Join us for SCUPE’s July 2013 workshop: Engaging Faith In The Neighborhood – an interfaith exploration of urban religious diversity, dialogue, and collaboration.

Engaging Faith in the Neighborhood will take place July 23-25 of 2013 in Bolingbrook, IL (just outside of Chicago).

Photo Courtesy of Hartford Seminary

Religious diversity is a reality in most urban neighborhoods. Christians who seek to engage in relationships with those of other faiths often lack the theological rationale and skills for doing so. This three day-long seminar will give participants an opportunity to listen to the unique religious constituencies from our own communities. It will also equip participants with skills for building relationships with neighbors of other religions and find common ground for working together. Together we will engage in creative interfaith dialogue and visit Chicago’s religious communities.

Registration Ends July 5th
Space is limited to 30 Participants

Workshop Dates: July 23, 24, and 25
Time:  9:30 am Tuesday – 4:30 pm Thursday
Place: Hampton Inn & Suites – Bolingbrook, IL
Cost: $350 – Standard registration
$300 – Seminary student registration
$225 – Commuter registration
$200 – Commuter student registration
Speakers: Dr. Lucinda Mosher and Dr. Shanta Premawardhana

Workshop Objectives:

• Empowering interfaith leaders
• Creating a safe space to learn
• Equipping the participants with teachable resources
• Discussing America’s religious diversity
• Building Courage  to visit new places of worship
• Building community among the participants
• Training in effective speaking about interfaith engagement
• Teaching the history of modern interfaith movement
• Practicing interfaith engagement
• Developing skills to foster interfaith relationships

See a draft of the seminar’s agenda here.

Lead Faculty:

Dr. Lucinda Mosher, whose work in facilitating Christian formation and enabling interreligious relations is well-known, is a faculty associate at Hartford Seminary. She is the author of numerous books, the most recent of which is Toward Our Mutual Flourishing: The Episcopal Church, Interreligious Relations, and Theologies of Religious Manyness (Studies in Episcopal and Anglican Theology), (Peter Lang, 2012).

Dr. Shanta Premawardhana is the President of SCUPE (Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education). Previously he served as the Director for Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation at the World Council of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland, and as the Associate General Secretary for Interfaith Relations at the National Council of Churches of Christ in New York.

Required reading before the workshop:

-        Belonging (Faith in the Neighborhood) by Lucinda Mosher

Suggested reading before the workshop:

-        My Neighbor’s Faith: Stories of Interreligious Encounter, Growth, and Transformation by Jennifer Howe Peace

-        Praying: The Rituals of Faith (Faith in the Neighborhood) by Lucinda Mosher

The above version of this flyer is ideal for emailing.  For a large, print-friendly version of the flyer click here.

Este taller marca la diferencia entre el liderazgo y el cacicazgo al interior de nuestras congregaciones. De igual manera proveerá pautas de interpretación Bíblica desde nuestra experiencia y cultura latinas. Favor de traer su Biblia y un espíritu despierto para participar en la discusión.

El Rev. Dr. Eliseo Pérez-Álvarez, Director del Programa SCUPE – ALTE

SÁBADO 1 de JUNIO, 2013
9:00am —12:00pm

IGLESIA DE DIOS PENTECOSTAL, M.I. NUEVA CANCIÓN
1701 N. Richmond St.
CHICAGO, IL 60647

DONATIVO: $10
¡¡Almuerzo incluído¡¡

Este taller es para líderes laicos y pastorales

Para más información y confirmar su asistencia por favor llámenos a la oficina de ALTE al (773) 252-3929, escríbanos a: alte@scupe.com o regístrese diréctamente a www.scupe.com/alte

Rev. Dr. Jamal Khader

Rev. Dr. Jamal Khader, Dean of Arts at Bethlehem University at the First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple.

