Book Chapters by Maria Liu Wong
Exploring the evolution of relationships begun during doctoral studies and extending beyond gradu... more Exploring the evolution of relationships begun during doctoral studies and extending beyond graduation, this chapter describes how Sisters without Borders, a group of six diverse women, extended friendship into "collaborative mentoring" -integrating personal, academic and professional support over time. Through this process, each woman increased her confidence in, engagement with, and commitment to (at varying levels) personal and professional goals, while reaffirming her dedication to the others and to the collaborative mentoring process. Themes of fostering developmental relationships, building authentic leadership skills, emerging collaborative learning community, and utilizing a dynamic and organic research and writing process, guided the "collaborative mentoring" process. The implication is potential application of transformative reflexive praxis towards greater personal and social well being in mentoring relationships.
We fulfill our calling of forming persons for ministry through an intercultural learning communit... more We fulfill our calling of forming persons for ministry through an intercultural learning community for the study of Scripture, mission, applied theology, and the church.
This chapter describes a collaborative inquiry (CI) process as experienced by six diverse female ... more This chapter describes a collaborative inquiry (CI) process as experienced by six diverse female participants in a doctoral program. The focus of the inquiry was to deepen individual and group crosscultural understanding, and to show how holistic learning can be promoted through integrating multiple ways of knowing and spirituality within a multicultural context. The purpose of this chapter is to provide the readers with sufficient information to apply CI in their practice and build on the research presented here. To meet this goal, the authors describe how CI has the potential to foster transformational learning and discuss the relationship between transformational learning, informational learning, global competencies, developmental capacity, and the paradoxical nature of diversity work. Lastly, the chapter ends with recommendations for creating a CI process that supports deep learning and change, and potential topics for future research.
Articles by Maria Liu Wong
Wabash Journal on Teaching, 2024
The heart of how we come to know ourselves is through our family of origin, the soil in which we ... more The heart of how we come to know ourselves is through our family of origin, the soil in which we are nourished. We are formed by the wisdom of our communities. Our knowledge and our wounds are generational. We become who we are from roots deep in the ground, in the water that courses through
our capillaries, and in the warmth of the sun and air we breathe, as we thirst for abundant life.
Journal of Arts and Communities, 2020
What brings a tourist from Italy, a lifelong resident of Harlem, and a graduate student from a lo... more What brings a tourist from Italy, a lifelong resident of Harlem, and a graduate student from a local university together? Crochet hooks, knitting needles, an assortment of green acrylic yarn, and time and space for community craftivism. This case study focuses on crossing boundaries through participatory textile making, making time and space for relationship building in the changing neighborhood of Harlem, and practicing institutional stewardship as a good neighbor. The Walls-Ortiz Gallery and Center (WOGC)—the arts and research space of City Seminary of New York, an intercultural urban theological learning community—affords an opportunity to explore what happens when lives and stories are stitched together through participatory textile practices. Through the lenses of the EcCoWell learning neighborhood approach and craftivism, this documentation and reflection of data from collaborative yarn-bombing and community quilt-making projects over the past two years provides insight on lessons, challenges, and opportunities of these community-oriented practices.
Comment Magazine, 2017
In all these experiences and stories we share, by being close to the ground of church life in the... more In all these experiences and stories we share, by being close to the ground of church life in the city, we are continually learning about the city, its dynamism, messiness, and complexity, which turn out to be keys to Christian discipleship and growth.
I share here three tales that shape and express how I have come to make sense of a telos of theol... more I share here three tales that shape and express how I have come to make sense of a telos of theological education that forms, informs, and transforms the people of God into faithful embodiments of the peace, grace, and joy of the Gospel. The first is the story of how my parents influenced my own trajectory into theological education. The second describes my work as dean of a grassroots theological learning community seeking the peace and flourishing of the city. And the third story shares lessons learned from my research on racial/ethnic minority women leaders in global theological education. Together, these three experiences have helped me discover a theological education that is responsive, relevant, and practice-based for all of life.
