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Course offerings at Meadville Lombard

VIEW CURRENT ACADEMIC CATALOG online
VIEW CURRENT ACADEMIC CATALOG PDF

Find course descriptions in the Academic Catalog linked above or in Populi. Older Academic Catalogs are available here.

Course offerings are subject to change for many unforeseeable reasons.

Please double-check with the listing on Populi before you finalize your course plan. If you have any questions about the course offerings and registration, please don’t hesitate to contact our Registrar, Elena Jimenez.

All courses are 3 credits and all times are listed in Central Time unless noted otherwise. 

Lifelong Learning

If you are looking for lifelong learning and continuing education programs, please visit the Leadership Institute for Growth, Healing, and Transformation (LIGHT) section.

Learn More about LIGHT

FALL TERM 2026
(August 17 – November 20, 2026)

Signature Courses

Click Here for Fall 2026 Course Schedule PDF

Grounding [Hogue]

Hybrid 9 AM-5 PM Tuesday, August 25

Zoom Meetings 6-8 PM

Wednesdays

  • King, Thomas. The Truth about Stories: A Native Narrative (University of Minnesota Press, 2008): 978-0816646272
  • Macy, Joanna and Johnstone, Chris, Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re In with Unexpected Resilience and Creative Power (New World Library 2022): 978-1608687107
  • Miller-McLemore, Bonnie J. Follow Your Bliss and Other Lies About Calling (Oxford, 2024). ISBN: 978-0190084042.
  • Taiwo, Olufemi. Elite Capture, (Chicago: Haymarket, 2022): 978-1642596885

Ministry in Context 1 [Taylor]

Fully Online

Zoom Meetings 11 AM-1 PM

Tuesdays

  • “Enlighten: Formational Learning in Theological Field Education” Edited by Sung Hee Chang and Matthew Floding

  • “How to Get the Most Out of Clinical Pastoral Education” Gordon J. Hilsman

     

Vocational Studies 1: Formation [Kirk]

Hybrid 9 AM-5 PM Wednesdays, August 26

Zoom Meetings 3-5 PM

Thursdays

  • Erin Walter, ed. Care for the World: Reflections on Community Ministry (Skinner House Press, 2022)

  • Margaret Marcuson, Leaders Who Last: Sustaining Yourself and Your Ministry (2009)

Leadership Studies 1: Formation [Quirk]

Hybrid 9 AM-5 PM Wednesday, August 26

Zoom Meetings 3-5 PM
Thursdays

  •  

MDiv Required Courses

Unitarian Universalist History and Polity [Kirk]

Hybrid 9 AM-5 PM Thursday, August 27

Zoom Meetings 11 AM-1 PM
Mondays

  • John Buehrens. Universalists and Unitarians: A People’s History (Boston: Skinner House Press, 2011) ISBN 1558966129
    • Available as a paperback and e-book.
  • Dan McKanan, ed. A Documentary History of Unitarian Universalism: From the Beginning to 1899 – Volume One. Skinner House Press, 2017 – ISBN 1558967893
    • Available as a paperback and e-book.
  • Dan McKanan, ed. A Documentary History of Unitarian Universalism: From 1900 to Present – Volume Two. Skinner House Press, 2017
    • Available as a paperback and e-book.
  • Mark D. Morrison-Reed, Darkening the Doorways: Black Trailblazers and Missed Opportunities in Unitarian Universalism. Skinner House Press, 2011
    • Available as a paperback and e-book.
  • Cynthia Grant Tucker. Prophetic Sisterhood: Liberal Women Ministers of the Frontier, 1880-1930. Indiana Universality Press, 1994 – ISBN 025320822X
    • Available as a paperback.
  • Holley Ulbrich. The Fellowship Movement: A Growth Strategy and Its Legacy. Skinner House Press, 2007
    • Purchase the paperback directly through the InSpirit UU Book Shop for an affordable price.
  • Denise D. Tracy and Emmy Lou Belcher, eds. WomanSpirit: The Rise of Feminism and the Empowerment of Women in Liberal Religion (2024).
    • Purchase the paperback directly through the InSpirit UU Book Shop for an affordable price, or buy the e-book version.

Healthy Boundaries for Leaders [Mosby]

Hybrid 9 AM-5 PM Thursday, August 27

Zoom Meetings 6-8 PM
Tuesdays

Tentative – subject to change

  • Cooper-White, Pamela. Shared Wisdom: Use of the Self in Pastoral Care and Counseling. Revised and Expanded 20th anniversary edition. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2024.  
  • Fortune, Marie. Healthy Boundaries 201 – Beyond Basics: Course Workbook. Free at FaithTrust-HealthyBoundaries201-English-2012.pdf
  • Hemphill, Prentis. What It Takes to Heal: How Transforming Ourselves Can Change the World. New York: Penguin Press, 2024.  
  • Olsen, David C., and Nancy G. Devor. Saying No to Say Yes: Everyday Boundaries and Pastoral Excellence. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, 2015.  
  • Pasquale, Teresa. Sacred Wounds: A Path to Healing from Spiritual Trauma. St. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2015.  
  • Sawyer, Lauren D., Emily Cohen, and Annie Mesaros, eds. Responding to Spiritual Leader Misconduct: A Handbook. Seattle, WA: FaithTrust Institute (faithtrustinstitute.org), 2022.  
  • Tawwab, Nedra Glover. Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself. New York: TarcherPerigee, 2021.  

