Since 2009, students, faculty, alumni and neighbors have gathered in communities across the five boroughs of New York City to walk the streets, “ground-truth” or calibrate what has been written about a place with the sensory experience of being physically present, bear witness of God at work, pause with a stranger to pray together, and enjoy the local cuisine that is so much a part of the life of our diverse city. As Robert Linthicum reminds us, we cannot love our city unless we know it, and so we do this, one neighborhood at a time. 

Check out the dates and RSVP here for an upcoming pbb!

Bible for Life is a non-credit, intensive course series that provides an overview of the Bible. Students come to understand their place in the unfolding story of God's relationship with creation, from Genesis through Revelation. The course is taught by a faculty team including Geomon George, Mark Gornik, and others. 

In this one-day intensive, we will approach the whole narrative of the Bible as a story of neighbors, and the desire and challenges of our common life. Through readings, discussions, and learning activities, we will become better equipped to understand each book of the Bible, the major sections of the canon, and the story as a whole. In doing so, we will understand the people, major events, places and themes of the Old Testament and the New Testament. Thinking with both our whole selves and in community, the course will broaden our understanding of the Bible and about how God is in the midst of our lives and world.

Saturday, February 3, 2024 @ 9:30 - 3:30 PM EST

The course meets on the City Seminary campus (302 W. 119th St.) and is free of cost.

Register by Monday, January 29.

Completion of this program is a prerequisite to admission to the Master of Arts in Ministry in the Global City.

From the South Bronx to Wall Street, and Flushing to Harlem, at City Seminary of New York, the city is our classroom. New York’s diverse churches, neighborhoods, streets, restaurants, subway lines, networks, and history are our curriculum. City Seminary of New York is a community of learning focused on the practice of ministry in our urban world. Building on what God is doing in the city, the Ministry Fellows Program is an introductory urban ministry leadership course designed to encourage the work of hopeful and faithful ministry in the city, to provide leadership training in the practice of urban ministry, and to establish learning communities from diverse backgrounds for accountability and formation. Primarily for those active in ministry who may have limited access to prior urban ministry training, the program was launched in 2009 with generous support from the Lilly Endowment. Fellows come from all walks of life and boroughs across New York City.

The next Ministry Fellows cohort will meet from February - April 2024. Dates and times of meetings are below, and we invite you to attend an upcoming open house to learn more about the program!

The Ministry Fellows Program is a prerequisite for application to our Master of Arts Program in "Ministry in the Global City."

Wed. February 7, 2024, 6:30-8:30 PM      
Sat. February 24, 2024, 10:00 - 4:00 PM
Wed. March 6, 2024, 6:30-8:30 PM      
Sat. March 23, 2024, 10:00 - 4:00 PM
Wed. April 10, 2024, 6:30-8:30 PM      
Sat. April 20, 2024, 10:00 - 4:00 PM

Click HERE to apply!

Completion of this program is a prerequisite to admission to the Master of Arts in "Ministry in the Global City."

City Seminary’s Master of Arts degree in Ministry in the Global City is an ideal program of study for individuals already involved in ministry and leadership in New York City, and for all who are interested in a lifetime of ministry in the global city. It is a unique 2.5 year, 36-credit graduate program that combines a learning community experience with fellow New Yorkers, an integrated curriculum emphasizing scripture, prayer, urban ministry practices, adaptive leadership, and creative and entrepreneurial ministry. With the city as the classroom, and the focus and background of every course, students will be prepared for the challenges of living and thinking theologically in a growing and changing, increasingly diverse world Christian church.  

Program outcomes include:

• A deepened sense of vocation to ministry in the city in all areas of life
• Tools and practices for adaptive ministry in the city
• Development of a pattern of spiritual formation grounded in Scripture, prayer, and community
• Engagement in the global mission of the church
• Belonging to a collaborative network of fellow urban church leaders

This work is supported and led by a faculty that combines real world experience with a commitment to scholarship that serves the global church. Students and faculty will work together to understand the city as emergent and in complex forms, explore new developments in the urban church within a global context, and grapple with Scripture for the love of God, neighbor, and the city. New projects and ministries will be explored, and new concepts and grounded practices will be developed. 

WE LEAD NYC is an eight-month intensive program (October - following May) for high-school students, college freshman, and youth leaders who desire to be grounded in their Christian faith and connected with others in the city. The goal of WE LEAD NYC is to nurture youth communities in the city for lives of purpose and joy through leadership development, spiritual formation, and ministry practice. We cultivate active Listening as a practice, encourage vocational Exploration as a journey, equip Ambassadors to build bridges, and root Disciples in the Word. For more information on joining the next cohort, beginning Fall 2024, please email learning@cityseminaryny.org.

Generously supported by the Lilly Endowment, the goal of the Thriving in Ministry initiative is to walk alongside pastors in our city and nurture networks of mutual support, care, and well-being in a complex and ever-changing urban context. This will be implemented through collaborative inquiry groups, action learning conversations (praxis groups), spiritual direction retreats, and annual gatherings, providing a foundation for long-term impact and continuity in years to follow. Diverse ways of engagement (particularly, the use of the arts, games, and expressive ways of knowing) will be intentionally incorporated into the process, as a way to support adult learning and development with diverse participants. Following what has been successful in other peer learning experiences, it is our aim that our initiative leads to thriving across personal, family, and communal settings for the peace of the city.

Our Thriving in Ministry Retreat dates for 2024 are:

Friday, April 12, 10 AM - 2 PM

Friday, October 18, 10 AM - 2 PM

For more information, please contact Miriam Acevedo at miriam@cityseminaryny.org.

Every January, women involved in leadership and ministry from across the city gather for a time of learning, sharing, reflection, and retreat from the everyday challenges and opportunities of "being" in the city. The symposium, which began in 2013, focuses on the annual seminary theme. Past symposia have addressed work-life balance and calling, spiritual direction, practicing hospitality, creativity and the arts, and healing for the peace of the city. An integral part of this gathering is intentional space for quiet and restoration of the body and spirit through the arts and reflection, as well as the engagement of the mind through panels and conversation.

Many thanks to all who attended our 2024 symposium on Saturday January 20, on "Listening for the Peace of the City." Stay tuned later this year for information on our next symposium in January 2025!

City Seminary of New York's (CSNY) library is focused in four specific subject areas: Global Christianity (defined as works on Christianity in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the West Indies), Urban Ministry and Mission Studies, Biblical Studies, and Applied Theological Studies. Because of our specialization in Global Christianity, we have internationally published materials that are not available anywhere else in the city. 

The library has a small but focused collection of journals mainly within the subject area of Missions Studies and Global Christianity. Additionally, we subscribe to more general theological journals and a small number of journals that examine urban Christianity, as well as the American Theological Library Association's journal database ATLAS, an online full-text collection of major religion and theology journals. 

We welcome pastors, ministry leaders, researchers, and students to use our library as a resource on campus during library hours (Monday through Friday, 10 AM - 5 PM). Books are for reading-room access only. Contact library@cityseminaryny.org for more information.