Tag: Panel

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June 5, 2026

Rev. Dr. Justin Sabia-Tanis to Be Appointed Inaugural Occupant of the Wilson Yates Chair in Theology and the Arts

Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States, June 5, 2026 — United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities is elated to announce that Rev. Dr. Justin Sabia-Tanis will be appointed as the first-ever occupant of the Wilson Yates Chair in Theology and the Arts. Until now, he has served faithfully as the McVay Associate Professor of Christian Ethics and Social Transformation, as well as Director of the Social Transformation Program. Before joining United, Rev. Dr. Sabia-Tanis served as a congregational minister in Boston, Honolulu, and San Francisco, and was Director of Leadership Development for Metropolitan Community Churches, after which he joined the United Church of Christ (UCC). Rev. Dr. Sabia-Tanis’ ministry includes community organizing and advocacy. He has served as managing director at the Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies in Religion (CLGS) as well as communications director for the Hawai’i Equal Rights Marriage Project, the National Center for Transgender Equality, and Out & Equal Workplace Advocates. He received his PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies from Graduate Theological Union in 2017, his DMin from San Francisco Theological Seminary in 2003, and his MDiv from Harvard Divinity School in 1990. His teaching experience spans courses at the University of Arizona, Pima Community College, Iliff School of Theology, and Pacific School of Religion. As an eminent academic and theologian, Dr. Sabia-Tanis’ scholarship has deepened the study of the intersection of art and LGBTQ+ religious identity. He recently completed writing Queer Spirituality, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity in Contemporary Visual Art, to be released later this year by Bloomsbury Academic. Dr. Sabia-Tanis also wrote the groundbreaking book Transgendered Ministry, Theology and Communities of Faith (Cleveland: Pilgrim Press, 2003; Wipf & Stock, 2018) and authored a chapter in Transbiblical: New Approaches to Interpretation and Embodiment in Scripture (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2025).  In 2024, he gave a lecture in the art gallery of Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church in Minneapolis, MN, on the life and art of Keith Haring. Dr. Sabia-Tanis is himself an artist, and he hones and cultivates the creative expression of the artist-theologians enrolled in his courses. In his announcement of the news to United students, Dr. Kyle Roberts—Dean and Vice President for Academic Affairs—connected Rev. Dr. Sabia-Tanis’ education and qualifications to the field of theology and the arts. “Dr. Sabia-Tanis appreciates and champions the legacy of Dr. Yates and the leadership of United in the area of arts and theology,” Dr. Roberts asserted. “He also advocates for the intersection of the arts with movements for social justice and will bring to his teaching and leadership a synergy of theology and arts, along with his contributions to the education of social transformation at United.” Rev. Dr. Molly T. Marshall, President, commended the news for this esteemed member of the faculty. “The wide-ranging scholarship of Dr. Justin Sabia-Tanis will elevate this position as the arts serve as a medium for social transformation.” Established in 2025 by generous gifts from friends, alums, and former United faculty, the Wilson Yates Chair in Theology and the Arts is an endowed faculty position named after Rev. Dr. Wilson Yates, President Emeritus and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Religion, Society, and the Arts. Yates joined United’s faculty in 1967, became Dean in 1988, and was made President in 1996. He retired from the seminary in 2005, having led and innovated in theology and the arts, deepened scholarship, and integrated the subject as a pillar of United’s academic programs. Rev. Dr. Yates celebrated the news and is eager to see Rev. Dr. Sabia-Tanis installed into the chair. He reflects, “I am very excited about Justin’s selection for this role. His studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley will provide an important background to this work. Justin brings a solid understanding of the relationship to the arts in theology, the church, and everyday life. It is not incidental that he is also a practicing artist.” On his appointment to the chair, Rev. Dr. Sabia-Tanis shares, “United has valued and integrated the arts since our founding. They are critical to how our students are formed, and in the ministries and projects they will lead when they graduate. I am so honored to move into this important role at United and continue the incredible legacy of Wilson Yates. And I'm looking forward to the ways this program will evolve and grow in the coming years.” The installation of Dr. Sabia-Tanis into the Wilson Yates Chair in Theology and the Arts will be formally celebrated at Fall Convocation on Thursday, September 24, 2026. Details will be announced in the coming months. 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

