HISPANIC SUMMER PROGRAM 2007
STUDENT REPORT
Martha Levine,
Lutheran Seminary Program in the Southwest student
August, 2007
As I pack to travel to my internship site in rural Minnesota, I am reminded of how much my participation in the Hispanic Summer Program (HSP) of June 2007 added to my preparation for a ministry training experience that will encompass building relationships with Latin@s, Anglos, and indigenous people over the coming year. Few if any of the HSP 2007 Latin@s (as well as the non-Hispanic persons in attendance) will have an experience quite like the one I expect to encounter beginning 1 September, 2007. All—whether they hailed from places across the U.S., or from México and/or the Caribbean—taught me invaluable lessons about ecumenism. I am enormously grateful to each of them.
HSP 2007 was held at Duke Divinity School on the Duke University campus in Durham, North Carolina. Seventy-plus students, seven professors, and three administrators cooperated to make the 2007 HSP meaningful for everyone involved, I am sure; it was positively life-changing for me.
Academics and Courses
The Hispanic Summer Program is designed primarily for Latino/a seminarians and religious studies students in the United States. In addition, a certain number of non-Latinos who have demonstrated commitment to Hispanic culture and ministry (I am one of these) and a few seminary graduates who desire continuing education are also accepted. The HSP's focus is primarily academic, consisting of intensive two-week seminary courses taught by Latino/a faculty from various seminaries in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
In 2007, seven different courses were offered. Most of these courses specifically address issues of Hispanic ministry and/or explore Biblical or theological themes from an Hispanic perspective. In 2007, the courses taught in English were “Ecumenism: Building Bridges Across Denominations, Finding New Ways of Working Together in the Inner City,” “Jesus and Liberation: A Cross-Cultural Perspective,” and “Hispanic Heterodox: Latina/o Religious History.” The courses taught in Spanish were “Lectura Pastoral de las Cartas Paulinas,” “Historía de la Teología Cristiana,” “Isaías 40-55: Exlilio y Retorno,” and “Pedagogías Emergentes de Liberación: Teoría y Práctica en Contexto.” Most students' native language is Spanish but some speak English as their first languages; often many members of the latter group have some familiarity with Spanish as well.
Students may take one course for credit and may ask to audit a second if they believe they will be able to handle so heavy a workload. (Wisely, I opted not to try auditing a second course again this year as I had done last summer. The work is demanding!) Courses sometimes require a significant amount of work to be done in the week(s) prior to the class meetings such as reading multiple books (this was the case in the course that I took) and/or completing paper(s) to be turned in the first day of class (ditto). Classes meet for three hours daily; students and teachers all look forward to the brief breaks permitted midway through those class meetings as chances to back away from the intensity of discussions that earmark the courses. Substantial academic reading and research is required during the two-week period in addition to class meetings. A major project or paper is often assigned to be completed in the week following the program; sometimes the production of the written work goes on over the term of a course with a final paper summarizing students’ learning due at the very end. HSP's directors (and the professors) encourage all students to produce their best quality work—suitable for subsequent publication—during the program.
Worship
In addition to the intense academic work, worship was an integral component of the program. Brief daily devotions including music and prayer preceded announcements and lunch each day, and longer worship services were held on the opening Sunday and on the final day of the program. Groups of students were formed to design and lead each day's worship service during HSP; these groups were sometimes assisted by students with special skills in music and worship activities. A wide variety of national traditions and denominational styles were represented, exposing everyone to diversity in worship.
Fellowship
Fellowship was an important part of the program as well. During meals and breaks between classes as well as after class in the evenings, we got to know other students from different seminaries, church traditions, and countries of the Americas. Some students explored the Raleigh-Durham area and visited area churches on the weekend. The banquet and talent show on the final night of the program was a wonderful celebration of the students, professors, and program staff. It featured comedy, drama, music, song and dance. The people involved represented at some twenty seminaries, at least sixteen denominations, perhaps fifteen states of residence, and up to a dozen or more different nationalities. Professors and administrators likewise came from diverse backgrounds.
A Final Commendation
As happy as I was to have been selected to participate in HSP 2006, I am even more grateful to have had an occasion to participate in HSP 2007. The chance to renew friendships with several of the people I met last summer along with the opportunity to meet and become fond of so many more people who are committed to Hispanic theology and cultures reinforced my desire to seek out the Latino/a perspective on ministry “en comunidad.” Once again, I was up for the challenge of high-quality coursework in the company of first-rate professors and students. Once again I looked forward to the excellent administrative and logistical support that the staff provided. I certainly was not surprised by the fun and fellowship I experienced; indeed, this year my improved Spanish made both even more satisfying.
I suppose that this feeling of satisfaction prompts me to repeat what I concluded last year about the HSP experience: I imagine that for students who experience alienation or discrimination at seminaries where Latino cultures are marginalized, where Spanish is not regarded as an academic language, and where commitment to Hispanic or Latin American ministry is either minimal or nonexistent, the HSP is an affirming, welcome, much-needed environment. I strongly recommend the Hispanic Summer Program for Latino/a students in addition to others who thirst for a Latin American and Hispanic context for seminary study and who are committed to ministry in these communities.
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