Union Presbyterian Seminary

The Syngman Rhee Global Mission Center has welcomed their newest international students! We are so grateful they have joined UPSem's community and look forward to this coming school year with them!

Embracing the Womanist Tradition: Spiritual Formation, Companionship and Soul Work Begins this September!!!- https://mailchi.mp/7775d8e47a81/embracingthewomanisttradition

Something exciting is happening at our Richmond campus… Stay tuned!

Join us for a day of beginnings-- as we launch a deeper dive into both conversations and practices for radical discipleship by practicing resurrection. Not only do we want to change the conversation for a day about the intersections of faith and justice, mercy and love, we want to begin an intentional movement for community building that leads to liberation and life for all God's children. Come to this event with an open mind for transformation, and you will walk away ready to mobilize with others and lead transformation in the communities where you live.

Register at the link below and don't forget to sign up for the accompanying book club leading up to the event!
https://na.eventscloud.com/805292

Join us September 7, 2024 for a Telugu Conference on our Richmond campus!

Our last graduate in this series, Sarah-Dianne Jones, graduated this year with both a Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Christian Education. She also happens to be the Program Associate in our Center for Excellence in Christian Education! Thanks for all your great work, Sarah Dianne!

Here at Union, we are inspired to build a more just and compassionate world under President Lapsley's leadership. To learn more about our 2024 mission, click the link below:
https://bit.ly/UPSem24mission

Have you signed up for the Center for Excellence in Christian Education's virtual event, PRISM, yet? You don't want to miss this chance to enjoy workshops with pastors, educators, and other professionals in the Church.

Rev. Dr. Ann Laird Jones will be bringing the visual arts to life at Prism on August 17th in her workshop "Liturgical Art for Worship: Using Who and What You Have on Hand Right Now!" Liturgy is the work of the people, but goes far beyond verbal language into the realm of visual imagination. What resources do you have right now that will move into Sunday and everyday beyond that?

Register today: https://na.eventscloud.com/website/71005/home/

Take a moment to read our student Amanda Shank's reflection on complementarianism and Dr. Frances Taylor Gench’s article, “On women pastors and biblical authority: A Presbyterian reflection.”

Breaking the chains of complementarianism: A female seminary student finds her voice - The Presbyterian Outlook At a young age, Union Presbyterian Seminary student Amanda Shanks felt a call to ministry. Having no model for female leadership in the church, she ignored it until two years ago. What changed?

Ryan Atkinson graduated this year with both a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Christian Education! Luckily for us, Ryan will continue his position of IT Support here at Union while he prepares for Ordination Exams. You got this Ryan, we are so excited for you!

Our new Vice President for Advancement, Rev. Dr. Lee Hinson-Hasty wants to know “What is making you come alive?” as he wrote his D.Min. Thesis on Creating a Culture of Call in the PC(USA).

What’s your answer?

To learn more about Lee's work leading up to joining us here at Union, click the link below:

Turning the tables: Interviewing Lee Hinson-Hasty This week, we have a special Leading Theologically episode! We’re turning the tables on Lee Hinson-Hasty, who has now interviewed 75 people who lead theologi...

We would like to extend a warm welcome to our two newest faculty members: Dr. Alphonso Saville as Assistant Professor of American Religious History and Mission and Dr. Christian Sanchez as Instructor of New Testament.

Dr. Saville's book "The Gospel of John Marrant: Conjuring Christianity in the Black Atlantic" which will be released in August, is the first full- length study of North America's first black ordained minister, the Rev. John Marrant.
Dr. Sanchez won the Hispanic Theological Initiative/Lilly Dissertation Fellowship award in 2023 and recently successfully defended his dissertation, "Infiltrating Satan's Ranks: Tax Collectors and Soldiers in Luke and Acts.”

They began their work with us on July 1 and not only are we blessed to have them, but we are so proud of all that they have accomplished already!

Registration is now open for the Leadership Institute's 2024-2025 Pathways Courses. The first one starts next month!
Click the link below to learn more and register:
https://www.upsem.edu/leadership-institute/pathways-learning-leadership-2/

2024-2025 Pathways Courses Registration is live! Sign up today!

Our next graduate, Steve Marks, graduated with a Master of Divinity and will continue his studies at the Phoenix Center for Spiritual Direction in addition to continuing his service as a Chaplain with the NC First Responder Peer Support Team. Continue the great work, Steve!

This week, our Richmond campus had the pleasure of a visit from Rev. Dr. Unyong Kim, President of 장로회신학대학교 Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary in Seoul, South Korea. Rev. Dr. Kim graduated from UPSem in 1999 and Presbyterian University and Theological Seminary has been a treasured ally of ours in theological education for decades. We are so grateful he took the time to say hi!

Don't miss your chance to sign up!

