Christian Century Features Excerpt from Jennifer McBride’s New Release

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Radical Discipleship: A Liturgical Politics of the Gospel, Jennifer McBride, Virginia SeminarThe Housed, the Homeless, and the Right to be Somewhere

PLT Contributor Jennifer McBride released her newest book on March 1, 2017. The product of her participation in the Virginia Seminar, Radical Discipleship: A Liturgical Politics of the Gospel (Fortress Press) engages the social evils of mass incarceration, capitol punishment, and homelessness, connecting liturgy, activism, and theological reflection with Christian discipleship that stands in solidarity with those whom society despises and rejects. The book arises out of McBride’s extensive experience teaching theology in a women’s prison while participating in a residential Christian activist and worshiping community.

Christian Century is currently featuring an excerpt from the new release on her time at this residential Christian community, the Open Door. In the article, McBride writes:

“When Open Door members invite homeless people into their home, perceived enemies become friends. Those friendships in turn expand and transform space, not only during Holy Week as they give us entrance to the streets where we would not otherwise go, but also in our everyday lives as we see homeless friends around the neighborhood and in adjacent localities—in all the various places where their presence is scorned at worst and tolerated at best. Because of these friendships, I am more likely to speak to other homeless men I do not yet know, further expanding the possibility of friendship and a mutual sense of belonging.

The streets are intimate but not safe or desirable; they are familiar but not spaces of belonging—not a home. Nor are they the shared space of belonging—the space of social flourishing and transformed relations—that defines beloved community…

The journey toward beloved community begins with this transformation of space that resists alienation and exclusion. It begins with the creation of shared spaces of belonging, which may come in various forms, from services of Morning Prayer to houses of hospitality. For the housed, it includes a journey toward the streets, a journey of embodied lament that makes the fight for decent and affordable housing—the repair of the world—urgent and concrete.”

The full excerpt is now available on Christian Century‘s website here, while another version appears in their March 15 print edition as “Homeless bodies.” For more information on the book, click here.

Jennifer M. McBride is Associate Dean for Doctor of Ministry Programs and Continuing Education and Assistant Professor of Theology and Ethics at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, IL. She is also the President of the International Bonhoeffer Society – English Language Section. Her other publications include The Church for the World: A Theology of Public Witness (2014).

For more of featured writings of our PLT Contributors, click here. To engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter,@LivedTheology, please use #LivedTheologyWrites. To sign up for the Lived Theology monthly newsletter, click here.

Virginia Seminar Member Jennifer McBride Releases New Book: Radical Discipleship

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Radical Discipleship: A Liturgical Politics of the Gospel, Jennifer McBride, Virginia SeminarA Liturgical Politics of the Gospel

PLT Contributor Jennifer McBride released her newest publication, Radical Discipleship, on January 1, 2017. Engaging the social evils of mass incarceration, capitol punishment, and homelessness, she connects liturgy, activism, and theological reflection with Christian discipleship that stands in solidarity with those whom society despises and rejects.

The book arises out of McBride’s extensive experience teaching theology in a women’s prison while participating in a residential Christian activist and worshiping community. Arguing that disciples must take responsibility for the social evils that bar “beloved community,” Martin Luther King’s term for a just social order, the promised kingdom of God, McBride calls for a dual commitment to the works of mercy and the struggle for justice.

PLT Contributor Ted Smith of Candler School of Theology, Emory University writes:

“Jennifer McBride writes lived theology in the fullest sense of those words.  She has lived into the discipleship to which she calls us. And she has listened deeply to disciples she has walked with along the way: imprisoned women, homeless people, long-time activists, and more.  The genius of McBride’s work is to respect the theological insights in these lives and to place them in conversation with thinkers like Martin Luther King, Jr., Dorothy Day, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The result is a book that is both deeply learned and eminently practical. In its method as much as its content, it is one of this generation’s most thoughtful and powerful calls to radical discipleship.”

For more information on the book, click here.

