Alums Archives - United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities

October 9, 2026

Alums Homecoming News Releases

Rev. Dr. A. Leon (Lee) Tredwell (’06) Honored As a 2026 Distinguished Alum

United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities is excited to announce that Rev. A. Leon (Lee) Tredwell, PhD—who earned his MA in Theology and Biblical Interpretation from United in 2006—has been selected as a 2026 Distinguished Alum. An accomplished preacher, teacher, and published author, Dr. Tredwell has championed biblical narratives that affirm the divinity of all people, regardless of their race, creed, color, class, gender, or sexuality. Adopted at age four, Lee was raised in the Baptist faith and felt called to ministry as a child. Even so, after earning a degree in Political Science and Sociology at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, he spent the first ten years of his professional life as a grain trader for Cargill. After connecting with Drs. Ralph and Alika Galloway, Lee found United, and his call was reignited. He remembers Rev. Dr. Carolyn Pressler (Professor Emerita of Biblical Interpretation, 1990–2020) and Dean Richard Weis* with great affection. Both teachers, he observes, “taught us to wrestle with the biblical text until it opened up and spoke.” They also introduced Lee to Black and post-colonial 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. Lee also cites the influence of Rev. Dr. Christine Smith’s (Professor Emerita of Preaching 1992–2013) preaching courses on his life. In Colorado, at the University of Denver and Iliff School of Theology, Lee completed a joint PhD program with a concentration in Religion and Social Change in 2017. Ronald Smith, a former United student who nominated Lee for this award, notes, “Dr. Tredwell has demonstrated that he is an innovator and compassionate leader who has served both inside the academy as a professor of African American Preaching at Iliff School of Theology, University of Colorado, Boulder, and in the larger community; he has served as [a] pastor, civil rights and human rights activist, and [a] chief executive officer in Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, and Texas.” Lee’s new book—Black, Queer and Blessed: My Story and the Biblical Story Churches Don’t Teach—was published in June 2025. As the description reads, “For all who believe God-Yahweh is angry, mad, disgusted, and against LGBTQIA+ folx, regrettably, you been had, misled, took, hood-winked and bamboozled! Black, Queer and Blessed, through lived experience and the excavation of the subjugated biblical narrative of Ebed-Melech, demolishes society’s antiquated mores.” The book is part memoir and part theological reflection on the Ebed-Melech revelation. In addition to his roles as teacher, preacher, and author, Lee has specifically worked to promote adoption of Black children from foster care and create affordable housing. These days, he serves as the pastor of Theology and Community Engagement at Allendale United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg, Florida. As Ronald Smith asserts, “Dr. Tredwell is the embodiment and an exemplar of United Theological Seminary’s mission, vision, and values.” * of blessed memory 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, explore multi-faith spirituality, and push the boundaries of knowledge.

