda, a music major in college, has always been creative. She discovered United through a United/Minneapolis Institute of Arts joint project and ARTS: The Arts in Religion and Theological Studies. Gradually, Lynda realized she wanted to work with people in prison and began volunteering. When her friend, Patsy Herbert* (’15), said she was taking classes at United, Lynda decided to apply. Working full time, Lynda earned her MDiv in six years. A CPE unit taught her to recoup energy expended in ministering. United’s arts emphasis helped her value the process of creation as storytelling and subvert the idea of failure. In her final semester, Lynda met Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock, whose book, Soul Repair, reinforced the practice of using art in narrative healing. Making a Difference In 1998, Sue started a DMin at United and Certified Educator Training through ACPE. Rev. Dr. Christie Cozad Neuger (’80), Professor Emerita of Pastoral Counseling and Pastoral Theology, guided Sue’s work in narrative therapy. Sue then offered CPE units in correctional settings. In 2019, she sought funding to expand CPE training to imprisoned leaders so they could gain credits and learn spiritual care skills. It was the first such program in the US. Since finishing CPE units with seminarians and incarcerated leaders, Sue asserts that “doing CPE inside prisons is a way to practice anti-racist commitments, integrate restorative justice, and live out liberation theology.” It is also systems change. Prison chaplaincy is vital to restorative justice. As Lynda explains, when she can help people to deconstruct sources of their pain/grief, become aware of somatic responses to feelings, and accept that past events and actions do not have to define them or their future, a new life story becomes possible. “Real healing,” she adds, comes from “addressing losses that have been unarticulated and offering compassion to those parts of yourself.” Lynda also seeks out relevant spiritual resources for the diversity of faith communities at the prison. For this work, she says, “United continues to offer a deep bench of consults.” “What would I have done without United honoring my deep desire to do this work?” Sue asks. She has won national awards for being prophetic and innovative. “United seminarians,” she adds, “have been amazing, and transformations are literally contagious as the learning unfolds between all of the students!” * Deceased

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November 7, 2023
students VOICES

Rev. Canon Tyrone Fowlkes Melds Art and Justice into His Ministry

Born into a religious family, DMin student Rev. Canon Tyrone Fowlkes grew up in what he describes as, for years, “the only Black Wesleyan Church in Indiana—what I affectionately call the ‘old church.’” He credits his upbringing in the church for giving him “the faith for which I will always be grateful.” These days, however, Tyrone has moved past his conservative upbringing and embraced a vision of ministering through faith, justice, and art. “Growing up,” Tyrone remembers, “I had an acute awareness of mistreatment and injustice…and was particularly attuned…when it occurred in the church.” He guesses that a desire to call out unjust treatment of women and those in the LGBTQ+ community perhaps fueled his sense of call to ordination. “I had a burgeoning career as an art director,” Tyrone shares, “when I noticed what felt like a tug at my spirit.” In 1995, he enrolled in an MDiv program at Christian Theological Seminary (CTS)—affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)—in Indianapolis. Choosing United for the Next Step The pandemic caused Tyrone to re-examine his life and future. He already had several years of practical ministry experience, but no clear direction. “Suddenly,” he recounts, “I could sense an urgency to start weaving together my life as an artist, my history in social services, and my passion for justice.” It was time to move on to a doctorate degree. Why United? “I’ve known about United for a long time,” Tyrone  explains. He remembers reading United’s journal, ARTS: The Arts in Religion and Theological Studies, at CTS and says it was one of the few resources that allowed him to “envision being an artist and a leader in the church.” In the end, “the decision to enroll at United was the obvious choice.” Preparing for the Future As he pursues his DMin, Tyrone says he’s been gleaning lessons both from faculty and fellow students. “I’m learning,” he says, “that effective religious leadership right now is dependent on openness, understanding, and flexibility. I see great examples of this in my peers who are engaged in some rather challenging ministry contexts.” To make an impact, he asserts, “We now have to minister…in contexts that are increasingly multi-faith, spirituality-fluid, and secular.” Faculty, Tyrone suggests, encourage students to develop the capacity to hold in balance ambiguity and uncertainty while embracing spontaneity and creativity. He credits his Public Theology, Engaging in a Multi-Faith World, and Arts for Leadership classes for “tapping into some of the problem-solving skills which I intuitively practice as an artist in ways that also apply to the various arenas in which I travel as a priest.” At present, Tyrone is serving as the Canon for Congregational Life at Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, a position he accepted last year. He notes that while the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) helped him recognize his ministerial gifts, the Episcopal Church inspired in him the desire to become ordained and step into the priesthood. Tyrone is currently in his 14th year of the priesthood. Equipped with his DMin in Theology and the Arts, Tyrone hopes to “start integrating everything that I have pondered, learned, and experimented with in the arts, in social justice, and in ministry.” He can envision a new model of ministry at the “intersection of faith, justice, and art” that will help faith communities “deepen their connections to the neighborhoods they occupy” and gain the skills they need “to affect social change.”

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