"Worship, Ritual, and Community Engagement (Assistant, Associate or full Professor)"

UNION PRESBYTERIAN SEMINARY

Faculty Position Description (Tenure Track or Tenured)

Worship, Ritual, and Community Engagement (Assistant, Associate or full Professor)

Mission Statement

Union Presbyterian Seminary prepares people to be leaders of gospel-inspired transformative change in pursuit of a more just and compassionate world.

Areas of Responsibility

Union Presbyterian Seminary invites applications and nominations for the position of Assistant, Associate or full Professor of Worship, Ritual, and Community Engagement (tenure track or tenured). The seminary seeks a scholar who has primary expertise in worship, especially as it relates to the interplay of congregational worship, ritual, community engagement, and public theology. The successful candidate will be able to help equip learners for adaptive leadership and community engagement through liturgical and ritual practices. Beyond teaching specialized courses, the successful candidate will be expected to teach general courses on worship. The successful candidate holds a Ph.D. or comparable degree in liturgical studies.
This position is part of UPSem’s collaborative “Seminary Extended: Strengthening Pastoral Leadership” grant with Eastern Mennonite Seminary and Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. While based in Charlotte, NC, the successful candidate will be expected to teach in several degree and non-degree programs, in hybrid and online modalities, across the three seminaries.
The successful candidate will be expected to make significant scholarly contributions to the field through scholarship that serves appropriate academic guilds, builds congregational resources, and/or informs public life. In addition to a four-course per year load, the new faculty member will share in the administrative work expected of a full-time faculty member for UPSem (academic advising responsibilities, collaboration with colleagues, program assessment, and the like), and participate actively in the life of the seminary.

Qualifications and Experience

• Ph.D in liturgics or comparable degree
• Conversance in current theories and scholarship in liturgical studies, ritual, and public theology
• Commitment to excellence in teaching
• Commitment to justice, equity, and diversity in teaching and service
• Digital literacy and experience with technology-based teaching and learning
• Engagement in scholarly practices that affirm diversity in age, race, ethnicity, gender, theological perspective, and culture
• Commitment to theological education that values the life and witness of the church in an interreligious and intercultural world
• Familiarity with the theology, polity, and practices of Reformed traditions, especially the Presbyterian Church (USA)

Union Presbyterian Seminary is a graduate educational institution affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and an EO/AA employer committed to increasing the gender, racial-ethnic, and international and cultural diversity in its faculty and student body. Therefore, candidates of underrepresented groups are especially encouraged to apply as the seminary strives to increase the diversity of its faculty to achieve its strategic goals.

Letters of application, including a curriculum vitae, should be addressed to Daniel Ott, Vice President for Academic Affairs and Academic Dean, Union Presbyterian Seminary, 3401 Brook Road, Richmond, VA 23227, and emailed to sarah.amick@upsem.edu. Review of applications will begin on February 1, 2026, and will continue until the position is filled.