“Come and See,” invites Fr. Jamal Khader at SCUPE’s jointly sponsored lecture with the Northwestern District of the UMC and the ELCA Peace Not Walls Campaign. “Visit the Holy Land,” says Khader, “but be sure to visit Bethlehem, and other cities that are part of Palestine and then you will know” what the daily struggles of every Palestinian Christian must go through. Rev. Dr. Jamal Khader, Dean of Bethlehem University and theologian shared in Tuesday’s lecture the challenges and hopes for seeking peace through justice in the land of Palestine. Co-Author of the Kairos Palestine Document, he calls our attention to the worsening situation in Palestine under the Israeli occupation as they have systematically lost access to their own economic resources. Precious resources of good land and water are often cut off as the Israeli security wall is expanded and more Jewish settlement communities are established on Palestinian land.

A new movement is emerging in Palestine that is neither built on a failed peace negotiation process, nor on the acts of violence from militant groups. This movement is based on the Christian values of non-violent resistance to the oppressive practices of the Israeli government and its policies. The moral center of this movement is found in the collaborative work of Jerusalem’s diverse Christian leadership in what is known as the Kairos Palestine Document. Churches and denominations including the United Methodist Church take their inspiration from the Kairos Document which calls religious leadership across faith traditions to “accelerate the achievement of justice, peace and reconciliation in this Holy Land.”

Rev. Dr. Khader outlines three main goals of the movement toward lasting peace through justice, hope and love in the region. First is the “BDS Movement” which stands for Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions. Local Palestinians are encouraged to boycott goods manufactured in occupied territories. Denominations and companies are encouraged to divest from buying goods from these same companies. And they look to the international community to impose sanctions on Israel to end the occupation of Palestine.  The second goal is to “Come and See” the Holy Lands in Palestine.

Thirdly, if you are not planning a trip to the holy land and you don’t buy goods from Israel, what can you do? Khader’s answer is his third goal, “Change the narrative.” Many still do not know what is going on in Israel and Palestine. Few understand the systematic break up of Palestinian territories through illegal settlements.  Learn more about the realities on the ground and find opportunities to educate your congregation and call for action.  As leaders of faith we are called to encourage our congregations to support the dignity and right of self-determination of the Palestinian people as equal partners among the Children of God.

“It is very important that we listen to the voices of pain coming from the Palestinian people,” says Rev. Dr. Shanta Premawardhana, President of SCUPE, who was instrumental in bringing Fr. Jamal to Chicago.  Dr. Premawardhana continues, “We must also be aware that in order to arrive at a two state solution, we must work with Jewish partners who are committed to just peace.”

At the conclusion of our time together, we stood and held hands and engaged in a compelling prayer lead by the Rev. Robert Smith of the ELCA’s Peace Not Walls Campaign. I will close with his prayer as a charge to us all to seek the fruits of peace through the work of justice for all our brothers and sisters in Palestine and around the world.

Rev. Robert Smith’s prayer

Rev. Zaki Zaki of the Chicago Northwestern District UMC and     Rev. Robert Smith of the ELCA Peace Not Walls Campaign jointly sponsored the event with SCUPE. 

God of all people everywhere,

Our young people are losing hope. We are tired of illusions, tired of empty promises and empty processes. Give us courage to question and revise and reject biblical readings that support dispossession and suffering for any, not just Palestinians or Israelis. Instead of calling evil good and good evil, lead us to embrace your cross so we will call things what they actually are.

Give us the courage to seek justice and through justice pursue peace. Move us beyond sympathy to join the resistance, a resistance grounded in the logic of love.

Amen

Continuing Education at SCUPE

In response to ministers and lay persons involved in the African American church, CAATS is offering a unique course that combines theological reflection and pastoral skill-building:

Pastoral Care to Chronically Ill Parishioners in the African American Church
Instructor: Rev. Danielle J. Buhuro, D. Min.

