Welcome (Back) Leslie Takahashi Morris, MDiv '04

November 4, 2010

Leslie Takahashi Morris, far left, was recently appointed as Affiliated Faculty with Meadville Lombard. 
Here she poses with students and faculty in the Congregational Studies Seminar during orientation on campus
earlier this year. In the photo: Rev. Leslie Takahashi Morris, Dr. Mark Hicks, Rev. Tony Larsen,
Ric Jones, Jennifer Thomson, Kelly Kilmer Hall, Paul Oakley, Jennifer Kelleher, Nathan Hollister,
Laura Shennum, Charlotte Lehmann, Dr. Sharon Welch, Karen Quinlan, and Rev. Dr. Qiyamah Rahman.

Leslie, who graduated from Meadville Lombard's Modified Residency Master of Divinity degree program in 2004, was one of several ministers and academics with experience in multicultural and multiracial congregations who were asked to be a part of a consultation with our faculty during the development of the new Master of Divinity curricula (more on that, here). This group of consultants worked with our faculty to strategize methods to intentionally incorporate learning opportunities for student ministers to lead the multiracial, multicultural congregations of the 21st century.

The work of the consultations is an extension of work begun, Leslie said, when she was a student--"back when some of us students raised questions about whether Meadville Lombard was prepared to meet the needs of ministers serving multiracial and multicultural congregations. The work we are doing now is building on work started, intentionally, by the Rev. Drs. Bill Murry and John Tolley during the last administration at Meadville Lombard."

"Leslie's participation in both the consultations and as a member of the faculty for the two years of congregational engagement is a real asset for our faculty and our students," said Dr. Sharon Welch, Provost for Meadville Lombard. Takahashi Morris co-authored The Arc of the Universe Is Long: Unitarian Universalists, Anti-Racism and the Journey from Calgary with Chip Roush, MDiv '05, and Leon Spencer, a former Meadville Lombard Board of Trustees member. With this work, she brings to the school her deep understanding of race and ethnicity issues at Meadville Lombard as well as within Unitarian Universalism. This book, itself, said Welch, "is a brave and compelling account of the history that we must ponder and understand as we continue our work for racial justice, healing and reconciliation. We are indeed fortunate, as a school, and as a movement, to have a leader such as Leslie Takahashi Morris challenging us and working with us as we take bold steps  in training a new generation of ministers for vital, crosscultural ministries."

After working with the consultation group, Leslie was asked if she would help teach the courses for the students in their second and third years, when they are working in their integrated internships. "Teaching has been a passion of mine," Leslie said, noting that this also seemed like a critical time in Unitarian Universalist theological education. "This is an exciting thing to do, to work with student ministers to help them see ministry through the lens of bordercrossing and I'm especially excited to be able to help shepherd these students through the specific course of becoming a minister."

Leslie joins other full-time and affiliated faculty members in the teaching teams for the Signature courses:

• Community Studies:  Dr. Michael Hogue, Rev. Dr. Qiyamah Rahman, and Dr. Sharon Welch
• Congregational Studies:  Dr. Mark Hicks, Rev. Dr. Qiyamah Rahman, Rev. Leslie Takahashi Morris, and Rev. Dr. John Tolley
• Leadership Studies:  Rev. Dr. Lee Barker, Rev. Dr. William F. Schulz, and Rev. Leslie Takahashi Morris, and Dr. Sharon Welch

In addition to the intentionality of coursework to prepare students for ministry in a multicultural and multiracial world, (evidenced in reading lists and the kinds of questions students ponder as they work through the signature courses), Leslie is also excited about the accessibility of the new model. "I had looked for ten years to go to seminary," she said, "but I couldn't afford to move in order to do so." Leslie entered Meadville Lombard with the second group of Master of Divinity students admitted to the Modified Residency Program (MRP), our former distance learning model. "The MRP allowed me to attend seminary and this new approach (the TouchPoint format) where site work is done in an intentional way, close to where people live, will allow a broader spectrum of people to have access to the training for professional ministry."

The new model of formation at Meadville Lombard "makes sense," said Leslie, "and it is different enough that it will present its own particular challenges, but it also has great benefits for our students, for the faculty and for the congregations. I'm really grateful," she added, "for my colleagues who are willing to serve as Teaching Pastors to the students. Their role as Teaching Pastor requires more flexibility from them than in a typical internship, but also means that the students are bringing a more focused experience to the work they will do in congregations, and will be bringing an interesting lens that will require the congregations to engage with student ministers--and perhaps even each other--in new ways, as well."