Church and Ministry. Church and Community
CC501. Church and Community Ministries
Credit, three hours. (Faculty)
An introductory praxis course dealing with church and community ministries in urban and rural settings. (Introductory Arts of Ministry) (CC501CE when offered as a Contextualized Introductory Arts of Ministry course with Con Ed/TP/Episcopal I)
CC502. Church and Community Development
Credit, three hours. (Faculty)
Students in this class are introduced to various models and strategies of churchcommunity partnerships such as asset-based community development and training for transformation. Visits to various church related sites in metro Atlanta for observation of programs dealing with affordable housing, neighborhood economic renewal, urban youth initiatives, refugee and immigrant ministries, and community organizing are included. (Introductory Arts of Ministry) (letter grade only) (CC502CE when offered as a Contextualized Introductory Arts of Ministry with Con Ed I)
CC511. Urban Ministries
Credit, three hours. (Faculty)
This course examines the issues, dynamics, interactions, and theologies that influence ministry in the urban context. Strategies of ministry are examined for both the local church and other contexts of ministry. (Introductory Arts of Ministry when designated as such on course schedule) (CC511CE when offered as a Contextualized Introductory Arts of Ministry course with Con Ed I)
CC515. Methods of Social and Congregational Analysis.
Fall or spring. Credit, three hours. (Faculty) (Same as SR515.)
This course provides students an introduction to methods of contextual analysis and the opportunity to conduct an analysis of their context of ministry, be it a congregation, community, or community organization. Students will be encouraged to develop a multidimensional lens that provides a framework for critical reflection on the theological, sociological, and cultural dimensions of ministry in their setting. This course is required for all students enrolled in the MRL program, but is open to all Candler master’s degree candidates.
CC612. The Church and Disabilities
Credit, three hours. (Faculty) (Same as SR612.)
This course introduces students to disability studies and theologies emerging from the disabilities community. Students will have the opportunity to examine the architecture, as well as religious practices of inclusion/ exclusion of a variety of congregations. Preaching, religious education, worship and sacramental life, congregational leadership and ordination, fellowship, mission and outreach ministries, and denominational statements/policies, will be observed and critiqued with the hope of full inclusion of those with intellectual and physical disabilities. (CC612CEE when offered as a Contextual Education elective)
CC617. Memory, Culture, and Redemption
Credit, three hours. (N. Phillips) (Same as SR617.)
In this course, students are introduced to the cross-disciplinary fields of memory and trauma studies. We will focus on the connection between collective group remembrances and religion to assess how constructions and reconstructions of past memories serve as resources of redemption for social groups who have faced persecution. Interdisciplinary readings will draw upon sociology, anthropology, history, and theology to inform students about select historical social atrocities and to encourage learners to witness to the traumatic experiences and legacies of these social groups. (Race, Ethnicity, and Gender)
CC619. Nonviolent Strategies of Social Change
Credit, three hours. (Faculty) (Same as SR620.)
The course will examine historical, biblical, theological, and theoretical bases for nonviolent initiatives. The empowerment of the local church, organizations, and individuals will be a central concern in the analysis of strategies. (Race, Ethnicity, and Gender) 172
CC622. Ethnographic Research for Ministry in Congregations and Local Communities
Credit, three hours. (N. Phillips) (Same as SR622.)
Ethnography is a social scientific approach to studying human behavior and the cultural patterns of communities, congregations, and institutions. Pastoral practitioners have adopted “theological ethnography” as a method for garnering more extensive knowledge about ministry in congregational settings and local communities. In this course, students will be introduced to ethnography as social research requiring participation in fieldwork. Learners will apply basic techniques of ethnography, form the development of a research question to analysis of collected data, to better understand the religious practices of Christian communities, the lived realities of social groups, and social change.
CC628. Ritual Practice and the Nature of Ritual Performance
Credit, three hours. (N. Phillips) (Same as SR628.)
