United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities (United) is an ecumenical graduate school, historically rooted in the

United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximatel ...

and located in St. Paul, Minnesota. The school was formed in 1962 with the merger of Mission House Seminary of

Plymouth, Wisconsin Plymouth is a city in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, along the Mullet River. It is included in the Sheboygan, Wisconsin Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is located in the Town of Plymouth, but is politically independent. Plymouth is kno ...

(the current day

Lakeland University Lakeland University is a private university with its main campus in Plymouth, Wisconsin. Lakeland University is affiliated with the United Church of Christ. Lakeland also has seven evening, weekend, and online centers located throughout the st ...

), and Yankton School of Theology in

Yankton, South Dakota Yankton is a city in and the county seat of Yankton County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 15,411 at the 2020 census, and it is the principal city of the Yankton Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes the entirety of Y ...

(the defunct

Yankton College Yankton College is a former private liberal arts college in Yankton, South Dakota, United States, affiliated with the Congregational Christian Churches (later the United Church of Christ). Yankton College produced nine Rhodes Scholars, more than a ...

, now site of the Federal Prison Camp, Yankton). The seminary was located in New Brighton, Minnesota, from its 1962 opening until 2019, when it moved to St. Paul. Like the UCC itself, United reflects the merging of two denominational backgrounds: Mission House was related to the

Evangelical and Reformed Church The Evangelical and Reformed Church (E&R) was a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. It was formed in 1934 by the merger of the Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) with the Evangelical Synod of North America (ESNA). A ...

, while Yankton was one of the numerous schools affiliated with the

Congregational Christian Churches The Congregational Christian Churches were a Protestant Christian denomination that operated in the U.S. from 1931 through 1957. On the latter date, most of its churches joined the Evangelical and Reformed Church in a merger to become the United ...

. The UCC was formed from the merger of those two bodies, which took place between 1957 and 1961. Despite being formally affiliated with the UCC, the United charter states that the school is ecumenical, independent, and multi-denominational. United offers the following degrees: Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.), Master of Divinity (M.Div.), Master of Arts in Leadership, and Master of Arts (MA). The school champions social justice, the integration of arts and theology, and interfaith dialogue. United houses the Kaleo Center for Faith, Justice & Social Transformation, a United initiative, and publishes ''ARTS: The Arts in Religious & Theological Studies'', a journal devoted to the study of the arts and theology.

Bigelow Chapel

In 2004, United consecrated the Bigelow Chapel as an addition to the campus. Designed by Joan Soranno and John Cook of Hammel, Green and Abrahamson, Inc., the chapel exhibits floating planes of glass, precast stone walls, and a series of translucent curving wood panels. Two external towers house Deagan chimes. Bigelow Chapel is the winner of numerous awards for its innovative architecture, including the 2006 Honor Award for Architecture from the American Institute of Architects, and the 2004 Honor Award from the Minnesota Society of the American Institute of Architects. The new occupant of United's former campus, Global Academy, elected to keep the chapel in its original state, renaming it Bigelow Hall and using it as a secular gathering space.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Universities and colleges affiliated with the United Church of Christ Universities and colleges in Ramsey County, Minnesota