statement Archives - United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities

April 7, 2026

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Statement by President Molly T. Marshall on the War against Iran

Dear United Community, The terrorizing threat posed by the United States against Iran is against all principled advocates for peace and justice. While we do not know whether these threats of devastating destruction, tantamount to genocide, will come to pass, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities firmly opposes wreaking suffering on vulnerable civilians. We call for a merciful resolution to the escalating conflict. Rev. Molly T. Marshall, PhD President Contact Nathanial Green (he/him) Director of Marketing and Communications press@unitedseminary.edu • (651) 255-6138

February 23, 2024

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Statement on Anti-LGBTQIA+ Violence and the Death of Nex Benedict

On February 8, 16-year-old Nex Benedict died just one day after being beaten by peers in an Owasso High School restroom. Nex, who was nonbinary, was the target of bullying and harassment. (more…)

October 23, 2023

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Statement by President Molly T. Marshall on Israel-Hamas War (Oct. 23)

Rev. Dr. Molly T. Marshall, President of United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, shared the following message with students amidst the war between Israel and Hamas: In the days following the brutal attack of Hamas on Israeli citizens, each of us has experienced many emotions of horror at the carnage of the violence. We also acknowledge the pent-up anger of marginalized Palestinians who bear insufferable conditions of displacement in their homeland. War only escalates internecine suffering and makes rebuilding trust as well as a decimated infrastructure more difficult, and we stand against war. Fundamentalist theology and white nationalism conspire to prompt standing with Israel as an unwavering national commitment. This stance must be interrogated and corrected. At United, we have Jewish students and adjunctive faculty, a professor whose ethnicity is Palestinian, and it is our desire to respect them all amidst the complexity of regional conflict generations old. We believe that justice is necessary for peace, and it is our deepest longing to cultivate the sensibilities and skills that can contribute to human flourishing in our fragile and deeply connected world. In service to the beloved community, Rev. Molly T. Marshall, PhD President

March 4, 2019

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“Many Waters Cannot Quench Love:” United’s Response to the UMC General Conference.

This week a special General Conference of the United Methodist Church voted to reaffirm and even to strengthen its opposition to same-sex marriage and to gay clergy. When the majority of delegates decided to pass the Traditional Plan, the denomination voted in favor of exclusion. Rev. Judy Zabel, a clergy delegate who serves Hennepin Avenue UMC in Minneapolis, said: (more…)

September 27, 2018

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United Rejects Religious Discrimination in Health Care

On January 18, 2018, the Trump Administration announced the creation of a “civil rights” division within the Department of Health and Human Services that would allow health workers to discriminate against patients and clients by refusing care on religious grounds. United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities declares this policy as sacrilegious, a perversion of civil rights, and un-American. We call for its immediate reversal. (more…)

August 3, 2018

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On Repentance and Glass Houses: A Response to Charlottesville by United President Dr. Lewis P. Zeidner

Many in our United community have waited with frustration as I have struggled to pen a response to the events of the last week. My challenges have not been about renouncing the events of Charlottesville or the comments of our misguided President but seeking a level of clarity about how we are called to respond. (more…)