Stories

Enjoyed being part of the Juneteenth celebrations organized by St. John’s the Beloved Community UCC in St. Louis. Eden Seminary was well represented with alumni, Board members, students, faculty, staff, and some new friends. St. Louis mayor, Tishaura Jones and US House Representative, Cori Bush were both part of the festivities.

Eden Seminary is in the midst of saying farewell and best wishes to Professor Ben Sanders, Assistant Professor of Theology and Ethics.  Dr. Sanders will be moving from Eden at the end of June to begin a new position with the City of Denver as their Race and Social Justice Learning and Development Specialist.   The Eden community is saddened by this news, yet celebrates this opportunity for Dr. Sanders and the family.  

Professor Sanders has made myriad contributions to the Eden faculty and the Seminary in his six years on the faculty. He has taught the introductory and first level Social Ethics course in the curriculum (where students have been affirmed and challenged to grapple with their embedded theology).  He has enlivened the theological imaginations of faculty colleagues and students alike to the work of James Cone and Howard Thurman — deepening our understanding of Black Theology, the diversity and power of the Black Church, and its historical and theological traditions. Additionally, Professor Sanders has been an architect in the faculty of our emerging commitment to movement-based theologies of activism, solidarity, and social change.  

While at Eden, Professor Sanders has shared his brilliant scholarship and teaching generously with Eden students in the classroom, and in the church and public square in many different forums. An excellent preacher, a compelling lecturer, a compassionate listener, Professor Sanders has mentored many and encouraged many more. The witness of his work and this new position is a harbinger of the kind of vocational resilience that Eden faculty seek to engender in our students — pursuing God’s redemptive purposes of social transformation in all kinds of forms — from congregations to city halls.

With appreciation for the great gifts and service Dr. Ben Sanders contributed to the Eden Community, we salute his achievements and his continued ministry in the public square.  

Eden Theological Seminary celebrated its 171st Commencement Ceremony on May 14, 2021. You can watch the whole ceremony, Rev. Dr. Damayanthi Nile’s commencement address, and Rev. Dr. Deborah Krause’s power charge to the 2021 graduates below.

On May 21 and 22, Eden Seminary will be hosting its first annual plant sale. It will be located in the main parking lot on the Eden campus. The net proceeds of the sale will go to the Eden Gleaning and Gardening Project. Many types of plants will be available including tomatoes, basil, aloe and more! The sale will run from 10 AM – 6 PM CDT on May 21 and 8:00 AM – 1:00 PM CDT on May 22.

By action of the Board of Trustees and faculty, Eden Seminary is celebrating these faculty promotions and changes. Congratulations to our members on this amazing achievement!

• Rev. Dr. Sonja B. Williams
  Promotion to Assistant Professor of Practical Theology
  Named as Dean of the Seminary
• Rev. Dr. Dietra Wise Baker
  Promotion to Assistant Professor of Contextual Education and Community Engagement
• Rev. Dr. Christopher Grundy
  Promotion to Professor of Worship and Preaching
• Rev. Dr. Damayanthi Niles
  Named as the Allen and Dottie Miller Professor of Mission and Peace
  Installation to this Faculty Chair in fall 2021
  Continues as Interim Academic Dean

Congratulations to these awardees selected by Eden’s Faculty for the following:

• Honor Graduate Fellowship for academic promise toward further graduate study in theology – Duana Russell Thomas and Jacob Nault
• Grauer Award for promise toward congregational ministry, particularly in preaching and pastoral care – Dee Evans
• Edith and Robert T. Fauth Book Award for an educated and learned clergy with awarding to the student with the highest academic ranking at the end of their first year – Mark Schmitt
• Senior Preacher Award for gifts for preaching and worship leadership with leadership at the Closing Worship of Eden’s Spring Convocation – Cory Lovell
• Keith M. Cooper Book Award for preparation for parish ministry, particularly for a member of the (formerly named) Kentuckian Association of the Indiana Kentucky Conference United Church of Christ – Dakota Roberts
• Kniker Family Book Award for a UCC student selected by the faculty – Merrimon Boyd
• Warren H. Seyfert Memorial Book Award celebrating leadership for religion that takes hold in people’s lives through ministries of social justice, mental health and ecumenical movements – Adam Kaul and Karen Pepmeier
• Robert L. Tiemann Book Award celebrating Eden student with business acumen – Mark Waight
• Milton and Jessie Hoffman Book Award celebrating an M.Div. graduate with ties to Hope United Church of Christ, to support the personal library of a pastor – Diane Yanczer

Eden Seminary is in the midst of saying farewell and best wishes to Professor Adam Ployd, assistant professor of church history and historical theology.  Dr. Ployd has given the Seminary notice that he has accepted an offer to serve as the Vice Principal of Wesley House in Cambridge, UK (beginning summer 2021).

For over eight years Professor Ployd has pursued his calling as a teacher and scholar with passion and commitment to Eden Seminary in its mission to empower leaders for the Progressive Christian Movement. He is a brilliant historian, productive scholar, and a dedicated teacher. We are thankful for the gifts he has shared, and celebrate his call to serve in theological education in his own denominational tradition within the global context.

Wesley House, as the name makes plain, is a Methodist theological school with connections to Cambridge University and relationships with several US UMC theological schools.  It has a storied history and is developing itself as a global resource in theological education, particularly for Methodist clergy from many different countries.  As a Deacon in the UMC, Professor Ployd is excited for the opportunity to be a leader in Methodist theological formation and the family is thrilled at the opportunity to live, work, and learn in the UK.

Eden is wishing Dr. Ployd  and his family well.  In the remaining months of the term, there will be ways to celebrate his work with Eden and to send the Ployd family off with our best wishes and prayers.