New York Theological Seminary

A Spiritual Journey Exploring Aspects of African Religion and Culture in Local and Global Diasporan Contexts

Faculty:

• Dale Irvin
• Leslie Callahan
• Elaine Padilla (NYTS)
• Akintunde Akinade, (Georgetown University)

Joined by:

• Kofi Asare Opoku (TIDAC)
• Mercy Amba Oduyoye (TIDAC)
• Addo-Fening & Kwame Gyekye (TIDAC)

Theological students from the USA and Africa will join an international group of African and Diasporan scholars for two weeks of mutual dialogue and learning.  An orientation to Ghana, with particular attention to the religious history of Ghana will be provided on the first day of the program.  Visits to sites such as the Akonnedi Shrine (African Traditional Religion), the Ahmadiyya Muslim Headquarters, the W.E.B Du Bois Center, Elmina Castle, and the Kakum rain forest will be organized throughout the two weeks.  An evening of African story telling and an opportunity to attend church services at Christ Presbyterian Church and the Grace Church in Akropong will be included.

Three intensive learning units during the week will be offered.  NYTS students taking the course for credit will participate in all three (times to be announced during the two weeks of the program).

Learning Unit 1: “Experiences of the Sacred”
Akintunde E. Akinade, Georgetown University at Qatar

This unit will examine various religious experiences in a comparative and cross-cultural context.  Theological students and pastors will have an opportunity to reflect on the role of religious experience in the shaping of human self-understanding by examining various human understandings of the sacred in different contexts and cultures.  Readings will be drawn from a variety of sources, including African Traditional Religion, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and Shintoism.

Learning Unit 2: “Love Thy Neighbor:” A Theological Response to the Ecological Crisis
Elaine Padilla, NYTS

Much of the devastation of natural resources seen today is the result of over consumption.  Fundamental changes are needed in order for us to forge sustainable communities that can benefit the wealthy and the poor alike.  We are one earthly “neighbor-hood” made up of human and non-human beings and elements that are interdependent.  This unit offers an interdisciplinary exploration integrating theological teachings on creation with ethical pastoral action intended to promote social and economic justice that contains a vision for future generations.

Learning Unit 3: “W.E.B. Du Bois and the African Diaspora”
Leslie Callahan, NYTS

W.E.B. Du Bois was born in Great Barrington, MA in 1868 and died in 1963 in Accra, Ghana after a lifetime of thinking, learning, and writing about black life all over the world.  This unit will consider his writings about religious life, with special attention given to The Souls of Black Folk and to the connections he observed between Africans on the continent and in the Diaspora.

Costs: