Author: scribe

Featured Post

June 5, 2026
Community Culture Entrepreneur Formation Voice

Rev. Dr. Justin Sabia-Tanis to Be Appointed Inaugural Occupant of the Wilson Yates Chair in Theology and the Arts

Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, June 5, 2026 — United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities is elated to announce that Rev. Dr. Justin Sabia-Tanis will be appointed as the first-ever occupant of the Wilson Yates Chair in Theology and the Arts. Until now, he has served faithfully as the McVay Associate Professor of Christian Ethics and Social Transformation, as well as Director of the Social Transformation Program. Before joining United, Rev. Dr. Sabia-Tanis served as a congregational minister in Boston, Honolulu, and San Francisco, and was Director of Leadership Development for Metropolitan Community Churches, after which he joined the United Church of Christ (UCC). Rev. Dr. Sabia-Tanis’ ministry includes community organizing and advocacy. He has served as managing director at the Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies in Religion (CLGS) as well as communications director for the Hawai’i Equal Rights Marriage Project, the National Center for Transgender Equality, and Out & Equal Workplace Advocates. He received his PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies from Graduate Theological Union in 2017, his DMin from San Francisco Theological Seminary in 2003, and his MDiv from Harvard Divinity School in 1990. His teaching experience spans courses at the University of Arizona, Pima Community College, Iliff School of Theology, and Pacific School of Religion. As an eminent academic and theologian, Dr. Sabia-Tanis’ scholarship has deepened the study of the intersection of art and LGBTQ+ religious identity. He recently completed writing Queer Spirituality, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity in Contemporary Visual Art, to be released later this year by Bloomsbury Academic. Dr. Sabia-Tanis also wrote the groundbreaking book Transgendered Ministry, Theology and Communities of Faith (Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 2003; Wipf & Stock, 2018) and authored a chapter in Transbiblical: New Approaches to Interpretation and Embodiment in Scripture (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2025).  In 2024, he gave a lecture in the art gallery of Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church in Minneapolis, MN, on the life and art of Keith Haring. Dr. Sabia-Tanis is himself an artist, and he hones and cultivates the creative expression of the artist-theologians enrolled in his courses. In his announcement of the news to United students, Dr. Kyle Roberts—Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs—connected Rev. Dr. Sabia-Tanis’ education and qualifications to the field of theology and the arts. “Dr. Sabia-Tanis appreciates and champions the legacy of Dr. Yates and the leadership of United in the area of arts and theology,” Dr. Roberts asserted. “He also advocates for the intersection of the arts with movements for social justice and will bring to his teaching and leadership a synergy of theology and arts, along with his contributions to the education of social transformation at United.” Rev. Dr. Molly T. Marshall, President, commended the news for this esteemed member of the faculty. “The wide-ranging scholarship of Dr. Justin Sabia-Tanis will elevate this position as the arts serve as a medium for social transformation.” Established in 2025 by generous gifts from friends, alums, and former United faculty, the Wilson Yates Chair in Theology and the Arts is an endowed faculty position named after Rev. Dr. Wilson Yates, President Emeritus and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Religion, Society, and the Arts. Yates joined United’s faculty in 1967, became Dean in 1988, and was made President in 1996. He retired from the seminary in 2005, having led and innovated in theology and the arts, deepened scholarship, and integrated the subject as a pillar of United’s academic programs. Rev. Dr. Yates celebrated the news and is eager to see Rev. Dr. Sabia-Tanis installed into the chair. He reflects, “I am very excited about Justin’s selection for this role. His studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley will provide an important background to this work. Justin brings a solid understanding of the relationship to the arts in theology, the church, and everyday life. It is not incidental that he is also a practicing artist.” On his appointment to the chair, Rev. Dr. Sabia-Tanis shares, “United has valued and integrated the arts since our founding. They are critical to how our students are formed, and in the ministries and projects they will lead when they graduate. I am so honored to move into this important role at United and continue the incredible legacy of Wilson Yates. And I'm looking forward to the ways this program will evolve and grow in the coming years.” The installation of Dr. Sabia-Tanis into the Wilson Yates Chair in Theology and the Arts will be formally celebrated at Fall Convocation on Thursday, September 24, 2026. Details will be announced in the coming months. 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

Read More >

October 24, 2018
Community Culture Entrepreneur Formation Voice

The Verdict Is In! Spiritual Leaders Need To Be Entrepreneurial.