Liturgy calls God’s people into worship, prepares us to hear God’s Word read and proclaimed, and sends us out into the world to live as disciples of the Risen Christ. In "The Art and Practice of Liturgy," Nicole Partin Abdnour will guide participants through creating liturgy, the abundance of liturgical resources available for clergy and congregations to use, as well as ways to lead liturgy that will transform words on paper into life-giving words that create the desired and intended tone for worship.

Join us for Prism: https://na.eventscloud.com/website/71005/

Laura Roberson Hadas, our first Charlotte graduate in this series, has completed both our Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in Christian Education programs! Since graduating, Laura has started a full time position as Pastoral Associate at Starmount Presbyterian Church!
We are so proud of you Laura!

Save the Date! Join us early next year to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Dr. Syngman Rhee's passing and celebrate his life's work. More details and registration coming soon!

Have you had a chance to read the latest issue of Sharon & Brook? Click the link below to do so now:
https://bit.ly/UPSem24SandB

Some plans have changed but our excitement is the same! Instead of goats, there are sheep eating invasive species for Shalom Farms, and we couldn't be happier for their native plants to have more room to grow. Don't miss your chance to watch the sheep at work over the next few days!

The Center for Excellence in Christian Education held their Art and the Bible Camp last week, with the chance for children to explore images of God in art and Scripture. By the end of the week, all of the participants helped to make a glass mobile that will be hung at our Charlotte campus!

Everyone meet Beth Bailey, one of our recent graduates here at UPSem! After interning at River Road Church, Baptist, she accepted a full time position as the Minister with Youth and Young Adults at Fredericksburg Baptist Church. We are so happy for her and can't wait to see the ways in which God works through her!

For those of you in the Richmond area, we have some exciting news! Next week, RVA Goats will be clearing some invasive plants for Shalom Farms. Once the area is cleared, there will not only be much more room for the native plants to thrive, but also more room for visitors of Yaupon Place to enjoy the park.

Check back soon for more pictures of the goats once they arrive!
Goat Picture Credit: RVA Goats

“But not just about me. It has to be about the boat.” –Joe Rantz, Boys in the Boat.
Our incoming Vice President of Advancement, Rev. Dr. Lee Hinson-Hasty is the dad of a Case Western Reserve Univ. Crew alum who is celebrating his dad’s appointment at Union Presbyterian Seminary!

We would like to take the chance to celebrate our recent graduate, Daphne Hill! She is continuing her graduate studies as a member of the 2027 Doctor of Education in Leadership program at VCU and will soon begin a Chaplain residency at the Central VA Healthcare System. Congrats, Daphne!!

In observance of Independence Day, the Seminary will be closed July 4 and July 5, 2024.

Congratulations to Dr. Jacqueline Lapsley on her confirmation! Dr. Lapsley is Union's first ever woman president and we are so honored to be by her side in this journey.

At this year's PC(U.S.A.) General Assembly, President Lapsley was joined by four other seminary presidents in coming before the Christian Formation committee to seek confirmation of their appointments.

Rev. Dr. Andrew Pomerville of Louisville Seminary
Rev. Dr. José Irizarry of Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary
Rev. Dr. Victor Aloyo Jr. of Columbia Theological Seminary
Dr. Jonathan Lee Walton of Princeton Theological Seminary

Congratulations to all of the presidents and their institutions!

We are so proud! Rev.Tony Larson is a Union Presbyterian Seminary alum! Congratulations to both co-moderators, named at the 226th General Assembly of Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)

Congratulations to the Rev. CeCe Armstrong and the Rev. Tony Larson, the newly elected co-moderators of the 226th General Assembly!

Happy faces filled Sharon Presbyterian Church at SouthPark as more than 20 new graduates from Union Presbyterian Seminary received their diplomas in Charlotte on Sat. June 29. Enjoy the photos at https://www.flickr.com/photos/upsem/albums/72177720318389111
And watch the livestream of the graduation services (where Rev.Dr. Carson Brisson preached) at
https://www.youtube.com/live/qQClm85k4r0?si=8ekTBzd6KdUbTEME

Congratulations to Union Presbyterian Seminary faculty member Frances Taylor Gench—this fifth-generation Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) minister won an Award of Excellence in Biblical Interpretation for her reflection on female pastoral leadership and the biblical interpretations. The Associated Church Press (ACP) awards recognize the best in faith-based media. With more than 800 entries, kudos to the Presbyterian Outlook for the Best of the Church Press Awards!

On women pastors and biblical authority: A Presbyterian reflection - The Presbyterian Outlook Responding to the Southern Baptist Convention's actions to bar female pastoral leadership, biblical scholar Frances Taylor Gench reflects on how the PC(USA) engages Scripture that instructs women to be subservient such as 1 Timothy 2.