Neighborhood Seminary brings the love of God to the home, school, neighborhood, workplace, and world.
Our vision is for God’s liberating, reconciling, forgiving, and healing love to become flesh and blood and move into the neighborhood through the church.
Our method reflects a new, holistic vision of theological education in which all God’s people learn together through both online and contextual in-person engagement and are called to participate in God's mission in the neighborhood.
Our curriculum moves from imago dei (the image of God) to missio dei (the mission of God) and returns repeatedly to God’s loving work in and for the neighborhoods of our world.
Our goal is to seamlessly integrate theological, spiritual, and missional formation for head, heart, and hands and to partner with God in the way of making all things new in the neighborhoods we call home.
Neighborhood is that essential space where we “live, move, and have our being.” We believe that God intends for neighborhoods to flourish and become beloved communities in which all people thrive. We are convinced that a seminary should be a place of theological reflection, spiritual formation, and missional engagement. Each of these critical elements shapes and is shaped by the others holistically. We seek both to explore and to embody the central features of life lived in and for God, including our common quest for peace, justice, and equity in our world. Three pursuits, in particular,
support the culture and curriculum of Neighborhood Seminary: nurturing community,
embodying good news, and cultivating shalom. Today, we will look more closely at embodying good news.
Embodying Good News
Guiding Scripture: The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood (John 1:14 MSG).
Key Theological Concepts: God becomes flesh and blood and moves into the neighborhood. Jesus demonstrates how neighbors are called to live together in peace, with justice and love. The Spirit brings God’s people to life, sending them into the world as ambassadors of reconciliation and translating their faith into action.
Key Missional Practices: We seek to follow the way of Jesus by embodying the good news of God’s love for everyone in the neighborhood. This means that we see, hear, love, and respect neighbors and neighborhoods, thereby engaging all our neighbors in ways that foster holistic flourishing.
Key Spiritual Practices: The Ignatian prayer of Examen enables us to recognize the divine presence in our daily lives. Embodied prayer helps us embrace God with our bodies as well as our souls. These practices nurture a contemplative stance which includes showing up, paying attention, cooperating with God, and releasing the outcome with our whole selves and not just one part of who we are.
Neighborhood Seminary welcomes a broader conversation about the pursuit of nurturing community. As we continue to reflect on how we personally and communally understand nurturing community, we will recognize our growing edges in this endeavor, generative questions will arise, and possibilities imagined as we grow in knowing God, loving God, and our neighbors.
We invite you to join us in this conversation. Let us know your thoughts and questions by leaving a comment on this blog.
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