Border Crossing:
Theologian-in-Residence Program

 

The Border Crossing Project, an initiative of the Divinity School, is designed to bring students preparing for ministry, students preparing to teach, and congregations together to help all the participants better understand their vocations and commitments. One aspect of this initiative allows M.Div. and Ph.D. students the opportunity to team up as theologians in residence for a congregation. With their different experiences and vocational goals, these resident teams will have rich and complementary perspectives that together could help a religious community understand itself and its faith tradition better. The project will support one or more teams of theologians-in-residence each academic year.

These are the projects supported for the 2007-2008 academic year.

Congregation: St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, Chicago
Team: Ted Burton (M.Div. student) and John Howell (Ph.D. student, Religion and Literature)
Project: During winter quarter 2008 Burton and Howell will work with the parish’s young adults with the goal of developing a permanent ministry series responsive to their needs and interests. The parish’s leadership has identified such a program as an important goal for its community. Burton and Howell anticipate that their experience in different disciplines will help them connect with a diverse group of young adults. Activities may include engaging different spiritual practices and reflecting on the work of Catholic authors.

Congregation: Aurora Deanery of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago (Grace Episcopal Church in Hinsdale, Church of the Holy Nativity in Clarendon Hills, and St. Benedict’s Episcopal Church in Bolingbrook)
Team: Adam Frieberg (M.Div. student) and Robyn French (Ph.D. student, Biblical Studies)
Project: Frieberg and French will organize an adult education series on the theology, scriptural basis and ritual of the Eucharist. The classes aim not to correct participants on their understanding of the sacrament, but to encourage deeper and more intentional explanation of the Eucharist than the individual priests could do in their sermons or Sunday morning classes. Each of the sessions will be held at a different parish, encouraging connections between the three parishes within the deanery. The last session will conclude with a shared Eucharist.

Proposals for the 2008-2009 academic year will be due sometime in November; a more detailed announcement will be available in September. In the meantime, please direct questions to the project administrator, Daniel Sack, at sack@uchicago.edu.

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