Some call it social innovation, redemptive entrepreneurship, missional innovation, spiritual entrepreneurship – pick your #hashtag, – but it is no longer a niche. It’s a full-blown, interfaith movement. Many spiritual leaders complain that they did not learn how to revitalize dying churches or start new ones when they were in seminary, because it was not part of the curriculum. Well at United you can gain those skills through the efforts of the Department of Student Formation, Vocation, Experience and the Arts. We are developing offering, opportunities, 1:1 conversation, community visits, shadowing and coaching to students who feel called to explore entrepreneurial concepts and practices in their upcoming or current ministries. What are some of the characteristics entrepreneurial spiritual leaders possess and develop? (more…)

Read More >

October 23, 2018

“You Are Not Alone”: Response to the Government’s Attacks on Trans Civil Rights

Friends, this weekend we all read or heard of a N.Y. Times article that reported that the U.S. Government is considering denying the existence of Transgender people.   While the cruelty of the current administration is well-documented and only shocking in its consistent heartlessness; that reality does not bring any comfort.   I recognize that the impact of discussions like this one re-traumatize those who, until recently, could not dare to be themselves.  Who only recently, and with great bravery, could identify and describe their own sense of self.    There is little that can be said to reduce the pain caused by those who deny the identity of others.  Know that you are not alone. Know that those around you care and feel a piece of the pain caused. Know that we will fight alongside you for the right to be who you are. Know that United is and will be a safe place for all to be and be known. Peace, Lew

Read More >

October 12, 2018
Arts Campus News Convocation Move

Convocation 2018: “As we elevate what is holy, may we be transformed.”

United's 2018 Fall Convocation was held on September 25. President Lew Zeidner welcomed all with a message about tolerating and leaning into ambiguity. Dr. Jennifer Awes Freeman, installed this year as Assistant Professor of Theology & the Arts, delivered an address using metaphors of pilgrimage and elevation.  Below you can watch the full ceremony: (more…)

Read More >

September 27, 2018
Formation

CARING FOR THE CAREGIVER

Critical incident and cumulative stress are an everyday reality for paramedics, EMTs and dispatchers. Concerns about the mental health and potential suicide risk of our co-workers challenge us as an industry to be intentional about providing appropriate, professional support.EMS Week is an opportunity to step back, recognize and care for our caregivers. At Allina Health EMS, a hospital-based EMS agency that serves more than 100 communities in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area, we established a position of EMS chaplain to focus on the wellbeing of our employees. This paid, 32 hour a week position resembles the role and function of military chaplains. I’m “embedded with the troops,” riding with ambulance crews and sitting along with dispatchers, building relationships with frontline staff and following up after potentially stressful incidents. (more…)

Read More >

September 27, 2018
lgbtq ministry social justice social transformation students theological education Theology

Queer, Christian, and Ready to Serve: Putting the Pieces Together

Nikole Mitchell is a first year student at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, where she is pursuing an M.Div. with a concentration in Social Transformation: "My whole life I’ve had to choose between social justice and my faith," she explains. "I never had a place where those two came together. So, when a friend of a friend suggested I check out United, I went on the school's website and saw they had a  Social Transformation program. Plus, was interfaith and affirming. It was everything I’d been looking for!" (more…)

Read More >

September 27, 2018

“I am going to make what the spirit brings me:” Alumna Amoke Kubat on Art, Spirituality, and the Theology of Prince

