Written by: United Theological Seminary April 16, 2020

Compassionate, Creative and Ethical Leaders – Stories from United during a Time of Pandemic

United students and alums don’t take a class that explicitly prepares them for leading in days like today. Yet we have seen them step into this precarious and unprecedented time in compassionate, creative, and ethical ways. From online worship, daily email communications, prayer services, and more, they have demonstrated the depth and breadth of their gifts as leaders.

Within days of the outbreak we heard from students and alums, telling us how their education at United helped prepare them for what previously seemed unimaginable. Student Meredith Olson (MDiv, 2020) wrote,

Little did I know that by offering classes via Zoom, you would be preparing me with exactly what I needed to lead a congregation during this time. These years of seminary classes via Zoom, watching professors’ skills and their struggles, have given me skills and insights about connecting virtually…I’m very glad I was ready with these skills. Thank you!

Katie Matson-Daley (MDiv, 2019), Interim Lead Pastor at First United Methodist Church of Red Wing posted on Facebook,

Two reasons I’m glad to be an alum of United Seminary of the Twin Cities this week. 1.) Consistently from my first class to my very last class I was told, ‘the world is changing, ministry will need to change too, we have to ‘do church’ differently.’ This week has been a fast paced whirl-wind of decisions and pivots but we’re still doing church. 2.) Practice with Zoom. (I was an on-campus student, taking classes face-to-face, but having Zoom classmates in the room, virtually, made me so comfortable getting started with Zoom.)

The 9/11 commission, reviewing the series of events leading up to September 11th, cited a “failure of imagination.” Other crises, including Apollo 1, the Titanic, and Pearl Harbor, also frequently cite a failure of imagination. In this and every time leaders are called upon to have vivid imaginations, bold visions, and creative ways of guiding communities.

At United the arts are key to the learning experience. While this appeals to those who are drawn to creative expression, it is not limited to painters, poets, or actors. The influence of the arts in theological education equips a generation of leaders to think creatively, outside of the box, and to be ready for change.

Jenn Luong (MDiv, 2019) wrote, “we were not only trained to pastor churches, but to think about, see, and engage the world differently.” The presence of the arts at United helps students and alums build the creative muscles needed to respond to challenges that are normal and beyond belief. As this crisis continues to unfold we are humbled by their leadership.

Preaching for the first time in an online service, Mayflower’s lead minister, Sarah Campell (MDiv, 1989), asked her congregation to reflect on, “What is God calling us to in these times?” For each of us the answer will be different. But at United we celebrate the many ways in which our students and alums are responding with faithful imagination. They are living out their call to be compassionate, creative, and ethical leaders. We are inspired by the gifts that they bring for such a time as this. We hope that you will be inspired by a sampling of their stories.

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Elizabeth Macaulay (MDiv, 1999), lead pastor at Christ United Methodist Church in Rochester, MN and member of United’s Board of Trustees, led an 8:00 pm Facebook Live evening prayer service, inviting her congregation to “pray your way into resting.” Leaders from Christ United Methodist Church lead a fifteen minute service every night. These videos provide a nightly connection with the Holy and with each other. Elizabeth also writes a blog. A recent post is about pandemic pastoring.

Mayflower Community Congregational UCC in Minneapolis, MN started sending daily messages to members. Peggy (Margaret Carroll) Thompson (MDiv, 1988) collaborated with Sarah Campbell (MDiv, 1989) to include art in a daily “Mayflower Message” for members. Messages include multiple art forms including many paintings done by Peggy.

Melanie Greengo (MDiv, 2015) serves as pastor at Columbus Community United Methodist Churches in Iowa. She is doing a brief Facebook video each day as part of a Lenten devotional practice. In this link she reflects on the commandment to love one another.

Screen Shot 2020-04-06 at 3.03.23 PM
(David Bahr on Facebook Live)

David Bahr (MDiv, 1990) shares a video, reading a “Prayer for a Pandemic.” David serves at Park Hill Congregational UCC in Denver, CO. He has invited members to create their own palms for Palm Sunday and to take a video of their own Palm Procession at home to send to the church so he can share it with others.

