interfaith Archives - Page 2 of 2 - United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities

August 3, 2018

Arts Easter Faith interfaith practice spiritual practice

Days of Counting

Miss Kitka scans the living room. She lifts her head and dampens the edges of the coach with her nose. She hesitates. There are so many hands at her eye level! Caught in a sort of trance, the entirety of her vision is overwhelmed with fingers folding, unfolding, aligning, re-folding, flattening, and finally cutting various hues of origami paper. Thankfully, my cat is more curious about the people than in tasting the paper scraps falling to the floor. (more…)

June 29, 2018

Faith humanism interfaith ministry naturalism religious naturalism seminary sermon Theology united faculty United Universalism

Religious Naturalism: A Theology for UU Humanists Part I

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June 29, 2018

Faith humanism interfaith ministry naturalism religious naturalism seminary sermon Theology united faculty United Universalism Voice

Religious Naturalism: A Theology for UU Humanists Part III

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June 29, 2018

Bible interfaith interreligious chaplaincy ministry Theology theology and the arts Voice

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…)

January 24, 2018

Events Gallery interfaith intersection theology and the arts

Spirited Communities: “Our studies inspire our artworks”

The Jewish Women Artists’ Circle brings women artists together, not around a common art form, but the commonality of their faith. Studying regularly with religious leaders is an important part of their gatherings and that influence becomes part of the creativity of their art work. Spirited Community, the group’s latest collaborative exhibition, is open for viewing in United’s Classroom Wing Gallery. The dynamic synergy of these artists works beautifully into the formation of this exhibition. Their art forms are diverse as is the individual interpretation of the theme of community. I had a short interview with Lucy Rose Fischer about the group and their process. (more…)

January 10, 2018

Academics Activism Arts Feminism interfaith Judaism seminary social transformation Theology

Readings on Rosh Hashana: Hagar, Abraham, and the Reality of Pain

This semester I am taking Interpretation as Resistance: Womanist, Feminist, and Queer Approaches to the Bible taught by Professors Alika Galloway and Carolyn Pressler. This week’s reading concerns the story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar. Sarah is unable to bare children, which is unfortunate since her husband Abraham is supposed to father “a great nation” (Gen. 12.2). Sarah comes up with a plan to have Abraham use a surrogate: her Egyptian slave Hagar. Abraham agrees, lays with Hagar, and Hagar conceives. The Bible then tells us that Hagar “saw that she had conceived [and] looked with contempt on her mistress”(Gen.16.4). Sarah responds by being so cruel to Hagar that she runs away to the desert. Upon finding a spring of water, Hagar meets an angel of God who gives her an ambivalent message: go back and submit to a life of cruelty but also your son Ishmael will be the father of nations. A mixed bag, for sure. (more…)