Alums
Rev. Dr. Lois V. Glory-Neal Receives Distinguished Graduate Award
Saint Paul School of Theology is pleased to announce that Rev. Dr. Lois V. Glory-Neal is the winner of the 2020 Distinguished Graduate Award. Born in the Cherokee Nation, Rev. Dr. Glory-Neal was the first Native American woman to be received into full connection as an ordained elder in The United Methodist Church. She became…
Read MoreCommunity by alumna Dr. Melissa Pearce
I sat down to write this letter at least a dozen times. Each attempt has ended with me scribbling down a plethora of thoughts with little direction of where to begin or where to end. Goodbyes are never easy for me. Nor is concisely conveying something as deep as my love for Saint Paul. I…
Read MoreSelf Love by alumna Dr. Melissa Pearce
When my son was in second grade, I received a phone call from his teacher. She relayed to me that she had to repeatedly ask my child to stop talking to his neighboring student. A little perplexed that this behavior had seemed to arise suddenly and did not correlate with his usually quiet demeanor, I…
Read MoreScholar Strike for Racial Justice
The faculty of Saint Paul School of Theology stands in solidarity with the #ScholarStrike for racial justice September 8/9. We commit to opening up space in our classrooms on the 8th/9th to speak out about brutalities by police and others, particularly against communities of color, and to affirm the public witness and liturgy of protestors. We…
Read MoreChaplaincy in the Time of COVID-19
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals and other health care facilities have become the front lines, and we have honored and celebrated our health care workers serving our nation’s most vulnerable populations. For the church, the role of chaplain has also been elevated, particularly as most buildings have been shuttered in favor of social-distanced worship and…
Read MoreWhat Is There to Prevent Me? by alumna Rev. Colleen Riley
What is there to prevent me? One’s narrative identity Acts Ch., 8:27-37 Ethiopian Eunuch Recently I read about a concept called narrative identity as it was described by Dan McAdams, Personality Psychologist and Professor of Psychology at Northwestern University. McAdam’s premise is that we use autobiographical narrative to find meaning using our own lived history. …
Read MoreFollowing God
by Dr. Melissa Pearce, Director of Alumni & Partner Relationships As we sat on the steps of her first appointment, First United Methodist Church of Guthrie, Oklahoma, I grappled with the juxtaposition of her age and the poise with which she detailed her call to ministry and her habit of “following God” faithfully and intentionally.…
Read MoreAlum Rev. Dr. Lois Glory-Neal: A Story of Boldness
by Alumni Director Dr. Melissa Pearce As I sat across from Rev. Dr. Lois Glory-Neal listening to her story, her earrings caught my eye. They were stunning Native American hand-beaded artistry in the shape of a cross. The colors were vibrant orange, red, yellow, and blue, and the chevron pattern sharp. Each bead had been…
Read MoreSolidarity In Practice by alum Rev. Dr. Nagel Monroe
Our lives have changed. Changed by pandemic, changed by death, changed by necessity, changed by social distancing. We will not be the same after the COVID-19 pandemic. We simply cannot be. We will have lived through a global trauma and we will have done it communally. We will have stretched ourselves beyond our routines, our…
Read MoreThe Miracle of Jesus’ Resurrection by alum Rev. Speece
“When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll…
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