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Meadville Lombard Theological School
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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

SPRING TERM 2027
(January 25 – May 7, 2027)

Signature Courses

Spring 2027 Course Schedule PDF

Vocational Studies 2:
Communities [Mosby]

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

  • TBA

Leadership Studies 2:
Administration [House]:

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

  • TBA

Ministry in Context [Taylor]

Zoom meetings 1-3 PM (meets 4 times)
Tuesdays 

  • TBA

MDiv Required Courses

Introduction to Pastoral Ministry [Taylor]:

Hybrid 9 am-5 pm Feb 2, Zoom meetings 10 AM-Noon
Tuesdays
  • TBA

Topics in Worship & Liturgy [Johnson]:

Fully online,
Zoom meetings Noon-2 PM
Mondays 

  • 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 6 pm-8 pm
Mondays

  • TBA

Intro to Ethics [House]:

Hybrid 9 am-5 pm Feb 3,
Zoom meetings 10 am-Noon
Wednesdays

  • TBA

New Testament [Beverly]:

Fully online,
Zoom meetings 10 am-Noon 
Mondays

  • TBA

History of Global Christianity [Kirk]:

Hybrid 9 am-5 pm Feb 3
Zoom meetings 10 am-Noon
Wednesdays

  • TBA

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

Fully online,
Zoom meetings 6-8 pm
Wednesdays

  • TBA

DMin required courses

Social Justice Leadership [House]:

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

  • TBA

Leadership & Ministry Research Colloquy [Kirk]:

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

  • TBA

Thesis Writing II [Lassiter]:

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

  • TBD

Electives

“Just My Imagination": Reclaiming the Praxis of Imagination for Transformative Ministry [Mosby]:

Fully online,
Zoom meetings 2-4 PM
Mondays

  • TBD

Travel Course: Proctor Conference [Lightsey]

2027 Dates and Location TBD 
(includes work before and after conference)

  • TBD

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

  • All readings will be provided in Populi.

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

  • New: Brent A. Strawn, Honest to God Preaching: Talking Sin, Suffering, and Violence. Fortress Press: 2021. 

  • 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
Tuesdays

  • Burkeman, Oliver. Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals (New York: Picador), 2021.

  • Eiesland, Nancy. The Disabled God: Toward a Liberatory Theology of Disability (Nashville: Abingdon), 1994.

  • Killen, Patricia O’Connell and De Beer, John. The Art of Theological Reflection (New York: Crossroad), 2026. [make sure to buy the updated 2026 version]

  • Osmer, Richard. Introduction to Practical Theology (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans), 2008

Research Methods and Ethics [Robersmith]

Fully Online

Zoom Meetings 6-8 PM
Tuesdays

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)
  • Kathleen Norris, Dakota: A Spiritual Geography (Mariner Books, 2001)
  • 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.

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.

POPULI PORTAL