Conference Presentations by Maria Liu Wong
A three movement presentation involving art-looking and conversation, an overview of Andrew Wall'... more A three movement presentation involving art-looking and conversation, an overview of Andrew Wall's legacy at City Seminary of New York - living theology through creative practice, and a community video reflection
A panel conversation of City Seminary staff (Miriam Acevedo, Rex Agyemang, Geomon George, and Mar... more A panel conversation of City Seminary staff (Miriam Acevedo, Rex Agyemang, Geomon George, and Maria Liu Wong) with Joe Lambert (StoryCenter) on digital storytelling and story work at City Seminary of New York
A community video reflection on "living theology through creative practice" at City Seminary of N... more A community video reflection on "living theology through creative practice" at City Seminary of New York (Harlem) for the Symposium on Theology through Creative Practice (University of Glasgow)
Being a woman and a ministry leader-whether formally ordained as clergy, serving as a pastor's wi... more Being a woman and a ministry leader-whether formally ordained as clergy, serving as a pastor's wife, or leading ministries inside and outside of the church context-means facing intersectional challenges related to gender, culture, generational and family dynamics, and socioeconomic context (Liu Wong, 2015; Njoroge, 2005, 2013). Whether in Nairobi or in New York City, public health pandemics have exacerbated and amplified these challenges. This paper traces the journeys of 26 Christian clergy women and ministry leaders in metropolitan New York City, in a peer mentoring initiative supporting them along their vocational journeys from 2020-22. As a comparative case study, the paper examines their participation in four respective collaborative inquiry groups using action learning-research to devise a group question around thriving in ministry, and respond through multiple cycles of action and reflection (Yorks & Kasl, 2002). Sessions led by group members followed a collaborative leadership approach. Emergent themes derived from this analysis provide insight into processes and outcomes of these inquiries, and shed light on what challenges and sustains women in ministry leadership. Raising Ebenezer here, this paper testifies to God's presence in these women's experiences. We celebrate, rejoice, and witness in solidarity with our sisters across the ocean.
The Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Christian community in New York City has not historica... more The Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Christian community in New York City has not historically been actively engaged in large-scale public responses to anti-Asian violence. This appears to be changing due to the exacerbation of anti-Asian hate during the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to the March 2021 Atlanta spa shootings, a public prayer rally organized by local pastors was held in Union Square (Manhattan), in solidarity with the AAPI community in 11 other cities and in collaboration with the Asian American Christian Collaborative (AACC).
Another group that emerged was the New York chapter of the Coalition of Asian American Pacific Islander Churches (NYCAAPIC). Under the leadership of founder Grace Choi, a political consultant, and co-leader Trevor Agatsuma, an Intervarsity Christian Fellowship staff worker at NYU, this coalition now consists of some 20 or so pastors and ministry leaders in the AAPI New York Christian community. From engaging with politicians, organizing prayer rallies, and speaking in various interfaith and civic forums, NYCAAPIC is silent no more. This mixed methods research-in-progress seeks to better understand this growing dynamic of activism and civic engagement as a way to document living history and make space for AAPI Christians to reflect theologically on this moment.
This collaborative session brings together four scholars in search of life-affirming pedagogical ... more This collaborative session brings together four scholars in search of life-affirming pedagogical practices that remember and embody the gifts of their fore bearers. Together, we will explore legacy-bearing, which is carrying and embodying gifts of knowledge and wisdom that are not often acknowledged in the formal classroom context, but that shape and form who we are, how we know, and what we are becoming. It will, at the same time, offer space for participants to re-member, embody, and reflect on their own pedagogical formation. Ultimately, this workshop encourages a way of critical reflection on practices of teaching and learning to gain wisdom from ancestral and communal sources.
In the global city of New York, economic development, migration, and socio-cultural transition co... more In the global city of New York, economic development, migration, and socio-cultural transition converge in the changing neighborhood of Harlem. This case study of the Walls-Ortiz Gallery and Center (WOGC), the arts and research space of City Seminary of New York, examines the integration of art, hospitality as spiritual practice, and community engagement. The arts can play a key role in mediating the experiencing of living in diverse, dense urban spaces, “helping people to understand their own place in society and the city, to understand difference, and to appreciate it...it can much of the
time turn (tensions) into something else, something more engaged and productive” (Crossick, 2013, p. 29). Through the spiritual practice of hospitality as a “third space”, the WOGC makes room for unexpected friendships and unanticipated conversations around art, faith, and the city. This contributes to improving the liveability of cities at a local scale, and promoting social change through the learning that happens at individual, group, and institutional levels (Jarvis, 2007).
Since its inception in 2014, gallery exhibitions have focused on urban and faith-related themes; public programming has included free arts workshops and “community conversations” hosted with food, art-making, and dialogue. While its physical location is under renovation, the gallery is now in a new season, “on the move” in the community. This presentation looks at how the WOGC practices spiritual hospitality in new and creative ways, through the ‘Justice Seedbed Project,’ a yearlong focus on learning,
listening, and inviting others into conversation about environmental justice and faith through the arts. It offers a model for how a faith-based institution can practice a socially-engaged arts approach to lifelong learning, magnifying the impact of compassionate exchange and appreciation of diverse perspectives towards improving quality of life and sustainable development in the city.