October 9, 2026

Alums Homecoming News Releases

Lena K. Gardner (’15) Honored As a 2026 Distinguished Alum

[caption id="attachment_11955" align="alignnone" width="1920"] photo by Bethany Birnie[/caption] United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities is thrilled to announce that Lena K. Gardner—who graduated with an MA in Justice and Peace Studies in 2015—has been selected as one of our three 2026 Distinguished Alums. A highly respected social justice activist and community leader, Lena is the co-founder and executive director of Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU), a nonprofit founded in 2015 that creates life-giving and life-saving opportunities for spiritual community and Black-centered organizing. According to Rev. Dr. Rebecca Voelkel (’13), Lena has “been a force in the Twin Cities’ religiously rooted justice ecosystem for the last 15 years.” Dr. Voelkel, Lena’s nominator, traces Lena’s justice-organizing acumen back to 2011, when she served on the Faith Organizing Roundtable—a body that coordinated religious communities’ opposition to the anti-marriage amendment. Lena went on to champion marriage equality in the 2012–2013 legislative session. After a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, shot and killed Michael Brown, Jr., an unarmed 18-year-old Black teen, in 2014, Lena played a key role in transforming the Faith Organizing Roundtable into the Multifaith Anti-Racism, Change & Healing or MARCH. “In that same period,” Voelkel notes, “Lena was a core team organizer of Black Lives Matter Minneapolis and served on its steering committee.” Lena was deeply involved, quoted in many national and local articles, and interviewed on Minnesota Public Radio after former police officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd in 2020. In April 2021, after a Brooklyn Center police officer killed Daunte Wright during a traffic stop, Lena co-wrote an article in the Sahan Journal demanding that Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecute the case, and that the Hennepin County attorney be removed. More recently, Lena embarked on another ambitious project. In May 2024, through the BLUU Cooperative Housing Initiative, she co-hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for an affordable housing complex for single parents in North Minneapolis. In a MinnPost article about the groundbreaking, Lena explained, “It’s really about trying to give back to one of the communities that made me…. We really see providing stable housing in a cooperative framework as one of the many paths to collective liberation and Black liberation. Ultimately, it’s about self-determination.” When Operation Metro Surge arrived in the Twin Cities in late 2025, Lena took action again. As Voelkel observes, she “returned to the MARCH steering committee…. When MARCH organized a clergy call (in five days) to which 700 clergy came, the ability to create and host such an amazing event owes part of its success to Lena’s relationships with communications specialists, graphic designers, and organizers.” Lena was also a driving force behind Neighbors Helping Neighbors (NHN), a mutual aid group she and Anna Stamborski founded in late 2025 to connect vulnerable ICE-targeted families with congregational networks whose members could provide shopping and transportation services. Through all of Lena’s indefatigable contributions to working for justice, Voelkel asserts, she “has focused on Black excellence, Black power, Black spiritual wholeness, Black beauty, and how non-Black folks can act in solidarity and followership of Black folks, particularly Black queer women. She has done so skillfully through building relationships across differences in ways that facilitate and deepen genuine relationships.”

October 9, 2026

Alums News Releases

Cori Berg (’98) Honored As a 2026 Distinguished Alum

United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities is elated to announce that Cori Berg (’98)—advocate, artist, and educator—is a 2026 Distinguished Alum. Cori earned her Master of Arts (MA) in Theology and the Arts in 1998, and for more than 27 years, she has integrated creativity, art, and spirituality into her field. Cori arrived at United in the 1990s, having majored in theater and minored in studio art during her undergraduate studies. “I knew I had an artistic voice,” she recalls, “but it didn’t make sense in any of the traditional contexts.” After seeing an advertisement for United’s Theology and the Arts program, Cori drove from Dallas to the Twin Cities to visit as a prospective student. A campus art exhibit by Merle Janis was all she needed to see—“this school had something I needed: strength, boldness, vulnerability.” For Cori, “life is liturgy.” She credits United with introducing her to “the freedom in a progressive faith.” At United, Cori learned to expand her creativity, which became a launching pad for a vibrant career. “United gave me a safe, nurturing space to explore, dream, and execute big things,” she writes. “I’ve continued that through the rest of my career as an artist, an educator, an administrator, and a speaker.” Art is central to Cori’s work and features prominently in her curriculum development for children. Her art was featured in the 2012 opening parade for the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in Dallas, TX, a project that involved “seniors, children, and adults in all aspects” from a local Methodist community program. Ministry with Children and Spirituality, courses taught by Rev. Dr. Barbara Anne Keely (Professor Emerita, 1991–2015), were particularly formative for Cori’s future in education. “I remember she taught us to get on the floor and view the church nursery from a baby’s point of view,” Cori reflects. “I use this today over and over as I teach early childhood educators…. She introduced the idea of seeing oneself not as a separate body, mind, or spirit, but when one part of my being is suffering, to use the other parts to help lift that part.” More recently, Cori has been an active community member at Dallas Meditation Center, where she is known for her moving dharma talks that weave Buddhist themes into contemporary storytelling. In public schools and congregational settings, Cori has applied what she learned as a United student to the field of early childhood education, for which—nominator Rev. Jim Peck (’99) points out—she has become “one of the nation’s leading advocates.” When facing challenges in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cori leveraged her ingenuity and creative vision to support educators with online training resources. As a teacher and an administrator in spaces where lack of institutional funding and support are commonplace, Jim observes, “she uses her [United] education to work for justice and equity,” to “nurture relationships in the early childhood settings where she has served, with an expertise in working in settings in crisis to encourage recovery, healing, and new paths for serving the future.” In May 2026, Cori completed her MEd in Curriculum and Instruction at American College of Education, where she immediately enrolled to begin her EdD in Early Childhood Education. She serves as an executive director at the University of Kansas (KU) and anticipates returning to Dallas to live near her family at the end of the year while awaiting her next opportunity. We are delighted to celebrate Cori and her decades of faithful, innovative leadership in the field of early childhood education and art. 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, explore multi-faith spirituality, and push the boundaries of knowledge.

