BTI Consortium Certificate Programs
The BTI Consortium awards two certificates in participation with BTI Consortium Member schools; the Religion and Conflict Transformation Certificate (RCT), and the International Mission and Ecumenism Certificate (IME). Both programs are awarded in addition or as a supplement to a full degree granted from BTI Consortium member schools. They are only available to students at member schools who have met the criteria. Our certificates draw on the collective strengths of our schools and the depths of experience and expertise of faculty. Both certificate programs are accessible to all BTI Consortium students and are ultimately awarded by the Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium. These certificates are meant as organized opportunities for the expansion of learning in addition to a degree already in process. The certificates on their own are not an accredited degree option.
Religion and Conflict Transformation
The Certificate in Religion and Conflict Transformation is awarded by the BTI Consortium in recognition of courses taken in Religion and Conflict Transformation at Consortium Member schools. The award is determined by the Director of The Tom Porter Religion and Conflict Transformation Program (in collaboration with each student’s Member school’s faculty representative) and awarded by the Director of the BTI Consortium. The Certificate is not a degree but an acknowledgement of a student's interests, efforts and focus within their program. For more information, contact the RCT office or Dr. Judith Oleson.
Procedures:
- Inform your academic advisor at your school of your interest in obtaining the RCT /BTI Consortium certificate.
- Register with the RCT program hosted at Boston University School of Theology. This enables you to receive information on events and invitation to RCT gatherings.
- Review the approved course list for the RCT certificate including the one required core course, listed below. If you would like to submit an alternative course for approval, contact The Tom Porter RCT office at rct@bu.edu.
- Submit the BTI Consortium Certificate application as soon as possible, before March 1st in the Spring Semester that you plan to graduate. Contact the RCT office for Fall graduation information.
- Submit a final, integrative paper by April 1st in the Spring Semester you plan to graduate.
- For a Fall Semester graduation, contact the Tom Porter RCT office to determine if you will participate in a Capstone Seminar the Spring before, or Spring after your graduation.
Requirements:
- Be enrolled at a BTI Consortium Member school, either for a degree or for continuing education.
- Take core course “TS 805 The Spirit and Art of Conflict Transformation: Creating a Culture of JustPeace” at Boston University School of Theology, (offered Fall Semester only) or its equivalent with approval of the RCT Director at BUSTH. Students from other BTI Member schools will cross-register for this course through the BTI Consortium system.
- Take three additional courses that focus on religion and conflict transformation, or take two courses plus do an internship /field education placement.
- Attend the annual RCT Fall Retreat at BUSTH (every year you are in the program)
- Write an integrative paper, 10-12 pp that summarizes and reflects upon your learning and experience and understanding of religion and conflict transformation and how this will serve you in your vocation.
- Attend the half day Capstone Seminar in April of the year you graduate to present your paper, where you will receive your certificate from the BTI and participate in a celebratory lunch.
2021 Spring Workshop Series
Friday, April 2nd, 2021, 9:00 a.m.–12:00 noon: “Smashing Stereotypes: Dialogue Tools to Address Anti-Semitism” with Bob Stains
We make meaning through stories; they help us make sense of the world. But stories are also created to marginalize, dehumanize and justify persecution of “unwanted others.” Mostly these are “thin stories,” created in isolation from the complex, lived experiences of their subjects. They’re stereotypes. Just by living in our world, we can absorb these stories and pass them along as passive or active participants in anti-Semitism, racism, etc. One way we can help reduce these “isms” is to help people change the stories they carry about others. Reflective, Structured Dialogue has been used by people around the world to add nuance, complexity and the first-person voice to stories. This “re-storying” has been the first step toward deeper understanding that enhances trust and makes other, shared actions possible, even among former enemies. This workshop will offer tools from dialogue that have been used to surface and fight anti-Semitism. These tools can be used to go beyond stereotyping and scapegoating by inviting deeper, thicker and more complex stories in our organizational and personal lives.
Bob Stains is a 2020–21 RCT Visiting Researcher. Find out more about our Visiting Researchers here.
This event is made possible by generous funding from the Jewish Cultural Endowment at Boston University.