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October 2, 2023

Organizing in the Spirit of Accompaniment | 2023 Symposium Week

As part of Symposium Week (October 23–25), United is hosting a public-facing event on Tuesday, October 24. In this lecture and workshop, Dr. Ry Siggelkow, Director of the Leadership Center for Social Justice, and Ricardo Pérez, artist-organizer of the same, will explore what contemporary organizing lessons we can learn from prominent Black civil and human rights activist Ella Baker, the work of the 1960s’ Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and the Mexican Zapatistas (also known as the Zapatista Army of National Liberation). After introducing these figures and movements, they will lift up and elucidate some of the common principles and practices that might inform efforts related to “organizing in the spirit of accompaniment” today.   Facilitators Dr. Ry Siggelkow Ry O. Siggelkow, Ph.D., (he/him/his) is the director of the Leadership Center for Social Justice. He earned his PhD in Theology and Ethics from Princeton Theological Seminary and previously served as the director of Initiatives in Faith & Praxis at the University of St. Thomas where he taught courses at the intersection of race, class, and gender with a focus on migration, the abolition of borders, and theologies of liberation. An ordained Mennonite minister and former pastor of Faith Mennonite Church (Minneapolis), Ry has been actively involved in grassroots community organizing for several years alongside Spanish-speaking undocumented people. He is co-founder of Pueblos de Lucha y Esperanza (Peoples of Struggle and Hope), a faith-based, women-centered, and immigrant-led organization that seeks to build power in the community so that all people have a place to belong, a place to stay, and a place to grow. Ricardo Pérez Born and raised in Mexico, Ricardo (he/him/his) is a self-taught mixed media artist with more than 15 years of creative experience who now lives in the Twin Cities. Partial to watercolor and ink, Ricardo has recently created murals to reflect a spirit of collaboration with marginalized communities and lift up those whose voices need to be heard. In August of 2022, Ricardo was announced as The Leadership Center for Social Justice's new artist-organizer in residence.

