Students entering a residential MDiv or MAR degree program after Fall of 2008 will begin their praxis immediately in our new Community Studies Program. Through a partnership with the Alderman of the City of Chicago's 20th Ward, we have developed this program where our residential and touchpoint first-year students are placed in a social service agency for eight hours per week during the academic year. This real-life work is fostered by a weekly seminar led by faculty members, providing an academic component to the student's work in and with the community.
This video depicts the experiences of one student in the start-up year of the program:
The following video features Alderman Willie Cochran; Rev. Dr. Qiyamah Rahman, Director of Contextual Ministries at Meadville Lombard Theological School, and Joseph Harrington, a current Master of Arts in Religion degree program student who grew up in the Woodlawn neighborhood and talks about "coming home."
This program has grown out of Meadville Lombard's vision to change the world by changing lives--the lives of our students as well as the lives of people residing in the communities we serve. We recognize a need to involve our students in the communities in which they learn, work and live as quickly as possible. Such partnerships bring our students into contact in communities of varied cultures, faiths, and economic standing. It immerses our students in the inter-religious, multicultural work of changing lives and our world.
Program Goals
Through this collaborative practicum, students will:
Gain an understanding of the complexities and possibilities of contemporary societal issues.
Develop skills transferable to further ministry in congregations and community settings.
Enhance multicultural competencies.
Engage in transformative experiences that launch life-changing ministries.
As our students work within the community, gaining and strengthening their ministerial skills, the community will realize the following benefits:
Additional human resources to meet the needs of the community.
Opportunities to emphasize the values of justice, equity, and compassion within the agency while modeling and demonstrating the efficacy of the program.
Potential for additional partnerships and collaboration.
"Meadville's program offers a unique opportunity for service-based learning in the Woodlawn community and throughout the 20th Ward. So often we think education is confined to the classroom, but nothing beats practical, hands-on experience in one's chosen field. Meadville's program will provide its students a realistic means of discerning their calling, clarifying their spiritual gifts and sharing those gifts with others. Simultaneously, the community reaps the benefit of these students' commitment to service through their work at many of our historic human services organizations, which focus on: combating homelessness with dignity and respect, training and supporting the unemployed and the under-employed, and creating and preserving affordable housing options."
