Spring 2010 Academy for Vital Christianity Class Offerings
Twin Cities Metro Area
Greater Minnesota
 Christianity’s Enduring Life: Contemporary Stories of Diversity, Renewal, and Global Growth
Concerns about the decline of Christianity and the mainline denominations have fostered conversations that reach across a variety of Christian communities. But statistics and sociological analyses don’t necessarily tell the whole story about the health and creativity of Christianity. In this class, we will look for signs of the vitality and resilience of Christianity and some of the new forms it is taking in the United States and other parts of the world. Our exploration and reflection will be informed by a variety of sources: first-person narratives by people who take Christianity and religion in general seriously; manifestations of religious creativity in the arts and in science; accounts from around the world of new and traditional forms of Christianity; and signs in multiple places of Christianity’s surprising resilience.
Mary Farrell Bednarowski is emerita professor of religious studies at United, where she taught for 28 years. Her teaching and research interests focus on the relationships between religion and American culture with special emphasis on theological creativity, gender, literature, spiritual autobiography, and new religions. In addition to editing Twentieth-Century Global Christianity, she is the author of three books on American religion.
Dates: Saturdays - March 20 & April 10
Times: 9:30 AM-3:30 PM
Location: Wayzata, Wayzata Community Church
Cost (includes lunch): $190.00 ($240.00 after March 6)
Registration deadline: Saturday, March 13
Registration required: Online Registration or a Printable Registration Form
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 Eco-Injustice: Responding as Artistic, Theological, and Spiritual Leaders
Through visual art, poetry, music, ritual, and Internet resources, this class will explore the different approaches people and groups are taking toward creating greater ecological justice. Each of the dimensions of this movement to save all creation - from deep ecology to landscape spirituality, to animal rights, to eco-feminism, and to an economic and social analysis of globalization - pose distinctive visions and gifts as well as rigorous challenges for individuals and religious communities. We will critically examine our own theological assumptions and language about the relationship between humans and the rest of creation, envision new ways we can be more spiritually connected to the earth and to all created things, and expand our strategies for engaging our religious communities in the struggle against eco-injustice. Throughout the class we will draw upon the wisdom of some of our “saving creation” prophets: Salle McFague, Wendell Berry, J. Phillip Newell, Mary Oliver, Bill McKibben, Vandana Shiva, and others.
Christine M. Smith is professor of preaching at United. She is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and has a Ph.D. from The Graduate Theological Union. She has authored a number of works, including Risking the Terror: Resurrection in this Life and Preaching Justice: Ethnic and Cultural Perspectives. Smith is committed to forging a relationship between theology and the arts.
Dates: Saturdays – March 13 & April 10
Times: 9:30 AM-3:30 PM
Location: Duluth, First United Methodist Church
Cost (includes lunch): $190.00 ($240.00 after February 27)
Registration deadline: Saturday, March 6
Registration required: Online Registration or a Printable Registration Form
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 Interpreting the Older Testament with Integrity
The Older Testament is an amazingly multifaceted compilation of poetry, novellas, archival materials, legends, sagas, priestly injunctions, work ditties, pithy maxims, love songs, instructions on table manners, and something approaching law. It represents a plethora of traditions of Israel, passed down, compiled, edited, embroidered, woven together, and edited again over more than a thousand years.
We will read these ancient texts with integrity—which often means not reading them literally. Come find how the story of God working in and through our spiritual ancestors – Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Huldah, David, and Jeremiah – intersects with our own stories, allowing us to see God at work in our lives today.
Carolyn Pressler is an ordained minister of the United Church of Christ and Harry C. Piper Jr. professor of biblical interpretation at United. She has written numerous articles dealing with gender studies and the Bible, biblical law, and the Psalms, is the author of two books, The View of Women Found in Deuteronomic Family Laws and Joshua, Judges, and Ruth, and has co-edited a third book, Engaging the Bible in a Gendered World (edited with Linda Day). Currently, she is working on a commentary on the book of Numbers for the Abington Old Testament Series. Pressler received her M.Div. from Wesley Theological Seminary and Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary.
Dates: Saturdays – February 27 & March 20
Times: 9:30 AM-3:30 PM
Location: St. Paul, St. Paul’s United Church of Christ
Cost (includes lunch): $190.00 ($240.00 after February 13)
Registration deadline: Saturday, February 20
Registration required: Online Registration or a Printable Registration Form
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 Our Neighbors of Other Faiths
Minnesota’s new religious diversity is a given. This class actively engages our neighbors of different faiths in order to move beyond mere diversity toward relationship. Literally a journey to other faith traditions, the class will begin at Hazel Park UCC with a discussion about the importance of interfaith understanding. Then we will travel around the metro area to a Hindu mandir, a mosque, a synagogue, and a Buddhist temple for other sessions. Car pooling arrangements can be set up at the first session at Hazel Park UCC. Class participants will learn from presentations by actual practitioners of the other faiths and through the experience of being in their sacred spaces.
