Vision and Purpose

Word and World is intended to provide radical education and training for Christian disciples committed to the work of social transformation. Building capacity for movements of faith-based witness and work in service, solidarity, justice, peace and social change (this includes individuals, communities and organizations) is Word and World’s specific purpose.  To watch a brief video of one of our original animators, Elaine Enns, chronicling the history of Word and World, click here.

National/Regional Collaboration

Word and World is ecumenical and inclusive, integrating the insights and experiences of “seminary, sanctuary and street.” Its diverse and renowned faculty is drawn from a mix of both nationally known and local resource persons committed to faith-based social change. The school is guided by a national board, working in conjunction with local/regional committees. This partnership is designed to ensure consistency of vision while also allowing for diversity of region-specific interests and needs. Our intent is to always be of service to the local regional need.

Curriculum

The Word and World curriculum for any given school involves a balance between what the region identifies as its need for capacity building and the more nationally generated common curriculum. These can be broadly understood as being divided into “church practices” and “social practices” and fundamentally have to do with faith, community, justice, and movement work. Focal points for building competence include:

• Biblical literacy and relevance;
• Political, social and cultural analysis;
• Jubilee/Sabbath economics;
• Movement history and ethics;
• Spirituality of praxis; and
• Alternative community-, network- and institution-building.

Popular Education

Word and World adopts a pedagogical philosophy of popular education, and keeps each morning and afternoon class to a maximum of 15 people. Small groups meeting daily to discuss issues and concerns raised in plenary sessions attended by all participants also strengthen the objectives of dialogical education. Evenings are left open to community engagement, cultural activities, parties, recreation and public events.

W&W’s Inspiration and Historical Precedence

The vision for Word and World draws inspiration from such historical precedents as: the Finkenwalde seminary of the Confessing Church of Germany; the Freedom Schools of the Civil Rights movement; the “womenchurch” experiments of Christian feminism; the base community movement animated by liberation theology; the radically biblical “underground seminary” of nonviolent resistance in the 1970s and 80s; and several political models of popular education such as union schools, the Highlander Center and the Center for Popular Economics.

We also seek to work with and extend the reach of current experiments in alternative theological education such as the Servant Leadership Schools, the Alternative Seminary of Philadelphia, the Seminary Consortium of Urban Pastoral Education and other functioning models.

Word and World gatherings are not conferences and are not intended as “entry level” encounters to “taste and see.” They are designed for people already actively committed to movement work (broadly defined as involvement in some significant way with service, advocacy, or organizing for social change). We seek to keep a balance between regional/local and national participants, to ensure that commitment rather than means (time and money) should predominate, and to factor affirmatively for diversity (youth, women, people of color, people living in poverty, gays/lesbians, and disabled people).