Outfitting a team with protective gear was the first challenge. Happily, Gary was able to borrow used shoulder pads and helmets from the high school at which he was working in 1967. In 1968, Dave Rumpf (’70) collected used football equipment from Augsburg College where he was interning.
“As to the combative part of football, that is typical of human activity. We turn God’s quest for harmony into combative violence, even though we can sometimes move toward a more peaceful and harmonious relationship. Notice how we flock to see violence and are bored by harmony.”
The Prison Mirror, a newspaper produced by inmates at Stillwater Prison since 1887, ran this headline in its October 20, 1967 edition: “Preachers Chill Colts.” The story began, “A good team from the United Theological Seminary combined an excellent passing and running attack to defeat the Colts in the rain by a score of 20–13.”
By the fall of 1968, when United played its third and final game at Stillwater prison, United’s roster had grown to 15. One of the 15 was Ken Groh, Mike’s brother, who, Ted asserts, “had never darkened the door of a seminary classroom.” Ken had, however, played football at Indiana University (see photo at right) and was a welcome addition.
Through Mike, Ted got a job at the University of Minnesota as a chemical dependency instructor. Since finishing his MPH at the University, he has worked for a variety of healthcare companies, primarily in sales. He is currently the senior vice president for national sales at Welvie, a company that offers online learning programs to help people make more informed decisions about their care options.
United is delighted to be able to share a story about the remarkable 1967–1968 football program and honor the players who invested their faith and risked their limbs in the process. We owe Ted and Phil credit for drawing our attention to their story and conducting important research, and are delighted that Professor Emeritus and coach Don White was able to give us a primer on process theology and football. Thanks also to Alicia Groh, Mike’s daughter, who tracked down photos of her dad (including him on the beach at sunset) for this article.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.