Courses

Cross cultural or intercultural engagement and ministry is not new to the Christian church. Indeed, from its earliest days the church has been a multicultural community that has lived out its vocation within the cultural, linguistic, religious, and socioeconomic diversity of the communities in which it was located. Perhaps more than ever, today’s churches and Christian leaders are aware of the many daily reminders of what Marshall McLuhan referred to as the “global village.” This is in part a result of the ease with which virtually every part of the world has access to news and information from virtually every other part of the world. It is also a result of business and pleasure travel between countries along with immigration which have brought increased cultural, linguistic, and religious diversity to any community where there is a church.

The first goal of this course is to develop the student’s skills for engaging those who may be culturally different. Students will be introduced to basic principles for working with persons from other cultures as they become aware of the cultural forces which have shaped the student’s values and develop a framework for understanding and interpreting cultures and cultural forces. These skills represent a transferrable skill set that is applicable to many aspects of ministry, not just counselling.
The second goal of this course is to support the development of frameworks that will inform the tasks of spiritual care, spiritual direction, and counselling with individuals and groups who are culturally different from the counsellor.

Knowing…

• To articulate a broad framework for understanding and interpreting cultures and cultural forces.
• To understand the strengths and limitations of culture and ethnicity as a framework for understanding others.
• To develop a theological framework for working with individuals and groups who are culturally different.
• To learn basic helping skills for engaging those who are culturally different in a helping or counseling relationship.
• To develop a basic framework for counselling those who are culturally different from themselves.

Being…

• To be aware of the theological and cultural forces that have shaped their values and how these may impact their work with those who are culturally different (negatively or positively).
• Through reflection on practice, to become self-aware of the student’s potential strengths and short-comings when ministering with those who are culturally different.
• Through reflection on practice, to become self-aware of the student’s potential strengths and short-comings when counselling those who are culturally different.

Doing…

• To demonstrate an ability to engage and develop awareness of a culture other than their own.
• To practice the skills required to establish a collaborative relationship with someone who is culturally different from themselves.