In July 2025, I had the opportunity to present an early version of this project at the Religious Education Association (REA) Annual Meeting. The conversations that unfolded there—among educators, theologians, and ministry leaders—remained with me long after the conference ended. Those reflections later developed into a published article exploring how artificial intelligence is beginning to reshape the landscape of religious education. As digital technologies increasingly influence how we learn, communicate, and interpret knowledge, the question for theological educators is not simply whether to adopt these tools, but how to engage them with theological imagination and discernment.
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The five schools will celebrate the launch of the Transformative Learning Collaborative in a hybrid event on Wednesday, April 7th from 4:00-5:00 pm Pacific Time, with an in-person gathering at the Badè Museum of Biblical Archeology at Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA.
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Pacific School of Religion (PSR) is pleased to welcome Tricia Mills as the new Executive Director of Kwaray.
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PSR celebrates Dr. Joshua Bartholomew’s preaching at Historic Third Baptist and his upcoming induction into the MLK Jr. Collegium of Scholars at Morehouse.
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Pacific School of Religion (PSR) joyfully celebrates the recent academic milestone of Dr. EunHye Grace So, Assistant Professor of New Testament and Rhetorical Studies, who successfully defended her doctoral dissertation last week at the Graduate Theological Union (GTU).
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Dedicated in 1926, the Charles Holbrook Building has stood for a century as a testament to the enduring importance of theological education. As PSR marks its centennial, Holbrook’s founding question remains: how do we form leaders to nurture the spiritual life of our shared future?
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As theological education continues to shift in response to cultural, ecclesial, and institutional change, meaningful dialogue is more essential than ever. At This Time: Dialogues in Theological Education, a new edited volume featuring work by PSR Assistant Professor of Africana Religions, Theologies, and Culture, Dr. Corwin Malcolm Davis, brings together a diverse community of scholars and practitioners to explore the evolving purposes and practices of theological learning today.
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Pacific School of Religion is pleased to announce that Dr. Lisa Asedillo will be on a semester-long sabbatical during the coming Spring 2026 term.
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Pacific School of Religion (PSR) has received a major ten-million dollar grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to establish the Transformative Learning Collaborative, a pioneering, five-seminary project to address one of the most urgent challenges facing Christian congregations today.
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Pacific School of Religion (PSR) is proud to celebrate the scholarly achievements of Rev. Dr. Chynaah Maryoung-Cooke, DMin '25, whose recent national recognitions reflect both her visionary leadership and the formative impact of PSR’s academic and mentoring community.
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Pacific School of Religion is proud to announce that Hayden Reynolds Cowan, Director of Development, has been selected as one of this year’s Almabase 50 Champions (AB50), a national honor recognizing higher education professionals who are redefining what’s possible in alumni and donor engagement.
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Pacific School of Religion announces the passing of Rev. Barbara B. Troxell, PSR Dean Emerita of Students.
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Berkeley, CA – Pacific School of Religion (PSR) has been awarded a grant of $1 million from Lilly Endowment Inc. as part of its Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative. This support will allow PSR to launch Leading Theological Education into a Hybrid Future, a transformative project designed to prepare Christian leaders for ministry in an era where congregational life is increasingly both digital and in-person.
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In Walls or Windows, Mary Heron Dyer (Class of 2009) shines a light on the othering that occurs when people are different than societal norms.
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Our Alumnx Council meets bi-monthly, and, as part of our closing practices each meeting, we invite a member of the Council to share a personal reflection, "This I Believe." This month's reflection comes from Christopher Lowson, who graduated PSR with a STM (now known as the MTS) in 1978. Lowson was awarded a World Council of Churches' scholarship to study at PSR and previously studied Theology at King's College in London from 1972-76. After graduating, Lowson was ordained a deacon (1977), priest (1978), and eventually a bishop in 2011. Lowson served in a variety of ministerial roles during that period in London, Hampshire, and Lincoln.
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PSR is thrilled to welcome Rev. Angela Brown, JD, who joins the PSR Community Life staff as our new Associate for Student Formation and UMC Student Coordinator.
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It is with deep gratitude and sorrow that we mark the passing of George Conklin, an innovative media scholar, visual storyteller, and longtime faculty member at Pacific School of Religion. George died July 24. He was 93.
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PSR is thrilled to welcome Dr. Hayden Reynolds Cowan and Tanisha Walton to our staff this fall, bringing bold leadership to development and theological education.
