Cross-cultural competencies consultation group: Dr. Michael Hogue, Rev. Hope Johnson, Rev. Dr. Neil Gerdes, Rev. Dr. Qiyamah Rahman, Rev. Peter Morales, Dr. Sharon Welch, Rev. Leslie Takahashi Morris, Rev. Dr. John Tolley, Rev. Joshua Pawelek, Rev. David Owen-O'Quill, Rev. John Crestwell, Rev. Rob Hardies, Rev. Dr. Lee Barker, Rev. Dr. Susann Pangerl, Rev. Dr. William Schulz. Behind the camera: Dr. Mark Hicks.
On January 31 and February 1, Meadville Lombard Theological School welcomes back UUA President Rev. Peter Morales, Rev. John T. Crestwell, Jr., Rev. Rob Hardies, Rev. Hope Johnson, Rev. Joshua Mason Pawelek, Rev. Dr. William Schulz, and Rev. Leslie Takahashi Morris, who are all acting as consultants to the faculty who are designing curricula to address cross-cultural competencies for students enrolled in the school's new Master of Divinity degree program.
Provost Sharon Welch says the focus of this consultation "will build directly on the good work of our last meeting" (held in December 2009). "We will move to more concrete definitions of ministerial competencies and more specific educational experiences within the congregation that can facilitate students in gaining those competencies."
The consultation will include Dr. Welch, Rev. Dr. Lee Barker, President of Meadville Lombard (in photo, above right, with Rev. Peter Morales and Rev. Dr. William Schulz), and members of the faculty (including Rev. Dr. Qiyamah Rahman, below left, pictured with Rev. Leslie Takahashi Morris).
"We've invited those leaders whose ministries in multi-cultural and multi-racial settings will help us identify the kind of work our students are called to do immediately upon ordination." said Rev. Barker. "We are so grateful to have this wealth of experience available to us at this time. Their assistance will make a difference well into the future."
In the midst of preparing for this second consultation, Dr. Mark Hicks, Meadville Lombard's Angus MacLean Professor of Religious Education, discovered a quote from Sophia Lyons Fahs that, according to Dr. Welch, has some "compelling connections" with the current work of the school and this group of consultants:
"The development of a free faith is not a process which can be achieved by adding a course to, or subtracting a course here and there from ... a curriculum designed to prepare ministers to preach 'the Christian Gospel.' Ministers need a basically different preparation because theirs is essentially a different task from that of the evangelical Christian minister. Our churches are moving away from being primarily preaching centers to becoming educational fellowships. The traditional dictatorial role of the minister is being replaced by a new role in democratic leadership. The minister is becoming a fellow searcher. He no longer needs to be ashamed of uncertainties. He is the one chosen to supervise a group of individuals of all ages who are engaging in a cooperative endeavor to learn anything and everything that may help toward better and more fully and intelligent living."
From an open letter from Sophia Fahs to Dr. Frederick May Eliot and the four UU theological schools (Crane, Starr King, Meadville, St. Lawrence), May 1952
|
