Bible for Life Advent 2023

Creating a Common Home: Soil, Water, Light

In this seasonal course, we anticipate the coming birth of Jesus. We turn to Scripture — our soil and water — in a time of fellowship and prayer. As we read and reflect on how Jesus brings light to the world, we consider what else we might plant and bring into the world, to grow in the light.

Let us prepare our hearts and homes for Jesus this Advent season by asking: how does Advent call us to cultivate our common home and care for each other?

This Bible for Life course can support preachers as they prepare sermons, provide bible study leaders ideas for fruitful reflection, and nurture personal devotion in community. Register here by Saturday, November 25, so we can send you the course materials!

Course Instructors: Mark Gornik and City Seminary faculty

This course meets the prerequisite requirement for applying to the City Seminary of New York Graduate Center Master of Arts in Ministry in the Global City.  

Fridays, December 1, 8, and 15, 2023 @ 12 - 1 PM EST

The course meets via Zoom and is free of cost.

For more information, please contact Sarah at learning@cityseminaryny.org.

Since 2013, women in leadership and ministry from across the city have gathered annually for a time of learning and retreat from the everyday challenges and opportunities of "being" in the city. This year, we consider the theme "Dream for the Peace of the City."

As a way to continue building relationships leading up to our annual gathering, we are hosting informal lunchtime fellowship meals "together apart." We will meet on the wonder.me platform for Friday lunch on the following dates:

Friday, January 6, 2023 12-1 PM EST

Friday, January 20, 2023 12-1 PM EST

To participate, please email events@cityseminaryny.org and indicate which dates you will attend. A Seamless card for your lunchtime meal will be sent to those who RSVP by noon the day before each lunch date. These gatherings are meant for women pastors and ministry leaders in the metro New York area to connect and build community. We are grateful for the support of the Lilly Endowment, Inc. for this work (Thriving in Ministry initiative).

As 2022 draws to a close, we want to share some of our students' stories with you, stories of how their learning at the seminary has supported or sparked their ministry dreams, and how their dreams are becoming reality by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Peter has lived in New York City his whole life. He joined City Seminary's second Ministry Fellows cohort in 2010, and later enrolled in the first MA cohort, graduating in 2020. He currently resides in East Harlem with his wife, Miriam, who is the Vice President of City Seminary. Together, they serve as associate pastors at Iglesia Pentecostal Camino a Damasco on the Lower East Side.

"One of the things I learned at City Seminary is about all of creation being image bearers. It's not 'us' the church and 'them' the world, but we're all God's creation and everyone deserves dignity and respect. Allowing God to move me in that area helped me to ask, Where can we meet God together? I'm really trying to discern how God would have me find ways to be present in the community, inviting the community into the church."

Join us for a series of free, online public art workshops designed by artists from the Creative Community Care Virtual Residency. 

"Nurturing Spaces": September 22, 2022 7 PM - 8:30 PM (led by Naomi Kuo and de'Angelo DIA)

"Collective Testimony": October 20, 2022 7 PM - 8:30 PM (led by DeAmon Harges and Alysia Harris)

"Resting in Sound and Image": November 3, 2022 7 PM - 8:30 PM (led by Olga Lah and Julian Reid)

REGISTER HERE

A joint project of the Ministry in the City HUB and Walls-Ortiz Gallery at City Seminary, the Creative Community Care Virtual Residency brought together socially-engaged Christian creatives from Charlotte, Chicago, Corsicana, Houston, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and New York City for peer mentor support, learning, and sharing during 2021. Residents developed local projects in their respective cities, exploring creative practices of care in the context of community. Projects engage the concerns and questions of the pandemic period (mutual aid, care re-imagined for social distance, etc.) at the intersection of the arts, learning, faith, and the city. Learn more about the projects here.

These workshops were designed collaboratively by residents to engage the public with themes and questions that emerged from their projects. They invite exploration of practices that catalyze reflection and possibility.

We are grateful for the support of the Lilly Endowment, Inc. for this project and workshop series.

Become part of a growing community of pastoral ministry and leadership practice across church traditions and networks in the metropolitan New York area. The goal of the Thriving in Ministry initiative at City Seminary of New York is to walk alongside pastors and ministry leaders from the diverse Body of Christ in our city to nurture networks of mutual support, care, and well-being in a complex and ever-changing urban context. This is done through pastoral conversation collaborative inquiry groups, reflective praxis groups, spiritual direction retreats (fall and spring), pastoral portraits, and an annual reunion. New groups are formed and meet throughout the year.

These sessions will meet online via Zoom (or hybrid) until further notice. Attend an online open house or email us for more information.

This is for pastors (and their spouses) who are new to pastoral leadership, those seeking peers who have been pastoring for several years, or others are transitioning into retirement. This is also for those serving in an official ministry leadership capacity in a church or ministry context.

Retreat dates for 2023 are: March 31 and November 17. Our annual reunion will be hosted in January 2024. Learn more by emailing Geomon at learning@cityseminaryny.org.

