Written by: United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities July 2, 2018

Driven by Rejection: Lessons from Mark 6: 1–13

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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.

In Mark 6:1-13 are two different but related stories about Jesus’ ministry. In the first story, Jesus preached to his hometown. But instead of a warm welcome, he received rejection. Initially, the townspeople were impressed by his preaching, but when they realized who he was, “they took offense.” John Spence said, “When someone tells you, ‘You’ve changed,’ it might simply be because you’ve stopped living life their way.” In the Gospel, the townspeople’s rejection was based on the change that happened to Jesus. They did not expect that as a carpenter’s son, Jesus could be the same as the person teaching in front of them. Their initial positive impression of Jesus suddenly changed. How could they have been so impressed by the lessons of a carpenter’s son! The people in the synagogue were offended that a carpenter’s son had such wisdom and was speaking in the temple.

I come from a family of minsters and church workers. I grew up in the church, vertically and horizontally. This family is very conservative, including the theology that I was raised in, and in my family, I am the one who is less conservative. After being in seminary for almost two years now, I have become inclined to a more liberal, progressive perspective on the interaction of the church and society. As I continue my journey into becoming a minister, I have become what my family would call a “Prodigal Christian.”

Mark 6:1-6 makes me think of how it would feel going back to my hometown to preach. I can imagine my uncles and aunts’ eyebrows raising. My cousins would probably tell me, “What happened to you?” And just like in the passage, people would say, “Isn’t she the daughter of Pastor Nathan? Why did she become the way she is?”

Acceptance is very important in my culture. And if I hear people from back home react this way to me, it would affect me greatly. The hardest rejection that a person can experience is the rejection from their own family, friends and loved ones. Since I don’t have any plans to go back until I finish my degree and establish my ministry, I have time to prepare myself for what possible rejection I may receive when I preach in the Philippines. Just like Jesus, who did not anticipate the reaction of his people, I will not have control over my people’s perception of me.

When I decided to begin my journey in what is called the candidacy process, my father gave two pieces of advice:

When it’s time for you to be appointed to a church, avoid being appointed to your home church;
When the people in your church (assignment) become too familiar, almost like family, it’s time for you to talk to your District Superintendent and move to a different church appointment.

These were his nuggets of wisdom, in reference to the first part of the Biblical passage today. Jesus retaliated to rejection by answering back, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house,” then continued his ministry, laying hands on and healing the sick. Notice that he performed simple miracles, because he knew that whatever he did, he wouldn’t be able to convince his own people.

Then, Jesus moved on to the next village or town. It wasn’t clear where he went, but it is clear he went away from his hometown. Not to run away to an isolated place but some place where he will be accepted. Which brings me to the second story, Mark 6:7-13. Jesus sends the disciples, in pairs, to minister to the people, the rationale being so that each disciple could support the other.

And Jesus had specific instructions: Bring nothing but a staff or a walking stick, no bread, no bag, no money in their belts, wear sandals, and do not wear two tunics. After experiencing cold weather here in Minnesota, I understood the importance of tunics or the lack thereof, especially when the temperature starts to drop. I have a pastor friend who once commented that to work in the church, as a pastor or otherwise, is a to take a vow of poverty. She was probably thinking of Mark 6:8-9. Jesus further instructed the disciples to stay in one house until they are ready to go to another town. And with this instruction, he warned, “If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” This reflected Jesus’ human side. Surely, he was hurt from the rejection of his own people. Hurt from the experience that he had in his hometown, he reminded his disciples that if people reject them, they should not take it against themselves. This instruction is Jesus’ self-care, a coping mechanism he wanted to share with his disciples so that they would not feel the resentment and hurt that he felt. And the support of a buddy would greatly help them.

One way or another, we experience rejection from people that matter to us. And for sure, that hurts. In the events happening in this country, people are in very different places. Families, friends and even people inside this sanctuary and faith community may stand on opposite poles when it comes to social issues. When I look at my Facebook feed, I see people’s opinions about social issues in too much opposition.

Right now, we are facing the controversy of immigration policies and their undesirable implementation. As a foreigner in this country, I will not talk about my stand or how I feel about it, because I am an immigrant myself. Surely, you all have different opinions on this issue. And your personal opinions may or may not be accepted by the people that matter to you. Not just with immigration issues but other issues that our society faces, such as environmental care, hunger, homelessness and systemic injustices. It is great that the church I go to, Spirit of Hope, is involved in feeding the hungry, giving shelter to the homeless, accepting people regardless of their sexuality and other acts of showing love to the neighbor. Unfortunately, even in my church, there is always a person or two who is close to my heart that will reject what I am doing. What do we do in these situations? Do we sulk or cower in disappointment? Do we stop doing what we are doing? Do we stop being who we are? Do we retreat from showing our love to our neighbor?

