The Vision and Mission of the Beloved Community Fellowship at Luther Seminary
The Beloved Community envisioned by Martin Luther King Jr. is a global concept that began in the United States. However, King’s vision was greatly inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, who led India’s nationalist movement with a refusal to hate his enemies and emphasized nonviolence Key points are:
Global Vision: King saw the earth and its resources as God’s gift to all humanity, meant to be shared by everyone, emphasizing his commitment to nature and the environment.
Human Decency: In the Beloved Community, human decency is paramount. This means:
No tolerance for poverty, homelessness, racism, hunger, and other injustices.
Racism in any form will not be accepted.
Conflict and Reconciliation: The Beloved Community acknowledges that conflict will exist at interpersonal, group, and international levels.
Despite conflicts, people will work towards reconciliation, achieving peace and harmony through a fundamental commitment to peace, reconciliation, and nonviolence.
The vision takes the existence of conflict seriously and seeks solutions through nonviolence.
Nonviolence as a Tool: Both King and Gandhi believed that nonviolence was essential in creating the Beloved Community. King expected nonviolence to be used not only to create peace and reconcile oppressors with the oppressed but also to resist oppression effectively.
Key Goals and Objectives of the Beloved Community Fellowship Program at Luther Seminary
Developing Christian Public Leaders
The fellowship program aims to develop, produce, and groom Christian Public Leaders who will significantly contribute to transforming society and the world based on the inspiration and teachings of the Christian faith.
Training Christian Public Leaders to Engage with Contemporary Christianity
Understanding the complex history of Christianity in the Western world, the United States, and other regions is essential for students. This knowledge allows them to critically and constructively engage with this history to foster biblically informed social transformation.
Preparing Christian Public Leaders for Diverse Church Settings
The Beloved Community Fellowship program acknowledges the diversity of churches and leaders in the United States and worldwide. The goal is to prepare students to understand why Christianity is diverse in terms of churches and denominations.
Promoting Diversity and Interdisciplinary Leadership
Although Dr. King was a Black and African American minority, his vision for the Beloved Community transcended racial and cultural identities. He embraced people from diverse backgrounds to unite against various forms of injustice. The fellowship program aims to reflect this vision.
Cultivating Courage and Sacrificial Love
Many seminaries and Christian communities emphasize the importance of God and abiding in Him for a meaningful life. Despite the low percentage of atheists in America, the Beloved Community Fellowship program aims to equip recipients to become future Christian Public Leaders by fostering a deeper commitment to these principles beyond mere belief.
Understanding the Threat of Neoliberal Capitalism to Christianity
The Bible has strong teachings on community, neighborly love, and our obligations to one another. These teachings have existed for over two thousand years but are often not fully realized in practice. The Beloved Community Fellowship aims to help students understand the tension between building a genuine Christian community and the vision of the market, providing resources to navigate this complex dynamic.
Eligibility and Criteria for Applying for the Beloved Community Fellowship Program
All continuing students at Luther Seminary pursuing graduate degrees are eligible to apply, whether they are domestic or international students. Although the fellowship program is available every academic year, a student can only be awarded the fellowship one time. To be considered for the Beloved Community Fellowship, a student must meet the following criteria:
1. The student must have been admitted to the graduate program by the admissions committee. If a continuing student, the student must be in good academic standing as determined by the Luther Seminary Academic Affairs Office.
2. The student must complete the fellowship application process as required by the Office of Inclusion and Belonging.
3. The student must demonstrate leadership experience in a multiracial community or within their own Christian community.
4. The student must commit to participating in all required activities of the Beloved Community Fellowship program, whether on campus or off campus. These activities will be mindful of the students’ academic workload.
5. The student must show a sincere desire and commitment to learning about various approaches to justice and injustice from both theological and secular perspectives.
6. The student must display a commitment to understanding social and public policies, including how they are conceptualized, formulated, and implemented in different social and political contexts. This involves evaluating them from both theological and secular perspectives.
7. The student must be prepared to draw inspiration from Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of “The Beloved Community.” This includes understanding the conditions that inspired this vision and the expected impact on the body of Christ and the wider world.
8. The student must show a deep desire and commitment to understanding how social and cultural experiences and identities shape worldviews. They must engage in relationships that promote strategies for achieving social justice across various boundaries, including social, racial, class, political, national, gender, and sexual. This commitment should be grounded in a Gospel-based process of repentance, reconciliation, restoration, and Christian unity, with a willingness to sacrifice in pursuit of justice for all.
Expectations for Successful Applicants
For any student who receives the Beloved Community Fellowship award to maintain her, his or their status, the student will have to satisfy the following requirements:
1. Maintain academic standing in their course work that is approved by the Academic Affairs Office as consistent with expectations for a student making progress.
2. Participate in the Student Mentoring Retreat lasting four days and three nights in the late summer of the first academic year before the beginning of the semester.
3. Participate in activities on campus that are organized for the special training of the Beloved Community Fellowship recipients. This will include visits to historical sites within the Twin Cities and discussion forums on campus to discuss assigned readings. Meetings for discussion will be bi-weekly or as agree upon by the cohort.
4. Participating in and supporting the planning and execution of any plan for ABIDE public event at Luther Seminary if the need arises.
5. Making a public presentation at Luther Seminary as part of either the Beloved Community Fellowship program public presentation or as part of the annual ABIDE conference at the institution.
Note: The Office of Inclusion and Belonging will be deliberate and intentional in making sure that in satisfying the expectations of the fellowship program, the successful recipients’ schedule and school workload is taken into cognizance.
Application Form Link and QR Code
Questions?
Contact abide@luthersem.edu
