Ferguson and Faith

Teaching this fall: Leah Gunning Francis’ new book _Ferguson and Faith: Sparking Leadership and Awakening Community_ (Chalice, 2015).
This book is a practical theological study of the faith-motivated responses of clergy and the faith-related responses of activists in Ferguson, Missouri, after the death of Michael Brown last year. The book generously excerpts theologically significant portions of Prof. Francis’ interviews with these clergy and activists, which are bookended with commentary, building toward a concluding argument about clergy practices that had some impact in the months following the shooting. _Ferguson and Faith_ is a timely and often visceral example of practical theology in many ways, including in its empirical research, its concern for faith communities and their leadership, its turn to voices outside the center (here, young adult activists, often religiously skeptical or disaffiliated), and its continual treatment of practice as theological material of interest to both churches and (in principle) larger society.

APT members and friends: what are you studying this fall?

–Tom Beaudoin, Fordham University