June 14-15, 21-22, and 28-29
(1-9 pm Friday; 9am-5pm Saturday)

Lincoln Memorial Congregational United Church of Christ
6454 S. Champlain Ave.
Chicago, IL 60637

Course Description:  Years ago, persons struggling with chronic illnesses sought pastoral care from their local hospital’s mission and spiritual care department. As a chronically ill patient in the hospital, one’s spirituality and faith was deepened by visitation from their unit chaplain.

Now, in this economic downturn with more persons uninsured and hospitals losing government funding, hospital’s mission and spiritual care departments  are limiting, if not eliminating, their full-time/salaried staff chaplain positions.

Thus, chronically ill persons are less likely to encounter an in-depth chaplain visit when they enter the hospital. Who do chronically ill persons turn to –the church, which has become the pastoral care agent to enhance the faith and spirituality of chronically ill persons?

Learning Objectives:

• Enhance one’s identity as a pastor and pastoral care provider to chronically-ill persons;
• Increase one’s knowledge of chronic illnesses;
• Grow one’s pastoral competence with chronically ill persons.

By the end of this course, students are able to:

• Begin articulating how central themes of one’s personal history (i.e. major life events, relationships, cultural context, etc.) affect his/her pastoral ministry to chronically-ill persons;
• Become comfortable receiving and offering constructive critique about one’s ministry practice;
• Begin recognizing relational and system dynamics within group settings;
• Attempt integration of conceptual understandings presented in the curriculum into one’s pastoral practice.

Download the flyer here.

Our life experiences are shaped and colored by violence.  Whether we are dealing with a child caught in the cross fire of gang activity or violence against our religious community or that of our neighbors, transformative leadership  demands that we bring compassionate and proactive responses to the tragedies of our  day and age.  Transformative leadership also demands listening to the stories of those impacted by violence, looking critically at our own faith traditions, and strategizing on how we as religious communities can partner for the sake of peace.

SCUPE and the Council for the Parliament for the World’s Religions Faiths Against Hate Campaign are sponsoring this one day workshop for leaders, clergy, and people who are called to make a difference in transforming violence into partnerships for peace.

Day: October 2013
Time: TBA
Cost: *Standard Registration $100, Student Registration $60 (with student ID)
Place: TBA

*Workshop fee includes registration, materials, breakfast and lunch.

Our featured speakers are:

Rabbi Joel Mosbacherof Temple Beth Haverim Shir Shalom in New Jersey. The loss of his father to gun violence and his resulting anti-violence work was recently featured in this New York Times article.

Imam Abdul Malik Mujahid is the chair of the Board of Trustees of the Parliament of the World’s Religions. He has written extensively on religion, public policy and initiated a joint campaign between American Muslims and the National Organization of Women to declare rape a war crime.

As in all SCUPE events, the expertise and perspectives of the participants is sought and valued, and dialogical learning from each other is encouraged.

In this workshop we will…

•    Share stories of how we have been touched by violence.
•    Explore how our faith traditions may legitimize violence in our communities.
•    Build partnerships with others leaders touched by violence.
•    Learn strategies for dealing with the aftermath of violence.
•    Commit to bold actions for peace in and across our communities.

]]> http://scupe.org/touched-by-violence-partnering-for-peace/feed/ 0 http://scupe.org/learn-from-the-city-learn-for-the-city/ http://scupe.org/learn-from-the-city-learn-for-the-city/#comments Fri, 03 May 2013 18:18:33 +0000 Mark Hannan http://scupe.org/?p=5887

Restoring Urban Communities

If you are looking for the vision, skills, and inspiration necessary for the transformative ministry that God is calling you to… look no further.

This coming June, both courses offered by SCUPE will uniquely combine theology and practice, education and empowerment, classroom learning and sidewalk experience.

Taught by two life-long urban church practitioners, these two courses incorporate vital cross-cultural, grassroots, church and neighborhood based ministries into a thorough theological exploration of what it means to be faithful in community.