Gail Anderson directs Interfaith and Ecumenical programming at the Minnesota Council of Churches. She coordinates the Muslim Christian dialogue with the Islamic Center of Minnesota, hosts and co-facilitates the Twin Cities Interfaith Network, and heads up the Minnesota Interreligious Initiative, designed to strengthen the state’s interfaith infrastructure. Anderson earned a masters degree from United where she wrote her thesis on teaching theology through storytelling.
Dates: Mondays – April 19, 26; May 3, 10, 17
Times: 7:00-9:00 PM
Location: St. Paul, Hazel Park Congregational United Church of Christ
Cost: $175.00 ($225.00 after April 5)
Registration deadline: Monday, April 12
Registration required: Online Registration or a Printable Registration Form
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 Reading the Gospels Today
There are many ways to read the New Testament gospels: for theological insights, spiritual inspiration, or historical knowledge, for example. But each Gospel tells a story about Jesus. How do we read a story? How does each gospel tell the story of Jesus in a distinctive way? Using the tools of narrative criticism, we will explore how reading the gospels as story might enhance our understanding of the gospels. How do these gospel narratives connect to our lives and our faith communities? How might we learn new and meaningful ways to tell the story of Jesus?
Marilyn Salmon is professor of New Testament theology at United. An ordained Episcopal priest, she serves St. Clement’s Episcopal Church in St. Paul. She is the author of Preaching without Contempt: Overcoming Unintended Anti-Judaism, as well as “Holy Week” in New Proclamation: Year C. Salmon received her M.Div. at Luther Theological Seminary and her Ph.D. at Hebrew Union College, Jewish Institute of Religion.
Dates: Saturdays – February 20 & March 6
Times: 9:30 AM-3:30 PM
Location: Downtown Minneapolis, Plymouth Congregational Church
Cost (includes lunch): $190.00 ($240.00 after February 6)
Registration deadline: Saturday, February 13
Registration required: Online Registration or a Printable Registration Form
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 Reading the Gospels Today
What if we were to discover that the four Gospel writers hadn’t the least intention of telling “the same story” of Jesus but were telling four very different stories? This series of discussions explores the nature of the Gospels and the surprising insights of contemporary scholarship into what the Gospel writers were really up to, and asks what it would mean for us to adopt a faithful, but critical, stance toward the Gospels. Topics will include the surprising purpose of the parables, why we should read the Gospels as “post-war” literature, and the distinctive voice of each Gospel writer.
Neil Elliott holds a Ph.D. in biblical studies from Princeton Theological Seminary and serves as an Episcopal priest and scholar-in-residence at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church on the Hill in St. Paul. He is editor in biblical studies at Fortress Press and the author of numerous articles and books in biblical studies, most notably Liberating Paul: The Justice of God and the Politics of the Apostle (1994) and The Arrogance of Nations: Reading Romans in the Shadow of Empire (2008). He is adjunct instructor at United and at Metropolitan State University.
Dates: Saturdays – March 27 & April 24
Times: 9:30 AM-3:30 PM
Location: Alexandria, First Congregational United Church of Christ
Cost (includes lunch): $190.00 ($240.00 after March 13)
Registration deadline: Saturday, March 20
Registration required: Online Registration or a Printable Registration Form
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 Reading the Prophets in the 21st Century
The Old Testament prophets were immersed in the religious, political, and social realities of their own times, seemingly so different from ours. Yet they spoke to them so powerfully that their words echo across the centuries, powerfully illuminating our own social, political, and religious questions. Often seen as critics, the prophets actually were carriers of a powerful vision and hope for what human life together could be. This course will help you hear the accents of these ancient voices in order to bring their sense-making power to your own deep questions and struggles.
Richard Weis is in his 12th year as dean of the seminary and professor of Old Testament theology at United. An internationally recognized scholar specializing in the book of Jeremiah, he is writing a commentary on Jeremiah for Eerdmans and editing the Hebrew text of Jeremiah for a new scholarly edition of the Bible. Over the years he has successfully nurtured a love of the Old Testament among students with a wide range of attitudes and levels of knowledge about scripture.
Dates: Saturdays – March 20 & April 17
Times: 9:30 AM-3:30 PM
Location: Mankato, Centenary United Methodist Church
Cost (includes lunch): $190.00 ($240.00 after March 6)
Registration deadline: Saturday, March 13
Registration required: Online Registration or a Printable Registration Form
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 The Spiritual Lives of Children and Youth
Do our children have faith? Will our youth have faith? How might a congregation nurture the spiritual lives of children and youth? This course will explore these and other foundational questions which parents and church leaders ask.
Congregations both provide opportunities for faith development and help parents to create faith growth opportunities in the home. We will explore this partnership, as well as look at specific ways to nurture their spirituality, including age-appropriate spiritual practices.
