Unique Opportunities for UU students and ministers
to study with leaders of distinction in the UU movement
May 5, 2008
Registration is still open for summer courses taught by leaders of distinction in the UU movement, such as the Rev. Dr. William Schulz, the Rev. Robert Hardies, and Hallman and Lavanhar, and Templeton Award for Theological Promise honoree, Dr. Michael Hogue, among others.
M373/573INT The Large Church: Praxis, Problems and Promise
UU Church of Arlington in Arlington, Virginia
July 7-11, 2008
For more details about this course and the instructors (Lee Barker, Laurel Hallman, Marlin Lavanhar and others), see this page.
M327INT: Preaching as if You Mean It
Meadville Lombard Theological School
July 7-11, 2008
Instructor: The Rev. Dr. William F. Schulz
Syllabus | Register
About the Course: A great Harvard professor of homiletics once said that all ministers must face the hard question, "How far would you go to hear yourself preach?" If the answer is to be "A long way," then the sermons we preach will need to be both worthy in their content and felicitous in their style. This intensive course will address both elements of preaching. It will help students clarify what fundamental message they want to preach and how to do so most effectively.
About the Instructor: Dr. William F. Schulz was ordained to the Unitarian Universalist ministry in 1975 and served a church in Bedford, MA, before going to work at the UUA and eventually becoming President (1985-93). He served for twelve years (1994-2006) as Executive Director of Amnesty International USA and is currently a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress in Washington, DC. Dr. Schulz has preached in many of the great pulpits in America, including Memorial Church at Harvard; Rockefeller Chapel at the University of Chicago; Riverside Church in New York City and to more than 300 Unitarian Universalist congregations. He is the contributing editor of Transforming Words: Six Essays on Preaching, now out of print, and has authored or edited six other books and written more than one hundred published essays and articles. He is a graduate of Oberlin College (AB, 1971); the University of Chicago (MA in philosophy, 1974); and Meadville Lombard (M A in Theology, 1973; D Min 1975) and has been awarded seven honorary degrees. Bill lives with his wife, the Rev. Beth Graham, Associate Vice President for Stewardship and Development at the UUA, in Gloucester, MA.
I370: Unitarian Universalist Spirituality: History and Practice
Meadville Lombard Theological School at Ferry Beach
August 25-29, 2008
Instructor: The Rev. Robert Hardies
Syllabus | Register
About the Course: Contemporary Unitarian Universalists seek greater depth in their spiritual lives, as well as a set of disciplines that can sustain that depth. They crave not only a language of reverence, as President William Sinkford has noted, but a practice of reverence. To satisfy their search, many UUs have turned to the practices and disciplines of other religious traditions, while remaining unaware of the spiritual riches of their own. In this one-week intensive course we will explore the history and practice of UU spirituality by examining the lives and writing of such 19th century figures as William Ellery Channing, Margaret Fuller, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Henry Ware, Jr, Caroline Healey Dall, Fannie Barrier Williams and others. We will study both the Unitarian spiritual theology of “self culture” that permeated their lives, as well as the practices that sustained their spirituality, including meditative selfreflection, prayer, journaling, devotional reading, encounter with nature, and smallgroup practices. Finally, we will explore whether and how this tradition and these practices can be reclaimed to enrich the spiritual lives of contemporary Unitarian Universalists.
About the Instructor: The Reverend Robert M. Hardies is senior minister of All Souls Church, Unitarian in Washington, DC, an historic, diverse congregation in the heart of the nation's capital. In Washington, Rev. Hardies is also a leader in the Washington Interfaith Network, a coalition of 40 congregations building power to create social change in the city. He is a board member of Clinica del Pueblo, a non-profit health clinic serving DC's Latino community, and, from 2001 to 2003, he served on DC Mayor Anthony Williams' Interfaith Advisory Board. Nationally, Rev. Hardies is a member of the advisory board of the Network of Spiritual Progressives, founded by Rabbi Michael Lerner and Cornell West to counter the power of the religious right. In 2006, All Souls Church hosted the Network of Spiritual Progressives' national conference. Rev. Hardies' public affairs commentaries have appeared on the nationally-syndicated public radio program Interfaith Voices, and last June, he appeared on CNN and CBS to voice his opposition to the anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment.