The June 3-7 + 10-14 course, Dimensions & Dynamics of Urban Ministry, is taught by Rev. Dr. Yvonne Delk and features faith-based urban practitioners like Rev. Kim Bobo of Interfaith Worker Justice, priest activist Father Michael Pfleger, hip hop pastor Rev. Otis Moss III, journalist Laura Washington, and prophetic preacher Rev. Dr. Jeremiah Wright.

The June 3-8 course, Restoring Urban Communities, is taught by life-long community development expert and faith-based firebrand, Dr. Mary Nelson.  It strives to understand the theological context of ministry in communities while engaging some of Chicago’s most exciting models for grassroots transformation. Students will engage with a wide variety of city realities across cultures and between faiths.

These courses run concurrently so, until you get that bi-location thing down, you might just have to pick one or the other.

If you are a student at a SCUPE member seminary you can register for a SCUPE course just like any other course in your seminary’s course catalog. You pay your usual tuition and the course transcripts as credits directly from your seminary.

Students at Non-member seminaries should contact SCUPE for information on how to register.

Please contact SCUPE registrar Dody Finch for more information or to get course information after you’ve registered.

Bob was the President/CEO of Common Cause (since 2007), the premier good government organization in the United States. A clergyperson of the United Methodist Church, Bob served as the General Secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ (2000-07) and prior to that as President of Claremont School of Theology. He was elected to the U.S. House in 1974 to represent the 7th Congressional District of Pennsylvania near Philadelphia and served for six terms.

Since 2011, Bob served on the board of SCUPE, bringing his unique brand of creativity, courage, and out-of-the-box thinking, including his wacky sense of humor and puns to all his relationships. “Bob was an inspiration to us all” said Lydia Murray, chair of the SCUPE Board. “With a keen sense of what’s possible, he pushed SCUPE to think in new and creative ways about many of its programs and priorities including ‘fun-raising.’”

SCUPE Advisory Board member Wesley “Pat” Pattillo, who together with SCUPE President Shanta Premawardhana was on the executive staff of the National Council of Churches, described him as “a tireless, fearless, winsome advocate for the poor and powerless. He was a wellspring of energy and integrity in a desert of arrogance and left our world a better place through his passionate pursuit of social justice.”

“Peace, Poverty and Planet Earth were among Bob’s primary commitments,” said SCUPE President Shanta Premawardhana. “In my last correspondence with Bob just two days ago; I commented on Bob’s Facebook post that the gun control vote in the US senate last week was not a failure but a filibuster. This was Bob’s other enduring commitment: good government,” he said.

In his book Middle Church: Reclaiming the Moral Values of the Faithful Majority from the Religious Right (Simon and Schuster, 2007), Bob laments that in this country we have only one political party: the Corporate Party. Much of his life’s work revolved around organizing the churches and religious communities to be the faithful opposition party – the one that represented the voices of those who are poor and oppressed.

Bob Edgar will be deeply missed by the SCUPE family. We will hold his family and loved ones and colleagues in our prayer.

Link to Common Cause Press Release: http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=8281551

Gospel Entrepreneur Adam R. Walls of 5812 Group spoke how his faith informed starting his own real estate business.

The Art of Gospel Entrepreneurship Workshop was held February 21^st & 22^nd at Grace Place Episcopal Church with pastors, seminary students, non-profit leaders and business executives in attendance.  Among our many talented speakers were Eboo Patel of Interfaith Youth Core, Rev. Laura Truax of LaSalle Street Church, John Davidoff of Davidoff Communications, Nike Whitcomb of Nike B. Whitcomb Associates, Inc., and Tanesha Pittman of the Women’s Institute for Global Leadership. 

What is Gospel Entrepreneurship? 

Entrepreneurship is a means or a pathway to achieve innovation in a field—it is not an end in itself.  Entrepreneurs are a little more foolish, a little more inspired, a little more crazy than the average person because they are willing to risk more to bring into being a new product, a new idea, or a new business that was not there before. 