Crossick, G. (2013) Measuring the impact of arts and culture. In Arts, Culture, and Quality of Life in Global Cities (pp. 27-31). New York, NY. Ford Foundation. Retrieved from: http://beta.global.columbia.edu/files/globalcommons2/ACGC%20Report%20-
%20NYC%20FINAL.pdf
Jarvis, P. (2007). Globalization, lifelong learning, and the learning society. (Vol. 2). NY, New York: Routledge.
In the global city of New York, migration, economic development, and socio-cultural transition co... more In the global city of New York, migration, economic development, and socio-cultural transition converge in Harlem: an area larger than many middle-size cities. This experiential session situated in the Walls-Ortiz Gallery and Center (WOGC), the arts and research space of City Seminary of New York, affords an opportunity to explore these urban trends and examine what happens when the diverse populations that make up this changing community engage with place-based art. The arts play a critical role in mediating the experiencing of living in dense, diverse urban areas by “helping people to understand their own place in society and the city, to
understand difference, and to appreciate it. It doesn’t remove the tensions but it can much of the time turn them into something else, something more engaged and productive” (Crossick, 2013, p. 29). The WOGC facilitates conversation and arts-based activities through the spiritual practice of
hospitality aimed at improving the liveability of cities at a local scale, and promoting social change through the learning that happens at individual, group, and institutional levels (Jarvis, 2007).
The mission of the WOGC is to create a community space for interaction
with art, for conversation, for telling stories, for visualizing and engaging faith, and for new questions and unexpected appreciations. Gallery public hours held during the week; “community conversations” with food, art-making, and dialogue around the current exhibition; and other arts-based events involve the seminary community, neighbors, and visitors, and integrate a way of being and learning together in a public way. Juried exhibitions featuring the work of local artists center around themes such as “Who is My Neighbor?” and “Glimpses of Grace in the City.” These topics present opportunities to dialogue on issues of urbanization as they impact
this quickly changing, historically African American community. While the changes have brought increased safety and economic opportunity, they have also threatened long-time communities such as Little Senegal on 116th Street and are seen as potentially eroding the significance of the neighborhood as a cultural beacon.
This presentation examines briefly the work of City Seminary of New York and its unique approach to holistic urban theological education through the lens of the EcCoWell 2.0 (Kearns, 2018) learning neighborhood concept. Participants will engage in in arts and place-based learning in the gallery and on the street. This will provide fodder for reflection on pedagogy, connections to transformative learning at the individual and collective levels, and implications for future practice and application in other contexts.
In what ways does the integration of faith and spirituality in the work of lifelong teaching and learning contribute to sustainable development? What implications does this attentiveness to realities beyond an economic definition of quality of life, meaning and purpose have on learning
cities? What collective action and partnerships can emerge from a commitment to civic engagement as a faith-based institution? What lessons might be learned at the local level that have global implications, particularly as the seminary community represents transnational
connections and a diversity of backgrounds? What does this have to do with transformative learning? These questions and more will be explored.
Drawing on Peter Kearns’ (2018) expansion of the EcCoWell 2.0 concept to incorporate happiness an... more Drawing on Peter Kearns’ (2018) expansion of the EcCoWell 2.0 concept to incorporate happiness and well-being in sustainable development, this presentation examines local action as a response to global goals (UN SDGs). Kearns suggests that “building mindful learning cultures in communities should be expressed in personal development, local community action, and in fostering empathy, civic sentiment, and global consciousness.” City Seminary of New York, a non-traditional Christian seminary with a lifelong learning approach to urban theological education, reframes the unit of learning from the individual to the family, prioritizes experiential learning, defines “ministry” beyond formal roles, and integrates an interdisciplinary and holistic way of teaching with partnerships in the community and beyond. Engaging in hospitality as theological practice in its neighborhood art gallery in Harlem and emphasizing place and arts-based research, curriculum, and pedagogies, the seminary’s mission is to “seek the peace (read: thriving and flourishing) of our neighborhood, city, and world through theological education.” This approach complexifies what it means to be an institutional “good neighbor,” working alongside others in collaborative action and civic engagement.
This presentation examines the work of City Seminary of New York and its unique approach to urban theological education through the lens of the EcCoWell 2.0 concept. In what ways does the integration of faith and spirituality in the work of lifelong teaching and learning contribute to sustainable development? What implications does this attentiveness to realities beyond an economic definition of quality of life, meaning and purpose have on learning cities? What collective action and partnerships can emerge from a commitment to civic engagement as a faith-based institution? What lessons might be learned at the local level that have global implications, particularly as the seminary community represents transnational connections and a diversity of backgrounds? These questions and more are explored.
Kearns, P. (Jan 2018) Integrating happiness in sustainable learning cities. Pascal Policy Brief No 14.
