Union Theological Seminary Archives

The image of the golden calf and other lost opportunities

Posted March 5th, 2021

Opportunities are broken, the Rev. Bertram Johnson told the NEXT Church gathering Friday, when we worship anything but God. And for anyone who needed proof, he cited Exodus 32:1-20, the story of the tablets that Moses broke, furious that while he was atop a mountain to receive the Ten Commandments, Aaron allowed the people to construct a golden calf to worship. Moses was so mad upon his return he took the image and burned it. Then he grounded it to powder, scattered it on the water and made the Israelites drink the water.

Preacher, prophet, poet the Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes Jr. extols the blessings of Black love

Posted February 24th, 2021

Last weekend, the New York City chapter of the National Black Presbyterian Caucus was privileged to hear the prophetic voice of the Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes Jr. You too can hear Forbes’ talk here.

Caring for those who care for others

Posted January 7th, 2021

About a year ago, Union Theological Seminary in New York City hired the Rev. Bertram Johnson as an interfaith minister. His call is to help students with their discernment process, including three students working as peer chaplains.

Young immigrants use their art to tell stories of faith and fear on their journey north

Posted November 8th, 2020

Six years ago, Nohemi Cuéllar and her husband, the Rev. Dr. Gregory Cuéllar, used a tried-and-true method to launch a ministry that helps young immigrants entering the U.S. through South Texas to express their stories, their fears and even the faith that’s sustained them.

Two 2020 Katie Cannon Scholarship award recipients named

Posted October 1st, 2020

Racial Equity & Women’s Intercultural Ministries has announced the 2020 recipients of the Rev Dr. Katie Geneva Cannon Scholarship.

Asking the hard questions

Posted October 1st, 2020

Not surprisingly, Hannah Lundberg’s sermon on peacemaking for World Communion Sunday opens with a series of questions: “What is peace for you? Is it a simple state of being? The way things are until something goes wrong? Is peace the absence of conflict?”

Pastor speaks on the ‘George Floyd Protests: Temporary Uprising, Movement or Miracle?’

Posted September 23rd, 2020

On the second night of a lecture series sponsored by Union Presbyterian Seminary and the Center for Social Justice and Reconciliation last week, the Rev. Dr. James Forbes spoke on the George Floyd protests, asking if they are a “temporary uprising, a movement or a miracle.”

A somber hour during the Week of Action

Posted August 28th, 2020

Presbyterians paused during their Week of Action Thursday to take a more introspective and personal action: mourning the deaths of 183,000 Americans and more than 832,000 people around the world who have perished from COVID-19.

Unleashing the power of poor and low-income Americans

Posted August 13th, 2020

How would the political landscape change if the needs and demands of poor and low-income voters were better represented in the electoral process? That’s what a report issued this week by The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, attempts to answer.

Presbyterian pastor, educator and mission co-worker dies in North Carolina at 94

Posted August 5th, 2020

The Rev. Dr. Lamar Williamson Jr., beloved Presbyterian pastor and educator and a former mission co-worker in the then-Belgian Congo, died peacefully on July 11 in Black Mountain, North Carolina. He was 94.