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The People's Seminary

Our Mission Statement

God is most fully revealed in Jesus’ descent from a position of power and privilege to one of service and solidarity with the poor and excluded of his day.

God meets us in our encounters with the vulnerable and the weak: inmates, immigrants, and other outsiders. God challenges, teaches and calls us through our excluded neighbors.

Unfortunately, there are more and more people who find themselves outside the Christian community, unable to participate in or benefit from the transformational power of God's Word. People marginalized due to race, social class, language, lifestyle, legal status often reach the conclusion that God is against them and that they are not welcome in the Church.

Mainstream church people find few opportunities to authentically encounter people at the margins. Such fruitful encounters can transform the church's worship, ministries, theology and biblical interpretation.

Theological education is especially exciting when people from the mainstream and the margins come together and discover a Gospel that is real and visible, enabling both groups to discover their vocation, serving together as Christ's body in the world.

The People’s Seminary is an ecumenical learning center for scripture study and theology, rooted in active ministry in solidarity with people on the margins.

Educational Offerings

The People's Seminary offers three levels of courses:

•  To people on the margins

The People's Seminary is committed to training leaders among people on the margins. Courses are available in Spanish and English in biblical studies, theology, liturgy, pastoral accompaniment, advocacy and other ministry skills.

•  To congregations and pastors

The People's Seminary seeks to sensitize and train congregations and pastoral leadership about issues and skills related to ministry on the margins. We provide a safe place for transformational encounters between the mainstream and the excluded.

•  To seminarians, interns and researchers

The People's Seminary offers undergraduate and graduate-level courses in biblical studies, theology and pastoral ministry. Internships and research opportunities are available for seminarians and scholars committed to contextual ministry and theological reflection with the underclass.

Click here for a list of available courses.

Project on Intercultural Reading of the Bible

The People's Seminary is participating in The Intercultural Reading of the Bible project, in which 150-200 Bible study groups from all over the world study the same text (John 4, the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman) and then compare interpretations.

The aim is to be exposed to the reading of the Bible by people in completely different cultural circumstances, to reflect on why we read the Bible similarly or differently, and how such reading might be mutually enriching.

For more information about the People's Seminary, call Sharon at 360-755-5299

or click "Upcoming Courses and Events" in the sidebar at left.