Jill Crainshaw

• Christian Hospitality and Pastoral Practices in a Multifaith Society
  Awarded $4,850 for the period 8/8/11 to 8/15/12
  Source: Association of Theological Schools

The Wake Forest University School of Divinity identifies expertise in many faiths as one of its educational goals and drawing on the resources of the Department of Religion, offers a rich curriculum. This year, it created a new faculty position in Theology and Culture for Dr. Michelle Voss Roberts, an expert in comparative theology, especially Christianity and Hinduism.

• with Amy Russell
  Worship Renewal Grant: One Body, Many Gifts
  Awarded $11,000 for the period 6/11 to 6/12
  Source: Calvin Institute of Christian Worship

Wake Forest University School of Divinity weekly chapel services give students, faculty, staff, and community friends an opportunity to sing and pray together. Each is planned and led by a third-year student. In this project, WFUSD will design and pilot a second weekly service that engages the denominational and liturgical diversity of our school. Beginning in summer 2011, students, faculty, and local pastors will discuss the chapel services, hold collaborative planning workshops, and consult with other theological schools that have vibrant chapel traditions. Students and faculty will learn more about varied worship practices through fall semester workshops and consultation. Spring semester services will model and invite theological reflection on these practices. If the pilot is successful, a permanent second worship service will model diverse liturgical patterns while strengthening the educational and formational dimensions of the worship program overall.

Mark Jensen
Interdisciplinary Conversations: A Theology of Embodiment
Awarded $3,000 for the period 10/6/10 to 2/1/12
Source: Duke University

This project addresses modern congregations’ lack of understanding of the interrelationship of physical, emotional, and mental health, spiritual and physical wholeness, and Christian salvation, resulting in a dualistic view that runs contrary to biblical witness and modern theologies of embodiment. Most modern Christians have lost the perception of wellness as a community concern, a feature of social justice. In response, a series of interdisciplinary conversations among pastors, university faculty, mental and physical healthcare professionals, and members of the laity will be held in medical/therapeutic and local church and/or theological school settings. Discussion will revolve around i) biblical witness, focusing on the healing stories in the gospels; ii) theological, medical, and psychological theories of embodiment; and iii) aspects of pastoral care involving congregants’ wellness and noting healthcare ministries in local churches.

Shonda Jones
Community Engagement Fellows Program
Awarded $22,500 for the period 8/1/12 to 7/31/13
Source: CF Foundation

The School of Divinity’s Art of Ministry program supports a community-engagement focus for five students through their three years of study. After the cohort is built in Year 1, students participate in a summer internship, In Year 2, they pursue the same or similar interests in a different internship setting; in Year 3, they use the Art of Ministry writing project or the internship elective as a capstone experience to integrate and to summarize their learning about community engagement.

Neal Walls
Renewing Ministers, Revitalizing Congregations
Awarded $30,000 for the period 10/11/10 to 1/15/14
Source: CF Foundation, Inc.

The School of Divinity sponsors the 2011 Holy Land Pilgrimage/Macedonian Ministries Program for pastoral renewal that begins with a spiritual journey through the summer heat to Galilee and Jerusalem and continues with a multiyear program of peer-support. Twenty parish ministers will experience the impact of sacred space in daily visits to sites associated with the life of Jesus and the Desert Mothers and Fathers of early Christian monasticism, participate in group conversations related to spiritual renewal, spend time each day in solitude and silence, build an authentic community centered on worship and prayer, and read selections that reflect on the historical and theological contexts of Christian spirituality and pilgrimage. Activities will prepare them to approach Advent with purified hearts, rested and renewed in mind, body, and spirit.