Volume I, Number V
In this Newsletter you will find:
* A letter from EOL Project Director, Lowell W. Livezey
* Moving Forward: Future EOL Research, by Max Herman
* Upcoming News and Events at New York Theological Seminary and The Ecologies of Learning Project |
A Letter from Lowell:
Greetings!
In my most recent letter, I came close to bragging that Ecologies of Learning was really on a roll. Shirvahna Gobin’s promotion and the appointment of Dr. Max Herman, our first senior scholar in urban sociology, lay a foundation for organizational expansion and more-extensive research.
We have a lot of research to do: you who minister have told us you need help with numerous issues —affordable housing, diversity within neighborhoods and congregations, mobility (often long, time-consuming commutes within Metro New York), immigration (often undocumented and involuntary), and services to children and youth. Our whole team is finding that “gentrification” is a huge challenge to congregations in many parts of the metro-area, even though it also may be part of the solution to poverty and urban blight that urban ministry must address.
Fortunately, I can now announce appointments of more researchers, who will help us do research that will assist congregational leaders and help our home institution, New York Theological Seminary better train ministers for ministry in today’s city. We received nearly 80 applicants, and I am delighted that the following four have joined our team (all of whom are advanced Ph.D. candidates at the New School University for Social Research): Richard Cimino is the author of Trusting the Spirit: Reform and Renewal in American Religion (Jossey-Bass) newsletter. Weishan Huang’s dissertation explores Chinese religious organizations and the construction of religious identity in Chinese migrant communities of New York. Nadia Mian, a Canadian citizen and a practicing Muslim, is formulating her dissertation research on religion and real-estate development in New York City. Monifa Mulraine, a lecturer at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Madison, NJ, is starting dissertation research on the changing roles of “first ladies” in black churches. She is president of the Dance Ministry at Unity Baptist Tabernacle, Mt. Vernon, NY, where her husband (an NYTS graduate) serves as pastor.
It’s easy to see why these young scholars add to my excitement about the future of Ecologies and of NYTS. I will have more to say about that future in my George W. Webber Lecture, which is coming right up: Friday evening, 7:00 PM, October 26, at the Seminary (details below). Let me take this moment to invite you personally to share in the great honor the Seminary has bestowed on me, and to join the discussion of how our communities of faith can best contribute to life in one of the world’s greatest cities.
Sincerely,
 Lowell Livezey
Director, Ecologies of Learning Project
Professor of Urban and Religious Studies
New York Theological Seminary |
Moving Forward: Future EOL Research
By Max Herman
Researcher Associate Professor
EOL is entering a new and exciting phase of research. Since I joined the EOL staff in July, Dr. Livezey and I have worked closely and designed a plan for this second phase. Research under our new plan will build on the strengths of our previous study by focusing on specific themes this previous work has discovered, and by identifying more neighborhood areas in the New York Metropolitan Area for intensive investigation.
During the first two and a half years that the project has been in operation, much of our data has been compiled by students previously enrolled in the seminary’s Church and Community Analysis class in which students took detailed field notes on their own churches and examined how those churches interacted with the surrounding community. Along with participant observation reports written by our paid research fellows, this has produced a wealth of information on a number of congregations located throughout the New York Metro Area and the communities in which they are located.
Using insights developed in this first phase of research, we have identified several dynamics of urban change that impact upon congregations. We now wish to further examine how congregations respond to and shape the following processes:
1) Ethnic Succession and Diversity - how congregations embrace, resist or accommodate ethnic/racial diversity within their flock that may result from the changing composition of the neighborhood at large;
2) Immigration and Acculturation - how congregations may help foster or hinder the acculturation of immigrants, with a particular emphasis on immigrant youth;
3) Gentrification and Real Estate Development - the role that congregations and their leaders play in the formulation of urban redevelopment plans, including building affordable housing in gentrifying neighborhoods;
4) Health and Welfare - how congregations interact with government officials and social service agencies to address public health issues such as diabetes, AIDS, cancer and mental illness, as well as promoting economic well being through jobs training and/or entrepreneurship programs;
5) The Intersection of Sacred and Secular Space - how congregations interact with the physical landscape of the neighborhoods in which they are located—how open they are to the community and how central are they to the cultural life of the community.
We will explore and elaborate on these themes through intensive investigation in particular neighborhoods. Our first research site is the Lower East Side, where gentrification, immigration, and increased ethnic diversity, as well as the growing number of entertainment venues presents challenges for those religious institutions located in that area. We have found thus far that several churches located in the Lower East Side have made concerted efforts to reach out to the arts and entertainment minded population. By doing so, they have themselves become producers of new congregational forms and cultural practices.
