Ministry in Church and Society

• STH TC 919: The Sacraments: Rites and Theologies
  Contemporary study of the sacraments brings together ritual studies, liturgical history, the history of dogma, and systematic reflection. This course examines the baptismal and eucharistic rites of the Church, both past and present, along with theological rationales of and commentaries on them offered by ecclesiastic writers of the patristic, medieval, Reformation, and modern periods.
• STH TC 938: Church Renewal
  Literature on church renewal abounds, as theologians and practitioners respond to the declining attendance and cultural influence of the church in Western societies. This course engages a variety of approaches to church renewal, requiring students to compare and contrast the selected proposals with respect to their contextual analyses, theological foundations, and practical strategies. The course functions as an advanced workshop in which students explore the efficacy of "church renewal" as a conceptual framework for guiding contemporary ministry praxis. The aim of the course is to equip students with the tools to construct a theologically informed plan of action for transformational leadership in their own specific contexts of ministry.
• STH TC 978: Sabbath: Theology and Practice
  This course explores Sabbath keeping as a central practice of faith and a core practice of transformative religious leadership. Drawing upon Jewish and Christian traditions, we will study theologies and practices of Sabbath keeping and reflect upon their meaning in contemporary contexts. As part of this work, we also will explore Christian theologies of the Lord's Day, including the meaning of Sabbath in light of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. The course will include attention to Jewish-Christian dialogue as well as consideration of debates internal to faith communities about Sabbath keeping. We also will focus attention on questions of Sabbath keeping and spiritual formation, Sabbath keeping as a dimension of pastoral excellence, Sabbath as countercultural practice, and implications of Sabbath for social justice. Students will be encouraged to cultivate a practice of Sabbath keeping throughout the semester and as the culmination of the course they will have the opportunity to design a practical theological project relevant to their own community and context of leadership.