United Lutheran Seminary

This morning, members of the United Lutheran Seminary community gathered for the Proclaim Service of Thanksgiving, celebrating the LGBTQ+ graduates whose faith, leadership, and witness have helped shape the life of our seminary.

During the service, six graduates were honored with cords in recognition of their journeys and contributions. The service was presided over by ULS President, the Rev. Dr. Guy Erwin, and the Rev. Dr. Karyn Wiseman.

Together, the community reflected on God’s sustaining grace and gave thanks for the stories, voices, bodies, and callings that have enriched ULS and will continue to enrich the congregations and communities these graduates are called to serve.

This service was a reminder that theological education is not only about academic formation, but about nurturing leaders who faithfully and courageously bring their full selves into ministry and into the work of the Gospel.

We celebrate these graduates with gratitude, joy, and hope for the church and world they will help lead.

This is belonging at ULS.

Today, United Lutheran Seminary celebrated 52 graduates during the Commencement Ceremony, giving thanks for the ways God has formed, guided, and sustained these leaders throughout their journeys in theological education and formation.

We were honored to welcome The Rev. Yehiel Curry, Presiding Bishop of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, who offered the charge to the graduates: “Stay connected.” Connected to Christ. Connected to the Word. Connected to community.

His message was a powerful reminder that grace-filled leadership is never lived in isolation. Ministry is nurtured through relationships, rooted in the Gospel, and strengthened in the shared work of the church together.

As these graduates step into new calls and new opportunities for service, we celebrate not only what they have accomplished, but who they are becoming: leaders formed for the church, community, and world.

We give thanks for each graduate, their families, mentors, congregations, and all who have walked beside them on this journey. May God continue to guide and sustain them in the work ahead.

This is commencement at ULS.

Today, the community of United Lutheran Seminary gathered around Word and Table for the Festival Eucharist as we celebrate Commencement Day and the graduates who have been formed for lives of faithful leadership, service, and proclamation.

In worship, prayer, song, and Holy Communion, we gave thanks for the work God has been doing in the lives of these students throughout their time at ULS and for the call that now sends them forward into the church, community, and world.

As graduates prepare to cross the stage this afternoon, we celebrate not only academic achievement, but lives shaped by grace, community, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

This is formation at ULS.

This spring, United Lutheran Seminary Ph.D. students brought their research, scholarship, and lived ministry experience to a national gathering of the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion, the Baptist History and Heritage Society, and the Association of Ministry Guidance Professionals in Atlanta.

Presenting work reflecting the recent Democracy conference at ULS, our students explored Black and Indigenous traditions, resistance, moral imagination, and the lived religious experiences of historic Black Baptist communities.

Faculty and scholars from across the country praised not only the depth and importance of their research, but also the spirit in which they engaged the academic community. They arrived early, stayed late, asked thoughtful questions, and helped shape conversations throughout the conference.

As one scholar remarked: “It was a great session. You should be very proud—and humbled!—by your students. They are working on important issues.”

We are deeply grateful for students who embody rigorous scholarship, meaningful public engagement, intellectual curiosity, and generous community.

This is scholarship in service at ULS.

.

Pastors from across the country gathered this week on the Gettysburg campus of United Lutheran Seminary to complete the Lead Pastor Development Program through Kindling Faith. Throughout the week, these leaders learned together, worshiped together, shared stories from ministry, and encouraged one another in the sacred work of serving Christ’s church.

Leading a congregation today requires wisdom, resilience, adaptability, and deep spiritual grounding. Programs like this equip pastors with the tools to navigate the complex realities of ministry while strengthening their ability to lead thriving communities of faith with vision, compassion, and courage.

Just as important as the training itself was the fellowship formed around tables, in classrooms, and in conversation. In a vocation that can often feel isolating, gathering with fellow pastors for mutual support and encouragement is a powerful reminder that ministry is never carried alone.

We are deeply grateful for the ongoing work of Kindling Faith and for the generous support of the Lower Susquehanna Synod, whose funding helped make this important program possible.

This is strengthening the church at ULS.

As United Lutheran Seminary celebrates 200 years of forming leaders for the church and the world, our archives continue to preserve and share the stories that shaped that journey.

Earlier this month, ULS welcomed documentarians to campus for research and filming focused on artifacts connected to The Rev. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg and the legacy of early Lutheran leadership in America. During their visit, the filmmakers spent time examining the historic Muhlenberg robe, conducting research in the library, and interviewing ULS Archivist Jorie Thuon for their project.

These moments are reminders that archives are not simply about preserving the past. They are about carrying memory forward, stewarding the stories of faith, leadership, and witness that continue to shape the church today.

As we honor our roots and look toward the future, we give thanks for the work of those who preserve these treasures and help make them accessible to future generations.

This is stewarding the story at ULS.

Join the Asian Theological Institute as we celebrate our 20th Anniversary Lecture featuring internationally renowned theologian Dr. Kwok Pui Lan.

“Theological Imagination for Our Time”
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
3:15–4:30 PM EST
Benbow Hall • United Lutheran Seminary, Philadelphia Campus

Attend in person or join us via livestream on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/

Service of Holy Communion this Wednesday at 12pm in person from both campuses and livestreamed from Philadelphia.

The Rev. Dr. Guy Erwin will preach and preside from Philadelphia.

The Rev. Wayne Gallipo will preach and the Rev. Joy Gunnerman will preside from Gettysburg.

https://www.youtube.com/live/dhRiHHbwSPw?si=RfYx2ICrWhPrcf3j

This is worship at ULS.

For 200 years, generations of leaders have gathered at United Lutheran Seminary to learn, worship, serve, and build lifelong friendships rooted in Christ’s call to ministry. Today, as Convocation 2026 came to a close, alumni, students, faculty, staff, and friends of ULS shared in worship, meals, campus and Seminary Ridge Museum tours, class reunions, and countless conversations filled with memory, laughter, and gratitude.

The celebration concluded with a breathtaking organ concert by Felix Hell presented by Music, Gettysburg!, offering a fitting finale to two meaningful days of reflection on the Seminary’s past and hope for its future.

As we celebrate 200 years of faithful ministry formation, we give thanks for every story, every friendship, every classroom conversation, and every life shaped for service in Christ’s church and world. The Spirit continues to move through this place and through the people called here.

This is 200 years of formation at ULS.

Yesterday’s Convocation sessions at United Lutheran Seminary invited participants to reflect deeply on the history, mission, and ongoing witness of ULS. Presentations throughout the day explored the people, moments, and faithful leadership that helped shape the Seminary and continue to influence generations of students preparing for ministry and service in the world.

Through thoughtful conversation and reflection, alumni, students, faculty, and friends considered the ways God has worked through this institution to form leaders for a changing church and world, while also looking ahead to the future of theological education and leadership.

ULS... Honoring the past while preparing leaders for the future.

This is stewarding the story at ULS.

Yesterday, the chapel and refectory were filled with conversation, laughter, and reunion as ULS alumni gathered to reconnect with classmates, share stories from Gettysburg and Philadelphia, and reflect on the ways their Seminary formation continues to shape their ministry journeys today.

The day concluded with the TULSAA Annual Meeting and a joyful community happy hour where distinguished alumni were recognized and former and current students, faculty, and friends shared fellowship across generations of ministry.

Moments like these remind us that Seminary formation is about more than classrooms and coursework. It is about relationships, shared vocation, and a lifelong connection to one another and to the Church.

This is lifelong belonging ULS.