Preaching As If You Mean It [Hergert]

Hybrid 9 AM-5 PM Friday, August 28

Zoom Meetings 6-8 PM
Mondays

  • Lucas Hergert. Impassioned: A Guide to Progressive Preaching. Skinner House Books: 2025.

  • Otis Moss III. Blue Note Preaching in a Post-Soul World: Finding Hope in an Age of Despair.  Westminster John Knox Press: 2015.

  • Peter Jonker. Preaching in Pictures: Using Images that Connect. Abingdon: 2015.

  • Charles Campbell. The Scandal of the Gospel: Preaching and the Grotesque. Westminster John Knox Press: 2021.

  • Thomas Long. The Witness of Preaching. 3rd ed. Westminster John Knox Press: 2016.

Constructive Theology [Hogue]

Fully Online

Zoom Meetings 2-4 PM
Mondays

  • Anderson, Victor. Creative Exchange: A Constructive Theology of African American Religious Experience (Fortress, 2008). ISBN: 9780800662554.
  • Gebara, Ivone. Longing for Running Water: Ecofeminism and Liberation (Fortress, 1999). ISBN: 9781451409901.
  • Grau and Wyman, eds., What is Constructive Theology (Bloomsbury, 2020). ISBN: 9780567696540 (ONLY Ch. 1)
  • Hogue, Michael S. American Immanence: Democracy for an Uncertain World (Columbia University Press, 2018). ISBN: 9780231172325.
  • Rivera, Mayra. The Touch of Transcendence: A Postcolonial Theology of God (Westminster John Knox: Louisville, 2007). ISBN: 9780664230739.
  • Solle, Dorothy. The Silent Cry: Mysticism and Resistance (Fortress Press, 2001). ISBN: 9780800632663.
  • Tinker, George. Spirit and Resistance: Political Theology and American Indian Liberation (Fortress, 2004). ISBN: 9781451408416.

Hebrew Scriptures [Beverly]

Fully Online

Zoom Meetings 2-4 PM
Tuesdays

Faith Formation in a Changing World [Mosby]

Hybrid 9 AM-5 PM Tuesday, August 25

Zoom Meetings 1-3 PM
Thursdays

Tentative – subject to change

  • Boys, Mary C. Educating in Faith: Maps and Vision. Academic Renewal Press, 2001.
  • Brown, Adrienne Maree, Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds. AK Press, 2017.
  • Brookfield, Stephen and John D. Hoist. Radicalizing Learning: Adult Education for a Just World. 1st Edition. Jossey-Bass, 2010.
  • Chen, Carolyn and Russell Jeung, eds. Sustaining Faith Traditions: Race, Ethnicity, and Religion among the Latino and Asian American Second Generation. NYU Press, 2012.
  • Essex Conversations Coordinating Committee. Essex Conversations: Visions for Lifespan Religious Education. Skinner House Books, 2001.
  • Green, Rachelle R. Learning to Live: Prisons, Pedagogy, and Theological Education. Baylor University Press, 2024.
  • Harris, Maria. Fashion Me a People: Curriculum in the Church. Westminister John Knox Press, 1989.
  • Kujawa-Holbrook, Sheryl A. God Beyond Borders: Interreligious Learning Among Faith Communities. Pickwick Publications, 2018.
  • Morrison-Reed, Mark D. The Selma Awakening: How the Civil Rights Movement Tested and Changed Unitarian Universalism. Skinner House Books, 2014.
  • Reyes, Patrick. Nobody Cries When We Die: God, Community, and Surviving to Adulthood. Chalice Press, 2016. 

DMin required courses

Methods of Leadership and Ministry [Lassiter]

Fully Online

Zoom Meetings 6-8 PM
Thursdays

  • TBA

Research Methods and Ethics [Robersmith]

Fully Online

Zoom Meetings 6-8 PM
Thursdays

Required:
  • Booth, Wayne C., Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams, Joseph Bizup, and William T. Fitzgerald. The Craft of Research. 5th Ed. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2024.
  • Creswell, John W., and J. David Creswell. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. 6th Ed. Thousand Oaks, California: SAGE Publications, Inc., 2023.
  • González-Justiniano, Yara. Centering Hope as a Sustainable Decolonial Practice: Esperanza En Práctica. Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies in Religion and Theology. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2022.
  • Lincoln, Timothy D. Qualitative Research: A Field Manual for Ministry Students. Chicago: Atla Open Press, 2021. https://books.atla.com/atlapress/catalog/book/24.
  • Osmer, Richard R. Practical Theology: An Introduction. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2008.

Supplementary:

  • Lareau, Annette. Listening to People: A Practical Guide to Interviewing, Participant Observation, Data Analysis, and Writing It All Up. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2021.
  • Ward, Pete, and Knut Tveitereid. The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Theology and Qualitative Research. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell, 2022.
  • Josselson, Ruthellen. Interviewing for Qualitative Inquiry: A Relational Approach. Guilford Press. 2013.

