Life Long Learning

Life in the age of COVID-19 has been challenging, not least for religious leaders and communities of faith. One way to help make sense of the current situation is to reflect on past instances of human pandemics and consider how these experiences shaped believers' faith and actions. Beginning with an assessment of the current situation and an analysis of NT Wright's recent book on the coronavirus, we will then go back in time. We will examine the causes and impacts of the bubonic plague of the 1300s, and then move through smallpox, cholera, and yellow fever before turning to more recent pandemics including the 1918-19 flu, polio, AIDS, and Ebola. Through readings and discussions of key primary and secondary sources, including sermons, letters, petitions, and more, we will investigate how religious leaders provided theological explanations of the pandemics to their flock, how they sought to provide pastoral care and comfort in times of crisis, and how the anxiety generated by pandemics could at times devolve into attacks on those of other faiths or backgrounds. Our focus will be global and cross-confessional. Taken together, these historical examples, coupled with dialogues with people at the front-lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, will help participants not only deepen their understanding of our current situation but also evaluate a range of responses. Participants will be encouraged to develop individual, familial, and communal approaches to the impact of COVID-19 through the eyes of faith.

We do not like conflict. Whether we are talking about interpersonal conflict, organizational conflict, group conflict, racial conflict, conflict in the church, or conflict in our broader community—they all have a common theme among them—we shy away from conflict and tension. What’s worse is that we often mistake the absence of conflict and tension for healing, wholeness. We believe that the elimination of conflict and tension means that we have made the right choice. Nothing could be further from the truth. In your future vocation, wherever you land, you will not be able to avoid conflict

In this course Fostering Pastoral Shalom in Group and Organizational Conflict we will examine the nature of group and organizational conflict. We will examine conflict and group tension from a theoretical, biblical, and theological perspective, and we will imagine a practical theological praxis of shalom that will better equip us to engage group and organization conflict with courage and hope.

The most critical moments in the development of theology have arisen from moments of crisis in the church and society. The interconnection between theology and social crisis is deep and inseparable from the faithful life and mission of the church. The New Testament Scriptures, the writings of early church fathers like Augustine, Ireneaus, and Justin Martyr, as well as the major theological tomes of the Reformation, all arose from pressing challenges facing the church as they sought to faithfully participate in God’s mission in their time and place. In this course we will explore several contemporary crises around the globe and examine the theological reflection arising from Christians in those communities. Students will emerge from this course having grappled with ancient and present theologies born from social crisis.

Surveys prominent theological motifs and how they have been reflected in artistic

expressions of Christian worship throughout church history, including a study of prayer,

texts, sermons, hymnody, architectural forms, and implications for congregational

worship today.

Explores the spiritual, moral, emotional, and social needs and development of children and adults, teaches the creative design of faith formation programs and intergenerational education, and develops skills needed to teach a wide variety of programs.

Explores the richness of the message, literary art, and relevance and significance of the historical context of the Gospel of Matthew in order to challenge faith and praxis and transform faithful disciples of Jesus in today’s societies.

This course will explore what it means to be human focusing especially on the devastating effects of sin while never losing sight of the restoration available to us in Christ. Exploring various historical and modern theologians we will consider questions like the following: What is sin? How might the noetic effects of the fall influence our ability to discern truth? How might the emotions of guilt and shame impact the practice of repentance? What is the relationship between addiction, mental illness and sin?