Mini Courses

Mini Course – Learning From Our Past, Healing Our Future: A Swedenborgian Perspective on Dismantling Colonial Dominance in Western Christianity by Rev. Shada Sullivan 

In this Mini Course, we will take a look at Swedenborgian theology through the lens of the SAAR/CSS/Born Brown-sponsored lecture from Rev. Dr. Randy Woodley: Learning from Our Past, Healing Our Future: Dismantling Colonial Dominance in Western Christianity. For the most part, Swedenborgian theology is already post-colonial in many of its ideas. However, Swedenborg was himself a product of the Enlightenment and a default Euro-centric worldview. We will identify and evaluate various strands of traditional Western thinking in Swedenborgian theology and ask the questions: Are they harmful? To what extent? Can indigenous spirituality (as presented by Dr. Woodley) provide a necessary balance? Although not required, either attending the Woodley event or viewing the event video is suggested to enhance your overall Mini Course experience. A recording of the lecture can be found here.

Bio: Rev. Sullivan is the Pastor at The Church of the Holy City in Wilmington DE, is co-chair of the Social Justice Committee, and is part of the leadership team of Swedenborgians in Action Against Racism. A life-long Swedenborgian who grew up in Australia, Rev. Sullivan now lives in Pennsylvania with her husband and two daughters.

THIS EVENT WILL BE LIVE-STREAMED AND HYBRID FROM THE AUDITORIUM IN THE MOAKLEY CENTER

Mini Course – History of the Black Ministers in Convention by Sue Ditmire & Shalonda Ingram

Continuation of research after last year’s Mini Course. A handout will be provided with information on all the history that has been uncovered including an overview and questions you and your Society and Associations may want to discuss.

Bio: Sue Ditmire has been a Swedenborgian since 1972. First a member of Kemper Road Center. Then, after a move to New Jersey, a member of the Church of the Holy City in Wilmington, Delaware. Now she has retired and relocated to Urbana, Ohio, where she is now a member of the Swedenborgian Church of Urbana. For several years she was the secretary for the local Board of Education. She is one of the original founders of the Swedenborgian Community Online. Now I Sue has dedicated her retirement to securing and working on the history of the Swedenborgian Church of North America. She is the chair of the Library and Documents Committee and is overseeing the new management our Archival Material.

Bio Shalonda: People and organizations partner with my entities to turn ideas into reality, ground their strategy in what become ongoing relationships, and discover how to elevate diverse voices at all levels. We specialize in elevating community, embedding new economic energies, and delivering long term transformation. From this perspective, we revitalize hyper-local engagement of underutilized spaces by leveraging existing systems and collective practices to co-create transformational opportunities that foster empowerment.

THIS EVENT WILL BE ONLINE

Mini Course – An Introduction to Interoceptive Theory by Eleanor Schnarr

This course will explore the “Interoceptive Theory” of spiritual experience. We will learn how the physiology and psychology of “Internals” and “Externals” relate to our embodied awareness and sense of meaning and individuality. This theoretical structure will be taught through Swedenborgian ideas of internals and externals relating to embodied awareness, contemplative practice, and metaphorical meaning-making. There will be a take-home art project.

Bio: Eleanor Schnarr is an artist and scholar from Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania. Her research area is in the history of Swedenborgian thought across spiritual traditions with a special emphasis on Śaiva Siddhānta Yoga philosophy. Her artistic career has focused on figurative and abstract works on paper engaging mythology and neuroscience in her approach to image making. Eleanor has a four-year certificate from the Pennsylvania Academy of the fine arts, an M.F.A. from the San Francisco Art Institute, and is finishing her M.A. at the Graduate Theological Union. She is a lifelong practitioner of Vaasi Yoga and is working towards ordination in the Swedenborgian Church.

THIS EVENT WILL BE A HYBRID EVENT IN ROOM  HRT 116 ADJACENT TO THE MOAKLEY CENTER

Mini Course – Trauma Theory as an Interpretive Lens by Rev. Yung Me Morris

The Bible, like our world, is full of traumatic events. There is story after story of individuals and communities who suffered through one traumatic event after another. Their traumatic injuries led to existential crises that are resolved through stories, songs, and poetry of God’s personal interest in their plight, God’s deliverance, and God’s prescription for a peaceful and just world known as the Kingdom of God. By reading and interpreting the Bible through the lens of Trauma Theory, we are able to derive meaning relevant to all who have experienced physical/emotional/psychological trauma. By seeing and hearing these traumatic stories, those who relate to these experiences may feel seen and heard for the first time. Storytelling, song, poetry, art, and creativity are offered as healing modalities for trauma.

Bio: Rev. Yung Me Morris is a first-generation Korean American who was born in Seoul, South Korea. Together with her parents and younger brother, she emigrated to the United States, Chicago, Illinois, specifically, where she grew up speaking Midwestern English, navigating multiple cultures, and developing a deep abiding love for deep-dish pizza and lasagna. Rev. Morris earned her B.A. and M.A. in Education Ministries from Wheaton College and earned her M.Div. from San Francisco Theological Seminary. She was ordained in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and has served as pastor to congregations, chaplain to patients, and street chaplain to the unhoused. Rev. Morris is currently the interim pastor for Temenos in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

THIS EVENT WILL BE IN-PERSON IN ROOM  HRT 114 ADJACENT TO THE MOAKLEY CENTER