You want to support the long-term financial strength of the Unification Theological Seminary but may not be in a position to make a gift right now. The solution may be a bequest, a charitable bequest. The recent deaths of a couple of UTS alumni alerted me to let our readers and supporters know that a bequest is one of the easiest gifts to make. With the help of an advisor, you can write in your will specifying a gift be made to UTS as part of your estate plan. A bequest can deliver a specific gift to UTS e.g.”I bequeath the sum of Ten Thousand ($10,000) Dollars to Unification...

I recently completed an important step toward gaining board certification as a chaplain — the INTERVIEW — by the Association of Professional Chaplains (APC), which oversees more than 5,000 members. The requirements to become a board-certified chaplain (BCC) are very high and include: undergraduate degree, graduate theological degree, four units of clinical pastoral education (CPE), endorsement from a recognized faith group, references from professional colleagues, written essays, an interview before a committee of chaplains, and work experience of at least 2,000 hours. Recognized...

UTS President, Dr. Hugh Spurgin (UTS’77) and Vice-Presidents, Drs. Kathy Winings (UTS’87) and Michael Mickler (UTS’77), toured the newly completed Latter Day Saints (Mormon) temple in Farmington, Connecticut outside Hartford on September 29. They were invited to a VIP tour by former UTS librarian, Dr. Tom Bowers (UTS’81), now a Latter Day Saints (LDS) leader, who accompanied them with his wife Alice. The Hartford Temple (the 155th LDS temple worldwide) was under construction for three years and is the second built in New England, following the Boston, Massachusetts temple. Unlike a...

Between July 24 and August 24 I had the unique opportunity to visit my native land, Mauritania. This time I was not only visiting parents and friends but I was also going as a peace ambassador, focusing on youth development. Thanks to the sponsorship of PEACE CLUB and the assistance of generous friends here in the US who contributed to the soccer tournament for youth in the city of Rosso where I spent some of the most exciting days of my stay. When I refer to Mauritania maybe you think I mean the island of Mauritius, or imagine a tiny country within the vast African continent....

BARRYTOWN,NY – In 2013 David and Mitsue Wolfenberger, from Bellingham, in the Pacific Northwest, approached John Williams (UTS‘90) with the idea of developing marriage enrichment retreats where couples would come for a long weekend to share time together in the company of other couples with the expressed purpose of strengthening their marriage and their relationship with God. Not long after, John asked fellow classmate Josie Hauer Ed.D. (UTS’90) to join him in developing the format for the retreat. They recruited and trained three younger Unification couples – Christoph and...

Dozens of cars made their way through the UTS Main Campus on Saturday, September 24 as part of the Winnakee Land Trust’s Annual Tour of Historic Barns. The Seminary’s 260-acre Main Campus, situated on a Hudson River site, boasts the Massena Mansion in addition to its circa 1890 barn. Used by the Seminary for storage, it was once the center of a prosperous farm with wheat, field crops, sheep and dairy cows. It is a “bank barn” with the second level accessible to cattle from a built-up bank ramp. It has a beautiful brick silo with a slate roof and ornate brackets under the barn’s...

BARRYTOWN – September means the start of another year for Generation Peace Academy (GPA) at the Barrytown Conference Center. GPA, a program which provides young people with an outstanding opportunity to develop character and start gaining leadership skills,  begins every year with a kick-off program at Barrytown and finishes up there the following June with a closing ceremony and celebration. GPA mostly draws high school graduates who spend a year or two in the program before moving on to college or other activities, though a small number will continue in leadership positions...

BARRYTOWN, NY – On September 13th Dr. Hugh Spurgin, president of Unification Theological Seminary (UTS) welcomed Dr. Sun Jo Hwang, president of Sun Moon University (SMU) to the Barrytown campus. Dr. Hwang, a 1996 graduate of UTS, has held his current position as president of SMU since March 2012. Under his leadership SMU has increased its enrollment to nearly 11,000 students with over 1100 foreign students from 85 countries, making SMU one of the leading universities in South Korea today. Following an extensive tour of the campus, including dorm rooms, the chapel and the...

UTS administrators often attend Association of Theological Schools (ATS) events. Experience shows that it is important for UTS to stay current with the conversations which are part of the theological landscape in North America. Seeking to keep our UTS stakeholders aware of those conversations UTS News presents alumni and friends with an article on the ATS Biennial which identifies two major themes in their June, 2016 conference: “the need to tend to issues of race and ethnicity and the changing educational models and practices that will come to define theological education in the years...