But what does it mean to be an Entrepreneur for the Gospel?  Together 30 leaders and participants in SCUPE’s workshop The Art of Gospel Entrepreneurship wrestled for two days with the question, “What does it mean to be a Gospel Entrepreneur?”

Gospel Entrepreneurship is a method of innovation and creativity that is mission driven, and gospel centered that draws from the inspiration of God to call on people of faith to use their gifts—what ever they might be—to make this world a better place.  What does is mean to consider ourselves Gospel Entrepreneurs?  How might pastors rethink their ministry if they imagined that they were entrepreneurs?  How might people rethink their work-life if they imagined that God was using them in their workplace for a special purpose?

Gospel Entrepreneurship invites us into a creative enterprise with God.  How might we identify our passions and gifts and then utilize them to build a better world for all people?  But what does it mean to be a creative leader in the context of our world today?  Creative is a great word because it takes us back to Genesis.  God spoke, and then that speaking—that Word—brought into being new life.  If we can’t speak it, if we can’t see it, if we can’t hear it, if we can’t envision it, then it doesn’t have power—that is God’s power—to come into being.  Gospel Entrepreneurship requires us to risk that creative energy to speak new things into existence.

Was not Jesus an entrepreneur?  Jesus brought boundary breaking innovation, leadership development, and faith based organizational risk taking to new heights.  Jesus is our first Gospel Entrepreneur.  Jesus calls us to discipleship not as an end in itself.  For example, we do not declare our faith and then consider our work is finished as Christians. Jesus as the Great Gospel Entrepreneur calls us to discipleship as a method of innovation and creativity to extend the transforming love of God into the far reaches of our lives.  Jesus sought out people with certain gifts and cultivated those people for leadership.  Together they created a new movement of wholeness that we are a part of today.  Jesus’ call to discipleship requires that we combine our efforts with God’s vision to build a more peaceful and just world.  Gospel Entrepreneurship is a call to innovative faith-centered leadership.

How are you a Gospel Entrepreneur?

What the participants are saying about SCUPE’s workshops…

“The Art of Gospel Entrepreneurship workshop was a crown jewel of resources, ideas and actionable items, which I was able to implement immediately.”  Michael L. Crawley, MBA, PMP, CRPC – SCUPE/CAATS Student

“For me the workshop on Entrepreneurship produced power in my ministry…After I received the tools, I decided to open a new church in the Glendale Heights neighborhood with community services in addition to worship offerings.”  Raul Ruiz-Ocampo, SCUPE/ALTE Student

Check out our next workshops…

May 22               Touched by Violence, Partnering for Peace Workshop

July 23, 24, 25    Engaging Faith in the Neighborhood-Interfaith Leadership Workshop

SCUPE’s Continuing Education Workshops are designed for professionals engaged in the art and practice of urban ministry and community development in all of its forms.  These cutting edge workshops are designed to train effective leaders for transformative urban ministry today.  For more information about our upcoming workshops contact Rev. Tanya Sadagopan at tanya@scupe.com.

Photo courtesy of Catholic Church (England & Wales)

Come for a FREE Lecture and round table discussion with Father Jamal Khader, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and theology professor at Bethlehem University.  Rev. Dr. Khader was born in the Christian Palestinian village of Zababdeh in the northern part of the West Bank.  He is a co-author of the Kairos Palestine document which calls Christians to work for just peace in the Holy Land.

• What are the realities of life for Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Holy Land?
• What can we learn from the challenges facing the people of Palestine and Israel?
• What does it mean to love our neighbor in the context of Palestine and Israel?

7:00pm – 8:30pm  |  Tuesday, May 7th
Refreshments available 6:30 –7:00pm

First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple
77 W. Washington Street, Chicago, IL 60602
Discounted parking available with advance registration

Sponsored Jointly by SCUPE, Chicago Northwestern District of the UMC, and ELCA Peace Not Walls Campaign

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