Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago Course Profile Course # and Title RHTH/CC 408, Global Church, Here and Now Instructors: Mark N. Swanson and our hosts at various churches Semester/Year: Spring 2017 IMPORTANT NOTE: This course requires five morning/early afternoon field trips. Tentative dates (as of October 18, 2016): February 19, March 5, March 26, April 30, plus a of the student s choice (perhaps April 2 or 9). Watch this space for updates. Course Rationale and Description (Why do we offer this course? Which of LSTC s degree program learning outcomes does it address?): According to the Nicene Creed, Christians believe in one holy, catholic and apostolic Church. This course aims to explore this confession by taking advantage of a remarkable feature of the city of Chicago: that it is home to Christian communities from across the world, ranging from the ancient communities of the Middle East (e.g., the Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox churches) and India (the Thomas Christians), through the Eastern Orthodox and Catholics of various rites, to Protestant communities as they have been enculturated and transformed in various parts of the world, to Pentecostal and African Initiated Churches. The course addresses a variety of M.Div. and M.A. program outcomes: v (Personal and spiritual formation) We will worship with Christian sisters and brothers from around the world, and be renewed in our sense of being members of the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. v (Religious heritage History) The course provides an opportunity, through research and experiential learning, to review the outlines of Christian history from early controversies about the nature of Christ, to various encounters of Eastern Christians with Christians from the West, to the shift of the center of Christendom to the Global South. v (Religious heritage Theology) The encounter with Christians different from ourselves (from non-chalcedonian to Catholic to Pentecostal) will challenge us to articulate what we believe, think about how we gather communities for worship, and learn about possibilities of ecumenical reconciliation and cooperation. In general, we will have an opportunity to experience the challenges that Christian sisters and brothers from around the world pose to our own understanding and practice of the Christian faith. v (Cultural context) The course will challenge us to see how Christian communities have taken shape in various contexts around the world, as well as how immigrant communities now respond to the context of Chicago. In addition, we shall have several exercises in being good guests as we are received into the assemblies of others as they gather for worship, sometimes in ways very unfamiliar to us. 1
Course Learning Outcomes (Learners will be able to): (What difference will this course make to students knowledge, skills, attitudes, and practices?) 1. At the end of the course, participants will be able to teach others various aspects of the global history of Christianity (e.g., in a congregational adult forum or Lenten study), with concrete illustrations from Christian communities that make their home in the greater Chicago area. 2. Participants will have gained in a capacity to appreciate and learn from/be challenged by Christian difference in theology, liturgy/worship style, evangelism and ways of welcoming strangers, and engagement with the world. 3. Participants will have attained sharpened attention to and insight into the challenges faced by recent immigrants to the United States, the roles Christian communities play in helping communities face these challenges, and the new challenges these communities face as they both seek to preserve tradition and experience assimilation to the U.S. American environment. 4. Participants will have practiced being good guests not in control of what happens, but trusting in the Spirit of God to bring good fruit from an encounter. 5. Participants will be making it a practice to be attentive to Christian communities outside their own denomination; to get to know them, with joy; to pray for those Christian communities that live in dangerous proximity to Jesus (Rowan Williams); and to follow, understand, and to act on the ecumenical dialogues and agreements of their own denomination. Strategies for Learning: (How shall we go about achieving these outcomes?) 1. We shall attend worship at four (very different!) churches, and meet with leaders and/or members of these communities. Tentative dates: February 19, March 5, March 26, and April 30. 2. Monday class sessions (of 2 hours rather than 3, from 9:00 to 11:00 am) will normally serve (a) as an orientation session on the week immediately before a visit to a church; and (b) as a debriefing session on immediately following a visit to a church. (c) As time permits, the instructor will strive to fill in the gaps in our knowledge of the relevant church history (and doctrine, liturgy, ecumenical endeavors), as well as to introduce recent work by sociologists of religion on immigrant Christian communities. 3. Between March 12 th and April 9 th (April 2 nd would be a good time), participants will make their own visits (individually or in pairs) to a Christian community of their choice. This will normally be on a, but the visit may be to a service on another day of the week. Participants will also seek out and read relevant scholarship on this community. Participants will come prepared to share their learning and their experiences in class on April 17 th (continuing on April 24 th, if necessary). 2
4. Readings will be assigned both to give a historical framework for the course as a whole and to introduce particular communities. Many of these will be book chapters or articles available on the course website, from ATLA, or from the Reserve collection in the JKM Library. 5. Participants will write short (usually 2-page) reflection papers on the readings preparatory to a church visit, and an approximately 3-page report after each of the church visits. 6. Two class sessions will be given over to summative assignments: (a) For April 3 rd, participants will prepare a detailed outline of a one-hour congregational adult forum on some aspect of global Christian history or experience. (Examples: Who are all these Christians? A quick survey of Christian history. Or African Initiated Churches in Chicago. Or Catholics who aren t Roman : Who are they? Or The threatened churches of Iraq and Syria and their Chicago Connections. Or any such topic.) These outlines will be presented in class and, I hope, shared with everyone. (b) For December 10 th, a final two-page reflection paper on the topic, Something I have learned in this class that will affect (my life, my ministry, the way I understand the faith, etc.). 3
Proposed Schedule: February 5 6 Welcome, and introduction to the course 12 13 Preparation for visit 1 19 Church visit 1 20 Debriefing 26 27 Preparation for visit 2 March 5 Church visit 2 6 Debriefing 12 13 No class: Reading week 19 20 Preparation for visit 3 26 Church visit 3 27 Debriefing April 2 Church visit 4? 3 Sharing outlines for an Adult Forum 9 Church visit 4? 12 No class: Holy Week 16 Easter 17 Reports on students church visits 23 24 Preparation for visit 5 29 Church visit 5 May 1 Debriefing 7 8 Final discussion What have I learned from this class? 4
Assessment: (How shall we know if we students and instructors have been successful in achieving the outcomes?) This class will have the format of a Seminar, with an ongoing conversation in which students and instructor will give feedback to one another (including prompt written feedback on papers). Final grades will be based on participation in the class and the visits, on the reports on individual visits, and on the weekly papers. Students will fill in a final course evaluation. Bibliography: Text Title Author ISBN# (Required) Christianity as a World Religion. Sebastian Kim and 0826498418 Paperback. Kirsteen Kim 978-0826498410 Plus, if you can find an inexpensive copy, a book that exemplifies the kind of awareness we want to inculcate (but for the Twin Cities rather than Chicago) is: Mission and Migration: Fifty-Two African and Asian Congregations in Minnesota. Paperback. Dana K. Nelson 1932688218 Note: Much of our reading will be in the form of chapters and articles. Wide reading is expected. Please share your discoveries of relevant materials! Additional information: For more information about this class, please contact Prof. Mark Swanson at mswanson@lstc.edu. 1100 East 55 th Street * Chicago, IL 60615-5199 * 773-256-0700 3/01 5