This paper describes lessons learned from a multi-year study still in progress led by an intergen... more This paper describes lessons learned from a multi-year study still in progress led by an intergenerational, intercultural team in a grassroots urban seminary in New York City, and envisions a longitudinal, intergenerational learning community for youth leadership development in the formation of a youth seminary.
In the global city of New York, migration, economic development, and socio-cultural transition co... more In the global city of New York, migration, economic development, and socio-cultural transition converge in Harlem: an area larger than many middle-size cities. This case study of the Walls-Ortiz Gallery and Center (WOGC), the arts and research space of City Seminary of New York, affords an opportunity to explore these urban trends and examine what happens when the diverse populations that make up this changing community engage with place-based art. The arts play a critical role in mediating the experiencing of living in dense, diverse urban areas by “helping people to understand their own place in society and the city, to understand difference, and to appreciate it. It doesn’t remove the tensions but it can much of the time turn them into something else, something more engaged and productive” (Crossick, 2013, p. 29). The WOGC facilitates conversation and arts-based activities through the spiritual practice of hospitality aimed at improving the liveability of cities at a local scale, and promoting social change through the learning that happens at individual, group, and institutional levels (Jarvis, 2007).
The mission of the WOGC is to create a community space for interaction with art, for conversation, for telling stories, for visualizing and engaging faith, and for new questions and unexpected appreciations. Gallery public hours held during the week; “community conversations” with food, art-making, and dialogue around the current exhibition; and other arts-based events involve the seminary community, neighbors, and visitors, and integrate a way of being and learning together in a public way. Juried exhibitions featuring the work of local artists center around themes such as “Who is My Neighbor?” and “Glimpses of Grace in the City.” These topics present opportunities to dialogue on issues of urbanization as they impact this quickly changing, historically African American community. While the changes have brought increased safety and economic opportunity, they have also threatened long-time communities such as Little Senegal on 116th Street and are seen as potentially eroding the significance of the neighborhood as a cultural beacon.
This case study focuses on the community arts installation “How Does Our Garden Grow?” planned by a diverse group of 7 including seminary staff, a nearby university student, and neighbors, which provided outlets for visitors’ expressions of roots, neighborhood memories, and dreams for their community. Through collecting and analyzing the art produced by visitors to the gallery, visitor feedback forms, a report by and video transcript of the installation planning group, public engagement reflections by seminary staff, anecdotal experiences recorded in the authors’ journal records, and a survey of the literature on urban space, art, and spirituality, this paper aims to explore the possibilities and contributions of this type of spirituality- and arts-based urban institution for learning cities. The WOGC may act as a model for leveraging institutional and individual resources in the development of learning cities, furthering a form of community development “in which local people from every community sector act together to enhance the social, economic, cultural and environmental conditions of their community” (Boshier, 2005, p. 377).
References
Boshier, R. (2005). Lifelong learning. In L. M. English (Ed.), International Encyclopedia
of Adult Education (pp. 373-378). New York, NY: Macmillan Publishers.
Crossick, G. (2013) Measuring the impact of arts and culture. In Arts, Culture, and Quality of
Life in Global Cities (pp. 27-31). New York, NY. Ford Foundation. Retrieved from: http://beta.global.columbia.edu/files/globalcommons2/ACGC%20Report%20-%20NYC%20FINAL.pdf
In times of increasing change and disruption, the intersections of experiential learning and spir... more In times of increasing change and disruption, the intersections of experiential learning and spirituality and/or consciousness-raising in local neighborhoods can provide the context for being more intentional in fostering transformative learning. This experiential session will introduce an adapted EcCoWell approach to learning cities, integrated with place-based pedagogy and reflective practice in New York City and Philadelphia, and invite participants to experience the process, as a way to make connections and plan for future application.
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Book Chapters by Maria Liu Wong
Articles by Maria Liu Wong
our capillaries, and in the warmth of the sun and air we breathe, as we thirst for abundant life.
Conference Presentations by Maria Liu Wong
Another group that emerged was the New York chapter of the Coalition of Asian American Pacific Islander Churches (NYCAAPIC). Under the leadership of founder Grace Choi, a political consultant, and co-leader Trevor Agatsuma, an Intervarsity Christian Fellowship staff worker at NYU, this coalition now consists of some 20 or so pastors and ministry leaders in the AAPI New York Christian community. From engaging with politicians, organizing prayer rallies, and speaking in various interfaith and civic forums, NYCAAPIC is silent no more. This mixed methods research-in-progress seeks to better understand this growing dynamic of activism and civic engagement as a way to document living history and make space for AAPI Christians to reflect theologically on this moment.
time turn (tensions) into something else, something more engaged and productive” (Crossick, 2013, p. 29). Through the spiritual practice of hospitality as a “third space”, the WOGC makes room for unexpected friendships and unanticipated conversations around art, faith, and the city. This contributes to improving the liveability of cities at a local scale, and promoting social change through the learning that happens at individual, group, and institutional levels (Jarvis, 2007).
