DESCRIPTION:

Students will study the extent, causes, complexities, and factors concerning homeless persons. Further, biblical, theological, and personal reflection will form our conversation as we explore options for congregations. This course will also serve as a practical guide for urban ministry among homeless persons that is compassionate and thoroughly rooted in the gospel. Instruction will focus on understanding the biblical basis for urban ministry, identifying the complex needs of homeless persons in local communities, and starting and managing social ministries within local communities.

The church and the world are in need of people who are faithfully committed to demonstrate a biblical witness to communities troubled by the persistence of homelessness. Students will be encouraged to discover a practical approach to, and a theological basis for, understanding and ministering to homeless persons. Students also will be personally challenged to engage in social ministries and give bold and specific suggestions about how that practical engagement should take place. Completion of the course should allow students to comprehend how compassionate social action can be combined with spiritual, social, and economic means to alleviate the plight of homeless persons.

The class will meet once a week for a three-hour session. Each session will consist of lectures, discussion of readings and ministry experiences, and a guest lecturer or panel presentation combined with class interaction.

Burt, Martha, Laudan Y. Aron, and Edgar Lee with Jesse Valente. Helping America's Homeless. Urban Institute Press, 2001.

Cummings, Charles. Monastic Practices. Cistercian Publications, Inc., 1986.

Kretzmann, John P. and John L. McKnight. Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing a Community's Assets. ACTA Publications, 1993.

Strategies for Reducing Chronic Street Homelessness. Office of Policy Development and Research/U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 2004.

Course Reader.

1. Prepare for and participate regularly in class.

2. A brief "Personal View of Homeless People" paper (500 words).

3. A brief theological reflection paper (250-500 words) on the readings due each week (eight papers).

4. A final paper (minimum 2500 words) on theoretical, theological, and practical matters of starting and managing an urban ministry or about a specific issue concerning homelessness such as mental illness, substance abuse, domestic violence, etc.

5. A minimum of 10 hours of on-site volunteer work at local homeless ministries.

None.

Elective.

None.