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United Lutheran Seminary builds and sustains an affirming and diverse learning community of faithful, well-educated leaders skilled at guiding grace-filled encounters. Deeply rooted in the history of Lutheranism within Christianity, we witness to and participate in the work of God in the world through spiritual leadership, public advocacy, impactful worship, and care of neighbor.
Called by the Holy Spirit as disciples of Jesus Christ, all who are part of United Lutheran Seminary live in God’s reign of mercy and justice and are committed to living the following values:
Love – We embody God’s radical love wherever we live, learn, teach, and lead. We celebrate the dignity of all and embrace the multidimensional diversity within the communities surrounding the seminary and the world. Love is practicing compassion, forgiveness, reconciliation, humility, respect, and openness.
Inquiry – We are grounded by a biblical, liturgical, and Lutheran confessional foundation which equips students to be critical thinkers within and beyond their own traditions. Students are formed as public leaders who listen thoughtfully to what the Spirit is saying in a forward-looking, and evolving context. Inquiry is a life-long engagement with the way of Jesus.
Community– We are more than a place. We are an academic community of hospitality that cultivates personal and communal well-being within the Body of Christ. We center worship, model formation, and create opportunities for sustained civil discourse. Community means creating connections, practicing discipleship, stewardship, advocacy, and peace-making.
Integrity – We are accountable to God to live the grace given to us. The seminary holds itself accountable to the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, in collaboration with churches of other traditions. Integrity includes rejecting physical, verbal, sexual, emotional harassment, or abuse.
Commitment – We embrace Martin Luther’s approach to theology, centering God’s love for what God has created, shown forth in Jesus Christ, and active in the Holy Spirit through the church and its ministry. We are committed to communal deliberation, which counters absolutism and challenges hyper-individualism. Commitment means translating theology into lifegiving conversations and actions, incorporating the understandings given to us through science, and attending to the real needs of the world.
Empowered by the Gospel to preach, teach, lead, and cultivate flourishing communities within a just and sustainable world.
As a Lutheran seminary, we embrace and critically reflect on Martin Luther’s approach to theology. This means prioritizing God’s deep love for all God has created as shown forth in Jesus Christ, and active in the Holy Spirit through the church and its ministry. In openness and trust, we commit ourselves to communal inquiry and ecumenical dialogue among the traditions represented at the seminary. We do this with humility and in the hope of avoiding narrow dogmatism and hyper-individualism. This way of doing theology also attends to the real needs of the world, engages in interreligious conversation, incorporates the understandings gained through science, and translates theological commitments into lifegiving conversations and actions.
United Lutheran Seminary is a Reconciling in Christ seminary.