Many thanks to the Lilly Endowment, Inc. for their generous funding and support.

City Seminary of New York is a truly unique place to be. It is where the diverse Body of Christ comes together in a new "Ephesian moment" in our global city, learning and walking in mutuality. From my community development days in Sandtown to the building of an evolving ecosystem of theological formation in New York City, my journey has been shaped by friendship and the movement of the Holy Spirit in our midst.

Join us for a bi-weekly virtual yarn circle from June until August 2021, as we support the Chinatown Yarn Circle project, a collaboration with Harlem artist Naomi Lawrence and community organizer Tina Lin. Be part of a large-scale civic awareness and community solidarity yarn mural that will be installed in Columbus Park (in Manhattan's Chinatown) in October 2021.

Come to learn basic stitches to make a 2 1/2 inch square, flex your crochet creativity and make flowers or leaves, or just come and hang out for conversation. Materials pickup in person at the Lower East Side People Care Garden (25 Rutgers St, NYC) on August 1 and 8, 3:30 PM - 5 PM) or at the Fresh Oils Community Garden (Harlem; by appointment only).

Register for a virtual yarn circle date at the link below, or email wogc@cityseminaryny.org for more information.

As part of a multi-year grant awarded by the Lilly Endowment, Inc. to create the Ministry in the City Hub, City Seminary of New York is pleased to announce a series of grants that further the work of doing, thinking about, and connecting together around ministry in cities across North America. We are truly inspired by the commitment of these churches, educational institutions, and community organizations.

Prophetic Ministerial Leadership and Creative Responses to COVID-19 Challenges in Inner-City Catholic Parishes with Hispanic Ministry at Boston College

Building Capacity for UniteBoston's Bridge-Building Work at Unite Boston

Community Greater than COVID (Community > COVID) Initiative at Esperanza Health Center, Philadelphia

Design for Cultural Exchange and Racial Reconciliation Among Children at Real Community Covenant Church in Marion, Indiana

"The Timothy Project" at DSI International, New York City

 Urban Ministry Leadership Cohort at Seattle Pacific Seminary, Seattle

We're grateful to the Lilly Endowment, Inc. for the opportunity to support these six groups and their important community work.

At City Seminary, I have the privilege to cultivate spaces for faculty, staff, students, and visitors to interact in creative ways. We interpret Scripture together with our bodies in tableau and practice hospitality with neighbors through food and art-making. This process is a way that we "become" God's peace in the city, living out our faith in unexpected ways as well as pointing others to Christ.

The Walls-Ortiz Gallery and Center has been "on the move" in the neighborhood starting Fall 2019.

Last summer, we launched Planting for Peace, a Justice Seedbed Project, with a group exhibition exploring creative ways to respond to our environment's call for care. This past year, we partnered with the New York Public Library in East Harlem to host monthly art workshops for the Fisher Day Center. During the spring, we hosted weekly virtual art-making gatherings for a community outdoor yarn installation in collaboration with local artist Naomi Lawrence in the Fresh Oils Community Garden (163 St. Nicholas Ave.). We installed this bright colorful sign of hope in September 2020 and hope to continue adding to the collaborative work, as we meet together to crochet (virtually and eventually in person, socially distanced) over conversation and food.

Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to see who we're connecting with in the neighborhood...

With the global city of New York as the classroom and the focus and background of every course, the MA degree program prepares students for the challenges of living and thinking theologically in a growing and changing, increasingly diverse world Christian church. It equips those living in the global city for ministry and leadership practice across generations, cultures, and traditions. In these COVID-19 times, being equipped for ministry in a complex world is more important than ever before. Download the brochure here.

If you are interested in applying for the upcoming cohort (Fall 2023 start), attend an online open house. Note: Ministry Fellows Program and Bible for Life courses are prerequisites for admission.

One way we hear God together is through the words of Scripture. Just Show Up (JSU) is a way of meeting regularly in community for extended listening and reading of Scripture. In the Bible for Life and across program areas, City Seminary shares in this movement and the practice of the public reading of Scripture.

I began my journey at City Seminary in the very first Ministry Fellows Cohort in 2009. Since then, I have come to be known as "the glue that holds things together" in my role coordinating operations and leading the community as a prayer warrior. 

The Brown Bag Lunch Talk Series is a lunchtime gathering held on select Wednesdays during the fall and spring. This is an opportunity for us to dialogue and to interact with local partners and international scholars in the arts and public faith. Bring your lunch and join us for conversation. With the Walls-Ortiz Gallery "on the move," we will hold our Brown Bag Lunch Talk series at Hope Campus, 302 West 119th St, 3rd Flr, NYC, and other locations in the neighborhood.

Check back soon for details on upcoming events.

"The city is the seminary... All roads lead to New York. The whole world is there. A vision of world Christianity is already being lived out, right there in New York City."

