Students taking Liturgy in Culture at Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary visited the Santa Maria Del Camino group from St. Boniface Parish in Cold Spring to understand Latino culture in Central Minnesota through a liturgical lens.
Hansol Goo, assistant professor of Liturgical Theology and director of the Godfrey Diekmann Center at the SOT, designed the course after seeing the need for students to experience cultures in relation to liturgical practices.
“We have a diverse student population but there seemed to be a lack of course offerings in culture,” Goo said.
The course description states students will examine, “lived experience of the People of God as a…source for understanding Christian worship.”
The exploration begins through texts such as Tricia Colleen Bruce’s book, “Parish in Place: Making Room for Diversity in the American Catholic Church,” demographic studies and papal documents, including “Evangelii Gaudium.”
Students also participate in multicultural experiences outside of the classroom.
“We are always looking to collaborate with the local communities,” Goo said. “The SOT has the advantage of its location, so we can take the education outside of the classroom to prepare students for their work in ministry.”
The first experience included a presentation titled “Indigenous Origins of the Guadalupe Devotion” with Timothy Matovina. The second — joining the Santa Maria del Camino group in Cold Spring.
“We are not dropping by just to meet the group. We will pray with them,” Goo said. “I want my students to get out of the classroom and learn what it means to be an ethnically-marginalized community in Central Minnesota.”
Together, Santa Maria del Camino, Goo’s students and the students from a course taught by Deepan Rajaratnam totaled about 25 people who shared prayer, food and conversation over a two-hour period.
“It was a great night,” Goo said. “The students were able to witness how culture plays a role in how communities pray and to see that prayer practice is not just confined to the walls of the church.”