welcome.

Hello, and thank you for stopping in here at Engaged Spirituality PDX!

I developed the initial idea for this course and blog project after reading a book by Adam Taylor, entitled Mobilizing Hope: Faith-Inspired Activism for a Post-Civil Rights Generation.  This book excited me with its ability to inspire action on social justice issues. In over a decade of teaching community based learning courses at Portland State University, I have worked with numerous students who have referred to their own faith when reflecting upon motivations for social justice work.  Sadly, PSU has recently closed its religious studies program, and the Spiritual Life Center has also recently closed its doors, maintaining solely an online presence.  With a background in religious studies myself, and a lifelong interest in faith and praxis, I decided to design and propose a course offering in which students could explicitly explore their own spiritual beliefs as a motivation for social justice work. This blog is part of that work: the idea is that students will publically reflect upon and share the learning and growth they have experienced as a result of the course, hopefully inspiring others to reflection and action as well.

In the Introduction to his book, The Impossible Will Take a Little While, Paul Loeb notes, “we live in a difficult time fraught with uncertainty and risk.  From terrorist threats, foreign military ventures of questionable purpose, and mushrooming white collar crime, to skyrocketing health care costs, mounting national debt, and an economy that appears rigged for the benefit of the greedy and ruthless, the world can at times seem overwhelming, out of control. “    Explore here how PSU students have become involved in social justice work on a wide variety of issues and areas, depending on their passions, interests, and gifts, and how they have created or built upon a foundation for a lifetime of community activism and social justice work based upon their own faith traditions, beliefs and practices.