City Seminary of New York's (CSNY) library is focused in four specific subject areas: Global Christianity (defined as works on Christianity in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the West Indies), Urban Ministry and Mission Studies, Biblical Studies, and Applied Theological Studies. Because of our specialization in Global Christianity, we have internationally published materials that are not available anywhere else in the city. 

The library has a small but focused collection of journals mainly within the subject area of Missions Studies and Global Christianity. Additionally, we subscribe to more general theological journals and a small number of journals that examine urban Christianity, as well as the American Theological Library Association's journal database ATLAS, an online full-text collection of major religion and theology journals. 

We welcome pastors, ministry leaders, researchers, and students to use our library as a resource on campus during library hours (Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays 1-6 PM). Books are for reading-room access only. Contact library@cityseminaryny.org for more information.

As an administrator, faculty member, and pastor, I enjoy introducing people to our learning communities as well as walking alongside students and alumni over time. It has been a joy to play the role of mentor as well as co-learner over meals, on walks around the city, and in prayer together.

"Ministry in the city begins with what is right in front of us, perhaps right under our feet or just out of the way, but unfolds in ways that fit into the context.

Look around, pray, think, share this journey with others, wait on the Spirit, try to see afresh what is right in front of you, and take the time that is needed. Because no two settings, neighborhoods, or cities are alike, the Gospel takes shape in the local."

My relationship with City Seminary is a match made in heaven. I was introduced to the seminary at a time when I was desperate for direction and tools for doing ministry in the urban context of New York City. I not only found a seminary but I found a community that embraced me and helped to mold my theological view of ministry in the city. It is the only place that I know of where I can say you will truly learn how to view ministry in the city. 

In January of 2019, the first cohort of the MA in Ministry in the Global City program went on a pilgrimage to Medellín & São Paulo. As Father Emmanuel Katongole explains, pilgrimage is a way of life, a way of listening and feeling the dust beneath our feet as we learn from cities and churches around the world. Many of our cohort came to New York by way of other global cities, and immediately saw connections to Medellín and São Paolo, which you can read about in the journal excerpts displayed.

As you journey with us, we invite you to wonder about how the stories of these cities illuminate aspects of your own context. How might you be an everyday pilgrim in the city, attentive to the forces of urbanization, spiritual life of the city, and encounters with the suffering, joy, and humanity of your neighbors?

Featuring work by the MA in Ministry in the Global City Class of 2020

The goal of WE LEAD NYC is to nurture youth communities in the city for lives of purpose and joy through leadership development, spiritual formation, and ministry practice. We cultivate active Listening as a practice, encourage vocational Exploration as a journey, equip Ambassadors to build bridges, and root Disciples in the Word. With the city as our classroom, engage in experiential learning, Scripture reflection, prayer, worship, and fun. The program is open to high school students (rising 9th–12th graders), college freshman, and their church youth leaders. Email us to learn more (learning@cityseminaryny.org).

Christ's completion as we have seen, comes from all humanity, from the translation of the life of Jesus into the lifeways of all the world's cultures and subcultures through history. None of us can reach Christ's completeness on our own. We need each other's vision to correct, enlarge, and focus our own; only together are we complete in Christ.

As an educator, lifelong learner, and creative, I enjoy designing and curating learning experiences for theological education. I love drawing on the arts, place, and community to spark ways of thinking and doing theology together in a global city and learn alongside the vibrant body of students at City Seminary.

Explore the legacies of Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass through the perspectives of contemporary artists. Douglass advocated for freedom and justice as an orator and writer while Tubman journeyed under the cover of night through the Underground Railroad. This portion of Conversations with Harriet engages ways in which their legacies continue in the public and private domains, making visible the stories of lesser known journeys and inviting us into dialogue and inspired action.

Artwork by Maria de los Angeles and Mahtab Petrami, Carol Fields, Naomi Kuo and Queens Memory, Nate Ladson, Camilo José Vergara, and Kim Worthmann.

"No longer "wandering and lost," Brian expressed a sense of home in God, in the body of Christ, and in the city of Toronto."

Every January, women involved in leadership and ministry from across the city gather for a time of learning, sharing, reflection, and retreat from the everyday challenges and opportunities of "being" in the city. The symposium, which began in 2013, focuses on the annual seminary theme. The year we will unpack ways to "grow for the peace of the city." An integral part of this gathering is intentional space for quiet and restoration of the body and spirit through the arts and reflection, as well as the engagement of the mind through panels and conversation.

How does life in the city shape our growth, and how does our growth contribute to the peace of the city? How might our lives be the water, nutrients, and soil for the growth of others? How can the stories of Biblical women inspire our approaches to growing? Our 8th Annual Symposium on Women in Leadership and Ministry was spent collaboratively reflecting and learning in response to this year's theme, Grow for the Peace of the City. 
 

"At City Seminary of New York, we have found that ministry in the city is most generative and sustainable when it begins with the senses, with our everyday experiences as embodied beings with diverse callings and vocations. Our approach to ministry begins with how we see, hear, taste, smell and touch the city."