Political Theology and Social Ethics [Hogue]

Fully Online

Zoom Meetings 6-8 PM
Tuesdays

  • Sylvia Wynter, “Unsettling the Coloniality of Being/Power/Truth/Freedom” (long article will be provided)

  • Iris Marion Young, Justice and the Politics of Difference (Princeton, 2022). ISBN: 978-0691235165

  • Juliet Hooker, Black Grief / White Grievance (Princeton, 2023): 978-0691243030

  • Christina Sharpe, In the Wake: On Blackness and Being (Duke, 2016): 978-0822362944

  • Achile Mbembe, Necropolitics (Duke, 2019): 978-1478006510

  • Deborah Bird Rose, Wild Dog Dreaming (Virginia, 2011): 978-0813933597

  • Gil Anidjar, On the Sovereignty of Mothers: The Political as Maternal (Columbia, 2024): 978-0231216449

Thesis Writing I [Lassiter]

Fully Online

Zoom Meetings 6-8 PM
Tuesdays

  • TBA

Electives

Call of the Wild [Kirk]

Fully Online

Zoom Meetings 10 AM-Noon
Wednesdays

  • Alison Hawthorne Deming and Lauret E. Savoy, eds. The Colors of Nature: Culture, Identity, and the Natural World (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Milkweed Editions, 2011)
  • Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (HarperBooks 2007 or other edition) and Holy the Firm. Both books are widely available at local libraries and through Wiggin Library resources.
  • Greg Sarris, Becoming Story: A Journey among Seasons, Places, Trees, and Ancestors (Berkeley, California: Heyday, 2022)
  • Lauret Savoy, Trace: Memory, History, Race, and the American Landscape (Berkley, California: Counterpoint Press, 2015)
  • Robin Wall Kimmerer, Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses (Oregon State Press, 2003)
  • Peter Thuesen, Tornado God: American Religion and Violent Weather (London: Oxford University Press, 2020)

Ministry and Leadership with Young Adults [Mosby]

Fully Online

Zoom Meetings 2-4 PM
Wednesdays

Tentative – subject to change

  • Baker, Dori Grinenko and Joyce Ann Mercer. Lives to Offer: Accompanying Youth on their Vocational Quests. Pilgrim Press, 2007.  
  • Chen, Carolyn and Russell Jeung, eds. Sustaining Faith Traditions: Race, Ethnicity, and Religion among the Latino and Asian American Second Generation. NYU Press, 2012.  
  • Gault, Erika D. Networking the Black Church: Digital Black Christians and Hip Hop. New York University Press, 2022. 
  • Katz, Roberta, Sarah Ogilvie, Jane Shaw, and Linda Woodhead. Gen Z Explained: The Art of Living in a Digital Age. University of Chicago Press, 2021.  
  • Keuss, Jeffrey F., ed. Defiant Hope, Active Love: What Young Adults are Seeking in Places of Work, Faith, and Community. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2024.  
  • Myers, Jeremy Paul and Kristina Frugé, eds. Hungry for Hope: Letters to the Church from Young Adults. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2025.   
  • Parks, Sharon Daloz. Big Questions Worthy Dreams: Mentoring Young Adults in Their Search for Meaning. Purpose, and Faith. Jossey-Bass, 2000.  
  • Reyes, Patrick. Nobody Cries When We Die: God, Community, and Surviving to Adulthood. Chalice Press, 2016.
  • Setran, David P. Spiritual Formation in Emerging Adulthood: A Practical Theology for College and Young Adult Ministry. Grand Rapids, Baker Academic, 2013.  
  • Wright, Almeda M. The Spiritual Lives of Young African Americans. Oxford University Press, 2017.  

SUMMER TERM 2026
(June 1 – July 31, 2026)

Summer Courses

Summer 2026 Course Schedule PDF

TS564 Queer Theology
[Lightsey]

Zoom meetings 11am-1pm
Wednesdays

Asynchronous weeks: June 8-12, July 27-31

Note: This class will require extensive reading, a group presentation and group podcast. This course examines the emergence of queer theology as it has been derived from queer theory and LGBTQ social justice activists. It will acquaint students with the history of the term “queer”, its challenges, its reappropriation, and the impact queer theology is having on Christian faith and practices. We will especially investigate how “queering” may contribute to theology as academic discipline, church practice and as an instrument of social justice. This course will privilege an intersectional analysis.

  • Butler, Judith. Undoing Gender. New York. Routledge, 2004.
  • Cheng, Patrick. Radical Love: An Introduction to Queer Theology. New York: Seabury Books, 2011.
  • Clausen, Jan. Apples and Oranges: My Journey Through Sexual Identity. Seven Stories Press, 2017.
  • Feinberg, Leslie. Trans Liberation: Beyond Pink or Blue. 1998. Boston: Beacon Press.
  • Foucault, Michel. The History of Sexuality, Vol. 1. New York: Vintage, 1978.
  • Kurze, Arnaud, Sarah Sturken, and Steve Thwe. Mapping Queerness in Times of Uncertainty: Stories of Struggle, Invisibility and Space. Routledge, 2024.
  • Lightsey, Pamela. Our Lives Matter: A Womanist Queer Theology. Eugene: Pickwick Publications, 2015.

