Urban Leadership Foundation

Urban Spirituality

Urban Poor Spirituality

1. Biblical Context of Oppression (Discussion based onHanks)
- Spirituality of the Oppressed (Discussion on Guitierrez and Ligo)
- - 2. The Culture of Poverty and Urban Poor Church Styles
- 3.The Spirit and the Blues (Discussion on Cone)
  - Urban Spirituality
    - 4. Post-Modern Spirituality. Discussion on
    - Scharen, Christian. (2006). One Step Closer: Why U2 Matters to Those Seeking God. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, Baker Publishing.
    - Grigg, Viv 2010.Kingdom and Postmodernism. Spirit of Christ and the Postmodern City. Emeth Press.
      
      PowerPoint on Kingdom & Postmodernism
    Discipleship in Midst of Urban Economics (ppt, if time)

Related Readings

Scharen, Christian. (2006). One Step Closer: Why U2 Matters to Those Seeking God. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, Baker Publishing.

Grigg, Viv. (2005). Squatter Culture and the Church.In Cry of the Urban Poor. GA, USA: Authentic Media. ch. 16.

Grigg, Viv. (2005). An Insider's Perspective. In Cry of the Urban Poor. GA, USA: Authentic Media. ch 15.

Gutierrez, Gustavo. (1984). We Drink from our Own Wells: The Spiritual Journey of a People. New York: Orbis Books; London: SCM Press.

Cone, James H. (2005). God & Black Suffering. The Spirituals and the Blues. An Interpretation. New York: Orbis Press.

Ligo, Arche. (1993). Liberation Themes in Philippine Popular Religiosity: A Case Study. Voices from the Third World, XVI (2), 117-142.

Learning Objectives

Understand the context of urban poor spiritualities and analyse expected types of spirituality the context causes or requires.

Evaluate the effectiveness of our spiritual disciplines in enabling us to cope with the pressures of urban life.

Action & Assignments

1. Read extensively on these topics

2. Share Word Hand or Wheel with Spiritual Growth group. Report.

Conversations

1.What is the spirit of the City? What characteristics does an urban thspirituality have that oppose that spirit?

2. Are Bono and the Blues then the same as the psalmist was in Israel, interpreters of spirituality in a new millieux? Do they portray truth into the context where all truth is blurry? Rate their success in creating an alternaticve spirituality to that of the city.

3. In what waysdo Hanks and Guitierrez give us ways forward in the context of the oppressions of urbanism?