July 2, 2026

Alums Church Community Relationships Faith Formation Legacy UCC

St. Mark’s UCC Gifts an Endowed Scholarship to United

United graduates have an impact on United in countless ways. President Molly T. Marshall notes that they are, in fact, our letters of recommendation. They embody the educational experience they had at United in the work they pursue, in how they live out their faith traditions, and in the impact they have in the world. We see this in myriad ways. There is the alum who is a recurring donor and the alum who creates a legacy gift to support future students. There is the alum who introduces President Marshall to a new donor. And there is the alum who sees another person’s interest in theological education and encourages them to pursue a degree at United. Recently, we have seen up close the impact of the work of Rev. Jennifer Jaimez (’98). Jennifer’s first call was to St. Mark’s UCC in Bloomington, Minnesota, which was founded in 1954. Jennifer served at St. Mark’s for 28 years and, like other pastors, she had a significant influence on members and the broader community. St. Mark’s also had an impact on United. During Jennifer’s ministry, eight students from United completed nine-month internships at St. Mark’s. As interns, these students were part of a learning community that helped them hone skills in teaching, preaching, counseling, and administration. The congregation, along with Jennifer, mentored and encouraged them. They have all gone on to do a multitude of things: serving in nonprofits, rural churches, city churches, and more. St. Mark’s investment in United students had a significant impact. As for many congregations, the pandemic was difficult for St. Mark’s. Three years ago, they made the painful decision to complete their ministry and intentionally repurpose their assets while it was still their choice. In addition to supporting the Minnesota Conference UCC and the Bloomington Housing and Redevelopment Authority, they made a significant gift to United. A relationship that began with mentoring interns grew into a newly endowed UCC scholarship. The St. Mark’s endowed scholarship will provide financial support for UCC students who wish to attend seminary. This gift creates an enduring legacy for St. Mark’s and will provide support for future students. As the gift was announced, their moderator, Cindy Russell, said, “This gift will defray the cost of seminary education. Support for future leaders of the church remains important as the church continues to evolve into new ways of being the church.” This spring, we have been blessed to establish several new endowed scholarships in addition to the one from St. Mark’s. Estate gifts from Joanne* (’82) and Thomas* Rohrict, and Elden* (Yankon, ’55) and Norma* Zuern have created a lasting legacy and investment in United. A recent gift from George (Mission House, ’55) and Joyce Schowalter will allow them to see, while they are living, the impact of scholarship support. Currently, 57 percent of scholarships are covered by generous gifts and endowed scholarships. The other 43 percent is paid out of United’s annual budget. Each scholarship gift, each new endowed scholarship, or gift to an already endowed scholarship, helps us expand offerings to our students. We don’t want financial limitations to become a barrier for students who feel called to attend United. Your scholarship gifts supported Jennifer while she was a student. Her experience at United, along with the skills she has learned along the way, helped her shepherd St. Mark’s for more than two decades and through the difficult decision to complete their ministry. Your gifts to United continue to make this happen. We give thanks for the lasting legacies created by these and many other faithful donors. __________________________ * Deceased