TS529: Advanced Theology Seminar: Critical Religious Pragmatism
Meadville Lombard Theological School
July 21-25, 2008
Instructor: Dr. Michael Hogue
Syllabus | Register
About the Course: This advanced graduate theological workshop will explore "critical religious pragmatism" as a contextual and praxis-oriented theological option for contemporary liberal religious life. Varieties of pragmatism will be examined, from select classical expressions to some of its contemporary incarnations. The focus for this course arises out of interest in new work being done on pragmatism and a curiosity about what it may offer to liberal theological praxis, specifically with respect to religio-moral and theological issues in a time of cultural pluralism. Attention will be given to issues such as pragmatism's historical roots; the ways in which contemporary pragmatists critically revise this history; the interface of pragmatism, critical theory and cultural criticism; pragmatist conceptions of "religion" and "the religious;" pragmatist philosophies of knowledge and value; and various theological pragmatisms. In the liberal theological tradition of critically correlating the insights of wisdom traditions and the contradictions of contemporary situations, the task of the course is to interrogate how "critical religious pragmatism" may serve as a creative theological praxis especially attuned to the spirit of our time.
About the Instructor: See Dr. Hogue's faculty profile, here.
H380: The Growth of the Spirit in UU History: An intensive overview of UU History
Meadville Lombard Theological School at Ferry Beach
July 20-25, 2008
Instructor: The Rev. Mark Harris
Syllabus | Register
About the Course: An intensive course in Unitarian Universalist history that will focus on the central spiritual struggles in each era in the development of liberal religion. After a brief introduction to the European background, we will focus on the emergence of the liberal spirit in both Unitarianism and Universalism. After that we will emphasize spiritual encounters with science, World Religions, God and modern issues such as feminism, as we bring this pluralistic faith into the 21st century. Present: 1996- Minister of the First Parish of Watertown, Unitarian Universalist.
About the Instructor: Rev. Harris has been the minister of the First Parish of Watertown, Unitarian Universalist, in Massachusetts since 1996. He has taught Congregational Polity (online) for Starr King School for the Ministry since 2001 and has served as Adjunct Faculty at Andover Newton Theological School, teaching Unitarian Universalist History. He also was one of the ministers to fill a sabbatical at Rosslyn Hill Unitarian Chapel, London, England, in the Spring of 2003.
M391/591INT: Ministry and the Art of Presence
Meadville Lombard Theological School
August 11-15, 2008
Instructor: The Rev. Dr. Silvia Behrend
Syllabus | Register
About the Course: Ministry requires presence, the state of being aware of self and others in the present moment. When people are truly heard and seen, their souls may safely emerge. The authentic encounter between self and other is an art which can be practiced and learned. It is a process which requires self-knowledge and self acceptance. This process is paradoxical: one must know the self (all of it), and learn to let go of the self to be fully present. The only best way to engage this process is through direct experience and practice, with knowledge and knowing, with doing and being. Creativity is one of the ways that the soul can learn to become more present. Stone carving is an effective way of coming to presence, the act of creation requires the full attention of the self, at the same time that the self can disappear in the creative moment. This course addresses the issue of presence from three main perspectives:
- the teachings of various traditions on presence (Sufi, Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist, secular humanism)
- the creative interchange between artist and medium (in this case, stone carving)
- the praxis of presence
About the Instructor: The Reverend Doctor Silvia Behrend is a Unitarian Universalist minister in private practice in Olympia, Washington. Her work focuses on integrating the psychological, spiritual, and pedagogic dimensions of soul growth through the process of creating art. Behrend uses stone carving as one metaphor for soul journey. She currently teaches at Gonzaga University in the Leadership Doctoral Studies Program and at Meadville Lombard Theological School in the Arts of Ministry Program.
M587: Creating Healthy Congregations: The Role of the Minister From a Systems Perspective
Meadville Lombard Theological School
July 14 –18, 2008
Instructor: The Rev. Dr. Kenneth Reeves
Syllabus | Register
About the Course: Effective ministerial leadership not only promotes a congregation's vibrant programs and provides pastoral care, but can also support the development of that congregation's health. Unfortunately, though, a congregation's illness can interact with the minister's psychological vulnerabilities to trip up that ministry and maintain the congregation's dysfunction. How a minister asserts leadership and handles pressure in a congregation indicates whether that ministry will provide a therapeutic influence or be sabotaged by the congregation's weaknesses. This course will examine the psychology of ministerial leadership and look at how such leadership can support the development of congregational health. This course will offer psychological and group dynamic theories, and a repertoire of tools and techniques, with which to intervene in a congregational system.
About the Instructor: The Rev. Dr. Ken Reeves is a graduate of the Starr King School for the Ministry in Berkeley, CA, and has served congregations in Ohio and Delaware. He has also earned a Masters in Pastoral Counseling and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology. He has served on the Ministerial Fellowship Committee and as a C.E.N.T.E.R. presenter for the UUMA. He is currently a clinical psychologist with a therapy practice, a consulting psychologist with the Center for Career Development and Ministry, in Dedham, MA, and an adjunct professor at Andover Newton Theological School.