M330 Ministry in Times of Crisis
[Taylor]

Zoom meetings 11am-1pm
Tuesdays

Faith leaders and communities play important roles as acute responders and long-term caregivers in times of communal crisis. When a community has experienced a significant crisis (natural or human-made) they benefit from the immediate and long-term care of informed faith communities. In this course we will explore the work of both congregational and community ministry immediately following a community crisis and as they provide the long-term care of recovery.

  • Gunning Francis, Leah. Ferguson and Faith: Sparking Leadership & Awakening Community. Louis, MO: Chalice Press, 2015.
  • Kraus, Laurie, et al. Recovering from Un-Natural Disasters: A Guide for Pastors and Congregations after Violence and Trauma. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2017.
  • Moon, Zachary (Ed.). Doing Theology in Pandemics: Facing Viruses, Violence, and Vitriol. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2022.
  • Rambo, Shelly. Spirit and Trauma: A Theology of Remaining. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010.
  • van Dernoot Lipsky, Laura. Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others. Oakland, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2009.

M461 Performance, Ritual, and Religious Leadership - CANCELLED
[Robersmith]

  • Taylor, D. (2015). Performance. Duke University Press Books.
  • Marshall, Lorna. (2001). The Body Speaks. St. Marten’s Griffin.
  • Stephenson, Barry. (2015). Ritual: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press.
  • Concannon, H. & Palm, A. (2024). Blessing It All: Rituals for Transition and Transformation. Skinner House Press.
  • Stringer, Kafi, & Teague. Imani Rituals. Skinner House Press.

SPRING TERM 2026
(January 26 – May 8, 2026)

Signature Courses

Spring 2026 Course Schedule PDF

Vocational Studies 2:
Communities [Robersmith & Mosby]

Hybrid 9 AM-5 PM Feb 2 & 3,
Zoom meetings 3–5pm
Thursdays

  • Required Texts:
    • Meadows, Donella H. 2008. Thinking in Systems: A Primer. Chelsea Green Publishing.
    • Wimberly Jr., John W. 2010. The Business of the Church: The Uncomfortable Truth ThatFaithful Ministry Requires Effective Management. Rowman & Littlefield/Alban
  • and at least one of the following—one you’ve not read yet!—considering how people include and exclude people from religious/spiritual communities:
    • UUA Commission on Institutional Change. 2020. Widening the Circle of Concern. UUA. UUA report on institutional barriers, particularly around racism and white supremacy
    • Rahnema, Mitra. 2017. Centering: Navigating Race, Authenticity, and Power in Ministry. Skinner House Books. UUMA organized book on the experiences of BIPOC religious professionals/clergy
    • Mishra Marzetti, Manish and McDonald Ladd, Nancy. 2024. Seeds of a New Way. Skinner House Books. Building on Centering, this book considers the future of diverse religious leadership.
    • Belser, Julia Watts. 2023. Loving Our Own Bones. Beacon Press. A beautifully written book on intersections, joys, & challenges of disability & spirituality
    • Rafferty, Erin. 2022. From Inclusion to Justice: Disability, Ministry, and Congregational Leadership. Baylor Unversity Press. A clearly Christian book, but one with a focus on empowerment and justice with and for disabled people in congregational life.
    • Hunt, Ruth, ed. 2021. The Book of Queer Prophets: 24 Writers on Sexuality and Religion. William Collins.             A book full of multi-religious first-person essays on people’s experiences of  queernesses and religions. Some stories address pain, abuse, and hardship; some stories address discovery, transformation, and joy. Some do both.
    • Wilcox, Melissa M. 2020. Queer Religiosities: An Introduction to Queer and TransgenderStudies in Religion. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.  An academic and accessible book about how religions and cultures include, exclude, and transform in the presence of queerness. 
  • There will be additional articles, videos, websites and other resources for many weeks, too.

Leadership Studies 2:
Administration [House]:

Hybrid 9 AM-5 PM Feb 2 & 3,
Zoom meetings 3–5pm
Thursdays

  • TBA

MDiv Required Courses

Introduction to Pastoral Ministry [Taylor]:

Hybrid 9 am-5 pm Feb 3,
Zoom meetings 7-9 pm
Wednesdays 

  • Kujawa-Holbrook, Sheryl, Montagno, Karen. Injustice and the Care of Souls: Taking Oppression Seriously in Pastoral Care (2023 second edition). ISBN-10: 1506482473. MAKE SURE TO USE THE CORRECT EDITION 
  • Law, Eric H.F. The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb: A Spirituality for Leadership in a Multicultural Community. ISBN-10:  082724231X
  • Leas, Speed B. Discover Your Conflict Management Style.  ISBN-10: 1566991846
  • McGarrah Sharp, Melinda. Misunderstanding Stories: Toward a Postcolonial Pastoral Theology. ISBN-10:  1610972260
  • Skovholt, Thomas M, Trotter-Mathison, Michelle. The Resilient Practitioner (2025 fourth edition). ISBN: 9781032117577  MAKE SURE TO USE THE CORRECT EDITION
  • The above books are required reading for the course. Additional articles and chapters will be assigned and available via Populi once the semester begins.

Topics in Worship & Liturgy [Johnson]:

Fully online,
Zoom meetings 7-9 pm
Tuesdays 

  • Books
    • Worship that Works: Theory and Practice for Unitarian Universalists, Arnason and Rolenz, 2nd Edition, 2017.    
    • Blessing it All: Rituals for Transition and Transformation, Concannon and Palm, 2024  
    • Think like a Filmmaker: Sensory-Rich Worship for Unforgettable Messages, McFee, 2016  
    • Interplay of things: religion, art, and presence together, Anthony Pinn, 2021  
    • Sharing the Word: Preaching in the Roundtable Church by Lucy Atkinson Rose, 1997  
    • Black Liturgies, Cole Arthur Riley, 2024  
    • Praying with Every Heart, Cláudio Carvalhaes, 2021.  
    • Newborn Bards: A Theology of Preaching for Unitarian Universalists (2nd Edition), Matthew Johnson. Read at least chapters 1, 2, and 6.  (This text is also in Dr. Hergert’s preaching class, if you read it last semester, just review chapters 2 and 6).   
  • Chapters:  
    • “Religion as Celebration” from Modern Worship by V. Ogden Vogt.   
    • “Ritual Change and Changing Rituals” by Catherine Bell   “Forward” and “Chapter 1: Nature and Significance of Play” from Homo Ludens by J. Huizinga  
    • “Chapter 1: Ritual as Spatial Director” by David Parkin, in Understanding Rituals ed. by Daniel de Coppett.    
  • UUA Meditations Manuals:   
    • Voices from the Margins (James, ed).  
    • Get either Reaching for the Sun (Herrera) or Breaking and Blessing (Dennison)
  • Books you should have access to already:  
    • Singing the Living Tradition, UUA
    • Singing the Journey, UUA
    • Between the Lines, UUA
    • Lifting our voices, UUA  
  • Videos:   
    • Sanctuary Boston: Watch at least one: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyzdK-QMrBzMnYXYt0iYNRQ/featured  
    • Jacqui Lewis: https://www.theoed.com/jacquilewis  
  • Highly Recommended:   
    • Great Occasions: Readings for the Celebration of Birth, Coming of Age, Marriage, and Death, by Carl Seaburg. 2004.    
  • Also Recommended:  
    • Beyond Absence: A Treasury of Poems, Quotations, and Readings on Death and Remembrance by Ed Searl  
    • We Pledge our Hearts: A Treasury of Poems, Quotations, and Readings to Celebrate Love and Marriage by Ed Searl  
    • Dreaming the Dark, Starhawk, 2017  
    • The Shared Pulpit, Erika Hewitt 

Global Religions [Dechant]:

Hybrid 9 am-5 pm Feb 4,
Zoom meetings 10 am-12pm
Thursdays

  • All students will be required to read most of the following three books. All three will be available as ebooks from the library.  
    • Bucar, Liz.  Stealing My Religion: Not Just Any Cultural Appropriation.  Harvard University Press, 2022.  
    • Hogue, Michael S., and Dean Phillip Bell. Interreligious Resilience: Interreligious Leadership for a Pluralistic World.  Bloomsbury Academic, 2022.  
    • Macfie, Alexander Lyon, ed. Orientalism: A Reader. New York University Press, 2000.  
  • All students will be required to read the following articles. All of these will be available via the course reserves page.  
    • Abu-Lughod, Lila. “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others.” American Anthropologist 104, no. 3 (2002): 783–90. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3567256.  
    • Bigelow, Anna.  “Saved by the Saint: Refusing and Reversing Partition in Muslim North India.” The Journal of Asian Studies 68, no. 2 (2009): 435-464, https://www.jstor.org/stable/20619734.  
    • Chitwood, Ken. “‘It’s Changed Everything’: Interfaith Dialogue in the Wake of October 7, 2023.”  Interfaith America.  October 3, 2024.  https://www.interfaithamerica.org/article/interfaith-dialogue-october-7/.  
    • Jerryson, Michael.  “Monks with Guns,” Aeon. April 26, 2017.  https://aeon.co/essays/buddhism-can-be-as-violent-as-any-other-religion.  
    • Mahmood, Saba.  “Feminist Theory, Embodiment, and the Docile Agent: Some Reflections on the Egyptian Islamic Revival.” Cultural Anthropology 16, no. 2 (2001): 202-236, https://www.jstor.org/stable/656537.  
    • Olupona, Jacob. Interview by Anthony Chiorazzi.  The Harvard Gazette. October 6, 2015. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/10/the-spirituality-of-africa/.  
    • Pape, Robert A. “Violence and Religion.” The IDEA Society, YouTube video, 1:11:47, March 24, 2015. https://youtu.be/jxOaai-Qt1U?si=o6tF6bYM4GECICHb  
    • Pew Research Center.  “Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050.”  December 21, 2022. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/feature/religious-composition-by-country-2010-2050/.  
    • The Pluralism Project.  “Religions.”  Harvard University.  2024.  https://pluralism.org/religions.  
    • Schilbrack, Kevin.  “Religions: Are There Any?” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 78, no. 4 (2010): 1112–38.  http://www.jstor.org/stable/27919267.  
    • Tamale, Sylvia. “Confronting the Politics of Nonconforming Sexualities in Africa.” African Studies Review 56, no. 2 (2013): 31–45. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43904926.  
  • Project Readings: All students (either individually or in a group, depending on enrollment) will be assigned a set of readings and resources on one of the world’s religions. As will be detailed in the syllabus, the students will have to give presentations to their classmates based on these readings. Instructions for approaching the readings (including what portions of the words to focus on) will be provided in the syllabus.  All of those readings and resources can either be found on the web, are electronic articles or ebooks that students can access via the library, or else are library books that will be provided to the students.  The student will therefore not need to purchase any additional materials.