Jennifer M. McBride is Associate Dean for Doctor of Ministry Programs and Continuing Education and Assistant Professor of Theology and Ethics at McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, IL. She is also the President of the International Bonhoeffer Society – English Language Section. Her other publications include The Church for the World: A Theology of Public Witness (2014).

For more of featured writings of our PLT Contributors, click here. To engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter,@LivedTheology, please use #LivedTheologyWrites. To sign up for the Lived Theology monthly newsletter, click here.

Newest PLT Publication Now Available: At Home in Exile

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At Home in Exile: Finding Jesus Among My Ancestors And Refugee Neighbors, Russell JeungFinding Jesus among My Ancestors and Refugee Neighbors

Christians hear the call for justice, but how many truly live out their daily responsibility to facilitate its progression?  Russell Jeung moved into the “Murder Dubs” neighborhood of East Oakland in 1991 for sociological fieldwork, but has stayed for relationship building and community ministry. The latest PLT publication through the Virginia Seminar, At Home in Exile is his spiritual memoir chronicling the joys and the dangers of his life, including a successful landmark housing settlement against slumlords with 200 of his closest Cambodian and Latino friends. Reflecting on the journeys and influence of his ancestors and refugee neighbors, Jeung pens an inspiring narrative that challenges us all to recommit to the justice calling.

An interview by Inheritance Magazine with the Jeungs writes:

“‘Part of our calling [as Christians] is to suffer alongside others. We have to know the fellowship of [Jesus’] sufferings,’ said Russell. ‘Unless we do that, we don’t understand how much God has suffered for us and how much love He has for us.’

Imitating Jesus, for the Jeungs, meant being God’s hands and feet in a world where neighbors struggled with deportation, eviction, and death. ‘That’s why we’re there — to show that despite all these hardships, God is still with us and God is still with our neighbors.’”

For more information on the book, click here.

Russell M. Jeung is professor of Asian American studies at San Francisco State University. His research interests include the sociology of race, the sociology of religion, and social movements. His other publications include Sustaining Faith Traditions: Race, Ethnicity and Religion Among the Latino and Asian American Second Generation (2012) and Faithful Generations: Race and New Asian American Churches (2004). In addition, he has co-produced with Valerie Soe the documentary The Oak Park Story (2010) about his faith-based community organizing in East Oakland with Cambodians and Latinos.

For more of featured writings of our PLT Contributors, click here. To engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter,@LivedTheology, please use #LivedTheologyWrites. To sign up for the Lived Theology monthly newsletter, click here.

Marginalia Review of Books Interviews Contributor Susan Holman

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VA Sem 1- headshot Susan R. Holman- Interview with Susan Holman - Grawemeyer Award, on writing lived theologyOn the Vital Connection between Religion and Global Health

In March 2016, Marginalia Review of Books featured PLT Contributor Susan Holman to discuss Beholden: Religion, Global Health, and Human Rights, recipient of the 2016 Grawemeyer Award in Religion. Holman discusses her writing process and major ideas found in Beholden, emphasizing the important implications of understanding public health, human rights, and social justice within the context of religion and culture.

In the interview, Holman reflects:

“I think we need to encourage cross-disciplinary collaboration or at least a willingness to listen and think about these connections in terms of positive synergy, because that’s what health is really about. Health is really about that synergy of many different areas in life working together well, and in that goal, it kind of goes back to the idea that most religions share a moral core to ideals about caring for the sick poor. This includes that affirmation that everyone should have food, clothing, shelter, and economic social security… So there is important circular dialogue that encourages us to think across many different aspects. Health and justice solutions are never simple.”

To listen to the complete interview, visit the Marginalia website here. For more information on Beholden: Religion, Global Health, and Human Rights, click here.

Susan R. Holman is senior writer at the Global Health Education and Learning Incubator at Harvard University. As an academic writer and editor, her work explores connections between public health, nutrition, human rights, and religious responses to poverty, particularly examples from early Christianity. Her publications also include The Hungry are Dying (2001) God Knows There’s Need (2009).