 Yoruba priestess, community activist, and local artist, Amoke Kubat graduated from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in 2017 with a Master’s of Arts & Leadership and a concentration in Black Church Leadership. I first met Amoke when I was a new student and she was a recent alumna. We grew to know each other better as the semester continued as she was auditing a class I was taking: Theological Interpretation of the Arts. “My art has always been a response,” Amoke explains. “Like I wanted to say this to you and somehow we didn’t have enough time or hadn’t thought it through to process it. I kind of work it out in my head -- a response to something I saw, something I felt, something I dreamed.” Through writing, weaving, painting, doll-making, or performing, Amoke says art is a form of communication. “I am a reluctant priestess, always have been. I am very introverted. I can only use about two hours of being with people, and after that, I want to crawl under a rock! So, my priestess work and my artistry is more in the art itself: those messages, those commentaries.” The truths that art communicates are clear both in what Amoke discerns from paintings discussed in class and in her play ANGRY BLACK WOMAN and Well Intentioned White Girl: “I was in a meeting and someone said I was angry, and in my head I go ‘Oh my god.’ Later, I see my friend, a white woman. We hadn’t seen each other in a while, we’re hugging, and I let out a sigh: ‘I am so tired of being considered the angry black woman when I am passionate.’ And my friend saw it and said ‘Yeah, by the ‘well-intentioned white girl.’” And I said “Ah, you know something huh? Maybe we should talk about this.’” (Promotional from Facebook for ANGRY BLACK WOMAN and Well Intentioned White Girl) Amoke and her friend continued to have conversations about the tensions between black and white women, particularly in Minnesota. Conversations led to workshops, workshops to a script, and in 2016, ANGRY BLACK WOMAN and Well Intentioned White Girl was produced at Intermedia Arts with Amoke acting in it. “It had two sold out shows, and they wanted to third. But i said no, I’m exhausted I can’t do it. I’m not an actress, I learned my lane,” Amoke laughs. “I couldn’t even remember my own dialogue. And being a first time playwright, my first monologue was three pages! So I’m trying to do a monologue--had clues everywhere-- but at one point I just picked up the script and started reading it. I said what are they gonna do, kill me onstage?” Still in 201, the play has received several public readings, and Amoke is in the process of having the play tour.  When it comes to Amoke’s artistic process, it is one of spiritual embodiment. “I am a person who is very embodied. I feel things through my senses. I think I have more than five of them. I think I use more than five at least!” Sitting in the Intersection at United, Amoke gestures upstairs, where a dress she built is on display. “The textures of beads to my hands felt so familiar. When I let loose and said I am not going to make this traditional African costume, I don’t have the tools, the time, the know how, the mentors. I am going to make what the spirit brings me. I would listen and it would be like “Oh you need some blood.” And I would be like how do you translate blood without flinging it on the cloth! And I would go “feathers!” And then I would run around Michaels grabbing all these red boas. The project started evolving. Sometimes something didn’t look right; I’d rip it off-I had to trust the process, the spirit. I had to listen.” More recently Amoke received an award at United for an essay on the Theology of Prince. “Prince was a creator that for all happenstance was the seed that busted through a sidewalk, the frozen tundra of this place. There’s kind of a joke about the Midwest that there is Black people in the Midwest and the punchline is why? That was something eye-opening to think about, this landscape where people come from. Black people historically have been disenfranchised with land bases, having property and being property, and tilling land for free. And here’s this amazing person that’s everything that doesn’t add up to the norm He was diminutive in stature, he comes from a family of poverty with abuse in his lifetime, tragedies that he didn’t speak of, but there was something in him that said i’m gonna bust through all this and I’m gonna make music.” (Photo by current student Lisa Myers, and a visual art winner for Theology of Prince prize).   Amoke continues “I think of Prince as the human being: the erotic and the spiritual coming together in one body. He did a lot of investigation, exploration, and expression of the erotic. And I see the life spark as erotic. I see God as erotic, the creator as eroticism. You have to have an attraction. You have expansion and contraction, we have that in air, the sound waves, trees expanding and contracting--they go dormant and come back out--, things go into the ground, things leave the body: we see all of that. And I think musically Prince expressed that in a way that had not been expressed before. Of course he had people that he admired but it was like compost. He used all of that to become something new. Even though he didn’t call himself nonbinary or a specific gender, he took all of that and made his own salad--not a woman not a man something that you cannot understand. As a student of his music I came to understand a greater spectrum of humanity.” A greater understanding of the human spectrum is clearly evident throughout Amoke’s visual art, her writing, her comments in the classroom, and in her advice to people looking to study at United. “This is a journey of self. I think it’s okay to come with some pre-ideas of where your destiny is, but be open to so much more. Be open to learning about yourself. Come with your preconceived whatever, but come as open as possible and as empty as possible.” Listening to Amoke, one cannot help but feel inspired to go out, to communicate, and to create. “As a person who likes to create,” she advises “you are going to make stuff that people don’t like, you are going to do stuff that you don’t like. But you don’t stop there in that deadzone.” For Amoke, art has been a tool of dialogue, transformation, and “ a way to express the divine.”

Read More >

September 27, 2018
Chaplaincy Civil Rights healthcare injustice interreligious chaplaincy seminary social justice social transformation statement Voice

United Rejects Religious Discrimination in Health Care

On January 18, 2018, the Trump Administration announced the creation of a “civil rights” division within the Department of Health and Human Services that would allow health workers to discriminate against patients and clients by refusing care on religious grounds. United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities declares this policy as sacrilegious, a perversion of civil rights, and un-American. We call for its immediate reversal. (more…)

Read More >

©Copyright 2025 All Rights Reserved