Upcoming Events

All classes and events will take place online.

Growing in Relationship with God: An Immersion Experience

A Spiritual Formation Foundational Retreat with Mary Lynn Callahan and B.J. Woodworth, Jan. 15, 22, 29, Feb. 5, 12, and 19, 2021 (Registration deadline: Dec. 4, 2020)

Signs, Symbols, and Sacred Spaces

With Derek Davenport, Jan. 18-Feb. 14, 2021 (Registration deadline: Jan. 6, 2021)

Wise Women and Spirituality Conversations and Community Series

With Barbara Brown Taylor, Lerita Coleman Brown, Mihee Kim-Kort, Carrie Newcomer, and Chanequa Walker-Barnes, Nov. 19, 2020, Jan. 21, Feb. 18, March 18, and April 15, 2021

When I was in my early 20s, my first car was a 1983 Volkswagen Rabbit. I was not much for declaring myself publicly with placards and slogans, but I allowed myself the luxury of a single bumper sticker: "God is not a Republican—or a Democrat."

As I write this, I have on my heart all the pastors lamenting the pain of leading deeply divided congregations, divided on political and theological lines that bleed into each other. Somehow, we have managed to grow into a way of being church that conflates the Gospel of America with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Good News as promised by one is not the same as the other.

How do we begin to write a better story, one that intends the flourishing of all as manifested in the way of Jesus? What is the emulsifier that will allow us to find and access our shared humanity, without compromising the hard truths and wrenching work ahead? How do we move ahead beyond the conflict avoidance implied by "agreeing to disagree" and together, practice loving kindness and justice?

I turn to the places I often do when looking for insight into how to build beloved community—Fred Rogers '62 and Willie Jennings.

For Rogers, the neighborhood became a locus for enacting love. Neighborhood can also be parochial, nurturing homogeneity and permission to say that my love extends to here and no further. As Willie Jennings points out in his stellar commentary on Acts, lines "allocate and bifurcate," and in doing so, dictate the vision of what life together looks like. How do we challenge the need to provide a sense of home and safety—draw lines—while also living as though the well-being of others was just as important to us as our own—draw circles? The winds of Pentecost blew through the status quo and disturbed it, presenting a vision for God’s preferred future that required disruption of lines and the drawing of ever more inclusive circles. (View Jennings' Schaff lectures on this commentary: Lines and Circles and download our discussion guide.)

Our work together in the months—years—ahead will call us to be with each other in ways that challenge the lines of division and the veracity of the stories deeply embedded in our hurting communities. We are called to transgress these lines to imagine other possibilities informed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We are called to enter into new narratives and draw circles that intend the well-being of all, asking not "who is our neighbor?" but "to whom are we neighbor?"

The work to knit us together in mutual compassion and commitment is work whose end we will not see in our lifetimes. However, as the Talmud reminds us, "You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it."

May the peace of Christ hold sway in our hearts, our streets, and our faith communities,
Helen Blier
Director, Continuing Education

P.S. Looking for Christ the King Sunday or Advent resources? Pittsburgh Seminary has both! PTS is offering a series of video worship aids for Christ the King Sunday, including liturgy, prayers, and a sermon video specifically for Nov. 22, 2020. We also have educational curriculum available for you to use throughout Advent. Complete this form to gain access to the Christ the King Sunday resources: www.pts.edu/advent-outreach-project. Our usual Advent devotionals and other Advent resources are available again this year. See the website for more information: www.pts.edu/devotional.