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With deep sorrow and abiding gratitude, Pacific School of Religion announces the passing of Rev. Dr. Joseph D. Driskill, Emeritus Professor of Spirituality, esteemed colleague, and cherished member of the PSR community.
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With heavy hearts, we are taking in the sobering news that the United States has entered active military engagement with Iran, targeting Iranian nuclear facilities in a rapidly escalating conflict. As people of faith, we at PSR hold steadfast to our vision for a world where all can thrive. This requires us to recognize that every life is sacred. It challenges us to seek the peace that passes all understanding which, as Jesus says, is not achieved by the exercise of power and force that are the currency of this world.
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In this deeply moving Season 7 finale episode, we honor the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Dorsey Odell Blake, beloved faculty member, mentor, tireless advocate for justice, and prophetic voice in the Pacific School of Religion (PSR) community and beyond, who passed away in March 2025. Dr. Blake first came to PSR in 1968, during a time of national upheaval that he often compared to our own. Inspired by personal encounters with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other Civil Rights leaders, he pursued a theological education rooted in justice, compassion, and community. After graduating in 1971, he remained deeply connected to PSR, through transformative teaching that spanned more than five decades, serving as Professor of Leadership and Social Transformation at Pacific School of Religion (PSR) as well as Dean of the Faculty at Starr King School for the Ministry and pastor at The Fellowship Church founded by his mentor, Dr. Howard Thurman.
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PSR alumnx Rev. Lucas Hergert (he/him) offers a timely and transformative vision in his new book, Impassioned: A Guide to Progressive Preaching (Skinner House Books).
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Rev. MacArthur Flourney, MDiv ’11, and current PSR DMin student, was ordained this weekend as a UCC Minister at Church of the Crossroads in O’ahu, Hawaii.
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PSR welcomes new faculty, Dr. Joshua S. Bartholomew and Dr. Corwin Malcolm Davis, beginning July 1, 2025.
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Dr. Karen Lebacqz, Professor Emerita who taught Ethics from 1972-2009 at #PSR, has published a new book, "Eight Theories of Justice: Perspectives from Philosophical and Theological Ethics."
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It was hard for me to accept that, on November 5, 2024, in the United States, most voters that were allowed to vote cast their ballots for Donald Trump at the top of the ticket. And by returning Senate control to the Republican Party, any extant checks and balances in the Federal government were erased, ensuring Republican control of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of government. And this, four years following Trump’s involvement in terrorism targeting fellow Americans four years earlier. While these results were hard for me to accept, this is was what I expected.
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On 18 March 2025, the Hungarian parliament passed legislation that outlaws gay pride events, even permitting the use of face-recognition technology to identify and penalize those who take part in such events. In an attempt to suppress gay pride parades, this hastily-passed law also attacks a cultural institution that is deeply treasured by countless LGBTQ+ individuals, families, and allies throughout the world. In addition, this law reflects a surging tide of fear and misunderstanding as well as a profound failure of human empathy in a supposedly democratic country and a member state of the European Union.
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Only a month now into the new administration, the cascade of anti-LGBTQ actions on the part of President Trump and his appointees feels overwhelming, but we shouldn’t be surprised given how closely Trump is hewing to the ultra-conservative Project 2025, a plan that calls for, among other things, dismantling the nation’s current and hard-fought legal protects for LGBTQ persons. Not only has the Trump administration called for the government’s recognition of only two genders, it has also banned Transgender persons from serving openly in the US military, sought to prevent access to healthcare for Trans youth, and called for preventing Trans people from participation in sports.
The Trump administration is working at a furious pace to demonize, ostracize, and even criminalize queer people for who we are, and two (among many) recent events demonstrate how Trump 2.0 is seeking to erase us LGBTQ people from the hard-won visibility that we have achieved in the US over the past half century.
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With deep sorrow, we share the news of the passing of Rev. Dr. Dorsey Odell Blake, a beloved faculty member, prophetic leader, and tireless advocate for justice. Dr. Blake, who served as Professor of Leadership and Social Transformation, leaves behind an extraordinary legacy of faith, activism, and transformative teaching.
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We are thrilled to celebrate and congratulate PSR alum Mary Kate Becker on her appointment as Associate Director for Mission Integration at Mercy Education, beginning July 2025.
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