For more of featured writings of our PLT Contributors, click here. To engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, @LivedTheology, please use #LivedTheologyWrites. To sign up for the Lived Theology monthly newsletter, click here.

Life’s Too Short to Pretend You’re Not Religious

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David Dark - Life's Too Short to Pretend You're Not ReligiousDavid Dark’s Forthcoming Book To Be Released in February 2016

In February 2016, Project Contributor David Dark’s newest publication, Life’s Too Short to Pretend You’re Not Religious, will be released. Writing in response to modern day whispers of the death of religion, Dark argues that religion is far more intertwined with everyday life and human experience than we realize. The fact of religion is the fact of relationship. It’s the shape our love takes, the lived witness of everything we’re up to for better or worse, because witness knows no division. Director Charles Marsh writes, “Here alone are the comedy and chaos that define the human condition and lead us gently or not into the strange new world of grace.” For more information on the publication, click here.

David Dark is an assistant professor at Belmont University in the College of Theology and Christian Ministry and also teaches at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. His publications include The Sacredness of Questioning Everything (2009) and The Gospel according to America: A Meditation on a God-blessed, Christ-haunted Idea (2005).

For more of featured writings of our PLT Contributors, click here. To engage in the conversation on Facebook and Twitter, @LivedTheology, please use #LivedTheologyWrites.

This Week in Lived Theology: Project Contributor Susan R. Holman

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“My writing is most influenced by the perpetual paradox of silences in the city.” -Susan R. Holman

This fall, we will launch a weekly feature of Project contributors and initiatives. Throughout the week we will highlight the work and reach of these individuals and programs through various posts on our website and on social media. As pre-launch foretaste of this online segment, we’ll feature contributor Susan Holman this week. To engage in the exploration of her work and the issues engaged by her scholarship, find the Project on Facebook and follow us on Twitter @LivedTheology. Here is a bit about Susan and some of her recent work.

Susan R. HolmanSusan R. Holman is senior writer at the Global Health Education and Learning Incubator at Harvard University and a member of the first class of the Project’s Virginia Seminar. She also recently contributed as a writing consultant for the second class of Virginia Seminar members. Her book project with the Virginia Seminar, God Knows There’s Need: Christian Responses to Poverty, “blends personal memoir and deep research into ancient writings to illuminate the age-old issues of need, poverty, and social justice in the history of the Christian tradition.” Click here and here to read excerpts, and here to read an interview with Susan about this work. Also, you can find resources she’s put together related to this topic at povertystudies.org. To visit her Virginia Seminar author page, click here.

In Susan’s new book, Beholden: Religion, Global Health, and Human Rights (Oxford University Press, 2015), she “tells stories designed to help shape a new perspective on global health, one that involves a multidisciplinary integration of religion and culture with human rights and social justice.” In her photo essay on the Oxford University Press blog, Susan reflects, “Sometimes the most enduring image of how religion affects health is not what you see, but what you don’t.” Click here to read an interview with Susan related to this wonderful new resource for students of global health.

Recently, Susan contributed to an ecumenical colloquium “Orthodox Christianity and Humanitarianism.” Videos of all the panelists can be found by clicking here. Watch her talk on “Theological foundations: Conceptual architectures and definitions of humanitarianism,” here:

Click here to check out her blog Jottings and be on the look out this week for more about Susan, her work, and organizations and initiatives carrying out work at the intersections of religion, global health, and poverty. You can find our posts and join in the conversation by liking the Project on Facebook and following us on Twitter @LivedTheology.

Virginia Seminar Member Featured in Christianity Today

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Russell JeungOn March 12 and 20, 2015, Virginia Seminar member Russell M. Jeung was featured in Christianity Today. The articles, a two-part collection entitled “Raising a Generation of Peacemakers,” are excerpts of Jeung’s Virginia Seminar book project about his Hakka (Guest People) background and his life among refugees and immigrants in San Francisco.