June 25, 2026

Activism Alums immigration justice Liberation Theology

Alum Rev. Todd Lippert (’03): Living a Public Ministry

As Rev. Todd Lippert was growing up, his life was dominated by two constants: music and church. Both of his parents were music teachers. His dad was the high school choir director, and his mom was the elementary school music teacher. Though his family had been Baptist for generations, they ended up attending a United Church of Christ (UCC) church where his mom was hired to play the organ. It was also much closer to home than the nearest Baptist church. “I always took Christian faith very seriously,” Todd asserts. “The church was a sacred and holy place to me.” In seventh grade, Todd remembers talking to his father. “I was at the bottom of the stairs talking to my dad at the top of the stairs. And that was when I said for the first time, ‘I wonder if I might want to be a pastor someday.’” But, Todd adds, “the idea was really terrifying to me,” so he put it out of his mind. At the University of Iowa, he pursued a music degree. During a philosophy class toward the end of college, a professed atheist professor began asking some of the same questions about faith that Todd was confronting. “I was wrestling with whether I was a Christian or not.” Deciding on Seminary The turning point came one Sunday morning after graduation when Todd and his wife were at church. At the time, he was selling Yellow Pages ads and contemplating an MBA. “I hated it,” Todd confesses. “I was miserable.” Watching the preacher at First United Methodist Church in Iowa City, he thought, “Maybe I could do that, and maybe I need to pay attention to this call to ministry that keeps bubbling up.” United was the first UCC seminary that came up on the computer, and when Todd visited, “it felt like home for me as soon as I arrived.” Since his wife was doing graduate work at the University of Minnesota, they moved to the Twin Cities. “At United,” Todd recalls, “I had the space to figure out how Christianity was meaningful and how this faith fit together for me.” Professors who welcomed and encouraged his questions were key to his faith formation, and the “liberation theology that moved through the curriculum, with its focus on justice, was extremely appealing to me.” Todd was also inspired by his classmates. “I saw the student body deeply engaged in the political and social questions of the day.” At United from 2000 to 2003, Todd experienced the Bush v. Gore lawsuit, 9/11 terror attacks, Minnesota senator Paul Wellstone’s tragic death, and the Iraq war launch as he was earning his MDiv. Public Theology Justice-seeking activism, Todd asserts, “really cemented my understanding that the body of Christ is about bringing the realm of God into being wherever it is. And that was something that would have to make my life better and make my community better.” Since graduating, Todd has worked as a UCC pastor, a Minnesota state legislator (2018–2022), a community organizer with ISAIAH, and a community minister with Creekside Church. The clergy organizing work during Operation Metro Surge was especially impactful and reconnected him with United. Todd went through “nonviolent direct action training with Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock, one of the authors I read.” He also worked with Rev. Dr. Carolyn Pressler, his former Hebrew scripture professor. United, notes Todd, equipped him “to be able to understand what is going on in our world, and in our communities, and I had the tools to get better and better at that, reading the present through a biblical and theological lens.” He is extraordinarily proud of the way the church showed up in Minnesota and grateful for United. “I really want,” Todd concludes, “the love-your-neighbor values of the church to be a force in our public life, not an afterthought. I want it to be a force in our political life.”

December 17, 2025

Alums Community Entrepreneur

Lauren Busey (’07) Ministers to a New Beloved Community at Pickledilly Skokie

Lauren Busey (’07) grew up in the Lutheran church, earned an undergraduate degree from Luther College, and thought she would probably attend a Lutheran seminary. Then, at a Luther College women’s retreat, Rev. Dr. Christie Cozad Nueger (’80)— Professor Emerita of Pastoral Counseling and Pastoral Theology (1992–2005)—was the featured speaker and knew Lauren’s campus pastor. “So,” Lauren remembers, “we just kind of got to talking, and within a couple of weeks, I was enrolled at United.” United “was a good fit,” Lauren asserts. She found a welcoming community of fellow students and treasured professors. Those who had the greatest impact include Rev. Dr. Jann Cather Weaver (Associate Professor Emerita of Worship, and Theology and the Arts, 2001–2012), Dr. Marilyn Salmon† (Professor Emerita of New Testament Theology, 1989–2014), and Dr. Carolyn Pressler (Professor Emerita of Biblical Interpretation, 1990–2020). After seminary, Lauren accepted a call back home in Evanston, Illinois, at the church where she grew up, Trinity Lutheran Church. Despite being a bit apprehensive about serving as the director of Faith Formation at her home church, Lauren found that the parishioners were warmly welcoming and supportive. She’s been there ever since and notes that the flexibility of the position allowed for a positive work-life balance. Lauren and her wife are raising two children. Just this year, however, Lauren, along with her wife and two business partners, embarked on a new venture—and in February 2025, the four co-owners opened a new state-of-the-art pickleball court in Skokie, Illinois. Dubbed Pickledilly Skokie, the new indoor space features 11.5 courts under high ceilings, lockers, a lounge area, and a pro shop. Plus, the venue is in the same complex as Sketchbook Brewing Company and has abundant free parking. So what happened? “I think my wife would say that I’ve always been the big idea person,” Lauren explains. Usually, she continues, Amy “nods and smiles and keeps on going,” but this time she agreed with the idea. Both Lauren and Amy are avid pickleball players, and Lauren says she found that the activity was much more of a “community-based sport.” Community was the key. As Lauren stated in a July 18, 2025, interview for Ryan Glatzhofer’s The Locals: Stories of Courageous Entrepreneurs, “One of the things that has always been a passion of mine is bringing people together.” Going a step further, she said more recently, “One of our pillars is that this is a safe space, and we are welcoming here.” How did United prepare Lauren for entrepreneurship? “United was really helpful to me in expanding my worldview and my understanding of diversity and not assuming you know where people are coming from.” As for the connection to ministry, Lauren asserts, “We’re still grounded in the same way of taking care of people, and loving people, and meeting them where they are.” __________________________ † of blessed memory

