Hispanic Ministry Summer Term at the Lutheran Seminary Program in the Southwest
May 24-June 11, 2020 at Austin, Texas
The Hispanic Ministry Summer Term at the Lutheran Seminary Program in the Southwest (LSPS) is designed for ELCA seminary students to develop leadership skills in Hispanic Ministry and build a network of colleagues who share this commitment. The first week involves students in the LSPS Spanish Language and Hispanic Ministry intensive. Week 2 consists of a weekly seminar with Prof. Jay Alanis. Week 3 involves students in another week-long intensive: Mision en Comunidad/Mission in Community with The Rev. Rubén Durán, Director for New Congregational Development for ELCA, as the main presenter.
Wartburg Theological Seminary will grant 3 Master of Divinity credits to students successfully completing the course, which are transferable to the student’s own seminary. Arrangements can also be made to take the first and/or third weeks as a 1 credit course.
Objectives:
- To increase capacity for doing Hispanic ministry
- To develop strong cross-cultural awareness and ministry skills
- To engage in Hispanic ministry in congregational settings
- To improve facility in Spanish language
- To avoid cultural violence in mission development
- To build a cohort of colleagues preparing for Hispanic ministry within the church
Schedule:
May 25-May 29: Participation in LSPS Spanish Language and Hispanic Ministry Intensive.
Friday, May 29: Orientation Day for seminarians.
Friday, May 29 through Sunday, May 31: at practicum sites in Texas congregations.
June 1 – June 5: Seminars in Austin on the campus of the Seminary of the Southwest
Friday, June 5 through Sunday, June 7: at practicum sites in Texas congregations.
June 8-June11: Participation in LSPS Mision en Comunidad/Mission in Community Intensive.
Costs: (estimated)
Tuition is $2985, which includes an administrative fee of $300. Full scholarships are available to cover the total tuition cost of the summer term for ELCA students.
Students are expected to pay their own transportation, housing, and meal expenses.
Normally, we expect students to have access to a car for the duration of the summer term.
There are two housing options:
- A local hotel for approximately 14 days: $800.00 per person in a shared double room). Plus and additional $250.00 for five days in two weekend practicums in Texas congregations. [The cost of a single room at a local hotel for 14 days is $1680.00.]
- Arranged housing with a local family in their home: $300.00 payable to the families upon arrival on Sunday, May 24. Plus an additional $250.00 charged to the student account for the two weekend practicums in Texas congregations. The home stays for the 14 days are arranged by LSPS with the local families and DO NOT INCLUDE MEALS. The 5 days congregational weekend visits are arranged by LSPS and covers all meals and housing with a congregational family. A car or shared rental transportation is required for travel to Alvarado, Houston or Round Rock for one of the practicums.
A non-refundable housing deposit of $250.00 is due by April 30, 2020 and will be applied to the five-day weekend practicum stays in Texas congregations
Registration:
Registration for the Hispanic Ministry Summer Term is done online at:
http://www.lsps.edu/programs/intensive-ii
Fill out the course registration form in its entirety. For the course information, enter “Hispanic Ministry Summer Term 2020.” After clicking “Submit Form,” you will be taken to a payment screen to pay for the housing deposit. If paying by credit card, complete the payment form, making sure to select the $250 “LSPS Summer Term Housing Dep.” If you prefer to pay by check, you can mail your $250 housing deposit payment to:
Learning for Life
Wartburg Theological Seminary
333 Wartburg Pl
Dubuque, IA, 52003
Testimony from Previous Students:
The Summer Intensive in Hispanic Ministry was not only about learning the language. The experience was more about learning the culture. I can now see the world with a new lens. I learned about the “other” by living with them, worshipping with them and becoming “familia.” This experience was very enriching academically with the amazing instructors we had who were all Latino. Cindy Robles, Hispanic Ministry Summer Term
As a result of my participation in the 2014 LSPS-sponsored Hispanic Ministry Intensive I have repeatedly found myself challenged to identify, process, and to reflect upon subconscious and previously unidentified values and beliefs. Thinking deeply about these issues (internalized oppression, systematic injustice, and the reality of the plight of the differently documented immigrants and refugees seeking asylum) and participating in a variety of cross cultural experiences has enhanced my understanding of Christian vocation, reaffirmed my own commitment to servant leadership, and increased my resolve to move beyond the narrow confines of my own culturally-conditioned comfort zones by advocating for justice, speaking truth to power, and having the courage to confront cultural violence. Jon Brudvig, Hispanic Ministry Summer Term
I noticed two themes important in doing Hispanic ministry: listening to someone’s story, and slow is fast. A month later, I have now heard so many stories that I am not the same person I was. Each host family that I stayed with and each congregation we worshiped in has stretched me and pushed the limits of my comfort zone and challenged preconceived notions I didn’t even know I had. Maggie Berndt-Dreyer, LSPS Hispanic Ministry Summer Term