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September 20, 2023

Reorienting Ourselves to the Reality of Not Yet | 2023 Symposium Week

As part of Symposium Week (October 23–25), United is hosting a public-facing event on Monday, October 23. This panel, titled "Reorienting Ourselves to the Reality of Not Yet," will be facilitated by Rev. Dr. Gary F. Green II, United’s director of anti-racist initiatives and assistant professor of pastoral theology and social transformation. “Reorienting Ourselves to the Reality of Not Yet” is a public event that officially launches the second wave of United’s Anti-Racist initiatives, which includes a focus on student formation and public engagement. This evening features a curated panel conversation that highlights the unique contributions of two scholars-activists who are engaging in the work of anti-racism through comedy and the Arts, and who will engage each other in a way that offers a unique angle of vision into the nurture of white supremacy and the possibilities for life in its wake. The panel and public conversation will be preceded by an original production that presents United’s vision for this work, explains the unique approach we are taking, and features the voices of faculty speaking to their commitment and creative engagements with anti-racism in their teaching and scholarship. This public panel conversation officially launches United’s second wave of Anti-Racist Initiatives, kicking off a programmatic reorientation focused on student formation and a series of public panel conversations that creatively disrupt white supremacy and collectively envision life in its wake. Keep reading to learn more about our panelists! Panelists Dr. Danielle Fuentes Morgan Dr. Danielle Fuentes Morgan is an associate professor at Santa Clara University. She specializes in African American literature and culture in the 20th and 21st centuries and is interested in the ways that literature, mass media, popular culture, and humor shape identity formation. In particular, her research and teaching reflect her interests in African American satire and comedy, the arts as activism, and the continuing influence of history on contemporary articulations of Black selfhood. As a professor at Santa Clara University, she teaches courses in the Department of English and the Department of Ethnic Studies. Danielle has written a variety of both scholarly and popular articles and has been interviewed on topics as varied as Black Lives Matter, race and The Twilight Zone, Black sisterhood in sitcoms, the satiric reappropriation of negative tropes, laughter as revolution, race and sexuality on the Broadway stage, and Beyoncé. Her book, Laughing to Keep from Dying: African American Satire in the Twenty-First Century (published Fall 2020 by University of Illinois Press as a part of the New Black Studies Series), addresses the contemporary role of African American satire as a critical realm for social justice. She is currently co-editing The Oxford Handbook of African American Humor Studies (Oxford University Press) with Dr. Brittney Michelle Edmonds in addition to working on her second monograph. Dr. Green writes, "Danielle’s engagement with comedy and satire as a form of social justice makes her the perfect conversation partner for this event, particularly because comedy is a centerpiece to the design of Anti-Racist Initiatives at United. Her book Laughing to Keep from Dying: African American Satire in the Twenty-First Century has received public acclaim and will also be an important part of our conversation." Click here to learn more about Dr. Morgan's work. > Terresa Moses Terresa Moses is a proud Black queer woman dedicated to the liberation of Black and brown communities through art and design. As a designer and illustrator, her work focuses primarily on race, identity, and social justice. She advocates for positive change in her community using creativity as tools of community activism and organizing like her solo intersectional exhibition, Umbra, and her community distro project, Stop Killing Black People. Terresa is the Creative Director at Blackbird Revolt, a social justice-based design studio. She is also an Assistant Professor of Graphic Design and the Director of Design Justice at the University of Minnesota’s College of Design. As a community engaged scholar, her design research interests include; Project Naptural, which creates spaces to educate, connect, and empower Black women about their natural hair and self-identity, and Racism Untaught, a curriculum model that reveals ‘racialized’ design and helps students, educators, and organizations create anti-racist concepts through the design research process. She has multiple publications including two books set to publish in October 2023 through MIT Press, Racism Untaught and An Anthology of Blackness. Dr. Green writes, "Terresa’s focus on embodying anti-racism through art is brilliant and will be featured, but it is her attention to design—how white supremacy lives in the details and/of design—that I want to invite her to unpack for the public to hear and engage. She also has a forthcoming book entitled, Racism Untaught: Revealing and Unlearning Racialized Design, is set to release October 3rd and will be a focus of the conversation." Click here to learn more about Terresa's work. > Dr. Gary F. Green II Rev. Dr. Gary F. Green II is United's assistant professor of pastoral theology and social transformation and director of anti-racist initiatives at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. He earned his PhD from Brite Divinity School, where he focused on issues related to young African American men through the lens of public pastoral theology. His dissertation, “Playing the Game: Unmarking ‘Beast’ from the Bodies of Young Black Men,” is a project that seeks to humanize young black men by allowing their voices to challenge stereotypical scripts that cast them as “beasts” for public consumption. His broader research interests involve raising consciousness to issues of race, masculinity, and power, particularly when these issues are uniquely disclosed in spaces that are often overlooked by the Church and the Academy. Gary is committed to highlighting neglected sources in his research as a way to prioritize the revolutionary potential of voices that have gone unheard. His ultimate goal is to contribute to theological perspectives that can more adequately undergird sociopolitical redress for oppression in marginalized populations in the United States. Click here to learn more about Dr. Green. >

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September 19, 2023

“What is Progressive Theology” Panel Discussion at Spirit of Peace UCC

Join United President Molly T. Marshall, United professor Dr. Demian Wheeler, Spirit of Peace Pastor Rev. Charles D. Owens (’13), and panel moderator State Rep. Kameron Nelson—the only out, gay representative in the South Dakota legislature—for a discussion of progressive theology and the manner in which it influences our public work. Hosted by Spirit of Peace UCC in Sioux Falls, SD, doors will open at 1 PM CT for the 2 PM event. The panel will be followed by a meet-and-greet. While this event is free to attend, a free-will offering will be received in support of scholarships for United students. Thank you for your generosity! Click here to RSVP via Facebook. > Program 1:00 – 2:00 PM: Doors Open 2:00 – 3:30 PM: Panel Discussion 3:30 – 5:00 PM: Meet & Greet with Panelists Stay tuned for a link to RSVP!

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