Save the Date for the 9th Annual Center for Practical Theology Lecture!

Dr. Karelynne Gerber Ayayo publishes Thinking about Adoption: A Practical and Theological Handbook for Christians Discerning the Call to Parent by Adoption

Congratulations to Dr. Karelynne Gerber Ayayo (STH Practical Theology '03) on publishing Thinking about Adoption: A Practical and Theological Handbook for Christians Discerning the Call to Parent by Adoption! Written with her husband Michael Ayayo, Thinking about Adoption offers biblical teaching and theological principles related to adoption, as well as introduces various types of adoption. Through sharing the stories of ten adoptive families, Ayayo and Ayayo provide a critical resource for families and communities discerning adoption. They write of Thinking about Adoption: "Our hope is that God will use this book to minister to others who find themselves in the place where we once were. It is designed to be a first-read resource for Christians who are beginning the process of discerning whether they are called to parent by adoption. It assists the reader in answering two questions: 'Might God be calling me to become an adoptive parent?’ and 'Which path to adoption should we pursue?’” Thinking about Adoption is published by Wipf and Stock and is available at this link.

Call for Workshop Proposals for the International Association for Spiritual Care

Save the date for the Third Annual Conference of the International Association for Spiritual Care (IASC), July 8-10, at Union Theological Seminary! This year's conference theme is “Religious Conflicts: External and Internal.”

The IASC Call for Workshop Proposals, due Feb. 28, 2018, is available at this link. 

More on the conference can be found on the IASC website: https://ia-sc.org/.

2107 Annual Lecture

Next Wednesday, we'll welcome Dr. Kathleen Cahalan to present the Center for Practical Theology's 11th Annual Lecture. The lecture will be held in the STH Community Center (B23/24), beginning with a reception at 5.30pm. We look forward to seeing many of you next Wednesday! In anticipation of next week, we hope you'll enjoy this look back at last year's incredible lecture from Dr. Elizabeth Conde-Frazier.

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The Center for Practical Theology was thrilled to welcome Dr. Elizabeth Conde-Frazier as the Guest Lecturer for the Tenth Annual Lecture. Dr. Elizabeth Conde-Frazier presented on "Wild Child Practical Theology" and doctoral candidate Yara González-Justiniano and Dr. Rady Roldán-Figueroa, STH Associate Professor of the History of Christianity, responded to Dr. Conde-Frazier's presentation. We were pleased to welcome our colleagues at BU School of Theology, from sister Boston Theological Institute schools, and from the greater Boston community. A YouTube video of the video is available at this link: https://youtu.be/P_9AtRtDswE. Thank you to the Brown Lecture fund for their generous support of this event. We are so grateful to Dr. Conde-Frazier, Ms. González-Justiniano, and Dr. Roldán-Figueroa for sharing their insights with us. We hope you enjoy these pictures from the Annual Lecture, and we look forward to seeing you next fall! 

Church Planting in Post-Christian Soil: Theology and Practice – A Lecture by STH Alumnus Dr. Christopher James

The Center for Practical Theology is pleased to announce Dr. Christopher James (STH Practical Theology '16)'s upcoming lecture. Dr. James will present "Church Planting in Post-Christian Soil: Theology and Practice," on Monday, November 20, 17 at 5:30pm. The lecture will be held in Room 325 at BU School of Theology, 745 Commonwealth Ave., Boston. The lecture is sponsored by the Center for Global Christianity and Mission. 

We are also thrilled to share that Dr. James's new book, Church Planting in Post-Christian Soil: Theology & Practice, is now available for sale. Church Planting in Post-Christian Soil: Theology & Practice is a scholarly study of new churches in Seattle, WA. James combines original research with sociological and theological methods to develop the four dominant models of church plants and to draw practical wisdom for those who are interested in finding faithful ways of embodying the gospel in Christian communities that are an asset to the common good. The book is already garnering great reviews. For a limited time, you can receive 40% off with free shipping when you use PROMO code FRIENDS2017 here. Congratulations to Dr. James, and we hope to see many of you on Monday, November 20! 