October 15, 2025

Alums Community Relationships ministry pastoral care

Rev. Dr. Stephen C. Hsieh (’70) Honored as United’s 2025 Distinguished Alum

United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities is proud to announce that Rev. Dr. Stephen C. Hsieh (’70) is the seminary’s 2025 Distinguished Alum. A gifted and experienced multilingual pastor, staunch justice advocate, and dedicated intergenerational mentor and consensus builder, Hsieh is now a retired pastor and teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church (USA and in Taiwan). When Hsieh started at United in 1968, he had just emigrated from Taiwan. Nominator Valerie Chu recounts how Hsieh worked in the cafeteria at United to defray the cost of seminary and learned to make traditional Midwestern fare, like tuna noodle casserole. After his fiancée joined Hsieh in Minnesota, Rev. Dr. Ruben H. Huenemann (President Emeritus 1960–1990) married the couple in United’s chapel in 1969. Upon graduation, Hsieh served a church in Iowa where, Chu asserts, “his very presence as a short, bespectacled Asian man among the hardy Midwestern farmers represented an early public witness about the gospel’s power to bridge differences and nurture diverse communities of faith.” From Iowa, he moved to California, where he founded a Taiwanese-language congregation in San Jose. Fluent in Chinese Mandarin, English, and Taiwanese, Hsieh was more than a minister to Taiwanese immigrants in California. As Chu explains, he was also “a friend and guide to help these new Americans navigate landlord disputes, court hearings, immigration forms, and employment applications.” Over time, Hsieh became a member, and eventually Chairperson, of the National Taiwanese Presbyterian Council of the Presbyterian Church (USA), a position through which he served as a liaison between Taiwanese Presbyterians and PCUSA. Rev. Dr. Chelsea Chui, who met Hsieh through the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan General Assembly (PCT), notes that “Hsieh helped introduce and strengthen relationships between the PCUSA and the PCT, particularly in Christian education ministries.” In the 1990s, Hsieh, representing the San Jose Presbytery and Pacific Synod, became a member of PCUSA’s Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy. Once he became chair, Chu reports, Hsieh led with “grace, gentleness, and humility,” even when discussions became heated. In one significant case, Chu notes, “Hsieh represented the Presbyterian Church (USA) to apologize to, and ask forgiveness from, Native American Tribes for the church’s inaction during the 1973 Wounded Knee Occupation.” While on the committee, Hsieh—as a respected leader within the PCUSA with important experience and language skills—also had an opportunity to lead a team of clergy and laity to Nanjing, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in 1997. According to Chu, the team met with “the [chair] of the official government supervisory organization over Protestantism in the People’s Republic of China, to urge China to assure freedom of worship for all believers.” As Chu concludes, “The Rev. Dr. Stephen C. Hsieh has spent decades fulfilling [United’s] call for its students to change the world as innovative and compassionate leaders. He has embodied Christ’s heart for peace and justice to unite people across cultures, generations, and political divides.” Join us in celebrating and congratulating Rev. Dr. Stephen Hsieh!

