Arts

February 25, 2021
Arts Arts Lunch Black Liberation Theology Pop Culture Witches Womanist

WITCHES! or, Feminist & Womanist Rituals of Ancestry & Magical Connection with Olivia Kamil Smarr

Every Tuesday, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities's Arts Program hosts "Arts Lunch," an opportunity for United community members to come together for a variety of workshops, presentations, and conversations at the intersection of Theology and the Arts.   On Tuesday 2/16/21, guest artist and Emerging Leader Fellow with Arts Religion Culture, Olivia Kamil Smarr, presented on WITCHES! or, Feminist & Womanist Rituals of Ancestry & Magical Connection. In this video Smarr  facilitates a discussion around Black witches in pop culture, the methods through which they access supernatural power, and how those methods mirror our own rituals and spiritual practices. You can watch the presentation here! (more…)

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December 23, 2020
Advent Arts Christmas Holidays news Theology theology and the arts Waiting Worship

On Waiting: Writings from Advent 2020

We've all waited before--for buses, appointments, test results, acceptance letters, rejection notices, first kisses, last breaths...we do a lot of waiting in this world. Waiting is an inherently vulnerable and inescapably human experience. This Advent, a season of aware waiting, we sent out a call to the United community for stories, thoughts, poems, and reflections on the act of waiting. The following volume is a free collection of all the submissions. Download the PDF here.  (more…)

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December 21, 2020
Arts Christmas Faculty Holidays ministry Movies seminary Staff Theology

Movies for What Ails You: Reflecting on Holiday Favorites.

Around winter holidays, one of the most beloved traditions is staying in, bundling up, and watching a favorite movie or television show. Eventually, the media we are drawn to once becomes something we might return whether after many years or on a regular annual basis. Movies, like other forms of art, both entertain us and give us insight that we can describe as not only culturally relevant but theological, ministerial, or even prophetic. At United Community, we are committed to the role of art in our collective ministry, and so this year, some of our faculty and staff have opted to share about our favorite holiday movies, the lessons we've learned, and blessing we can draw from them. (more…)

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November 18, 2020
Academics Arts Deconstruction Events justice lgbtq Queer seminary theology and the arts

“A Rare and Magical Space”: An Interview with Community Partner Allison Jones

Allison Jones is a community partner and friend of United who has participated in numerous events and programming at the seminary, including Arts Lunch, Social Transformation events, and Queertopia United. She is a long time musician and emerging artist with a passion for social justice, education, and public health. She currently works in the education department at JustUs Health in Saint Paul. I sat down with Allison Jones last Friday Nov. 13 to interview her about her experience being a community partner with United.  (more…)

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October 2, 2020
Arts Gallery Hope Pandemic social justice Voice What Do You See

What Do You See?: A 2020 Online Art Gallery from the United Community

What do you see? What do you hope for your community? For United? The world? What images, words, gestures, sounds might capture your prayers and petitions? Where are you already finding beauty? These are some of the questions that the artworks below respond to. They include glimpses of natural beauty, invoke community and connection, create moments of rest and restoration; they bless the work that still needs to be done. With the world and our country and communities in tumult, wrestling with multiple pandemics, natural disasters, and social injustices, the need for hope and prophetic vision is greater than ever. At United we believe that the arts are uniquely powerful and transformative in visioning a better world and bringing it to be. (more…)

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