The Public Church: Bearing Christian Witness through Community Engagement

HDS 2156 Subject & Catalog Number

Description

This course explores how Christian theology, scripture, and congregational life inform and sustain faithful public witness through transformative community engagement. Grounded in theological reflection, ethical inquiry, and practical training, the course emphasizes the role of relational power, leadership development, and collective action in addressing systemic injustice and cultivating the common good.

Through case studies, field-tested organizing tools (including 1:1 relational meetings, house meetings, and power analysis), students will examine how these tools have been used by Christian communities to pursue practices of community empowerment, advocacy, and broad-based organizing in partnership with ecumenical, interfaith, and civic/secular coalitions.

While the course explores Christian theological frameworks and practices of public engagement, students from other religious or ethical traditions are welcome and encouraged to bring their own perspectives into dialogue with the course material, reflecting on how the model of “The Public Church” might resonate with or challenge their own commitments and inform leadership practice in their own faith or moral communities.

Course Notes

Students interested in taking this course should attend the first day of classes and submit a one-paragraph statement of purpose (SOP) to the instructor summarizing the reasons for their interest and how the course will contribute to their degree goals.