October 19/Advent 1 Commentary
Shannon TL Kearns is a transgender man who believes in the transformative power of story. As an ordained priest, a playwright, a theologian, and a writer all of his work revolves around making meaning through story. He is the founder and Artistic Director of Uprising Theatre Company in Minneapolis, the co-founder of QueerTheology.com, and will soon publish with Eerdmaan’s books. Shannon is a recipient of the Playwrights’ Center Jerome Fellowship in 20/21 and he was a Lambda Literary Fellow for 2019 and a Finnovation Fellow for 2019/2020. He is a sought after speaker on transgender issues and religion as well as a skilled facilitator of a variety of workshops. His work with Brian G. Murphy at QueerTheology.com has reached more than a million people all over the world through videos, articles, and online courses and community. Shannon’s plays include Body+Blood, in a stand of dying trees, Line of Sight, Twisted Deaths, The Resistance of My Skin, and Who Has Eyes To See. He’s currently working on a television pilot.
October 26/Advent 2 Commentary
Karl Kuhn is Professor of Religion, Grace Chair of Religious Studies, and Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts at Lakeland University where he has served since the Fall of 1999. He graduated from UW-Milwaukee with a B.A. in English in 1990, and later earned an M. Div. from Eden Theological Seminary in 1994, followed by a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from Marquette University in 1999. An ordained United Church of Christ clergy, he has served several congregations as an associate and interim minister. His special interests are in the fields of biblical interpretation and biblical theology, and he has widely published and lectured in both fields. He has authored numerous articles and six books, Having Words with God: The Bible as Conversation (Fortress Press, 2008), The Heart of Biblical Narrative: Rediscovering Biblical Appeal to the Emotions (Fortress Press, 2009), Luke: The Elite Evangelist (Paul’s Social Network Series; Collegeville, Liturgical, 2010), and The Kingdom According to Luke and Acts (Baker Academic, 2015), Insights from Cultural Anthropology (Fortress Press, 2018), and co-authored New Proclamation: The Essential Pastoral Companion for Preaching, Year C 2010 (Fortress Press, 2009). His latest work is entitled Reading the Bible Badly: How American Christians Misunderstand and Misread their Scriptures (Cascade Press, 2020). He is also currently serving as an Associate Editor for the Catholic Biblical Quarterly, one of the leading journals in his field. In addition to his work in biblical studies, Karl also speaks frequently in the community to promote interfaith understanding.
November 2/advent 3 commentary
Justin Sabia-Tanis is an assistant professor and director of the Social Transformation program at United Theological Seminary. He earned his PhD from the Graduate Theological Union in Interdisciplinary Studies in addition to a Master of Divinity degree at Harvard Divinity School and a Doctor of Ministry from San Francisco Theological Seminary. As a pastor, he served congregations in Boston, Honolulu, and San Francisco and was Director of Leadership Development for Metropolitan Community Churches; he is now with the United Church of Christ. In his prior work, he served as Managing Director at the Center for LGBTQ and Gender Studies in Religion (CLGS) and directed communications for the Hawai’i Equal Rights Marriage Project, the National Center for Transgender Equality, and Out & Equal Workplace Advocates. He has taught at the University of Arizona, Pima Community College, Iliff School of Theology, and Pacific School of Religion. He lives in Minnesota with his husband, Henry, and their two dogs.
November 9/advent 4 commentary
Rev. Kelsey Beebe (she/her/hers), MFA Dance, MDiv, 200RYT
Rev. Kelsey Beebe believes firmly in an all-loving God, embodied Christ, and ever-moving Holy Spirit that connects us all. She is a trained dancer, certified yoga instructor, as well as an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. She serves as a solo pastor at two churches just south of Milwaukee, WI, and is the Executive Minister and President of Dancing Pastor Ministries and host of the Lady Preacher Podcast. She has performed, preached, and led retreats all around the United States and even in Costa Rica. Her passion is helping people embody their faith as they connect more deeply with God, with others, and with themselves.
Outside of movement and ministry, Pastor Kelsey loves donuts, being by the water, and nothing gets her laughing harder than a good dad-joke. She also believes pints of ice cream are meant to be finished in one sitting. She lives in Kenosha, Wisconsin (USA), with her husband Rev. Kevin Beebe and their fluffy cat Velcro.
November 16/christmas eve commentary
Carolyn Pressler, Emerita Professor of Biblical Interpretation, recently retired from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, where she taught Hebrew Bible for thirty years. Born and raised in Elkhart, Indiana, Pressler received a B.A. in Psychology from Kalamazoo College, an M.Div. from Wesley Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from Princeton Theological Seminary. Pressler holds ordained standing in the Minnesota Conference of the UCC, and has a passion for engaging the Bible in and for the church. An instructor for the WI Lay Academy since its inception, she recently taught Hebrew Bible 1 and 2 for the Damascus Project. Prior to attending seminary, Pressler worked as a community organizer and taught community organizing at a small college in the Washington, D.C. area. She continues to be interested in community and social justice issues, especially as those relate to biblical studies. Pressler has published three books, The View of Women Found in Deuteronomic Family Laws; Joshua, Judges and Ruth, and Numbers; and co-editor of a fourth volume, Engaging the Bible in a Gendered World: An Introduction to Feminist Biblical Interpretation in Honor of Katharine Doob Sakenfeld. Her numerous articles deal with gender studies and the Bible, biblical law, and, most recently, the Psalms. In addition to her love of the Hebrew Bible, Pressler enjoys hiking, traveling, bird-watching, cooking, volunteering at Northside Healing Space, and spending time with her family and friends.