Our second major research site has been Flushing Queens, where we have focused on the role of Korean churches in a demographically changing community. We have found that Koreans, like other immigrant groups tend to move away from their neighborhoods of first settlement as they experience economic mobility. Yet unlike some groups who have also moved their congregations to the suburbs, many Koreans who live in non-Korean suburban communities tend to return to their old neighborhoods to attend religious services in almost exclusively Korean churches. This suggests that spatial assimilation need not be accompanied by cultural/religious assimilation—a topic for further investigation among other immigrant groups.
We plan to pursue additional studies throughout the New York Metro area, such as the Williamsburgh and Bedford Stuyvesant sections of Brooklyn, and Central/West Harlem, neighborhoods where both immigration and gentrification are simultaneously reshaping the physical and social landscape. Additional sites may be added in the Bronx and New Jersey as resources and personnel become available. Through intensive observation of these dynamic communities, guided by a common thematic focus, we hope to be able to make comparative claims about the role that religion plays in the life of the ever-changing metropolis. We appreciate your continued support as we move forward in this endeavor. |
WHAT’S HAPPENING
The Fourteenth Annual George W. Webber Lecture on Urban Ministry
“Ministry when Urban is Global:
Connecting Church, City & Seminary”
Date: October 26, 2007 Time: 7:00 pm Room: Chapel
Dr. Lowell W. Livezey, Professor of Urban and Religious Studies and Director of Ecologies of Learning Project at New York Theological Seminary, will deliver the 14th annual George W. Webber Lecture on Urban Ministry at New York Theological Seminary on Friday evening, October 26, 2007 beginning at 7:00 pm.
Webber Panels
Immigrants and Immigration Policy
Time: October 26, 2007 at 5:00-5:50pm in the Robing Room
Moderated by Max Herman
Panelists: · Tom Dobbins Jr., Justice & Peace Coordinator Catholic Charities Archdiocese of NY
· Juan Carlos Ruiz, Director, New York Sanctuary Coalition
· Guillermo Linares, Commissioner, Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs
*This panel examines the influence of religion and the role of religious leaders with respect to current debates on immigrant rights and immigration policy. Given the significant numbers of immigrants (both documented and undocumented) who have recently settled in New York, this panel addresses how religion can have an impact on shaping discourse about immigration policy as well as informing practices that seek to promote the physical and spiritual well-being of these new arrivals to the city. Panelists will consist of representatives from the mayor’s office of immigrant affairs, social services agencies, and religious institutions involved in the promotion of immigrant rights.
Gentrification and Affordable Housing
Time: October 26, 2007 at 6:00-6:50pm in the Orthodox Room
Moderated by Nadia Mian
Panelists: · Alexandra Klein, Project Manager for CPC Resources, Inc. (Community Preservation Corp.)
· Carol Lamberg, Executive Director, Settlement Fund, Inc.
· Archbishop Angelo Rosario, Church of God’s Children, CEO Bronx Clergy Task Force
· Tentative: Sean Moss, Regional Administrator, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
*This panel examines the ways in which religious leaders and institutions interact with the dynamics of real estate markets in the neighborhoods. In light of the processes of gentrification and redevelopment taking place in many neighborhoods of New York City today, we will address the role of congregations in ensuring affordable housing for their congregants and members of the community. We will also explore ways that religious institutions may benefit from developing their property holdings while remaining true to their spiritually guided mission. Panelists will include representatives from non-profit community development corporations, housing advocates, and academics who study the effects of real estate markets on the character and quality of life in New York neighborhoods.
October 27, 2007: New York Theological Seminary Alumni/ae Day!
Dr. Joy De Gruy Leary & Associates Workshops and Seminars for Healing
 Those who have experienced Dr. Leary’s lectures have been stimulated, enlightened, and more during her workshops. Dr. Leary’s seminars have been lauded as the most dynamic and inspirational currently being presented on the topics of culture, race relations, and contemporary social issues.
Her clients have included academic institutions such as Oxford University, Harvard University, Columbia University, Fisk University, Smith College, Morehouse College and the University of Chicago, to name a few. She has also presented to federal and state agencies such as The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Probation and Parole agencies, Juvenile Justice Judges Association, and police departments. Dr. Leary has worked with major corporations and companies such as Nordstrom and Nike, the NBA Rookies Camp, and with the renowned G-CAPP program based in Atlanta, Georgia.
|
|