Since its inception in 2014, gallery exhibitions have focused on urban and faith-related themes; public programming has included free arts workshops and “community conversations” hosted with food, art-making, and dialogue. While its physical location is under renovation, the gallery is now in a new season, “on the move” in the community. This presentation looks at how the WOGC practices spiritual hospitality in new and creative ways, through the ‘Justice Seedbed Project,’ a yearlong focus on learning,
listening, and inviting others into conversation about environmental justice and faith through the arts. It offers a model for how a faith-based institution can practice a socially-engaged arts approach to lifelong learning, magnifying the impact of compassionate exchange and appreciation of diverse perspectives towards improving quality of life and sustainable development in the city.
Crossick, G. (2013) Measuring the impact of arts and culture. In Arts, Culture, and Quality of Life in Global Cities (pp. 27-31). New York, NY. Ford Foundation. Retrieved from: http://beta.global.columbia.edu/files/globalcommons2/ACGC%20Report%20-
%20NYC%20FINAL.pdf
Jarvis, P. (2007). Globalization, lifelong learning, and the learning society. (Vol. 2). NY, New York: Routledge.
understand difference, and to appreciate it. It doesn’t remove the tensions but it can much of the time turn them into something else, something more engaged and productive” (Crossick, 2013, p. 29). The WOGC facilitates conversation and arts-based activities through the spiritual practice of
hospitality aimed at improving the liveability of cities at a local scale, and promoting social change through the learning that happens at individual, group, and institutional levels (Jarvis, 2007).
The mission of the WOGC is to create a community space for interaction
with art, for conversation, for telling stories, for visualizing and engaging faith, and for new questions and unexpected appreciations. Gallery public hours held during the week; “community conversations” with food, art-making, and dialogue around the current exhibition; and other arts-based events involve the seminary community, neighbors, and visitors, and integrate a way of being and learning together in a public way. Juried exhibitions featuring the work of local artists center around themes such as “Who is My Neighbor?” and “Glimpses of Grace in the City.” These topics present opportunities to dialogue on issues of urbanization as they impact
this quickly changing, historically African American community. While the changes have brought increased safety and economic opportunity, they have also threatened long-time communities such as Little Senegal on 116th Street and are seen as potentially eroding the significance of the neighborhood as a cultural beacon.
This presentation examines briefly the work of City Seminary of New York and its unique approach to holistic urban theological education through the lens of the EcCoWell 2.0 (Kearns, 2018) learning neighborhood concept. Participants will engage in in arts and place-based learning in the gallery and on the street. This will provide fodder for reflection on pedagogy, connections to transformative learning at the individual and collective levels, and implications for future practice and application in other contexts.
In what ways does the integration of faith and spirituality in the work of lifelong teaching and learning contribute to sustainable development? What implications does this attentiveness to realities beyond an economic definition of quality of life, meaning and purpose have on learning
cities? What collective action and partnerships can emerge from a commitment to civic engagement as a faith-based institution? What lessons might be learned at the local level that have global implications, particularly as the seminary community represents transnational
connections and a diversity of backgrounds? What does this have to do with transformative learning? These questions and more will be explored.
This presentation examines the work of City Seminary of New York and its unique approach to urban theological education through the lens of the EcCoWell 2.0 concept. In what ways does the integration of faith and spirituality in the work of lifelong teaching and learning contribute to sustainable development? What implications does this attentiveness to realities beyond an economic definition of quality of life, meaning and purpose have on learning cities? What collective action and partnerships can emerge from a commitment to civic engagement as a faith-based institution? What lessons might be learned at the local level that have global implications, particularly as the seminary community represents transnational connections and a diversity of backgrounds? These questions and more are explored.
Kearns, P. (Jan 2018) Integrating happiness in sustainable learning cities. Pascal Policy Brief No 14.
The mission of the WOGC is to create a community space for interaction with art, for conversation, for telling stories, for visualizing and engaging faith, and for new questions and unexpected appreciations. Gallery public hours held during the week; “community conversations” with food, art-making, and dialogue around the current exhibition; and other arts-based events involve the seminary community, neighbors, and visitors, and integrate a way of being and learning together in a public way. Juried exhibitions featuring the work of local artists center around themes such as “Who is My Neighbor?” and “Glimpses of Grace in the City.” These topics present opportunities to dialogue on issues of urbanization as they impact this quickly changing, historically African American community. While the changes have brought increased safety and economic opportunity, they have also threatened long-time communities such as Little Senegal on 116th Street and are seen as potentially eroding the significance of the neighborhood as a cultural beacon.
