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Background

The Quaker activists Staughton and Alice Lynd have long been reflecting on the practice of accompaniment in social movements and in their own lives. In memory of Staughton (1929–2022) and in collaboration with Alice, his lifelong companion and co-conspirator, the Leadership Center for Social Justice is excited to feature a series of conversations exploring the various dimensions of accompaniment and the possibilities it holds today for the work of social justice.

In his pastoral letters before his assassination in 1980, Óscar Romero, Archbishop of El Salvador, described the “kingdom of heaven” as a reality that comes not only after death but as something already inaugurated in history. In light of this, Archbishop Romero urged the church to oppose the structural sin of capitalism by accompanying the poor in their struggle for justice and liberation. The ministerial task of accompaniment took root in the formation of base communities across Latin America and represented a distinctive form of ministry for social justice that began with the work of listening to the struggles and hopes of ordinary people, and acting together, concretely, in the pursuit of another world.

In contrast to top-down forms of organizing, such an approach to ministry echoes the strategies of grassroots social movements that have emerged from “the bottom up” in other times and places. It permeated the theory and practice of Ella Baker, the Freedom Schools of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the 1960s, the ministries of Rosemarie Freeney and Vincent Harding, and the practice of the late medical doctor, Paul Farmer. Today, we witness multiple forms of accompaniment throughout the world, in the work of communities providing sanctuary for migrants, in neighborhoods that organize for mutual aid, and in movements of solidarity that defend the earth and the flourishing of life for all.

For even more background, view our video from Symposium Week, “Organizing in the Spirit of Accompaniment: Lessons from Ella Baker to the Zapatistas,” below.

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Today

Social Fabric: The Lives of Our Beloved Textiles

United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities 767 Eustis St., Suite 140, Saint Paul, MN, United States

What is alive in your favorite textile objects? Whose lives have they witnessed? For our first Theology and the Arts Lunch (bring your own) of 2025, join local fiber artist and zine-maker Allison Keirstead Jones onsite or online for a discussion about her anthology project, Social Fabric: The Lives of Our Beloved Textiles. You are invited to bring a special textile object from your life to present as part of ...

Susan Draper White Lecture: “Battle for the Minds, Revisited” with Rev. Molly T. Marshall, PhD

United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities 767 Eustis St., Suite 140, Saint Paul, MN, United States

United is very pleased to announce that our 34th annual Susan Draper White Lecture will take place on February 24, 2025, and feature Rev. Molly T. Marshall, PhD, United’s esteemed and beloved president. President Marshall’s lecture is titled “Battle for the Minds, Revisited.” Thirty years ago, writer and producer Steve Lipscomb created his first documentary, Battle for the Minds, about the Southern Baptist Convention’s conservative shift and how that was ...

The Enneagram: An Invitation to Explore with Ahshua Bolton

United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities 767 Eustis St., Suite 140, Saint Paul, MN, United States

The Enneagram, long established as a useful and transformative tool for understanding self and others, offers a lifetime of discovery. Uniquely organized into Nine Personality Types, the Enneagram promotes three principles: The first Enneagram principle is to understand ourselves, by Personality Type, as divine beings. By studying and employing The Enneagram of Personality—along with personal inner work—we learn to recognize our brilliance and our shadows. The invitation is to integrate both of these wonderful aspects of our essential selves.  ...

Book Launch—Trans Biblical: New Approaches to Interpretation and Embodiment in Scripture

United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities 767 Eustis St., Suite 140, Saint Paul, MN, United States

Join us for the launch of Trans Biblical: New Approaches to Interpretation and Embodiment in Scripture, a new collection of wide-ranging essays published by Westminster John Knox. The book explores key issues animating trans-biblical interpretation from a variety of angles and emphases. Contributors, who represent a range of gender identities, answer the question—“What makes a biblical reading trans, or a trans reading biblical?”—in diverse and exciting ways. They also promote ...

2025 Commencement

Plymouth Congregational Church 1919 La Salle Ave, Minneapolis, MN, United States

The United Board of Trustees, faculty, and the graduating class announce our Sixty-Third Annual Commencement Exercises.