Building Community

Partner Auburn
Learning Pillar Theological Imagination
Rigor Level Medium

Welcome! This course on Building Community is adapted from one element of the Emerging Leaders program of Auburn Theological Seminary whose mission is to identify and strengthen leaders--from the pulpit to the public square--to build community, bridge divides, pursue justice, and heal the world. Whatever your context, age, or experience, this course is for you if you want to ground yourself in an understanding of community, gain a new practice to try in your context, and grow through the opportunities for reflection and connection. 

In this course, you will be grounded in a deeper understanding of community and the importance of building community in your context. You will consider ways that story-sharing serves to build community. You will be introduced to and equipped with a community-building practice that you can apply in your own context, whether that is a congregation, classroom, or community setting. And you will have opportunities to reflect on the content and connect it to your experience and your context. Again, welcome and we're so glad you are joining us for this course. 

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, you will:
  1. Develop, through reflection on your tradition and the words and work of community builders, a definition of community that resonates with your experience and grounds you for community building.
  2. Understand the ways that story sharing builds community. 
  3. Discover and apply a practice to build community in your context.
  4. Reflect and connect with community-building peers across religious and cultural differences through Forum conversations.   

 

 

Course Components

Course Overview

  • Building Community

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    Dr. Patrick B. Reyes introduces the course on Building Community from the historic sanctuary of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, providing a framework for the lessons that follow. 
    5 Minutes
    Assignment
    Lesson Locked

Lesson One: Introduction to Building Community

  • Lesson 1: Introduction to Building Community

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    Auburn Theological Seminary leaders offer a variety of perspectives on what we mean by community and how it is shaped by belonging, hospitality, complexity, and connection.
    10 Minutes
    Assignment
    Lesson Locked

Lesson Two: Community Building Through Story Sharing

  • Lesson 2: Community Building through Story Sharing

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    Dr. Patrick B. Reyes reflects on community building as story sharing, and brings insights from his book The Purpose Gap: Empowering Communities of Color to Find Meaning and Thrive.
    10 Minutes
    Assignment
    Lesson Locked

Lesson Three: Framing A Community Practice - From Lens to Mirrors and Windows

  • Lesson Three: Framing a Community-Building Practice

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    Dr. Shannon Daley-Harris invites us to consider the limitations of lenses and the possibilities, instead, of "mirrors" for self-reflection and "windows" through which we can invite others to see and understand our perspective and experiences. 
    10 Minutes
    Assignment
    Lesson Locked

Lesson Four: Engaging a Community Practice

  • Lesson 4: Engaging in a Community-Building Practice: From Lens to Mirrors and Windows

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    Auburn leaders introduce a community-building practice, "From Lens to Mirrors and Windows" and guidelines for active listening and open, honest questions, that course participants can practice in their own contexts to build community in congregation, classroom, or other community setting.  
    10 Minutes
    Assignment
    Lesson Locked

Lesson Five - Reflections and Connections on Building Community

  • Lesson 5: Conclusion: Reflections and Connections on Building Community

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    In this final lesson on Community Building, Auburn leaders offer additional perspectives on mastering new practices and on community-building as a on-going journey, inviting reflection and envisioning for the way ahead.
    10 Minutes
    Assignment
    Lesson Locked

Features and Benefits

Through this course, students will hear from a range of Auburn Theological Seminary leaders and reflect on their own communities, stories, and leadership as they gain community-building practices to try in their own congregations, classrooms, or other contexts. 

How This Equips Faith Leaders

This course provides a framework, reflections, and practices that faith leaders can apply in their contexts to build community through story sharing. 

Building Community

Taught by Patrick B. Reyes and Shannon Daley-Harris

Patrick B. Reyes and Shannon Daley-Harris

Meet Your Instructor,
Patrick B. Reyes and Shannon Daley-Harris

The Rev. Patrick B. Reyes, PhD

As the dean of Auburn Theological Seminary, Dr. Reyes oversees the strategy, partnerships, and operations of the seminary. A Chicano writer, theologian, and executive leader, he is the bestselling and award-winning author of The Purpose Gap: Empowering Communities of Color to Find Meaning and Thrive and Nobody Cries When We Die: God, Community, and Surviving to Adulthood. Prior to joining Auburn, he worked in administration in higher education and the faith-based non-profit sector.

The Rev. Dr. Shannon Daley-Harris

As Associate Dean of Auburn Theological Seminary, Dr. Daley-Harris leads Auburn’s program team and develops strategy, curriculum, and resources for our programs that ground faith and religious leaders in their traditions and a diverse multifaith community of learners, equip leaders with vocational practices and tools to sustain their work long-term and intergenerationally, and connect leaders committed to healing the world with peers across religious and cultural difference. She is the author of Hope for the Future: Answering God’s Call to Justice for Our Children and co-author of The Just Love Story Bible.

Features and Benefits

In this course, through video lessons, journal reflections, and trying a community-building practice in your own context, you will gain a deeper understanding of community and its unique importance in your own context, explore how story-sharing builds community, and gain community-building practices to enhance your leadership.  

How This Equips Faith Leaders

This course equips leaders with a community-building practice that is applicable in a variety of contexts from congregation to classroom to community, offers grounding for the practice and understanding the role of story-sharing in community building, and deepens self-reflection on the interplay of identity, community, and story. 

Meet the Instructors

Rev. Patrick B. Reyes, PhD

As the dean of Auburn Theological Seminary, Dr. Reyes oversees the strategy, partnerships, and operations of the seminary. He also directs the Center for Storytelling and Narrative Change.

A Chicano writer, theologian, and executive leader, he is the bestselling and award-winning author of The Purpose Gap and Nobody Cries When We Die. Prior to joining Auburn, he worked in administration in higher education and the faith-based non-profit sector.

Rev. Dr. Shannon Daley-Harris

As Associate Dean, Shannon leads Auburn’s program team and develops strategy, curriculum, and resources for our programs that ground faith and religious leaders in their traditions and a diverse multifaith community of learners, equip leaders with vocational practices and tools to sustain their work long-term and intergenerationally, and connect leaders committed to healing the world with peers across religious and cultural difference. She is the author of Hope for the Future: Answering God’s Call to Justice for Our Children and co-author of The Just Love Story Bible.

Join this course’s forum conversations