This case study focuses on the community arts installation “How Does Our Garden Grow?” planned by a diverse group of 7 including seminary staff, a nearby university student, and neighbors, which provided outlets for visitors’ expressions of roots, neighborhood memories, and dreams for their community. Through collecting and analyzing the art produced by visitors to the gallery, visitor feedback forms, a report by and video transcript of the installation planning group, public engagement reflections by seminary staff, anecdotal experiences recorded in the authors’ journal records, and a survey of the literature on urban space, art, and spirituality, this paper aims to explore the possibilities and contributions of this type of spirituality- and arts-based urban institution for learning cities. The WOGC may act as a model for leveraging institutional and individual resources in the development of learning cities, furthering a form of community development “in which local people from every community sector act together to enhance the social, economic, cultural and environmental conditions of their community” (Boshier, 2005, p. 377).
References
Boshier, R. (2005). Lifelong learning. In L. M. English (Ed.), International Encyclopedia
of Adult Education (pp. 373-378). New York, NY: Macmillan Publishers.
Crossick, G. (2013) Measuring the impact of arts and culture. In Arts, Culture, and Quality of
Life in Global Cities (pp. 27-31). New York, NY. Ford Foundation. Retrieved from: http://beta.global.columbia.edu/files/globalcommons2/ACGC%20Report%20-%20NYC%20FINAL.pdf
our capillaries, and in the warmth of the sun and air we breathe, as we thirst for abundant life.
Another group that emerged was the New York chapter of the Coalition of Asian American Pacific Islander Churches (NYCAAPIC). Under the leadership of founder Grace Choi, a political consultant, and co-leader Trevor Agatsuma, an Intervarsity Christian Fellowship staff worker at NYU, this coalition now consists of some 20 or so pastors and ministry leaders in the AAPI New York Christian community. From engaging with politicians, organizing prayer rallies, and speaking in various interfaith and civic forums, NYCAAPIC is silent no more. This mixed methods research-in-progress seeks to better understand this growing dynamic of activism and civic engagement as a way to document living history and make space for AAPI Christians to reflect theologically on this moment.
time turn (tensions) into something else, something more engaged and productive” (Crossick, 2013, p. 29). Through the spiritual practice of hospitality as a “third space”, the WOGC makes room for unexpected friendships and unanticipated conversations around art, faith, and the city. This contributes to improving the liveability of cities at a local scale, and promoting social change through the learning that happens at individual, group, and institutional levels (Jarvis, 2007).
Since its inception in 2014, gallery exhibitions have focused on urban and faith-related themes; public programming has included free arts workshops and “community conversations” hosted with food, art-making, and dialogue. While its physical location is under renovation, the gallery is now in a new season, “on the move” in the community. This presentation looks at how the WOGC practices spiritual hospitality in new and creative ways, through the ‘Justice Seedbed Project,’ a yearlong focus on learning,
listening, and inviting others into conversation about environmental justice and faith through the arts. It offers a model for how a faith-based institution can practice a socially-engaged arts approach to lifelong learning, magnifying the impact of compassionate exchange and appreciation of diverse perspectives towards improving quality of life and sustainable development in the city.
Crossick, G. (2013) Measuring the impact of arts and culture. In Arts, Culture, and Quality of Life in Global Cities (pp. 27-31). New York, NY. Ford Foundation. Retrieved from: http://beta.global.columbia.edu/files/globalcommons2/ACGC%20Report%20-
%20NYC%20FINAL.pdf
Jarvis, P. (2007). Globalization, lifelong learning, and the learning society. (Vol. 2). NY, New York: Routledge.
understand difference, and to appreciate it. It doesn’t remove the tensions but it can much of the time turn them into something else, something more engaged and productive” (Crossick, 2013, p. 29). The WOGC facilitates conversation and arts-based activities through the spiritual practice of
hospitality aimed at improving the liveability of cities at a local scale, and promoting social change through the learning that happens at individual, group, and institutional levels (Jarvis, 2007).
The mission of the WOGC is to create a community space for interaction
with art, for conversation, for telling stories, for visualizing and engaging faith, and for new questions and unexpected appreciations. Gallery public hours held during the week; “community conversations” with food, art-making, and dialogue around the current exhibition; and other arts-based events involve the seminary community, neighbors, and visitors, and integrate a way of being and learning together in a public way. Juried exhibitions featuring the work of local artists center around themes such as “Who is My Neighbor?” and “Glimpses of Grace in the City.” These topics present opportunities to dialogue on issues of urbanization as they impact
this quickly changing, historically African American community. While the changes have brought increased safety and economic opportunity, they have also threatened long-time communities such as Little Senegal on 116th Street and are seen as potentially eroding the significance of the neighborhood as a cultural beacon.