Barbara Anne Keely is director of masters studies and associate professor of Christian education and congregational spirituality at United, teaching in the areas of Christian education, spiritual formation, and Presbyterian polity. A Minister of Word and Sacrament in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), she is part-time co-pastor of Wahkon Presbyterian Church, Wahkon, Minn., and Calvary Presbyterian Church, McGrath, Minn. She is also an oblate of the Order of St. Benedict, affiliated with St. John’s Abbey, Collegeville, Minn.
Dates: Saturdays – March 20 & April 24
Times: 9:30 AM-3:30 PM
Location: Rochester, Christ United Methodist Church
Cost (includes lunch): $190.00 ($240.00 after March 6)
Registration deadline: Saturday, March 13
Registration required: Online Registration or a Printable Registration Form
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 Sunday School Teaching 101
Passing on and teaching the faith to the next generation is one of the most important tasks of any congregation. It is also a task that many are asked to perform with little or no training. In this class will learn the basics of how to create a learning environment that is vibrant, interesting, and faithful. Teachers will learn about lesson planning, empowering the learners, and more. This class will be essential for any person who is teaching in Sunday School or leading the Sunday School.
Cindy Yanchury is minister of faith formation at Advent United Methodist Church in Eagan, Minn. She graduated from United in 1995 with a master’s degree in religious leadership and was consecrated as a diaconal minister that same year. In 1998, she was ordained as permanent deacon. Yanchury’s passion is sharing faith building with children and helping adults find a way to connect faith and life.
Dates: Mondays – February 22; March 1, 8, 15, 22
Times: 7:00-9:00 PM
Location: Bloomington, Normandale Hylands United Methodist Church
Cost: $175.00 ($225.00 after February 8)
Registration deadline: Monday, February 15
Registration required: Online Registration or a Printable Registration Form
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 Understanding Islam
To live in a pluralistic world, it is essential to have an understanding and appreciation of the faith of our neighbors. One of the important faith traditions in our world is Islam. In this class, we will learn about the Koran and the basic foundations of Islam including the core beliefs, Mohammad, and the central rites and celebrations of this faith tradition. Participants will leave with a greater understanding of both the distinctive and similar qualities of Islam and Christianity.
Adil Ozdemir served in Turkey’s department of religious affairs as a local religious functionary before his academic career. He was a visiting scholar at Harvard University’s Center for the Study of World Religions and, as an interpreter of Islam, has been invited to tour several seminaries of the United Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ in the USA. He is currently lecturing at St. Thomas University in St. Paul, Minn.
Read an interview with Adil Ozdemir about the Academy class he is teaching.
Dates: Saturdays – February 20 & March 20
Times: 9:30 AM-3:30 PM
Location: Roseville, Centennial United Methodist Church
Cost (includes lunch): $190.00 ($240.00 after February 6)
Registration deadline: Saturday, February 13
Registration required: Online Registration or a Printable Registration Form
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 Wrestling with the Problem of Evil and Suffering
The problem of evil and suffering is both ancient and new. Ancient people have wrestled with it and volumes of treatises have been written about it, yet it has remained a vexing problem that continues to haunt every generation. The past may shed light, but every generation faces it with certain freshness, intensity, and particularity. How we interpret the problem or challenge of evil and suffering greatly affects how we experience and respond to it. This course seeks to explore ways of interpreting this phenomenon. We’ll sharpen the theodicy question (God’s power, love, and justice) and deconstruct theological constructs that are hurtful. We will not settle for easy answers particularly in response to the pain of those who are dying before their time. Finally, we’ll explore alternative theological interpretations of dealing with the challenge in ways that are consistent with our current worldview and are philosophically sound, pastorally caring, and hope giving.
Eleazar Fernandez is professor of constructive theology at United and an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ in the Philippines. He earned his M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary in the Philippines, his Th.M. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University. He is the author of Reimagining the Human: Theological Anthropology in Response to Systemic Evil.
Dates: Tuesdays – April 13, 20, 27; May 4, 11
Times: 7:00-9:00 PM
Location: Cottage Grove, Cottage Grove United Church of Christ
Cost: $175.00 ($225.00 after March 30)
Registration deadline: Tuesday, April 6
Registration required: Online Registration or a Printable Registration Form
Classes Previously Offered
Bible 101, with Carolyn Pressler
Bringing Global Music into Worship, with Arthur Clyde
Creation or Commodity: Biblical Perspectives on the Environment, with Richard Weis
Engaging the Arts to Revitalize Worship, with Arthur Clyde
From One Jesus to Many Christianities, with Paul E. Capetz
Making Sense of Paul in a Global Village, with Neil Elliott
The Spiritual Life of the Congregation, with Barbara Anne Keely
Transforming Conflict: Dealing with Difficult People in Your Congregation, with Mark Sundby
Understanding the New Testament in Today’s World, with Marilyn Salmon
Welcoming the Stranger: The Church’s Response to Immigration, with Sharon Tan
What Does the Bible Have to Do with Life Today?, with Carolyn Pressler & Neil Elliott
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