Driven by Rejection: Lessons from Mark 6: 1–13
This week's blog post is based on a sermon given by student Riva Tabelisma at Spirit of Hope United Methodist Church in Golden Valley, MN. (more…)
September 25, 2020
Cycles of Violence: On Breonna Taylor, the Verdict, and Sacred Protest
The following message comes from CARJ, United's Committee Advocating for Racial Justice: Above all else, our politics initially sprang from the shared belief that Black women are inherently valuable, that our liberation is a necessity not as an adjunct to somebody else's but because of our need as human persons for autonomy. -The Combahee River Collective, “A Black Feminist Statement” (more…)
Open and Affirming of LGBT People: Why it still Matters
Earlier this Pride Month, June 2019, Dr. Carolyn Pressler preached at New Brighton United Church of Christ as they celebrated 25 years of being Open and Affirming. The following post is excerpted from her sermon. (more…)
August 3, 2018
Author Rev. Dr. Allen Hilton Speaks with United Students on Bridging Political Divides.
Is the emerging role of faith leaders to bridge political and theological divides? One biblical scholar is on a mission to do just that. Rev. Dr. Allen Hilton is the author of A House United and founder of House United Movement. Rev. Dr. Hilton previously taught Bible at Yale Divinity School and St. Mary's College of California and has been a minister for congregations in Connecticut, Washington, and Minnesota. This July, Hilton spoke to United's Religion and Politics in America class taught by Dr. Silas Morgan. Vice President for Marketing, Amee McDonald had the chance to speak with Rev. Dr. Hilton and Dr. Silas Morgan last Thursday. (more…)
The Politics of Betrayal: A Feminist Reading of Spy Wednesday
THE POLITICS OF BETRAYAL: A FEMINIST READING OF SPY WEDNESDAYBy Samantha Field (more…)
June 29, 2018
When Storytelling Holds the World: Passover Reflections on Maggid.
A little over a week ago, I led a small seder on the second night of Pesach (Passover). The second seder can be hard to lead because the specialness and holiness of the first often turns into redundancy when the ritual is repeated on the second night. Planning the seder, I was concerned wit distinguishing it from the preceding night at my parents’ house. I was thinking about what we covered the previous seder and what, because of the larger group of people, we might have missed. (more…)
June 29, 2018
“Is this Naomi?” Reading into the Book of Ruth on Shavuot
On Shavuot, an annual two day holiday which just ended this last Monday, Jews across the world study the Book of Ruth. A prominent theme of the story is chesed or loving-kindness. Ruth’s devotion to Naomi is an act of chesed; Boaz’s aid and eventual marriage to Ruth is likewise an example of chesed. Using a hermeneutic of chesed is traditional in interpreting this story, with much grounding in rabbinic criticism. However while it is a story of acts of kindness, it also a story of an emotional, psychical conflict in the character of Naomi. (more…)