This event requires pre-registration at the following zoom link: https://bostonu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEtcumhqDsoHtXk82zo8aDKtSNcWrV6dQkY
With this one-step registration, registrants may attend one, two, or all three events. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Thursday, April 8th, 2021, 7:00–8:30 p.m.: “Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, White Supremacy and U.S. Culture: The Call for Interfaith Upstanding” Presentation of Papers
The Tom Porter Program on Religion & Conflict Transformation, the Boston Theological Interreligious Consortium, Hebrew College and Journal of Interreligious Studies, and the Boston University Graduate Program in Religion welcome presenters of papers on “Anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, White Supremacy and U.S. Culture: The Call for Interfaith Upstanding.” The topics are:
- Prophetic Witness and Anti-Semitism: A Case Study on Musical and Meta-Musical Upstanding Through the Arts.
- Relationship between antisemitism and white nationalism as perceived by the members of one southern Jewish synagogue that had been notably affected by the national rise of white nationalism.
- Theological Islamophobia: Theorizing the Theological Underpinnings of Islamophobic Rhetoric in Charismatic Christianity and their impact on U.S. Politics.
This event requires pre-registration at the following zoom link: https://bostonu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEtcumhqDsoHtXk82zo8aDKtSNcWrV6dQkY
With this one-step registration, registrants may attend one, two, or all three events. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Friday, April 9th, 2021, 9:00 a.m.–12:00 noon: “Understanding Anti-Semitism and Its Impact on Movements for Social Change” with Rabbi David Jaffe and Elder William Dickerson II
This workshop will explore the role anti-semitism plays in maintaining the status quo and derailing social change movements. We will seek to understand the systemic nature of anti-semitism and why it is in everyone’s interest to end it. Special attention will be paid to the role of the Church and Imperial Christianity. Participants will come away with strategies and tips for being allies to Jews, interrupting anti-semitism in personal life and preventing it from derailing social change organizing.
Rabbi David Jaffe is a 2020–21 RCT Visiting Researcher. Find out more about our Visiting Researchers here.
Elder William Dickerson II is the Executive Director of Brockton Interfaith Community. He is a Colorado native, a pastor, and has been community organizing for close to ten years. His expertise is in racial equity and leadership development. Over the past ten years as a community organizer, he has spearheaded activities to impact change within faith and oppressed communities. His work is deeply rooted in his Faith in G-d and his love for community. His main focus is to develop ordinary people in communities to become prophetic faith leaders that develop power to strengthen communities, develop relationships with Public Officials, and ultimately develop other community members to become leaders as well. He fights not just for himself but for his Family including his parents, siblings, wife, son William III, and nephews, Morgan and Samuel.
This event is made possible by generous funding from the Jewish Cultural Endowment at Boston University.
This event requires pre-registration at the following zoom link: https://bostonu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEtcumhqDsoHtXk82zo8aDKtSNcWrV6dQkY
With this one-step registration, registrants may attend one, two, or all three events. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
International Mission and Ecumenism
The BTI Consortium Certificate in International Mission and Ecumenism is awarded by the BTI Consortium in recognition of courses taken in Mission and Ecumenism at BTI schools. The award is determined by a committee of faculty from BTI Consortium Member schools. The Certificate is not a degree but an acknowledgement of a student's interests, efforts and focus within their program. For more information, contact Fr. Luke Veronis (Holy Cross), Dana Robert (BU), Meg Guider (BC) or Todd Johnson (GCTS).
Procedures:
- Meet with a BTI Consortium Mission and Ecumenism advisor from your school.
- Submit an application form as soon as possible, and certainly before your last semester.
- Complete the extracurricular assignments by April 1st, for spring graduation.
Requirements:
- Be enrolled at a BTI Consortium Member school, either for a degree or for continuing education.
- Take one course in World or Global Christianity or its equivalent.
- Take four additional courses that explore mission and/or ecumenism, comparative theology or interfaith relations.
- Demonstrate a commitment to the field, through involvement in a ministry, activity, or organization beyond one’s own tradition or denomination.
- Write an integrative paper, 5-10pp.
2020 Graduates of the International Mission and Ecumenism
Sangil Song (Boston University School of Theology)
2021 Costas Consultation: Spirituality in a time of Global Trauma
The Orlando E. Costas Consultation on Mission hosts an annual gathering on a variety of topics regarding international mission and ecumenism. Students applying for the BTI Consortium IMEC certificate are awarded their certificates at that time and prizes for outstanding student essays in World Christianity and Mission are given, including a small cash award. This year, due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the conference was held via Zoom and student essays were not presented. Below you will find recordings of the Costas Presentations from Faculty and Guests from the 2021 Costas Consultation on Spirituality and Trauma.
