Our world needs leaders who can navigate complexity with wisdom, bridge differences with compassion, and be the inspiring religious leaders who mobilize communities for transformative change. Through its over 180 years of history, Meadville Lombard Theological School has charted a courageous path grounded in Unitarian Universalist Values, striving to be a theological learning community of excellence for such leaders. Today, we continue to be resolute in our conviction that our mission to nurture learners from diverse faith traditions to embody the collaborative work of liberation through congregational and community leadership matters deeply. 

In our world, we face challenges from climate change to the deepening of social inequality, digital and communications technology that bridge physical distances, facilitating new ways to be in community, are now mobilized to disrupt democracy, there is a widening political polarization, and emerging challenges to face to sustain our democratic aspirations. Such a world needs leaders with skills to be pastoral companions, prophetic colleagues, and promoters of communal belonging with the capacity to facilitate healing, build colations, and leaders who can inspire hope in uncertain times. 

At Meadville Lombard Theological School, we recognize that ministry matters within congregational and beyond congregational walls. Our graduates serve as congregational ministers, they serve as chaplains in hospitals, colleges and universities, and serve with distinction in various branches of the Armed Forces. They serve as community organizers advocating for environmental justice, prison reform, and legislative change in your communities. Our alums are interfaith leaders providing leadership across religious traditions, fostering spiritual growth, and leaders of non-profits. They live an expansive understanding of ministry reflecting our commitment to mobilizing ethical leadership. 

As a theological school, we remained attuned to the changing landscape of theological education, seeking to be adaptive, resilient, and committed to preparing future leaders who can lead across multiple faith traditions and religious orientations. Our curriculum integrates scholarly excellence with practical engagements, centering interculturality to deepen spiritual leadership formation while honing moral imagination, emotional intelligence, and faithful discernment. In our community of learning, we analyze systemic injustices, develop skills for community organizing, and cultivate the spiritual resilience necessary for sustained work toward justice as inheritors of the theological depth and ethical force of the Unitarian Universalism and Liberal Religion. 

Here are some ways:

• Contextual Learning allows students to practice ministry while studying, embedding their education in real-world settings where theory and practice inform each other.
• Low-residency intensive programs that honor the complex lives of adult learners while building genuine community through meaningful face-to-face encounters.
• Multi-platform degree and certificate programs designed for progressive leaders seeking both spiritual growth and social transformation
• A Faculty committed to high levels of excellence in education and prepared to engage in activities in the world. They are active contributors in academic organizations and committed to justice work, which is evident in their leadership in various social justice causes.

Through our Leadership Institute for Growth, Healing, and Transformation (LIGHT), we extend this formation beyond degree programs to serve practicing ministers, lay leaders, and spiritual seekers through continuing education and certification programs, including our innovative certificates like Spiritual Direction Formation, Non-Profit Management for Religious Professionals and Faith Based Leaders, and Authentic Leadership and Public Intimacy. Through our academic and co-curricular offerings will continue to innovate and co-create to meet the ministerial and leadership needs of this moment and sustain future transformations in our communities. 

Social Engagement and Transformation. 

In Meadville Lombard, as a learning community, we wrestle with pressing questions of the times and are challenged to live out our vocations, whether in parish or non-parish settings, in ways that speak of hope and work for transformation. We explore questions of how living into the work of justice and compassion leads us in: 

• Providing hospitality and creating space for healing and transformation
• Facilitating the opportunity to connect with and encounter others, and join them in collaboration for the common good
• The possibility of being transformed and being of service can be sustained with a message that inspires hope and centers the ethical power of Love. 

Meadville Lombard’s commitment to justice-making theological education is reflected in the way our alums engage with the world’s pressing needs. From human rights campaigns, chaplaincy work, legislative advocacy, to congregational work, Meadville Lombard graduates are providing leadership essential to make this world a more just one.

We invite you to explore how Meadville Lombard can serve your calling to religious leadership. Whether you seek ordination for congregational ministry, preparation for chaplaincy, training in spiritual direction, or formation for community organizing and social transformation, our programs are designed to meet you where you are and equip you for the ministry our world desperately needs.

As a Unitarian Universalist, I believe that effective religious leadership is in the service of the good news of our Shared Values. This comes with high stakes: It can call into question the business-as-usual ways of operating when faced with new challenges. 

Join us in the work. 

In service, 
Elías Ortega
President