Craig Lemming (MDiv, 2017), Episcopal Priest at St. John’s the Evangelist Episcopal Church in St. Paul, MN, wrote a blog entitled Trinitarian Survival: Create, Improvise, Trust. Reflecting on fear he draws on Isaiah 41:10 (“do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand…”) writing, “In this COVID-19 crisis, we too find ourselves surrendering to realities beyond our control and improvising. Making decisions that change everything we have been so well-prepared for yesterday.”

Jenny Lind Larsen (MDiv, 2018) serves at Christ UMC in Maplewood, MN. Recently she read The Clown of God, a story for all ages, as a tribute to Tomie dePaola who died last week.

Cyreta Oduniyi Howard (MDiv, 2019) creates video reflections including this one entitled Monday Mindfulness. Cyreta is a deacon at Liberty Community Church, PCUSA in Minneapolis, MN and serves as a Middle School Specialist, Academic Navigator, and Leader Teacher at 21st Century Academy.

Cori Berg (MA, 1998) writes, “You never know where seminary will lead you. I am now director of Hope Day School at Cathedral of Hope United Church of Christ in Dallas, TX. We are doing frontline care for essential workers as we are right near the medical district. This is holy work. This was the most important thing I did today. I hope it brings you joy.” Enjoy.

Emily Youngdahl Wright (MDiv, 1988) wrote a song entitled, “A New Cup of Grace,” when she was an intern chaplain. Drawing from the 23rd Psalm she was inspired by a patient saying, “Well, no matter how bad things get, I get a new cup of grace each morning.” Emily serves as a chaplain for Fairview Homecare and Hospice in Minneapolis, MN working with pediatric and adult hospice patients and their families. Her song, “A New Cup of Grace,” is providing comfort to new audiences.

Pamela Lynne Serdar (MDiv, 2001) is a retired UMC minister. Previously she served as the lead pastor at Richfield United Methodist Church in MN and as the Big Water District Superintendent at the MN Annual Conference of the UMC. She is sending out a gesture of love and hope from her home in Eagle Lake, MN.

Please share additional stories about how you are dealing with this crisis either on United’s Alum FB page or by sending them to cbjohnson@unitedseminary.edu.

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Alum Rev. Todd Lippert (’03): Living a Public Ministry

As Rev. Todd Lippert was growing up, his life was dominated by two constants: music and church. Both of his parents were music teachers. His dad was the high school choir director, and his mom was the elementary school music teacher. Though his family had been Baptist for generations, they ended up attending a United Church of Christ (UCC) church where his mom was hired to play the organ. It was also much closer to home than the nearest Baptist church. “I always took Christian faith very seriously,” Todd asserts. “The church was a sacred and holy place to me.” In seventh grade, Todd remembers talking to his father. “I was at the bottom of the stairs talking to my dad at the top of the stairs. And that was when I said for the first time, ‘I wonder if I might want to be a pastor someday.’” But, Todd adds, “the idea was really terrifying to me,” so he put it out of his mind. At the University of Iowa, he pursued a music degree. During a philosophy class toward the end of college, a professed atheist professor began asking some of the same questions about faith that Todd was confronting. “I was wrestling with whether I was a Christian or not.” Deciding on Seminary The turning point came one Sunday morning after graduation when Todd and his wife were at church. At the time, he was selling Yellow Pages ads and contemplating an MBA. “I hated it,” Todd confesses. “I was miserable.” Watching the preacher at First United Methodist Church in Iowa City, he thought, “Maybe I could do that, and maybe I need to pay attention to this call to ministry that keeps bubbling up.” United was the first UCC seminary that came up on the computer, and when Todd visited, “it felt like home for me as soon as I arrived.” Since his wife was doing graduate work at the University of Minnesota, they moved to the Twin Cities. “At United,” Todd recalls, “I had the space to figure out how Christianity was meaningful and how this faith fit together for me.” Professors who welcomed and encouraged his questions were key to his faith formation, and the “liberation theology that moved through the curriculum, with its focus on justice, was extremely appealing to me.” Todd was also inspired by his classmates. “I saw the student body deeply engaged in the political and social questions of the day.” At United from 2000 to 2003, Todd experienced the Bush v. Gore lawsuit, 9/11 terror attacks, Minnesota senator Paul Wellstone’s tragic death, and the Iraq war launch as he was earning his MDiv. Public Theology Justice-seeking activism, Todd asserts, “really cemented my understanding that the body of Christ is about bringing the realm of God into being wherever it is. And that was something that would have to make my life better and make my community better.” Since graduating, Todd has worked as a UCC pastor, a Minnesota state legislator (2018–2022), a community organizer with ISAIAH, and a community minister with Creekside Church. The clergy organizing work during Operation Metro Surge was especially impactful and reconnected him with United. Todd went through “nonviolent direct action training with Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock, one of the authors I read.” He also worked with Rev. Dr. Carolyn Pressler, his former Hebrew scripture professor. United, notes Todd, equipped him “to be able to understand what is going on in our world, and in our communities, and I had the tools to get better and better at that, reading the present through a biblical and theological lens.” He is extraordinarily proud of the way the church showed up in Minnesota and grateful for United. “I really want,” Todd concludes, “the love-your-neighbor values of the church to be a force in our public life, not an afterthought. I want it to be a force in our political life.”

