Seminary Life

By: Ms. Chipo H. Muzorewa, whose late uncle Bishop Abel Muzorewa was the first black prime minister of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia.

The words empathy, integrity, and leadership effortlessly sum up my impression of Sergio as my former schoolmate at the Unification Theological Seminary (UTS).

​As a member of the United Methodist Church from Zimbabwe, my two years at UTS gave me the privilege of spiritual reflection within my own faith but mindful of the mosaic of beliefs in this world through interactions with schoolmates (from various professions), colleagues, faculty and staff from different backgrounds, cultures, nations, races and creeds. The cultural and religious exchange was represented by students from countries including; America, Costa Rica, Japan, Kenya, South Korea, Poland, Russia, Tanzania and Turkey.

During my stay on the pristine and serene campus that encompassed an interfaith chapel, in Upstate New York by the Hudson River, I marveled at the colors of the autumn leaves with the stark mountains in the background and the nature that was shared with flora and fauna (including deer and rabbits). It was this once in a lifetime opportunity that I learned about different doctrines and their common ground in peacebuilding. I had the honor to be taught during my master’s program by faculty whose convictions ranged from Lutheran, Buddhist, Unificationist, Baptist and Islam. It is through these individuals, UTS, and associations including my internships at the US Congress and an NGO affiliated with the United Nations, that I learned of an alternative way through religious diplomacy to make this world a safe place to live, for ourselves and the next generation.

"I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend." -Thomas Jefferson  Thomas Jefferson (2010). “The Works of Thomas Jefferson: 1799-1803”, p.130, Cosimo, Inc.