Jesus did not stop being himself when the people close to him rejected him. He did not stop his ministry. Instead, he moved forward to another town where he would be accepted. He continued to do his work, sending his disciples to the world. He even gave instructions to his disciples: Shake off the dust before you leave. This is the message for all of us. If people reject our acts of love for our neighbors, let us shake off the dust of disappointments on our feet: their rejection of our actions is the testimony against them. Let us not retreat to our little corners, but move forward to places where our actions and identities will be accepted. Like Jesus and his disciples, rejection should drive us to continue ministering to the world and to show God’s love to everyone and everything that God created.

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October 9, 2026

Alums Homecoming News Releases

Rev. Dr. A. Leon (Lee) Tredwell (’06) Honored As a 2026 Distinguished Alum

United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities is excited to announce that Rev. A. Leon (Lee) Tredwell, PhD—who earned his MA in Theology and Biblical Interpretation from United in 2006—has been selected as a 2026 Distinguished Alum. An accomplished preacher, teacher, and published author, Dr. Tredwell has championed biblical narratives that affirm the divinity of all people, regardless of their race, creed, color, class, gender, or sexuality. Adopted at age four, Lee was raised in the Baptist faith and felt called to ministry as a child. Even so, after earning a degree in Political Science and Sociology at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, he spent the first ten years of his professional life as a grain trader for Cargill. After connecting with Drs. Ralph and Alika Galloway, Lee found United, and his call was reignited. He remembers Rev. Dr. Carolyn Pressler (Professor Emerita of Biblical Interpretation, 1990–2020) and Dean Richard Weis* with great affection. Both teachers, he observes, “taught us to wrestle with the biblical text until it opened up and spoke.” They also introduced Lee to Black and post-colonial hermeneutics, and Rev. Dr. Weis led him to passages in Jeremiah 38 (Hebrew Bible) that sparked his interest in learning more about a Black character named Ebed-Melech. Lee also cites the influence of Rev. Dr. Christine Smith’s (Professor Emerita of Preaching 1992–2013) preaching courses on his life. In Colorado, at the University of Denver and Iliff School of Theology, Lee completed a joint PhD program with a concentration in Religion and Social Change in 2017. Ronald Smith, a former United student who nominated Lee for this award, notes, “Dr. Tredwell has demonstrated that he is an innovator and compassionate leader who has served both inside the academy as a professor of African American Preaching at Iliff School of Theology, University of Colorado, Boulder, and in the larger community; he has served as [a] pastor, civil rights and human rights activist, and [a] chief executive officer in Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Minnesota, and Texas.” Lee’s new book—Black, Queer and Blessed: My Story and the Biblical Story Churches Don’t Teach—was published in June 2025. As the description reads, “For all who believe God-Yahweh is angry, mad, disgusted, and against LGBTQIA+ folx, regrettably, you been had, misled, took, hood-winked and bamboozled! Black, Queer and Blessed, through lived experience and the excavation of the subjugated biblical narrative of Ebed-Melech, demolishes society’s antiquated mores.” The book is part memoir and part theological reflection on the Ebed-Melech revelation. In addition to his roles as teacher, preacher, and author, Lee has specifically worked to promote adoption of Black children from foster care and create affordable housing. These days, he serves as the pastor of Theology and Community Engagement at Allendale United Methodist Church in St. Petersburg, Florida. As Ronald Smith asserts, “Dr. Tredwell is the embodiment and an exemplar of United Theological Seminary’s mission, vision, and values.” * of blessed memory 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, explore multi-faith spirituality, and push the boundaries of knowledge.

