What I'm Teaching: Jose Ignacio Gonzalez Faus: Builders of Community
What I’m using lately in class: Jose Ignacio Gonzalez Faus, Builders of Community: Rethinking Ecclesiastical Ministry, translated by Maria Isabel Reyna, revised by Liam Kelly (Miami: Convivium, 2012). I especially appreciate this book by Gonzalez Faus, a Spanish Jesuit theologian, because I’ve found it difficult to find fresh resources for practical theologies of ministry that […]
Another PT text from this semester: Emma Percy's Mothering as a Metaphor for Ministry
Occasionally, I’ve been posting about readings I’m using in practical theology courses this semester. Here’s another one: Emma Percy, Mothering as a Metaphor for Ministry (Burlington, Ashgate: 2014). It has not been common for me to work from parenting literature (in theology or other disciplines) metaphorically or analogically in practical theology courses, but this book […]
Practical Theology, Identity Formation, and Scripture Study
Teaching this fall: Mi-Rang Kang’s recent book, Interpretative Identity and Hermeneutical Community: A Biblical Hermeneutics for Women’s Group Bible Study in the Korean Context (Lit Verlag, 2011). The book is part of a series that I have found terrifically engaging and informative, titled ContactZone: Explorations in Intercultural Theology. In Interpretative Identity, Prof. Mi-Rang Kang (of […]
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 […]
Teaching Pope Francis' Visit to USA?
At Fordham, I am teaching a course this fall called “Evangelization: Faith and Culture.” As I have been finalizing the syllabus, I am making room to include Pope Francis’ visit to the USA in our theological study of evangelization. I am assuming the media will be aswarm with coverage during 22-27 September, and it will […]
How Are the Streets in the Practical Theology Classroom?
I write from New York City, where the longstanding and painful tensions, griefs and grievances between law enforcement and communities of color, especially in struggling neighborhoods, has come more into larger public awareness than it has in a long time. (And by “coming into public awareness,” I mean essentially that publicly influential media outlets and […]