Fall Term Weekend Courses at United Seminary

United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities
Announces 4 weekend classes for Fall Term 2008.
Each of these classes will meet on a Friday evening and Saturday morning,
one weekend a month, beginning in September.

Justice, Liberation and Hope in the Theology of Paul (CH231)
Taught by the Rev. Neil Elliot, editor with Fortress Press and author of “Liberating Paul”
We will examine developments in recent scholarship that challenge the traditional picture of the apostle Paul. Specific topics include Paul’s critical engagement with Roman slavery, the patronage system, and Roman imperial ideology; the problem of theology and praxis in Paul; Paul’s relationships with emancipated persons in the assemblies, especially women prophets; the presence of subordinationist or “kyriarchal” themes in Paul’s letters; and the challenge of interpreting Pauline texts rightly in the contemporary global context. Class will meet on United’s campus in New Brighton.

Major 20th Century Moral Thinkers – Katie Geneva Cannon (TR552)
Taught by the Rev. Alika Galloway, organizing co-pastor of Kwanzaa Community Church in Minneapolis and working towards her doctorate at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. This seminar is a close reading of selected works by Katie Geneva Cannon. Dr. Cannon was the first African-American woman ordained in the United Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); she focuses her work in the areas of Christian ethics, Womanist theology, and women in religion and society. Class will meet at Kwanzaa Community Church, Minneapolis.

Empowering Lay Leadership (CL541)
Taught by Dr. Jean Morris Trumbauer, Director of United’s Doctor of Ministry Program
An emerging paradigm of church requires us to move beyond our view of members as “volunteers,” or satisfaction with “maintaining church programs,” and our reliance on “time and talent” forms to invite laity to ministry. Leaders of the church are challenged to re-envision the foundations and practice of sharing the ministry. This course explores a holistic approach to gifts-based ministry and the multiple components of a shared ministry system for today’s congregations. Class will meet at Pilgrim Congregational UCC in Duluth MN.

Reimagining the Church (TR820)
Taught be Dr. Eleazar Fernandez, professor of Constructive Theology at United
This is a course that introduces students to the classical as well as the various contemporary models of the church or ecclesiologies. Then these ecclesiologies will be critiqued in light of the tradition and contemporary challenges that the church is facing. Furthermore, students will engage in reconstructing or re-imagining an ecclesiology that is not only faithful to the Christian heritage but also responsive to the current context, both globally and locally. Class will meet at the Carriage house of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Duluth MN.