Art has the tremendous power to restore us in a time when our world seems to make no sense and we need a moment of respite and encouragement from our daily struggles. A single photograph of a flower or a laughing child can buoy our spirit to carry on. (more…)
SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA, UNITED STATES, March 6, 2025. United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities is thrilled to announce the establishment of the Wilson Yates Chair of Theology and the Arts. This tenure-track, endowed faculty position will be made possible by gifts from a cadre of United friends, alums, and former faculty. (more…)
Rev. Alicia Reese has followed the pull of two great loves: theatre and ministry. “I spent most of my life in theatre; I think I started when I was seven,” she recalls. As she grew older, Alicia also felt “a strong call toward ministry,” but there were no women pastors in her church setting. “I never saw,” she reflects, “how that call to ministry could be lived out.” Through high school and college, Alicia threw herself into theatre. At a small Christian school in Florida, she met a theatre director who believed the arts and church could go together. He let her take over the theatre ministry troupe—“a sketch comedy-ish group that used Christian themes and scripture,” Alicia explains. (more…)
Stephani Pescitelli, who graduated April 30, 2023 with an MDiv in Theology and the Arts, admits that United wasn’t even on her radar when she first felt called to seminary. She intended to enroll in a Unitarian Universalist (UU) seminary. Still, after a phone call with a kind soul in United’s admissions office, followed by a whirlwind visit with faculty, alums, and students during a February blizzard (naturally), the uniquely heartfelt and open sense of welcome, and United’s arts and theology program won her over. As she recalls, “I walked out into the bitter cold after that day carrying a warm, welcoming, enthusiastic YES! (more…)
By Rev. Dr. Wilson Yates, President Emeritus & Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Religion, Society, and the Arts In these remarks I am concerned with spirituality and the character of the spiritual journey with a recognition of the arts and their importance as companions on this journey—as companions on our religious pilgrimage. Some of you now reading this brief writing were my students and, perhaps, remember the tenor of these remarks. An earlier version was part of an essay I wrote for ARTS, 24:1, 2012–13. (more…)
In October 2021 (which was LGBTQ history month), the Theology and the Arts Program solicited art from the community to create the second volume of The Queer Theofuturism Coloring Book. We're sharing the PDF for free download in honor of Pride month now. The history of the surviving and thriving of LGBTQ people in the US has been shaped by folks who imagined new ways of seeing, loving, being, and connecting with the holy. In the United tradition of play and creativity, we invited all students, staff, faculty, and alums to submit line drawings that reimagine myths, sacred stories, or any spiritual or religious images in ways that challenge and play with assumptions about gender, bodies, love, and spirituality. We encouraged folks to reimagine old stories and see what might be possible for a future that is more just, more colorful, and includes all of us. (Due to the openness in submissions and our value for freedom of expression, some of the artwork in the coloring book may not be safe for work or appropriate for all ages, as some of the images include nudity or sexual themes.)
In October 2021 (which was LGBTQ history month), the Theology and the Arts Program solicited art from the community to create the second volume of The Queer Theofuturism Coloring Book. We're sharing the PDF for free download in honor of Pride month now. The history of the surviving and thriving of LGBTQ people in the US has been shaped by folks who imagined new ways of seeing, loving, being, and connecting with the holy. In the United tradition of play and creativity, we invited all students, staff, faculty, and alums to submit line drawings that reimagine myths, sacred stories, or any spiritual or religious images in ways that challenge and play with assumptions about gender, bodies, love, and spirituality. We encouraged folks to reimagine old stories and see what might be possible for a future that is more just, more colorful, and includes all of us. (Due to the openness in submissions and our value for freedom of expression, some of the artwork in the coloring book may not be safe for work or appropriate for all ages, as some of the images include nudity or sexual themes.)