Intro to Ethics [House]:

Hybrid 9 am-5 pm Feb 4,
Zoom meetings 2-4 pm
Wednesdays

  • New:  Betancourt, Sofía, ed. Love at the Center: Unitarian Universalist Theologies. Skinner House Books, 2025. Love at the Center print copies.  
  • New: Schneider, Laurel C., and Thelathia Nikki Young. Queer Soul and Queer Theology: Ethics and Redemption in Real Life. New York: Routledge, 2021
  • Fluker, Walter E. Ethical Leadership: The Quest for Character, Civility, and Community. Prisms. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2009. https://i-share-mls.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CARLI_MLS/18en8el/alma991154622220905816
  • Schweiker, William, Maria Antonaccio, Elizabeth M. Bucar, and David A. Clairmont, eds. Encyclopedia of Religious Ethics. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell, 2022. https://i-share-mls.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01CARLI_MLS/1fr761p/alma991155799267905816  
  • Additional texts TBD

New Testament [Beverly]:

Fully online,
Zoom meetings 2-4 pm 
Mondays

  • Ehrman, Bart D., and Hugo Méndez. The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings. 8th ed. Oxford University Press, 2023. ISBN: 9780197754023. (The 7th ed. is also okay.)
  • A study Bible with the text of the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (2021) or the New Revised Standard Version (1989) translation is required. You are welcome to purchase one, and you might prefer to have a paper copy, but some texts are available online through MLTS library, so a purchase is not strictly necessary. I recommend one of the following Bibles, listed in order of my preference:
    • Levine, Amy-Jill, and Marc Zvi Brettler, eds. The Jewish Annotated New Testament. 2nd ed. Oxford University Press, 2017. (The 1st ed. also okay.)
    • McKenzie, Steven L., Kristin De Troyer, and F. Scott Spencer, eds. The SBL Study Bible. HarperOne, 2023. ISBN: 9780062969439 (hardcover), 9780062969422 (paperback), or
      9780062970138 (ebook).
    • Coogan, Michael D., ed. The New Oxford Annotated Bible. 5th ed. Oxford University Press, 2018. ISBN: 9780190276072. (The 4th ed. also okay.)
  • All other required readings will be either available online through the MLTS library website or uploaded to Populi by your instructor.

History of Global Christianity [Arten]:

Fully online,
Zoom meetings 6-8 pm 
Mondays

  • Justo González, The Story of Christianity (2 volumes), 978-0-06-185588-7 and 978-0-06-185589-4
  • Andrea Sterk and John Coakley, Readings in World Christian History, 978-1570755200 
  • Klaus Koschorke, A Short History of Christianity Beyond the West, 978-90-04-69983-0 (this is an open-access title)
  • Dorothy Day, The Long Loneliness, 978-0060617516 (any edition of this work is acceptable; the ISBN here is for the most recent). 

Tools for Parish and Non-Profit Administration [Verdine-Jones]:

Fully online,
Zoom meetings 10am-12pm
Mondays

  • Required
    • Clark, Wayne. Beyond Fundraising: The Complete Guide to Congregational Stewardship. Boston: Unitarian Universalist Association, 2007. ISBN: 1558965238, $20.
    • Harder, Cameron. Discovering the Other: Asset-Based Approaches for Building Community Together. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers: 2013. Kindle: $30.00, Paperback: $26.00. ISBN: 978-1566994293
    • Herring, Hayim and Terri Martinson Elton, Leading Congregations and Nonprofits in a Connected World: Platforms, People, and Purpose. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers: 2016. Kindle: $27.50, Paperback: $29.00. ISBN: 978-1566997690.
    • Hotchkiss, Dan. Governance and Ministry: Rethinking Board Leadership. 2nd ed. Lanham, MD., 2016: Rowman & Littlefield. Kindle: $18.50, Paperback: $24. ISBN 978-1566997393 (Selected chapters to be assigned.)
    • Powe, F. Douglas. The Adept Church: Navigating Between a Rock and a Hard Place. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2020. Kindle: $9.99, Paperback: $12.99. ISBN: 978-1501896521.
    • Rahnema, Mitra, ed. Centering: Navigating Race, Power and Authenticity in Ministry. Boston, MA: Skinner House Books, Unitarian Universalist Association, 2017. Kindle: $9.99,
      Paperback: $18. ISBN: 978-155896799.
    • Rendle, Gilbert R., and Susan Beaumont. When Moses Meets Aaron: Staffing and Supervision in Large Congregations. Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2007. Kindle: $15.04, Paperback: $23.09; ISBN: 978-1566993517.
  • Articles
  • Supplemental
    • Hooker, David Anderson. The Little Book of Transformative Community Conferencing: A Hopeful, Practical Approach to Dialogue. New York: Good Books, 2016. ISBN#: 978-1680991666. Price: $1.99 (Kindle), $5.99 (Paperback).
    • Dropkin, Murray, et al. Budget-Building Book for Nonprofits: A Step-by-Step Guide for Managers and Boards 2ND EDITION. Jossey-Bass. Paperback: $28.92.
    • Drummond, Sarah B. Holy Clarity: The Practice of Planning and Evaluation. Rowman & Littlefield, 2009. ISBN#: 978-1566993876. Price: $22.50 (Kindle), $24.00 (Paperback).
    • Heyman, Darian Rodriguez. Nonprofit Management 101: A Complete and Practical Guide for Leaders and Professionals 2nd Edition. Wiley, 2019. ISBN#: 978-1119585459. Price:
      $19.99 (Kindle), $33.25 (Paperback).
    • Kanter, Beth and Aliza Sherman. The Happy, Healthy Nonprofit: Strategies for Impact without Burnout. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2016. Kindle: $17.00, Paperback: $17.49. ISBN-13: 978- 1119251118.
    • Piazza, Michael S. Fishing in a Shallow Sea: Church Strategies in the 21st Century. Nashville: Abingdon, 2012. Students are invited to purchase this book and Vital Vintage Church from United Methodist Foundation of the Northern Illinois Conference at a cost of $5 for each or $10 for both which is a savings of $12 for both books. (https://threesimplerules.org/books). $10.00.
    • Steinke, Peter. Uproar: Calm Leadership in Anxious Times. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2019. Kindle: $14.49, Paperback: $18.90. ISBN-13: 978- 1538116531.
    • Wimberly Jr, John W. The Business of the Church: The Uncomfortable Truth that Faithful Ministry Requires Effective Management, Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers,
      2010. ISBN#: 978-1566994040. Price: $14.10 (Kindle), $25.00 (Paperback).
  • Note: Other readings or handouts will be posted on Populi.