Rev. Dr. Andrew Packman Promoted to Associate Professor of Christian Ethics, supported by the McVay Endowment

Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, June 24, 2026 —United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities is delighted to announce that, effective July 1, 2026, Rev. Dr. Andrew Packman will become the Associate Professor of Christian Ethics, supported by the McVay Endowment, and Director for Formation. This promotion to an endowed chair follows Rev. Dr. Justin Sabis-Tanis’ appointment as the inaugural Wilson Yates Chair in Theology and the Arts. Announced during Commencement in April, the McVay chairship reflects the esteem with which United’s board and faculty members regard Professor Packman. In February, Dean Kyle Roberts proudly reported that Dr. Packman was being promoted from assistant to associate professor and transitioning from a three-year contract into a tenure-track position. Dr. Packman joined United in July 2021 as a Louisville Institute Postdoctoral Fellow and Visiting Assistant Professor of Theological Ethics and Practical Theology. At the Spring 2022 Convocation to welcome and bless our new faculty member, Dr. Packman—who holds an MDiv and PhD from the University of Chicago—presented on “The Atmospherics of Theological Education.” By December 2022, Dr. Packman’s “teaching, mentoring, and other stellar capabilities” prompted United to offer him a contract to continue teaching past the terms of his Louisville Fellowship. Since then, he has co-authored an article in The Oxford Handbook of Friedrich Schleiermacher, had a paper (“The Consolation of Studying Theology”) published in the Christian Century, and presented at the September 2025 Schleiermacher Kongress in Kiel, Germany. Spiritual and personal formation is a vital component of Packman’s work with students, and he will continue in his role as the director for Formation. In May of 2025, he began a new initiative, the Formation Pilot Program, to gauge the foundational axis points of students’ formation at United. “This is a remarkable moment in theological education,” Dr. Packman explained this spring, “where what it means to be a theological learning community is being reimagined in real time. This pilot program is designed to interrogate this question from across the life of the seminary, and to build up our community in the process.” “Dr. Packman’s doctoral studies,” observed Dean Roberts in his April announcement, “focused on Christian theology and ethics, and his current research explores questions about racism, intransigent evil, and Friedrich Schleiermacher’s philosophical and theological ethics. Combined with his MDiv studies in pastoral formation, these make Dr. Packman well-suited to occupy this chair while he continues…serving as the Director for Formation.” President Molly T. Marshall reflects, “Dr. Packman brings academic excellence and pastoral sensitivity to his teaching, collegial relationships, and community involvement. His theological depth suffuses his courses in ethics and formation, seeking to form good human beings as transformative agents for a world in travail. I am delighted by this appointment.” As Dr. Packman shared when he was offered a chance to continue teaching at United past his Louisville Fellowship, “It’s such an immense gift to get to do this work, and it’s an honor to get to do it with folks like you. I’m so eager to see what we build together!” Now, as a new chapter begins with his elevation to the McVay Chair, we are overjoyed that such a prodigiously talented scholar and teacher can continue to journey with our dedicated and curious students. About United Founded by the United Church of Christ (UCC) as a welcoming, ecumenical school that embraces all denominations and faith traditions, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities has been on the creative edge of progressive theological thought and leadership since it was established in 1962. Today, United continues to educate leaders who, through the eyes of faith, engage in the dismantling of systems of oppression, exploring multi-faith spirituality, and pushing the boundaries of knowledge. Contact Nathanial Green (he/him) Director of Marketing and Communications press@unitedseminary.edu • 651.255.6138 Admissions and Enrollment admissions@unitedseminary.edu

