Torn Apart

On March 5, 2009, Professor Barbara Lundblad preached on the baptism of Jesus as recorded in Mark 1. The passage talks about the heavens being "torn apart" so that the Spirit could come forth - torn apart so that they could never be shut again. Prof. Lundblad talks about the many ways in which we also are torn apart, and even in that brokenness, find the Spirit of God coming to us.

Building a Movement ... One Stitch at a Time

Union Seminary's Poverty Initiative and the Worship Office hosted an exhibit of quilts during the latter part of the Fall 2008 semester. Quilts came from the Tutwiler Quilters in Tutwiler, MS and from Marks, MS, as well as from other friends of the Poverty Initiative. The chapel on October 29, 2008, allowed these quilts to be the primary texts for the day. We were invited to listen to their stitches and celebrate the stories woven from the scraps of life.

Click here for more info on the quilters in Tutwiler, MS

Guilty by Association: a Holy Week Communion

On the Wednesday of Holy Week, April 8, 2009, Gospel Choir director M. Roger Holland II and Ph.D. student Kim R. Harris created a communion liturgy based on Matthew 26. Drawing on resources from the African American Roman Catholic tradition, the service threads music and the verses of Matthew through a service that moves from preaching, to communion, to a stripping of the altar.

Iraq War Memorial Chapel

On March 12, 2009, Union's Students for Peace and Justice led a chapel service for the 6th anniversary of the Iraq War. The group chose to lead the service entirely without spoken words. Oud player Tom Chess began the service with an instrument and sounds traditional to Iraq. A meditation bell guided us through sections of the service as we were invited to meditate on Scripture, pray, and come together as a community around communion. Megan Joiner signed the words of communion as Prof. Barbara Lundblad presided. Meanwhile members of SPJ kneeled under the table, a sign of those whose lives have supported our table.

Commencement Communion 2009

The 2009 Union Seminary graduates led our final worship of the year on Friday morning, May 22, 2009. Gathering under a "Spirit Bird" crafted by Kathryn Dickinson, Andrea Dedmon, and Allison Killeen, the service invoked Pentecost's promise of a spirit poured out on all flesh. Jay Williams, Valerie Cousin, and Drew Paton offer reflections, and both the Seminary Choir and Gospel Choir bring music for the day.

Communion on 9/11

Gathering for Communion on September 11, 2008, Ph.D. student Jane Huber led the community in reflections on the writings of Wendell Berry. The congregation gathered around tables to consider, discuss, and pray in the light of these readings before coming to communion.

Watch the clip below and offer your response to the day.

Rosemary Keller Memorial

On September 24, 2008, the Union Community gathered to remember Former Dean and Professor Emerita of Church History Rosemary Skinner Keller. Prof. Keller died on June 5, 2008 after a long battle with kidney cancer. Announcing her appointment as Dean in 1996, Holland Hendrix (then President of Union) called her "a visionary firmly grounded in the practical challenges of education and theology" whose particular experience would be "ideally suited" to the Seminary's opportunities and challenges at the time. When she came to Union, she had just completed 19 years on the faculty of Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. For the last three of those years she served as that seminary's first woman Academic Dean and Vice President of Academic Affairs. For more on Rosemary Skinner Keller click here.

Here is a clip of excerpts from her service. Feel free to add other remembrances in the comments below....