TA 133: Visions of Ministry in Literature Dr. Kathleen Staudt

Virginia Theological Seminary Spring 2006

Kathleen Henderson Staudt kstaudt@vts.edu or kstaudt@umd.edu

phone 301-588-9116

TA 133 Visions of Ministry in Literature explores visions of the church, its mission and ministry in the world, by reading literary representations of both lay and ordained ministries and ministering communities. Literary readings will invite students to reflect critically on their own theologies of ministry and vocation and on the particular needs and challenges of people who devote their lives intentionally to public ministry. Works to be read include Willa Cather, Death Comes for the Archbishop, Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart, , Shusaku Endo, Silence, Anne Tyler, Saint Maybe, Alan Paton, Cry, the Beloved Country, Susan Howatch, Glittering Images.

Mondays and Fridays 10:15-11:45 3rd quarter; 10:30-12:00 4th quarter

Cather, Death Comes for the Archbishop Vintage 0679728899

Endo, Silence New Directions ISBN: 081121320X

Tyler, Saint Maybe 0804108749

Achebe, Things Fall Apart Anchor 0385474547

Paton, Cry, the Beloved Country Scribner 0743262174

Howatch, Glittering Images Fawcett 0449214362

Sometime in the first few weeks of the semester (definitely by September 19 if you can) find and read the document from the national church entitled "Toward a Theology of Ministry". You can find it at http://www.ecusa.anglican.org/ministry/report/pdf/towardtheologymin.pdf

Monday January 30 Overview of Course:intro & background for Cather.

Friday February 3 Death Comes for the Archbishop : Read the first 3 chapters of Cather, Death Comes for the Archbishop, pp. 1-114. Think about how the "institutional church" is presented here, and where we see "ministry" happening.

Monday February 6 Death Comes for the Archibishop: Read pp. 115-260

Friday February 10 Death Comes for the Archbishop - Finish the novel (pp. 261-297: how does the end of the novel color the vision of ministry given in the book as a whole? Insights for ministry (student presentation/paper) (Others: reflection paper #1)

Monday February 13 Things fall apart: Backgrounds and context: Read part I (Chapters 1-13)

Friday February 17 Things fall apart, Part II (Chapters 14-25): Finish the novel. The two missionaries

Monday February 20 NO CLASS

Friday February 24 Things Fall Apart: Cultural ideas about leadership, and insights for ministry (student pres) (refl paper #2)

Monday, February 27: Cry, the Beloved Country: Intro and backgrounds. Read Part I

Friday March 3 Cry, the Beloved Country: Read Part II

Monday March 6: Finish Cry, the Beloved Country. Inisights for ministry (student pres)(refl. Paper #3)

Friday March 3 Shusaku Endo: background and context. Read first part

Monday March 6 Read second part of Silence

Friday March 10 Finish Silence: insights for ministry (student presentation) (Refl. Paper #4)

Monday March 13 Exam review - pulling together what we've learned, inventing questions.

Friday March 17 MIDTERM EXAM: essay IN CLASS (topics to be announced in advance)

WEEK OF MARCH 20: Spring break

(4th quarter begins: Class meets 10:30-12:00 4th quarter)

Monday March 27 Saint Maybe: backgrounds and context pp. 1-158. Who is doing "ministry" in this novel and what definitions of ministry seem appropriate? Though this is not explicitly a theological novel what theology is implicit here?

Friday March 31 Saint Maybe: . Look especially at Chapter 5, "People who don't know the Answers." What view of church and community does this suggest and how do you react to it?

Monday April 3: Saint Maybe: finish the novel

Friday April 7 Saint Maybe: insights for ministry (student presentation) (Others; reflection paper #5)

Monday April 10 Read online, Dostoevsky, The Grand Inquisitor at http://www.bigeye.com/broskara.htm

April 14: GOOD FRIDAY

April 17: EASTER MONDAY. No class

Friday April 21 Reread/ reconsider Dostoevsky: Insights for ministry -- how does this text reflect back on our discussions of the institutional church at the beginning of the semester?

Monday April 24 Glittering Images Character of Charles Ashcroft

Friday April 28 Glittering Images The character of Jonathan Darrow

Monday May 1 Finish Glittering Images Character of Alex Jardine

Friday May 5 Glittering Images: Insights for ministry; student presentation(s) (Others: reflection paper #6)

Tuesday May 9: Last day of class - wrapup and exam review

May 12, 15 or 16: Final Exam

GRADED ASSIGNMENTS

For everyone, alternate Fridays, a 1-2 p. reflection paper Do the assigned reading and hand in 1-2 pages of reflection on the reading. By “reflection” I mean fairly free, informal, one-draft writing as a way of gathering your thoughts on what you have read. Some of you may want to keep an ongoing journal and then cull from that journal the pages of reflection you hand it, but all I want is the 1-2 page reflection paper.

To keep this from becoming burdensome, I urge you to limit reflections handed in either to this length OR to the product of a timed journaling session: 45-60 minutes and then stop, in mid-sentence if necessary, and hand in what you have. No journal due if you are doing a student presentation that week.

In reflecting on these works of fiction, you may decide to focus on one of the following: 1) a character who particularly strikes you -- attracts you, repels you; 2) the world of the novel: how do you feel being in this world as you read? What does it help you see that you hadn't perhaps seen before. Where is God in this world? 3) What vision of ministry do you see emerging here and how does it add to/challenge your view and experience of ministry (this question will be a focus of our class discussions, of course. But we will also be talking about the kinds of things that help us enter more deeply the world that a writer of fiction creates: character, plot, narrative, symbolism etc. Be alert to how these things affect your experience and your thinking.

Biweekly reflections, along with class participation, count as 40% of your grade.

Grading of reflection papers: these will be graded somewhat subjectively, on your engagement with the text. A check means "this is fine" -- and is recorded in my book as a"18." If you hand in 5 journals of this quality they add up to 90 and that, along with a your discussion leadership becomes your class participation grade. A "Check plus" means "outstanding, really made me think in new directions and shows you doing so." That gets recorded as a 19 and added up accordingly. A "Check minus" goes to a reflection that meets the assignment but strikes me as mainly a summary of the reading without much engagement or critique on your part, or reflects a somewhat superficial understanding of the reading. This is recorded as an "17".

Discussion Leadership and short paper ( 20% of your grade) Each student will take at least one turn leading a "book group style" discussion in which you choose several quotations from the novel and use them to direct a conversation around some aspect of ministry. Instead of a journal, a short paper (3-5 pages) is due the week of your presentation. In it, you should use quotations or a scene or situation from the novel at hand to develop a meditation on some aspect of ministry. Your working definition of ministry should be clear in your paper.

Midterm Essay and Final Exam: (20% each - for total of 40% of your grade) Midterm essay written in class. Depending on class consensus the final will either be written during a final exam period or during a self-timed session at home. The questions you write on will be generated by our class discussion and you will have a pretty good idea ahead of time what they will be. The purpose of the exams will be to help you synthesize what you have learned from the readings over the course of the semester.