DMin required courses

Theories of Liberation [House]:

Fully online,
Zoom meetings 6-8 pm 
Tuesdays, every other week

  • Admirand, Peter, and Thia Cooper, eds. The Future of Liberation Theologies. Reprint of the special issue. MDPI, 2025. https://doi.org/10.3390/books978-3-7258-2898-2. This is a special edition of the journal Religions. Free pdf of the full journal.
  • Betancourt, Sofía, ed. Love at the Center: Unitarian Universalist Theologies. Skinner House Books, 2025. Love at the Center print copies.
  • Green, Rachelle R. Learning to Live: Prisons, Pedagogy, and Theological Education. Baylor University Press, 2024. Learning to Live print copy.
  • Hayes, Kelly E., and Mariame Kaba, eds. Let This Radicalize You: Organizing and the Revolution of Reciprocal Care. Chicago, Haymarket Books, 2023.
  • Murray, Pauli, and Patricia Bell-Scott. Song in a Weary Throat: Memoir of an American Pilgrimage. Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2018. Song in a Weary Throat print copy. 
  • Sunstein, Cass R. On Liberalism: In Defense of Freedom. The MIT Press, 2025.
  • Ferreras, Marlene M. Insurrectionist Wisdoms: Toward a North American Indigenized Pastoral Theology. Lexington Books: Lanham, MD, 2022. 

Leadership & Ministry Research Colloquy [Hogue]:

Fully online,
Zoom meetings 6–8pm
Tuesdays, every other week

  • Booth, et al: The Craft of Research (5th ed)
  • Graff and Birkenstein: They Say, I Say (6th ed)

Thesis Writing II [Lassiter]:

Fully online,
Zoom meetings 6-8 pm 
Tuesdays, every other week

  • TBD

Electives

“They Not Like Us”: Stories of Resistance and Re(Formation) in Religious Education [Mosby]:

