St. Ambrose University will host a three-part series of webinars designed to train faith leaders and community activists and organizers from around the world on the use of contextual bible study in achieving social justice for the marginalized and oppressed.
Matthew Coomber, PhD, an assistant professor of theology, is an organizer of the St. Ambrose University Webinar Series on Bible and Justice. Consisting of three 90-minute online presentation-and-discussion forums on March 12, April 23 and May 7, the webinar series this year will build upon the St. Ambrose Bible and Justice Conference that debuted in 2013.
"We decided to do this as a continuation of the conference," Coomber said. "I don't see it going this direction permanently, but it is something I wanted to do for this round and particularly for this subject matter."
The idea for creating training sessions focused on expanding the use of contextual bible study in the cause of social justice evolved from Coomber's experience watching the practice put into action while at a conference in Baltimore in 2013. There, he saw a consortium of homeless and itinerant workers organize to combat wage theft by employers in Baltimore's inner harbor.
"I was just blown away by the immense strength of people dealing with these issues," he said. "We had the honor of being with one man, a migrant from Latin America, who had worked for weeks on a project and then they suddenly stopped picking him up on the corner where he reported for work. He went to try and collect his paycheck and a guy came out and physically threatened him with a baseball bat.
"We met women who had been sexually threatened to go away without being paid. We basically have these forms of slavery happening in our country, happening in the 21st Century. These people stood up and made a difference, but for every story where people stand up, there are thousands more where people are suffering."
The concept of contextual bible study - described by the Center and Library for the Bible and Social Justice as a methodology "to plant one's feet (for) local communities of struggle" - provides people who lack material means a resource for achieving justice, both in the United States and around the world.
The SAU webinar series is offered free of charge but due to bandwidth limitations, only the first 20 people to register for each training session will be able to participate live. However, the webinars will be recorded, archived and made available for viewing via multiple outlets, including the Center and Library for the Bible and Social Justice website.
The webinar series will enlist the expertise of three leading biblical scholars and social justice leaders from around the world - Brazilian Theologian Paulo Ueti on March 12, South African Professor of Religion, Philosophy and the Classics Gerald West on April 23, and, on May 7, Bob Ekblad, a Presbyterian minister who works with immigrants, inmates and the itinerant in and around Burlington, Wash.
"This is a way we can reach a lot of people who can't afford to come to Davenport," Coomber said of the online format. The St. Ambrose Center for Instructional Design and Technology is providing technical assistance. "Hopefully, people will do the training and then go out, give it a shot and come back in a year or two years and join discussions about what worked and what did not."
Coomber also plans to use the lessons shared in the series with students in his Bible and Social Justice course at St. Ambrose. Ideally, the lessons will expand to class rooms across the campus.
"I would certainly hope these can be useful in other disciplines as we get students talking about the core of our mission."
Share This Story
