Bridging Divides: In Church, Community, and Country

Join the First Bridging Divides: In Church, Community, and Country Cohort

With a keen awareness of the polarizing political climate and a deep hope that the church can be a place that bridges the divide, where people with common values can find unity in Christ, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary is launching the Doctor of Ministry focus Bridging Divides: In Church, Community, and Country. Pastors, preachers, religious leaders, and community leaders will benefit from the educational content, shaped by both theological reflection and practical resources.

About the Bridging Divides: In Church, Community, and Country Focus

In our contentious culture today, marked by rancor and mistrust, people are seeing those in their own political party, ethnicity, race, and religion as neighbors to love and those “others” as enemies to hate, disparage, or avoid altogether. Our country has a history of division as demonstrated in the Civil War, Civil Rights Movement, and the Vietnam War, and other conflicts. These political and ideological differences caused divisions not only in society but also in the church. The history of the church recounts major splits like the Great Schism and the Protestant Reformation. In fact, disputes date back to the first century when Christians were divided over the inclusion of Gentiles in the early church. Into this divide, then and now, the apostle Paul proclaims, “There is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female, for all of you are one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28). Hearing this word is one thing; embodying it requires not only commitment but practice—being willing to be with others. As Howard Thurman expresses: “When I look at myself through your eyes . . . , I see in me what you see in me and that wall that separates and divides will disappear and we will become one.” This is our hope for such a time as this.