Fully online,
Zoom meetings 10 am-12pm 
Wednesdays

  • Required Texts:
    • Curtice, Kaitlin. Everything Is a Story: Reclaiming the Power of Stories to Heal and Shape Our Lives (Discover Which Narratives Serve You and Which Hold You Back), 2025.
    • hooks, bell. Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. Routledge, 1994.
    • Pinn, Anthony. My Jams: Reflections on the Relationship between Music and Religion. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2025. ISBN-13: 979-8889833734.
  • Students will also be asked to read a biography or biographical sketches about one exemplar and a selection or selections from their written work (books, articles, interviews, etc).
    For the musical “creatives”, students will also examine selected musical recordings.
    Biographies and Biographical Sketches:
    • Charron, Katherine Mellen, Freedom’s Teacher: The Life of Septima Clark. The University of North Carolina Press, 2009.
    • DeVeaux, Alexis. Warrior Poet: A Biography of Audre Lorde. W.W. Norton & Co., 2020.
    • Givens, Jarvis R. Fugitive Pedagogy: Carter G. Woodson and the Art of Black Teaching
    • Hunter, Edith F. Sophia Lyon Fahs: A Biography. Boston: Beacon Press, 1966.
    • Keeley, Barbara Anne. Ed., Faith of Our Foremothers: Women Changing Religious Education.Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1997.
    • Moody-Turner, Shirley, Ed. and Henry Lous Gates, Jr., Series Ed. The Portable Anna JuliaCooper, Penguin Classics, 2022. ISBN: 0143135066
    • Moore, Marcus J. The Butterfly Effect: How Kendrick Lamar Ignited the Soul of BlackAmerica, 2020.
    • Ward, Stephen. In Love and Struggle: The Revolutionary Lives of James and Grace Lee Boggs. University of North Carolina Press, 2016.
    • Wright, Almeda M. Teaching to Live: Black Religion, Activist-Educators, and Radical Social Change. Oxford University Press, 2024.
  • Writings
    • Grace Boggs, The Next Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the 21st Century. University of California Press,
      2012.
    • Anna Julia Cooper
      Moody-Turner, Shirley and Henry Lous Gates, Jr., Eds. The Portable Anna Julia Cooper. Penguin Classics, 2022.
    • Septima Poinsette Clark
      Ready from Within: Septima Clark & the Civil Rights Movement, A First Person Narrative, 1990.
    • Sophia Lyons Fahs, Today’s Children and Yesterday’s Heritage: A Philosophy of Creative Religious Development.
      Beacon Press, 1962.
      Worshipping Together with Questioning Minds. Beacon Press, 1965.
    • Maria Harris, Fashion Me a People: A Curriculum for the Church. Westminster John Knox Press, 1989.
      Teaching and Religious Imagination. Harper & Row, 1987.
    • James Lawson, Revolutionary Nonviolence: Organizing for Freedom. University of California Press, 2022.
    • Audre Lorde
      Roxanne Gay, Ed. The Selected Works of Audre Lorde. W.W. Norton & Co., 2020.
    • Bernice Johnson Reagon
      If You Don’t Go, Don’t Hinder Me: The African American Sacred Song Tradition. University of Nebraska Press, 2001.
      “Music in the Civil Rights Movement,” PBS: American Experience. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/eyesontheprize-music-civil-rightsmovement/“The Civil Rights Period: Music as an Agent of Social Change.” In Issues in African American Music: Power, Gender, Race, Representation, edited by Portia K. Maultsby and Mellonee V. Burnim, 343-367. New York, NY: Routledge, 2017. 
    • “Since I Laid My Burden Down.” In Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts by Women in SNCC, edited by Faith S. Holsaert, Martha Prescod Norman Noonan, Judy Richardson, Betty Garman Robinson, Jean Smith Young, and Dorthy M. Zellner. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2010, 146-151.
      “Let the Church Sing ‘Freedom.” In Black Music Research Journal, Vol. 7 (1967):105-118.
      Songs of the Civil Rights Movement 1955-1965: A Study in Culture History. PhD Dissertation. Washington, DC: Howard University, 1975.
    • Olivia Pearl Stokes, “The Educational Role of Black Churches in the 70s and 80s,” in New Roads to Faith: Black Perspectives in Church Education. Philadelphia: United Church Press, Joint Educational Development, 1973, 3-26.
      “Blacks, Engagement, and Action,” Religious Education, 67 (1), 1972, 22-25.
      “Education in the Black Church: Design for Change,” Religious Education, 69 (4), 1974, 433-445.
      “Black Theology: A Challenge to Religious Education,” in Religious Education and Theology, Norma Thompson, ed., Birmingham, AL: Religious Education Press, 71-99.
    • Carter G. Woodson, The Mis-education of the Negro. Africa World Press, 2016.

Apertures of Loss: Grief as a Spiritual and Political Emotion [Hogue]:

Hybrid 9 am-5 pm Feb 5,
Zoom meetings 6-8 PM 
Thursdays

  • Apertures of Loss: Grief as a Spiritual and Political Emotion [Hogue]
    • Achile Mbembe, Necropolitics
    • Connolly, William. A World of Becoming
    • Critchley, Simon. Mysticism
    • Critchley, Infinitely Demanding: Ethics of Commitment, Politics of Resistance
    • Deleuze, Gilles. Pure Immanence
    • Hogue, Michael. American Immanence
    • James, William. Varieties of Religious Experience
    • Stengers, Isabelle. Making Sense in Common: A Reading of Whitehead in Times of Collapse
    • Weil, Simone. Gravity and Grace
  • Travel Course: Proctor Conference [Mosby], February 23-26, Chicago, IL (includes work before and after conference) Some selections from the following sources will be made available as resources permit and posted on the Proctor Conference seminarian portal. Students will also be directed to other selected digital resources.  
    • Allan Boesak and Wendell Griffin, Parables, Politics, and Prophetic Faith, 2023.   
    • Iva Carruthers, “AI and Ubuntu in the Age of Metanomics,” 2024.  
    • Luther E. Smith, Jr., Hope Is Here!: Spiritual Practices for Pursuing Justice and Beloved Community. Westminister John Knox, 2023.   
    • Obery Hendricks, Christians Against Christianity: How Right-Wing Evangelicals Are Destroying Our Nation and Our Faith, 2021.   
    • Howard Thurman, Jesus and the Disinherited. Beacon Press: Boston, 1976.  
    • Emilie Townes, In A Blaze of Glory: Womanist Spirituality as Social Witness. Nashville: Abington Press, 1995. 

Travel Course: Proctor Conference [Mosby]

February 23-26,
Chicago, IL
(includes work before and after conference)

  • TBD

Log in to Populi to register

Again, course offerings are subject to change for many unseeable reasons. Please double-check with the listing on Populi (when they are made available) before you finalize your course plan. If you have any questions about the course offerings and registration, please don’t hesitate to contact our Registrar, Elena Jimenez.

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