Common Ground Project hosting summer events for young adults, pastors of color
05-03-2010
Dedicated to supporting prospective and established leaders of color for Christ’s Church, the Common Ground Project at McCormick Theological Seminary is offering its second summer of events for seasoned pastors as well as young adults considering seminary training for professional ministry.
Common Ground will convene a special weeklong “Taste of Seminary” gathering, June 13-18, offering young adults a unique, immersive experience of seminary life as they discern God’s call to ministry. Participants will have an opportunity to engage one another and learn from highly regarded scholars of color from a variety of Christian traditions and seminaries to get a “taste” of Biblical Studies, History, Theology and Ethics, and Ministry. /taste.
A pair of companion young adult conference-retreats, “Throwing Down, Expressing Faith,” hosted July 9-11 and August 13-15, looks at identity and faith formation through the artistic lens of music and spoken word/poetry, respectively. For more information, visit /conferences.
Capping off the slate of summer events is the “Pastors Networking Gathering,” August 2-4, which offers experienced pastors a time of Sabbath, reflection, and mutual learning about best practices in ministry across a variety of congregational settings and ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Find out more at /leaders.
In the fall, Common Ground will the Next Generation Ministry Consultation, bringing together pastors and church leaders from African American, Latino/a and Asian American congregations, with scholars from related fields, to identify and discuss the issues, challenges, commonalities, and differences related to the development of the next generations of church leadership for these specific communities and for the greater Church. Specific dates and times are forthcoming at /nextgen.
“Globally, particularly in the United States, we are living in a rapidly changing environment where cultures and traditions are increasingly diverse,” says Project Coordinator Emily McGinley (M.Div., Class of 2009). “This is both terrifying and wondrous. Our great hope at the Common Ground Project is that we can prepare leaders of color in the church who will not be left behind in these changes but be uniquely equipped to shepherd their communities into the fullness of the hope that this change represents.”
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About the Common Ground Project
Made possible by a grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc., the Common Ground Project is an ecumenical initiative dedicated to supporting communities of color. The Project recognizes that the challenges facing communities of color are multi-faceted and distinct to each community, but also sees precedent in scripture for great hope in the midst of any trial when communities are tied together by God’s vision for humanity. Therefore, one of the primary principals of the Project is partnership among church leaders across culture and race. The Common Ground Project brings together African American, Asian American and Latin@ leaders of color in the church for the purpose of exploring and discussing shared challenges, opportunities and gifts.
For more information on McCormick’s Common Ground Project, made by possible by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.’s Making Connections Initiative, visit www.mccormick.edu/common-ground-project or call Emily McGinley at 773.947.6319.