This presentation examines briefly the work of City Seminary of New York and its unique approach to holistic urban theological education through the lens of the EcCoWell 2.0 (Kearns, 2018) learning neighborhood concept. Participants will engage in in arts and place-based learning in the gallery and on the street. This will provide fodder for reflection on pedagogy, connections to transformative learning at the individual and collective levels, and implications for future practice and application in other contexts.
In what ways does the integration of faith and spirituality in the work of lifelong teaching and learning contribute to sustainable development? What implications does this attentiveness to realities beyond an economic definition of quality of life, meaning and purpose have on learning
cities? What collective action and partnerships can emerge from a commitment to civic engagement as a faith-based institution? What lessons might be learned at the local level that have global implications, particularly as the seminary community represents transnational
connections and a diversity of backgrounds? What does this have to do with transformative learning? These questions and more will be explored.
This presentation examines the work of City Seminary of New York and its unique approach to urban theological education through the lens of the EcCoWell 2.0 concept. In what ways does the integration of faith and spirituality in the work of lifelong teaching and learning contribute to sustainable development? What implications does this attentiveness to realities beyond an economic definition of quality of life, meaning and purpose have on learning cities? What collective action and partnerships can emerge from a commitment to civic engagement as a faith-based institution? What lessons might be learned at the local level that have global implications, particularly as the seminary community represents transnational connections and a diversity of backgrounds? These questions and more are explored.
Kearns, P. (Jan 2018) Integrating happiness in sustainable learning cities. Pascal Policy Brief No 14.
The mission of the WOGC is to create a community space for interaction with art, for conversation, for telling stories, for visualizing and engaging faith, and for new questions and unexpected appreciations. Gallery public hours held during the week; “community conversations” with food, art-making, and dialogue around the current exhibition; and other arts-based events involve the seminary community, neighbors, and visitors, and integrate a way of being and learning together in a public way. Juried exhibitions featuring the work of local artists center around themes such as “Who is My Neighbor?” and “Glimpses of Grace in the City.” These topics present opportunities to dialogue on issues of urbanization as they impact this quickly changing, historically African American community. While the changes have brought increased safety and economic opportunity, they have also threatened long-time communities such as Little Senegal on 116th Street and are seen as potentially eroding the significance of the neighborhood as a cultural beacon.
This case study focuses on the community arts installation “How Does Our Garden Grow?” planned by a diverse group of 7 including seminary staff, a nearby university student, and neighbors, which provided outlets for visitors’ expressions of roots, neighborhood memories, and dreams for their community. Through collecting and analyzing the art produced by visitors to the gallery, visitor feedback forms, a report by and video transcript of the installation planning group, public engagement reflections by seminary staff, anecdotal experiences recorded in the authors’ journal records, and a survey of the literature on urban space, art, and spirituality, this paper aims to explore the possibilities and contributions of this type of spirituality- and arts-based urban institution for learning cities. The WOGC may act as a model for leveraging institutional and individual resources in the development of learning cities, furthering a form of community development “in which local people from every community sector act together to enhance the social, economic, cultural and environmental conditions of their community” (Boshier, 2005, p. 377).
References
Boshier, R. (2005). Lifelong learning. In L. M. English (Ed.), International Encyclopedia
of Adult Education (pp. 373-378). New York, NY: Macmillan Publishers.
Crossick, G. (2013) Measuring the impact of arts and culture. In Arts, Culture, and Quality of
Life in Global Cities (pp. 27-31). New York, NY. Ford Foundation. Retrieved from: http://beta.global.columbia.edu/files/globalcommons2/ACGC%20Report%20-%20NYC%20FINAL.pdf
One learning city method that focuses directly on citizenship, families, and neighborhoods is the EcCoWell approach. A goal of this tactic is to “increase self-esteem and feelings of competency” through social relationships (PASCAL, 2016). The EcCoWell orientation can also be used to enhance an educator’s philosophy and curriculum, and complement a transformative learning focus – fostering the notion that one’s frame of reference becomes more “inclusive, differentiating, permeable…critically reflective of assumptions, emotionally capable of change, and integrative of experience” (Mezirow, 2000, p. 19).
