NEWS & VIEWS
Summer Institute an Opportunity for Focused Study

The annual Social Action Summer Institute of the Roundtable Association of Diocesan Social Action Directors, taking place at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, Georgia in July as this issue of CHURCH goes to press is designed to teach those who lead the church’s social mission how to be both authentic disciples and effective disciples.

Roundtable Secretary Jeffry Odell-Korgen said that for the “authentic” part of that task, the symposium offers teaching on the gospel and on the social teaching of the church and rich prayer experiences; for the “effective” part it teaches skills to help participants be more effective in the public arena.

For those new to social ministry, including parish leaders as well as diocesan personnel, there is basic teaching on how to make parishes communities of salt and light.

This year, for those more experienced in social action, the institute is offering an advanced symposium on racism. “The country is now so diverse,” Korgen said, “that we need to look at racism through a new lens for the twenty-first century.” Faculty for the symposium include the Rev. Bryan Massingale of Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis., and Eduardo Bonilla-Silva of Duke University in Durham, N.C.