Rev. Dr. Tim McGregor (’26) Finds Hope for Healing in Exploratory Theology

Rev. Dr. Tim McGregor (’26) has been a chaplain, pastor, and church planter for years. How did he find this well-trodden path? Tim says his mother introduced him to Christ. “She was very devout,” he explains. Unfortunately, she was also very sick, so Tim spent more time in hospitals than in church as a child. Still, he recalls one incident during communion when he was 11. Tim shares that he “had a very out-of-body experience with the divine while I was in church, and it touched my soul.” Tim grew up and pursued a BA at Tuskegee University. While there, he experienced another out-of-body experience when he was robbed at gunpoint and stabbed. “At that point,” he reflects, “I decided to rethink some of my living and some of my decisions. It reignited my spiritual walk.” As he changed the way he lived, Tim felt a spiritual nudge. Others observed that they “saw the calling” on his life. And dreams about preaching began to recur. “Before I ever preached a sermon, I dreamed I was preaching…in the same church where I ended up preaching later on.” Christian Theological Seminary Though Tim identified as National Baptist, he decided to attend Christian Theological Seminary (CTS) in Indiana—a progressive school aligned with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). It helped that Dr. Edward Wheeler, an ordained Baptist minister whom Tim knew when Wheeler worked at Tuskegee, was CTS’s president. During a United chapel service this March, Tim described his experience at CTS as “quite grueling,” but also that he “learned a lot.” As he clarified more recently, he had to “let go of a very fundamentalist perspective,” and that sort of deconstruction was difficult. “It was a crucible situation,” Tim asserts. Chaplaining and Church Planting After earning his MDiv in 2003, Tim spent years in Mississippi and Texas planting churches and working as a hospital chaplain. Since returning to Minnesota, he’s been a chaplain at Regions Hospital, Abbott Northwestern, and the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, and pastored at Family Bible Church. He suspects that the time he spent with his mother in hospitals likely inclined him toward hospital chaplaincy. When he decided to pursue a DMin, Tim reviewed his options. Only United, he found, had the interreligious chaplaincy program and liberal ethos that made his MDiv work transformational. Plus, he could attend onsite or online as his schedule allowed. “It was a great benefit,” Tim attests, “to do both.” United and Nat Turner Tim credits Dr. Jessica Chapman Lape, former director of the Interreligious Chaplaincy program, with positively shaping his education. Her theological knowledge and emphasis on her African American heritage impressed him. Dr. Munjed Murad’s Comparative Theology course elevated Tim’s intercultural acuity. Munjed is an assistant professor of World Religions and Intercultural Studies, supported by the Johnson-Fry Endowment. Tim describes his dissertation, “The Exploratory Theology of Nat Turner and Its Effects on African and African American PTSD,” as “a labor of love.” Why Nat Turner? “I appreciate his passion and his desire to live and fight for the rights of his people,” Tim explains, “and his willingness to do so in the name of his religious beliefs.” In addition, “I’m always interested in people that…have been misunderstood or written off as villains.” Shepherded with vital support from Rev. Dr. Andrew Packman (assistant professor of Theological Ethics and Formation), Tim’s dissertation studies Nat Turner, his traumatic experiences as a slave, and his burgeoning theology. It also traces links to the moral injury, trauma, and PTSD endemic to military service, especially for African American veterans. Tim wants to “understand more about…how to be an asset to my community.” He feels that “United was a really good place for that” and is a rich resource for “clergy…and spiritual caregivers” who are going to help us “keep pressing toward better understandings.” Tim is grateful for United’s role in honing his academic and spiritual voice.