Ritual action can maintain social stability or provoke social change. Both will be the foci of this course. Through the social scientific study of ritual, we will capture how ritual affects social transformation while investigating ways in which ritual confirms status quo conditions. This course surveys the priestly and prophetic functions of ritual performance in congregational and communal life. (CC628CEE when offered as a Contextual Education elective)
CC632. Community Ministries as Religious Education
Credit, three hours. (Faculty) (Same as RE632.)
Students will explore methods, theories, and issues related to engaging congregations in experiential, community-based religious education. We will focus upon the educational benefits and challenges of this holistic approach to religious education and spiritual formation and will address benefits and challenges that arise with church and community partnerships.
CC635. Fearless Dialogues in Church and Community
Credit, three hours. (Ellison) (Same as PT635.)
In July 2013 Gregory Ellison launched a grassroots community initiative called Fearless Dialogues that creates unique spaces for unlikely partners in local communities to engage in heartfelt conversation about taboo subjects. Since then, Fearless Dialogues has convened nearly 20,000 impassioned interlocutors including but not limited to international heads of state, incarcerated youth, pastors, seminarians, corporate executives, and activists protesting on the front lines in Ferguson, Missouri. This course outlines the theoretical and pedagogical framework utilized in Fearless Dialogues community conversations to create unique spaces for unlikely partners to engage in hard conversations. Particular attention will be given to the life and work of 20th- and 21st-century faith leaders who equally value the epistemic quality of theory, community engagement, and “faith-full” practice. The conversations, theory-based experiments, and writings around this subject matter seek to foment a movement, heighten awareness, and galvanize systemic change. (CC635CEE when offered as a Contextual Education elective.)
CC645. Nonprofit Leadership and Management
Credit, three hours. (Faculty) (Same as LA645.)
This course is designed for those students considering vocations with nonprofit agencies, social-service organizations, and faithbased, social justice ministries. It focuses on the practical skills needed to direct these organizations: board development, grantwriting and fund-raising, personnel management, collaboration, strategic planning, community relations, program planning, and evaluation. Faith-based initiatives and charitable choice legislation will also be reviewed. (letter grade only) (Introductory Arts of Ministry)
CC647. The Theologies and Ecclesiologies of Brazil
Credit, two or three hours. (de Souza) (Same as M647.)
This trip-based course focuses on a set of selected theologies and ecclesiologies at work in Brazil. It assists in establishing a framework for critical understanding and evaluation of contextual theologies and expressions of indigenous churches in their original historical, sociocultural, and demographic contexts. While collecting information and interpreting theological and ecclesial practices from multidisciplinary and contextual perspectives, this study also seeks to explore possible missiological lessons. Students may choose to take the course for two or three credits: two credits for those who do not plan to go to Brazil and three credits for those students who plan to participate on the trip. (Race, Ethnicity, and Gender)
CC650. Faith and Health: Transforming Communities
Credit, three hours. (Kiser) (Same as SR650.)
The purpose of this course is to help students oriented toward pastoral, social service, and community health roles accomplish the following: better understand the theoretical relationship between religious practices at personal and social scale and the health of the community as a basis for developing and leading initiatives; become familiar with both religious and health science literature in this area in order to develop an expanded conceptual framework for leadership that contributes to community transformation; and to develop leadership awareness and practices that build the capacity for collaboration between religious organizations, including congregations and their partners in the public sector.
CC655. The Church on the Border
Credit, three hours. (Faculty) (Same as M655.)
This course focuses on immigration and realities facing communities on the U.S.-Mexico border. The class will travel to the U.S.-Mexico border (typically during the A-term, J-term, or Spring Break). There students will study with local church leaders and will have meetings with migrants, federal agents, social justice agencies, community organizers, and congregational leaders. (letter grade only)
CC698. Special Topics in Church and Community
Credit, variable. (Faculty)
Special topic or one-time offering courses led by Candler regular and visiting faculty. Prerequisites may be required and are noted on the course schedule when applicable.
