Berkeley School of Theology

Resilience is more than a theme in Rev. Dr. Marjorie B. Lewis's work. It is the thread running through three decades of ministry, scholarship, and behavioral health care, across Oakland and Denver.
A 1991 graduate of Berkeley School of Theology, Marjorie has served as an ordained minister, a public policy scholar, and a licensed mental and behavioral health professional, walking alongside people in prison reentry, recovery, and healing. She has written two books on the subject, "Singing Songs in a Strange Land" and "First Aid for the Soul."

This June there is much to celebrate with her. Marjorie recently stepped into a new role leading the Odyssey Training Center, continuing its work of preparing high-quality addiction counselors. And in her personal life, she married Dr. Anthony P. Young this spring.

We're grateful for the way her life holds together faith, learning, and care for others, and we're glad to honor her this month.
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Rev. Dr. Rick Mixon entered the American Baptist Seminary of the West, now Berkeley School of Theology, carrying a question many know well: whether faith and full self could ever belong to the same life. On San Francisco Gay Pride Day in 1996, after his congregation spent 23 years standing by his call, he was ordained, likely the first openly gay Baptist minister.

Reflecting on the road there, he wrote: "It seems to me that when God calls, God also makes a way."
This Pride, we're holding space for the stories of those who refused to keep faith and identity in separate rooms.

***rFaith

Leer la Escritura con atención puede revelar algo nuevo, incluso en los textos más conocidos.

Este verano, la Dra. Laura Jean Torgerson ofrece un curso en español sobre cómo leer las historias del Nuevo Testamento, los relatos de Mateo, Marcos, Lucas y Hechos. Uno de los enfoques centrales del curso es ayudar a cada estudiante a desarrollar su propia voz como intérprete de la Biblia, acercándose a la Escritura con mayor atención y confianza.

Cada sesión une ejercicios prácticos, conversación y reflexión, conectando el estudio académico con el ministerio y la vida espiritual.

El curso está abierto a estudiantes de ELC, estudiantes de maestría y oyentes. Quienes deseen recibir crédito a nivel de maestría completarán un ensayo final.

Detalles del curso
NT-8130: Cómo Leer una Historia Bíblica
Fechas: Jueves 6, 13, 20 y 27 de agosto y el 3 de septiembre
Hora: 5:00pm – 7:00pm
Preguntas: [email protected]
Costo: $120
Registración: https://bst.edu/audit-form/
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We are still glowing from Commencement! 🎓 On May 16, we celebrated 30 incredible graduates at First Church of Christ, Scientist in Berkeley, with Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee as our featured speaker — and the joy was just the beginning.

Now we look forward together:

📅 Faculty Panel — Tuesday, June 9, 5–6 PM PT
Explore theology, calling, and what comes next. Moderated by Rev. Dr. Angie Barker Jackson. Open to anyone discerning a call to ministry or graduate study.

🌈 First Friday Lunch & Learn — Friday, June 12, 12 PM PT on Zoom
Join author Bethany Meier-Evans for a workshop on q***r joy — free with registration.

🙌 Alum of the Year Nominations are open June 1–August 31. Know a BST graduate whose work embodies faith, hope, and justice? Nominate them today.

💛 And if you've been moved by what BST stands for, consider a gift toward our $40,000 fundraising goal this month. Your support keeps transformative education accessible to those called to serve.

https://mailchi.mp/bst/the-june-2026-bst-bulletin?e=cb454ad0a4

Joy is not a soft thing. It is cultivated. Practiced. At times, an act of resistance.

The June Lunch and Learn at BST features Bethany Meier-Evans, M.A., M.Div., author of Q***r Joy: A Mosaic of Self-Love, Community, and Resistance. Her workshop, "Journey Through the Rainbow," invites q***r folks and allies into a shared space of reading, reflection, conversation, and (if you want it) creative expression.

There is space here for joy as a practice we hold together.

Friday, June 12 at noon. Please note, for June this is the second Friday of the month.
Register and download the companion worksheet at https://bst.edu/alumni-and-friends/first-friday-lunch-learn/

This month, we reflect on the stories, histories, and voices that continue to shape our communities and our understanding of faith.

For Rev. Hili Yepthomi, part of that formation came through learning in community at Berkeley School of Theology:

“Something I often return to is the question: what does it truly mean to do ministry today?

As I sit with that question, my mind often drifts back to my time at Berkeley School of Theology, a community that taught me ministry is not simply practiced from a pulpit, but shaped in honest conversations, difficult questions, and the courage to pursue truth and justice together. Where learning from people with different stories and perspectives became part of the ministry itself.

Those lessons still guide me today, reminding me to approach ministry with humility, openness, and a justice-centered faith.”

As we honor Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we give thanks for the voices, experiences, and communities that continue to deepen how we learn, lead, and belong together.

Many of the most committed leaders in our churches and communities are already doing the work. Pastoring small congregations. Organizing on the ground. Holding people through grief, change, and hope.

What's often missing isn't the calling. It's a path of formation that fits the life they are already living.

The Training in Christian Leadership program at BST creates that path. It begins with a six-course certificate, builds toward a bachelor's-equivalent foundation, and continues into a master's degree. Formation, step by step, alongside the work itself.

The pathway honors the work already happening, and creates room for the formation it deserves.

Learn more about the path at bst.edu/tcl

🎓 Don't forget! The Berkeley School of Theology Graduation Ceremony is TODAY — and you can celebrate with us from anywhere!

📺 Tune in to the LIVE stream at 2:00 PM PT as we honor our graduating class.

🔗 https://youtu.be/5gukzO00AhA

🎓 Don't forget! The Berkeley School of Theology Graduation Ceremony is TODAY — and you can celebrate with us from anywhere!

📺 Tune in to the LIVE stream at 2:00 PM PT as we honor our graduating class.

🔗 https://youtu.be/BJ1gqhkrMUI

Come cheer on our graduates! 🎉

What is formed in seminary doesn't stay in seminary. It walks out the door, into pulpits, hospital rooms, organizing meetings, classrooms, and neighborhoods that need it.

This Saturday, May 16, the Class of 2026 will step across that threshold.
The ceremony begins at 2:00 PM at First Church of Christ, Scientist, 2619 Dwight Way.

We're looking forward to honoring them, and to the work that begins next.