Dr. Michael Balboni publishes Spirituality and Religion Within the Culture of Medicine: From Evidence to Practice

Congratulations to Dr. Michael Balboni (STH Practical Theology '11) on publishing Spirituality and Religion Within the Culture of Medicine: From Evidence to Practice! Co-edited with Dr. John Peteet, Spirituality and Religion Within the Culture of Medicine is a multi-disciplinary approach evaluating the relationship between spirituality, religion, and medicine. With contributions from leading clinician researchers from several fields, as well as scholars from humanities and social-scientific disciplines, this comprehensive volume is a critical resource for scholars, researchers, clinicians, practitioners, and students across a variety of disciplines. More on the volume is available at this link.

APT 32nd Biennial Conference Call for Papers

APT 32nd Biennial Conference
Call for Papers

MAKING JUSTICE:

PRACTICAL THEOLOGY, THE ARTS, AND TRANSFORMATION

The Association of Practical Theology

Biennial Conference, April 13-15, 2018

Yale University Divinity School, New Haven, CT

APTNH2018@gmail.com

Call for Papers

Proposals will be accepted through 10 December 2017.

All notifications to presenters will be made by 19 January 2018.

Theme Description

The arts have the power to change the way we view reality. The noted philosopher of education, Maxine Greene, considered art an act of “social imagination” that awakens social consciousness by allowing people to “see things as if they could be otherwise.” How are practical theologians engaging the arts, particularly in relation to the work of challenging injustice and envisioning social transformation? What other kinds of change can practical theological engagement with arts generate? The theme for the 2018 Association of Practical Theology’s Biennial Meeting, Making Justice: Practical Theology, the Arts, and Transformation, invites explorations of practical theological aesthetics and the work of performing justice through practical theology’s engagement with the arts, including explorations of the role that justice invites and demands in such engagements.

Recent scenes of public protest in the US, from Ferguson (Missouri), to Standing Rock (North Dakota), to Charlottesville (Virginia), have reawakened the performance of protest art and the use of the arts to challenge oppressive systems. For instance, the events of Ferguson gave rise to powerful creative responses from such groups as Artivists STL and the documentary film Whose Streets? (http://www.whosestreets.com/). Scholars of music, long recognizing music’s crucial role in the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century, lift up contemporary rappers and spoken word artists as similarly giving voice to 21st century movements toward racial justice. Drama and dance based groups create opportunities for personal transformation as well as working for social justice, in forms such as Theatre of the Oppressed and InterPlay. Music, performance arts, poetics, and material art forms all can give expression to what is otherwise ineffable, offering alternative languages for meanings that refuse more typical forms of narrativity.

The intersections between art and practical theology show up in spaces such as the relatively new discourse on “theopoetics,” and in academic spaces such as religion and literature programs. Recent practical theological writings also give renewed attention to the arts in intersection with practical theology. Illman and Smith (2013) speak of the arts as having a particular kind of wisdom, offering examples of communities’ arts-based practices of as key sites where practical theology is enacted. Graham and Poling (2000) name art as “resistance to evil.”

In this biennial conference, we invite exploration of the intersections between practical theological reflection and art in its varied forms—music, film, poetics, performance arts such as dance and theater, material art forms such as painting, murals, sculpture, and art installations. In what sense might practical theology itself be art that includes performance, rhetoric, and aesthetics? Topics might include practical theological engagement with the following: the arts and anti-racism; populist art forms (graffiti, “street theater,” spoken word) as practical theology; contemporary sound tracks of justice movements; art, worship, and justice; the poetics of protest; the politics of art in urban public spaces; practical theology at the cinema; music in contemporary “worship wars”; photographing/ sculpting/ painting transformation; religious art in new faith communities; practical theology as art; the arts transforming practical theology.

Call for Proposals

We invite proposals for presentations that engage any dimension of the conference theme as described above. We welcome proposals that not only advance the research and discourse on practical theology and the arts, but also attend to presentational modalities that highlight the role that the arts play in practical theological construction. We encourage researchers/presenters to imagine creative modes of interweaving art forms into their presentations.