Cultivating the context for transformative learning in this way can be a powerful force for inclusive sustainable change. Integrating self-reflection, contemplation of spirituality and/or consciousness-raising, trust and respect for co-learners and mentors/teachers, and experiential learning activities can also allow for the possibility of overcoming barriers to change. This paper will explore how an EcCoWell learning city orientation may be integrated with a transformative learning approach, involving place-based pedagogy and engagement in reflective practice in New York City and Philadelphia (Edelglass, 2009).
Using the city as our classroom, and inviting students to reflect on how they see and interact with local communities, we will lead two groups of students with similarly diverse demographics through parallel learning experiences in their respective cities over a four-month period. One group is composed of participants in an urban ministry certificate program at a Christian seminary in New York City, while the other is a group of students taking a Community Leadership class at a community college in Philadelphia. As a comparative case study of a work in progress, the paper will describe how the above methodology translates in these two different educational contexts – one focused on contextual spiritual growth, and the other on community leadership.
As educators, we see the local neighborhood as part of our learning lab, encourage self-reflection and build community amongst learners, with the common goal for students to engage with the neighborhood and challenge themselves to be part of positive community growth. In this process, we anticipate they will deepen their cross-cultural understanding and consciousness of the work towards justice. Comparing the process and outcome of our learning journeys as educators, and those of our students, we will unpack emergent and overlapping themes in order to better understand how to build individual engagement and community capacity in citizens. We start from the ground (or literally, the street) up, in order to demonstrate how a neighborhood-based learning city approach can impact local, national and global arenas towards inclusive lifelong learning.
Confirmed speakers:
Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, former General Secretary of the Reformed Church in America, and author of, “From Times Square to Timbuktu: The Post-Christian West Meets the Non-Western Church”
Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president, National Latino Evangelical Coalition, pastor of Iglesia el Calvario
Jehu J. Hanciles, Brooks Chair of World Christianity at Emory University’s Candler School of Theology, author of “Beyond Christendom: Globalization, African Migration and the Transformation of the West”
Maria Liu Wong, dean, City Seminary of New York, co-author of "Christ in the Capital of the World: How global Christians are revitalizing NYC beyond Manhattan" (Christianity Today)
In line with City Seminary’s 2015-16 theme, “Welcome for the Peace of the City” (based on Jeremiah 29:7), WOGC launched our first juried exhibition of local NYC artists, entitled “Who is my Neighbor? NYC,” with the aim of creating dialogue around what it means to live well together in a diverse and changing community. As part of the exhibition programming, we began a series of "Community Conversations," bringing together old and new Harlem residents with City Seminary staff and faculty to share a meal, interact with the exhibition, and reflect on experiences of / dreams for the neighborhood through conversation and collaborative art-making.
This presentation will describe our experience of public engagement through the exhibition and Community Conversations, as well as reflect theologically on the impact of the gallery as a place of welcome, listening, and fruitful dialogue with neighbors in a community undergoing socio-economic and cultural transition, as well as the centrality of the arts in public faith.
Urban ministry reaches across the city’s socioeconomic, ethnic, generational, and faith boundaries. All should be able to gather at the table and find God’s peace. How can theological education in the city further this goal?
Maria Liu Wong addresses this question through the lens of her experience as a British-Chinese immigrant to Long Island, a missionary kid, a wife and mother, and the provost of City Seminary of New York. Using autoethnographic methodology, Liu Wong presents anecdotes and images from her life, with which she thinks broadly about how theological education functions in the city, both formally and informally. What she finds is that theological education is less about individuals accruing knowledge and more about communities growing in wisdom together—as a family, as friends, as colleagues, as coleaders. In these pages, seminary and university professors will find ways to learn with and from not just individual students, but the communities they comprise. Pastors and ministry leaders will find inspiration and encouragement in the ways our lives form our faith and future in the city.
In Stay in the City Gornik and Liu Wong look at what is happening in the urban church—and what Christians everywhere can learn from it. Once viewed suspiciously for their worldly temptations and vices, cities are increasingly becoming centers of vibrant Christian faith. Writing from their experience living and working in New York City, Gornik and Liu Wong invite readers everywhere to join together in creating a more flourishing—and faith-filled—urban world.
● Arts, spirituality and transformative learning integrated into a holistic EcCoWell 2 learning neighbourhood approach can contribute to the work of building a resilient, sustainable and hopeful future
● Examples of a comparative case study in Philadelphia and New York City and the Walls-Ortiz Gallery and Center in Harlem (NYC) point to the significance of a broader, more global understanding of wellbeing that includes emotive, embodied, artistic and spiritual aspects
● Happiness and thriving within spiritual praxis are not the same, but can both be helpful to frame a process of transformative learning towards resiliency
This crisis moment is a time to rethink formation into being a more embodied learning. Doing theology in crisis is about prayer, intimate conversations and hope.