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Seminarian Immersion Program

The City of Philadelphia wants You!!!
Announcing a Seminarian Immersion Program at Broad Street Ministry:
A unique opportunity for service, discernment, and learning the art of ministry

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CONTACT US
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Are you…

confident that seminary is the right place for you, but not at all sure what you will do with your education when you graduate?
pursuing ordained ministry and looking for an opportunity to test your skills for leadership?
preparing for doctoral work and looking for a way to connect your voice and perspective with the challenges and struggles of those on the margins of this society?
passionate about working with youth, but uncertain how to truly equip young people for discipleship in today’s churches?
interested in partnering with organizations outside of the church to tackle social problems?
artistically inclined, and wondering how to put your creativity to work in service of the church?

For all of you, the Broad Street Ministry Seminarian Immersion Program offers an uncommon opportunity for vocational discernment and formation for ministries, a challenge to step outside of yourself and into a faith community in Philadelphia, and a taste of the possibilities for the future of God’s people

Get Involved
Thank you for your interest in the Seminarian Immersion Program at Broad Street Ministry! This is going to be a special opportunity, and we are already receiving applications for our first ‘class’ of residential interns for 2009-10.

Contact Us
For more information, email us at seminarian@broadstreetministry.org
or send mail to:
Broad Street Ministry
315 South Broad Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103

Gritty Details
At BSM, we believe that the challenges the changing church faces require new kinds of pastors and theological leaders. The Seminarian Immersion Program at BSM helps to meet that need by inviting talented students with diverse gifts to spend a year learning the art of ministry in an urban context in and through the ministry of Jesus Christ, and in connection with Broad Street Ministry

Program Elements:

5 talented interns live together in a house in a diverse Philadelphia neighborhood
2 theological trained ‘residential advisors’ live with the interns in the house
Interns may maintain full or part-time student status, or take the year off; all interns must have completed at least one year of seminary
Students may apply for a summer or academic-year immersion experience
Interns will serve at Broad Street Ministry. They will design their internship in conversation with BSM staff – the internship emphases will vary depending on the student’s availability and interest, and can include Youth Ministry, Arts/Culture, Social Entrepreneurship, Campus Ministry, Pastoral Leadership, Social Justice Advocacy, Community Education, Health Ministry, Interfaith work, or a self-designed project
The Seminary House will be the site of extensive professional development programming, including round-table conversations with local, national, and international theological and civic leaders, crisis intervention training, and formal supervision
Interns will have access to subsidized counseling services through the ‘Council for Relationships’ (www.councilforrelationships.com)
The program will cover approximately 7 meals a week at BSM (thanks to partnerships with corporate donors)

The formation that will occur during this experience will be unique for each participant, but will also bear the unique marks of the contexts which fuel it: an inclination toward collaboration, a taste for risk-taking, openness toward the other, and a holy impatience for the realization of the Kingdom of God. BSM House Alumni/ae will be unleashed with a sense for what is possible within local churches, and with skills and networks that will help them translate dreams into first steps once they graduate from seminary.

History of Broad Street Ministry
Until the spring of 2005, the century-old Chambers-Wylie Presbyterian church loomed quietly and uninvitingly to all who passed by its imposing, "handle-less" red doors. The church that closed in 2001 served for years as an uninviting contrast to the bustling and vibrant Avenue of the Arts in the heart of Center City, Philadelphia. It stood solemnly—and unappealingly—alongside its institutional neighbors who have contributed mightily to the Philadelphia renaissance. Standing on the church steps and looking across the street one can see The Kimmel Center for Performing Arts—home to the city's first-rate orchestra and host to world-renowned performers on the one side, and The University of the Arts—packed to overflowing with the next generation of visual and performing artists on the other side.

The area surrounding the church building is transforming into a special Philadelphia neighborhood. Where once this section of Broad Street was free from much in the way of 'neighborhood traffic,' an exciting mix of every kind of diversity has grown up around the facility. While this section of Broad Street continues to welcome patrons most nights of the week from the city and suburbs, people of every age, class and hue now live and work in the blocks surrounding the church building.

Since 2005 The Chambers-Wylie Memorial Presbyterian Church sanctuary and facilities has come alive and now serves as home to the Broad Street Ministry (BSM). The vision was 'to do' church differently—with creativity, courage, imagination, and boldness.

BSM Accomplishments
Since its inception just 3 short years ago, Broad Street Ministry has grown in every facet of its organizational and community life. BSM has also had a significant impact on the Avenue of the Arts and the city of Philadelphia.