There are three possible types of presentation for this biennial conference:

Research Paper: A finished paper (5,000-7,000 words) that will be uploaded, read, and discussed among participants in an assigned breakout session. Accepted papers will be paired with one or two others to form a breakout session (1.5-to-3-hrs). Authors of accepted papers will be prepared to facilitate conversation among session participants. We strongly encourage utilization of the creative arts in the paper presentation and discussion.

Original Collaborative Production or Performance: An artistic production or performance that represents dynamic collaboration between scholars and artists who seek to advance practical theological reflection and the arts in their varied forms. The production/performance may take different forms (e.g., original film, live performance, visual installation), but must be accompanied by a written interpretive analysis (2,000-3,000 words). Accepted productions/performances (with audience discussion) will be assigned to 1.5-hr sessions.

Exhibit/Poster: A print or digital media presentation, or artistic exhibit, which represent emerging or on-going advancement of themes related to practical theological aesthetics. Selected poster presentations/exhibits will be on display during the conference in designated areas. There will be designated times for presenters to engage informally in Q&A with conference participants. (The standard size for print posters is 36in x 48 in, or 3ft x 4 ft. You may request for alternative specifics in the proposal, as needed.)

Proposal Guidelines

To submit a proposal for your presentation, please use the following Google Form ( https://goo.gl/forms/pVMJLGLceSjMQ5aU2). You will be prompted to provide the following information:

Author/Presenter information (name, institution, contact information).
Proposal information:
Title of proposal.
Type of proposal.
Abstract for proposal (no more than 50 words).
Narrative of no more than 500 words (excluding. bibliography) that explains the content and format of your intended presentation. Proposals will be selected by a blind peer review process. Therefore, please do not include information that would identify the author/presenter in this narrative.
Brief bibliography to situate your proposed topic within relevant research.
Specifications about audiovisual equipment and/or space desired for your presentation. We cannot guarantee that all requests will be met, but will do our best to explore options at the venue on your behalf. You will be notified in advance whether your request can be accommodated.
Proposals will be selected by a blind peer review process.

It is not necessary to be a member of the APT to submit a proposal; however, if selected to present, presenters must join membership and register for the conference.

Selected presentations must be given in person by those named in the proposal. No presentations can be made by proxy.

Proposals will be accepted through 10 December 2017.

All notifications to presenters will be made by 19 January 2018.

Research papers must be submitted electronically (in Word format, emailed to APTNH2018@gmail.com) by no later than 2 April 2018 so that they can be uploaded for prior reading by conference participants.

Faith in Action: Poverty and the Racialization of Economy

Faith in Action:

Poverty and the Racialization of Economy

Featuring Drs. Cornel West, Pamela Lightsey, Peter Paris, and Nimi Wariboko

October 19, 2017, 6:30-9:00 pm

Boston University George Sherman Union

Sherman Auditorium, 2nd floor

775 Commonwealth Ave.

The Poverty Consortium invites you to "Faith in Action: Poverty and the Racialization of Economy," a panel featuring Drs. Pamela Lightsey, Peter Paris, Nimi Wariboko and Cornel West. The event will be held October 19, 2017, 6:30-9:00 in the George Sherman Auditorium (second floor, George Sherman Union) at Boston University, 775 Commonwealth Ave.

A live stream of the event is available at this link. Light hors d'oeuvres and opportunity for conversation to follow. The event is sponsored by Boston University School of Theology, the Association of Black Seminarians at BU School of Theology, and The Poverty Consortium. All are welcome. Questions? Please contact Dr. Diana Swancutt at swancutt@bu.edu. 

10th Annual Lecture for The Center for Practical Theology Announced

You are warmly invited to the 10th Annual Lecture of The Center for Practical Theology on Wednesday, November 8, 2017.  Dr. Elizabeth Conde-Frazier will present on "Wild Child Practical Theology," with Yara González-Justiniano, PhD student in Practical Theology at STH, and Dr. Rady Roldán-Figueroa, STH Associate Professor of the History of Christianity, responding to Dr. Conde-Frazier's presentation. The reception begins at 5:30 with the lecture following. For those who cannot attend, we hope you'll be present in spirit via the Livestream at this link. Thank you to the Brown Lecture fund for their generous support of this event. We hope to see you in November!