Fostering Pastoral Assembling: An Interdisciplinary, Practical Urban Ecclesiology Course

Drawing on insights from a Scandinavian study on novice clergy, this paper presents an undergraduate course in urban practical ecclesiology designed to bridge the gap between seminary and ministry. This objective is pursued through the integration of interdisciplinary academic learning with field-based experiences, fostering what we term pastoral assembling, which both complements and challenges the notion of pastoral imagination. Students engage in lectures, field visits, and hands-on ethnographic research, collaboratively interpreting diverse socio-economic urban ministry contexts. This embodied learning approach enhances students’ capacity to integrate academic insights with pastoral praxis, thereby transcending a linear theory-to-practice model. Grounded in Aristotelian distinctions between episteme (theoretical knowledge), techne (practical skill), and phronesis (practical wisdom), we analyze the pedagogical design and learning outcomes of the course. The presentation will feature interactive examples from the course alongside student video reflections, illustrating the pedagogical impact of this approach.