In just three short years, BSM has become:

a diverse and growing faith community
a lively hub for cultural and artistic expression
a research & development' lab for the next generation of church communities
a center for dialogue around issues of moral urgency confronting the city and the world
a host to numerous civic and artistic groups that enrich and transform our city.
a spiritual and compassionate anchor along the Avenue of the Arts.
a place for youth and young adults to engage with the vast and complex social justice issues at work in a large urban city.

Visibility in the City and Community
BSM's work these past three years has not gone unnoticed in the local press and was profiled in several media outlets including:

Philadelphia Inquirer (3 front page stories) and Philadelphia Daily News
Channel 3,6 and 10 news
City paper/Philadelphia Weekly
Several local papers in Pennsylvania and New Jersey

Past intern testimonials
“I didn't know what to expect when I came to BSM; I had never been to Philly before, never worked with young people, never experienced a church quite like it. But, in a way that still surprises me, I feel as though I found my home. BSM--its community, its values, its vision and drive to seek the Kingdom of God and to build up all peoples in the direction of that vision and of that kind of community, transformed the way I understand the message of Christ to this world. It was an experience that I will never forget, and one that I will always treasure.”
-Sarah Glass, Harvard Divinity School (M.Div, ’09)

“Working at Broad Street was crucial in discerning my call to urban ministry. It was a great opportunity to really struggle with the theology I was learning in Seminary. As an intern for the Youth Initiative program, I was challenged everyday by the people I engaged with and the situations I saw. Yet, it was so great to be able to pass on a message of hope to the youth and to help them to recognize how Christ is working in the city of Philadelphia.”
-Brenna Nickel, Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div/M.A., ’10)

"Being someone who never would have called himself 'artistic' I never thought that I would work at let alone fit in this place called Broad Street Ministry. I was wrong - big time! The community is so diverse that all personalities are welcome and encouraged. BSM doesn't want people to fit into a certain type of mold or style - they want people to be themselves, to have the freedom to express themselves in however they see fit. This to me was one of the most inspiring and spiritually filled parts of being at BSM”
-Shawn Hyska, Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div, ’09)

“Broad Street Ministry brought urban ministry to life for me. BSM is the most viable intersection of all the city has to offer – from the rumble of the subway to the roaring of fire engines down Broad Street; from the century-old architecture to the post-modern installation of windmills hanging from the sanctuary ceiling; from the tunes of John Francis or the Critical Mass Choir to the multi-part harmonizing of every denominational rendering of Amazing Grace sung at one time by the congregation; from the hipster seminarian to the suburban lawyer to the woman living with mental illness and without a home. There is no encounter at BSM that does not call attention to God's amazing work in the world, and there is no moment wasted in thinking about, praying about, laughing about, talking – SHOUTING – about the chance to give and receive the ministry of God's people here. An internship at BSM is life changing because it is so full of life. Expect to sleep well because you'll be so worn out. But don't expect to sleep well because you'll be living with constant questions, constant discernment, and constant drive to respond to a call to live the gospel in the city. Come with the knowledge that people of all kinds will support you and love you. Come with a desire to work hard. Come to have fun. Come with hope for God's reign realized!”
-Emily Wilmarth, Princeton Theological Seminary (M.Div, ’08)

Where will I live?
The Seminary House will be located at 23rd and Christian, in the Graduate Hospital neighborhood of Philadelphia

What are the costs involved?
Students will pay a monthly program fee of approximately $600, which will cover rent and utilities. Students will be responsible for their own health insurance coverage and student loan obligations, and we advise students to research how the student status they select will impact these responsibilities.

Why will there be ‘residential advisors’?
At BSM we are committed to hospitality and think context is extremely important! Residential Advisors will be your guides to city living and surviving working at BSM, and will cultivate an environment at the Seminary House that will facilitate learning, daring, spiritual formation, and mutual respect.

When is the application deadline?
January 2, 2009
Phone Interviews will be held January 12-28, 2009
Applicants will be notified February 16, 2009
Download a copy of the application by clicking here.

Philly Info
Philadelphia Phillies are the 2008 World Series Champs!

Art Museums
Philadelphia Museum of Art
Rodin Museum
Barnes Foundation
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts

Other Museums
Franklin Institute
Academy of Natural Sciences
Mutter Museum
University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

History
Betsy Ross House
Liberty Bell
Independence Hall

Wander
Reading Terminal Market
Italian Market
South Street
General News and Information