Lena K. Gardner (’15) Honored As a 2026 Distinguished Alum

[caption id="attachment_11955" align="alignnone" width="1920"] photo by Bethany Birnie[/caption] United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities is thrilled to announce that Lena K. Gardner—who graduated with an MA in Justice and Peace Studies in 2015—has been selected as one of our three 2026 Distinguished Alums. A highly respected social justice activist and community leader, Lena is the co-founder and executive director of Black Lives of Unitarian Universalism (BLUU), a nonprofit founded in 2015 that creates life-giving and life-saving opportunities for spiritual community and Black-centered organizing. According to Rev. Dr. Rebecca Voelkel (’13), Lena has “been a force in the Twin Cities’ religiously rooted justice ecosystem for the last 15 years.” Dr. Voelkel, Lena’s nominator, traces Lena’s justice-organizing acumen back to 2011, when she served on the Faith Organizing Roundtable—a body that coordinated religious communities’ opposition to the anti-marriage amendment. Lena went on to champion marriage equality in the 2012–2013 legislative session. After a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, shot and killed Michael Brown, Jr., an unarmed 18-year-old Black teen, in 2014, Lena played a key role in transforming the Faith Organizing Roundtable into the Multifaith Anti-Racism, Change & Healing or MARCH. “In that same period,” Voelkel notes, “Lena was a core team organizer of Black Lives Matter Minneapolis and served on its steering committee.” Lena was deeply involved, quoted in many national and local articles, and interviewed on Minnesota Public Radio after former police officer Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd in 2020. In April 2021, after a Brooklyn Center police officer killed Daunte Wright during a traffic stop, Lena co-wrote an article in the Sahan Journal demanding that Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecute the case, and that the Hennepin County attorney be removed. More recently, Lena embarked on another ambitious project. In May 2024, through the BLUU Cooperative Housing Initiative, she co-hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for an affordable housing complex for single parents in North Minneapolis. In a MinnPost article about the groundbreaking, Lena explained, “It’s really about trying to give back to one of the communities that made me…. We really see providing stable housing in a cooperative framework as one of the many paths to collective liberation and Black liberation. Ultimately, it’s about self-determination.” When Operation Metro Surge arrived in the Twin Cities in late 2025, Lena took action again. As Voelkel observes, she “returned to the MARCH steering committee…. When MARCH organized a clergy call (in five days) to which 700 clergy came, the ability to create and host such an amazing event owes part of its success to Lena’s relationships with communications specialists, graphic designers, and organizers.” Lena was also a driving force behind Neighbors Helping Neighbors (NHN), a mutual aid group she and Anna Stamborski founded in late 2025 to connect vulnerable ICE-targeted families with congregational networks whose members could provide shopping and transportation services. Through all of Lena’s indefatigable contributions to working for justice, Voelkel asserts, she “has focused on Black excellence, Black power, Black spiritual wholeness, Black beauty, and how non-Black folks can act in solidarity and followership of Black folks, particularly Black queer women. She has done so skillfully through building relationships across differences in ways that facilitate and deepen genuine relationships.”

Cori Berg (’98) Honored As a 2026 Distinguished Alum

United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities is elated to announce that Cori Berg (’98)—advocate, artist, and educator—is a 2026 Distinguished Alum. Cori earned her Master of Arts (MA) in Theology and the Arts in 1998, and for more than 27 years, she has integrated creativity, art, and spirituality into her field. Cori arrived at United in the 1990s, having majored in theater and minored in studio art during her undergraduate studies. “I knew I had an artistic voice,” she recalls, “but it didn’t make sense in any of the traditional contexts.” After seeing an advertisement for United’s Theology and the Arts program, Cori drove from Dallas to the Twin Cities to visit as a prospective student. A campus art exhibit by Merle Janis was all she needed to see—“this school had something I needed: strength, boldness, vulnerability.” For Cori, “life is liturgy.” She credits United with introducing her to “the freedom in a progressive faith.” At United, Cori learned to expand her creativity, which became a launching pad for a vibrant career. “United gave me a safe, nurturing space to explore, dream, and execute big things,” she writes. “I’ve continued that through the rest of my career as an artist, an educator, an administrator, and a speaker.” Art is central to Cori’s work and features prominently in her curriculum development for children. Her art was featured in the 2012 opening parade for the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge in Dallas, TX, a project that involved “seniors, children, and adults in all aspects” from a local Methodist community program. Ministry with Children and Spirituality, courses taught by Rev. Dr. Barbara Anne Keely (Professor Emerita, 1991–2015), were particularly formative for Cori’s future in education. “I remember she taught us to get on the floor and view the church nursery from a baby’s point of view,” Cori reflects. “I use this today over and over as I teach early childhood educators…. She introduced the idea of seeing oneself not as a separate body, mind, or spirit, but when one part of my being is suffering, to use the other parts to help lift that part.” More recently, Cori has been an active community member at Dallas Meditation Center, where she is known for her moving dharma talks that weave Buddhist themes into contemporary storytelling. In public schools and congregational settings, Cori has applied what she learned as a United student to the field of early childhood education, for which—nominator Rev. Jim Peck (’99) points out—she has become “one of the nation’s leading advocates.” When facing challenges in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic, Cori leveraged her ingenuity and creative vision to support educators with online training resources. As a teacher and an administrator in spaces where lack of institutional funding and support are commonplace, Jim observes, “she uses her [United] education to work for justice and equity,” to “nurture relationships in the early childhood settings where she has served, with an expertise in working in settings in crisis to encourage recovery, healing, and new paths for serving the future.” In May 2026, Cori completed her MEd in Curriculum and Instruction at American College of Education, where she immediately enrolled to begin her EdD in Early Childhood Education. She serves as an executive director at the University of Kansas (KU) and anticipates returning to Dallas to live near her family at the end of the year while awaiting her next opportunity. We are delighted to celebrate Cori and her decades of faithful, innovative leadership in the field of early childhood education and art. 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, explore multi-faith spirituality, and push the boundaries of knowledge.