Russell M. Jeung is associate professor of Asian American studies at San Francisco State University. Russell’s research interests include race and religion and community organizing. He’s the co-producer of the video documentary, The Oak Park Story, about his faith-based community organizing in East Oakland with Cambodians and Latinos.

To read “Raising a Generation of Peacemakers, Part One,” click here. To read “Raising a Generation of Peacemakers, Part Two,” click here.

Virginia Seminar member Susan R. Holman publishes Beholden: Religion, Global Health, and Human Rights

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Susan R. HolmanSusan R. Holman has published a new book entitled, Beholden: Religion, Global Health, and Human Rights.

From the publisher: Beholden “offers a new and original lens for the role of religion in global health, complements global health education efforts and touches on relevant cross-disciplinary issues that are missing in most teaching materials for introductory courses on global health, [and] discusses the anthropology of gift exchange in the context of religious aid and social welfare.”

With a new perspective that integrates religion and culture with human rights and social justice, Holman shows interested practitioners and students how to improve and magnify the impact of global health initiatives.

Susan R. Holman is Senior Writer at the Global Health Education and Learning Incubator at Harvard University and a past participant in the Project’s Virginia Seminar. She has worked as a research writer at Harvard University’s François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard School of Public Health, as managing editor for Health and Human Rights: An International Journal (for which Dr. Paul Farmer is Editor-in-Chief), and as an independent scholar and consultant in poverty studies in religious history as well as in health and human rights as it relates to international poverty, religion and nutrition.

In her photo essay on the Oxford University Press blog, Susan reflects, “Sometimes the most enduring image of how religion affects health is not what you see, but what you don’t.”

To read more of her blog post and see the photos, click here. To visit her PLT author page, click here. To learn more about Beholden, including how to purchase it at a discount, view the book’s flyer from OUP here.

Virginia Seminar members meet in Charlottesville

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Virginia Seminar Group Photo

The third meeting of the second class of the Virginia Seminar in Lived Theology was held in Charlottesville, June 18-20. Members of the seminar shared updates on their book projects in progress, and Sylvie Greenberg, an agent with Fletcher & Company in New York, led a conversation on religious publishing.

Wednesday night, Carlos Eire, National Book Award-winning author of Waiting for Snow in Havana, gave a public talk entitled, “Writing on Religion without Footnotes.” He spoke about faith and writing, and shared his own remarkable journey as scholar and memoirist. You can watch or listen to his talk.

Learn more about the Virginia Seminar and its current and past members here.

Pictured above, from left: John Kiess, Peter Slade, Sylvie Greenberg, Christine Landau, Jennifer McBride, Charles Marsh, Susan Holman, Vanessa Ochs, Shea Tuttle, Valerie Cooper, Shannon Gayk, Amy Laura Hall, David Dark

Carlos Eire seminar now available online

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Eire Photo - Web sized - credit Jerry Bauer copyOn Wednesday, June 18, Carlos Eire led a seminar at the Bonhoeffer House entitled, “Writing Theology without Footnotes.” He spoke on his remarkable journey as a scholar and memoirist, with particular reference to his National Book Award-winning Waiting for Snow in Havana. Watch the video or listen to the seminar.

Carlos Eire was born in Havana in 1950 and left his homeland in 1962, one of fourteen thousand unaccompanied children airlifted out of Cuba by Operation Pedro Pan. After living in a series of foster homes, he was reunited with his mother in Chicago in 1965. Eire earned his PhD at Yale University in 1979 and was an award-winning professor at the University of Virginia from 1981 to 1996. He is now the T. Lawrason Riggs Professor of History and Religious Studies at Yale. Eire is the author of numerous books, including the National Book Award-winning “Waiting for Snow in Havana.” He lives in Guilford, Connecticut, with his wife, Jane, and their three children. 

(Photo: Jerry Bauer)