October 15, 2025

Alums Ecology Ethics leadership UUA

Rev. Stacy Craig (’20) Honored as United’s 2025 Spirit of United Alum

United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities is delighted to announce that Rev. Stacy Craig (’20) has been selected as the 2025 recipient of our Spirit of United Award. Established in 2023, the Spirit of United award celebrates recent alums who have done “exceptional work that reflects the mission of United in the church, in faith communities, or in society.” Craig—an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister—has also lived into the vocation of an eco-chaplain, dedicating herself to remaining present within the interconnected web of life, as myriad lifeforms struggle to adapt to the changing climate. As nominator Rev. Dr. Kimi Floyd Reish (’19, ’24) explains, In her congregational work in Wisconsin and California, [Craig] has guided communities to see climate change not only as a scientific or political crisis but as a moral and spiritual one. She preaches and teaches about repair, resistance, and resilience, inviting people into practices that restore relationships with one another and with the living world. Her ministry brings forward a theology that insists faith must be present in the public square and that spiritual care must include the ecosystems in which we live. Northland College (Ashland, Wisconsin)—where Craig graduated cum laude in 2004 with a BA in Religion and Philosophy/Outdoor Education—was where her focus on eco-theology took root. Following graduation, she became an environmental education program coordinator at the Sigurd Olson Environmental Institute, an outreach arm of Northland College. For another 10 years, Craig worked at Northland College, helping students discern career choices, supporting events, and teaching courses in the Religious Studies Department as an adjunct instructor. When Northland faced impending closure in the early 2020s, Floyd Reish notes, Craig “was a public voice of grief and resilience, reminding her community of the importance of institutions that have long carried the work of environmental education and justice on the shores of Lake Superior.” Through these actions, Floyd Reish adds, she “showed what it means to live out United’s mission of preparing leaders who change the world as faithful and ethical servants.” Rev. Greg Meland, United’s director of Spiritual and Vocational Formation from 2014 to 2019 and internship instructor of record, knew Craig from her time at Northland College and at United. When she was considering seminary, admissions asked Meland to talk to Craig. As he recalls, “She lived close to our lake place, and we had a long conversation sitting on our deck. When she left, I thought, ‘This is exactly the kind of person who should be in seminary preparing to pastor and lead.’” Clearly, he was right. As Floyd Reish concludes, “In less than five years since her graduation, [Craig’s] work has strengthened local congregations, deepened public conversations about environmental ethics, and provided a living example of what it means to be a United alum who leads with integrity and vision.” Join us in celebrating and congratulating Rev. Stacy Craig!

June 23, 2025

Alums Community Relationships VOICES

Mary Ann Murray (’76) Treasures the Relationships She Established at United

In 1969, when Mary Ann Murray (’76) enrolled at United, America was embroiled in the Vietnam War, and the seminary, which opposed the war, had spent its first seven years led by and attended by men. It was also a residential school, where faculty and students lived on campus and forged a collegial bond. Along with Rev. Marilyn Creel (’72), Mary Ann was one of the first two women to enroll in the Master of Divinity (MDiv) program. Unlike their colleagues, neither lived on campus. Mary Ann was married, with young children, and Marilyn was not allowed to live on campus as a single woman. Considering Seminary Though Mary Ann was raised in the American Baptist denomination, she first learned of United at a community church where the pastor also served as an adjunct faculty member at the seminary. At the time, Mary Ann was teaching at the church and felt a strong call to study theology. In March of 1969, she met with Dean Louis Gunnemann† “to discuss my options for studying theology.” United offered a certificate in Christian education and the MDiv, so Mary Ann resolved to begin the degree in the fall. “I couldn’t wait to begin my seminary career,” she remembers telling her pastor, and she wanted to read every book in the library. He loaned Mary Ann his copy of Paul Tillich’s The Courage to Be, and said, “Theological education isn’t about reading books; it is about relationships.” United Highlights This spring marks the 50th anniversary of her graduation from United, and Mary Ann still remembers key elements of her experience. For example, she notes that faculty members did not have posted office hours. “A blessing I took for granted,” she reflects, “was the availability of faculty; I remember many robust conversations with professors over coffee in the refectory.” She also vividly remembers the first session in her Christian Ethics course. “We were asked to describe how we made an ethical decision. By the end of the term, we each had expanded that initial statement and honed our own ethics method.” In September of 1971, Mary Ann, Tracy Godfrey, and two students from Luther Northwestern Seminary entered the first unit of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at what was then Hennepin County General Hospital (now HCMC). At the hospital, Mary Ann was the first woman in the chaplain’s CPE units. Dean Gunnemann’s words at Spring Convocation 1972 created one of her most moving memories. “The relationships in our lives that are truly redeeming,” Dean Gunnemann advised, “are grounded in gratitude.” Enduring Relationships “My commitment and loyalty to United are grounded in gratitude for the relationships from my time at United, which have bridged the years and enriched my life.” Mary Ann is pleased to support United’s mission to provide transformative theological education to equip students to make a difference in the world through their unique ministries. She makes this possible as a generous donor who is a member of the Barnabas, Bossard-Ward, and Joshua Societies. “Theological education,” Mary Ann observes, “is a lens through which we see the world and how to respond to it.” For her devotion to relationships at United and for sharing her story, we are deeply grateful to observe this 50th anniversary of Mary Ann’s graduation _______________ † Deceased