Dignity, justice and community as a baseline for re-interpreting being church in a Corona-defined world

This article is written as a reflection on the relevance of being church in a world defined by the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19). The reflections are done by listening to the stories and experiences of vulnerable men and women who were displaced from their areas of living on the streets into (mostly) temporary shelters. Different organisations, state entities, universities and churches collaborated to serve vulnerable people with dignity. Wonderful and tragic stories played out during this time. Corruption and misuse of power played out alongside passionate and sacrificial work being done by professionals and volunteers alike. This mixed package of care helped the author to reflect on the embodiment of faith and on being church. The value of collaboration is unpacked, and parts of a visual journal are used to bring the stories of people closer. Lessons learned include a growing understanding of the context of homeless people, the contributions they made to the learning experience, and the re-interpretation of critical elements of being church and what can contribute to becoming church in a just and dignified way. The re-interpretation of prayer, discipleship, missional focus, stewardship and leadership, and liturgy is used in re-interpreting being church. The conclusion brings us to the understanding that true community, as expressed in sharing in communion, is critical in becoming a transformative church. Where people from different walks of life connect in an honest way, the transformation of individuals and communities happens and can still happen.Contribution: This article links to the focus and scope of the HTS journal in the way it connects the practical environment of people who are homeless to the experience of and thinking about church. The article reflects on being church and how to interpret faith in a Corona-defined world. From a theological reflection point of view, the understanding of liturgy and faith are re-imagined in the context of the lives of vulnerable people living in shelters. Key insights of the article poses to help the reader understand how dignity, justice and community help us all to re-imagine how to be church. It challenges the institutional church to become more of the community that embraces and welcomes vulnerable people to experience God and church in their spaces.

Experiential Learning in Visual Literacy Education Using Instagram (Case Study: Visual Journal Assignment, Visual Literacy Subjects Semester 2017/2018 DKV Itenas)

Social media is often regarded as a digital platform that only revolves around everyday network communication media, such as for the need to fill spare time or establish connections with colleagues and family. But along with the growing popularity of the blended learning model, the use of social media in the realm of education is increasing from year to year. In general, the classification of social media for the needs of the learning process can be divided into two categories, namely as a source of content, as well as a means of coordination or communication between students and lecturers. In this experiment, Instagram was tested as a medium for delivering material in learning. The experiment was applied to one of the Visual Literacy courses in the second semester, namely Visual Journal based on the Experiential Learning model. After the experiment was conducted for ten days, student responses were assessed through the five pillars of the Sloan Consortium. The results obtained are fulfilling aspects of satisfaction from both students and teaching staff in using Instagram media on the process and learning outcomes, so that Instagram as social media proves able to increase student motivation in achieving learning goals.

Materialność świetlnego zapisu – o rzeczach w dorobku Jerzego Lewczyńskiego

The popularity of Jerzy Lewczyński (1924-2014) coincided with the academic interest in the problem of archive, corresponding to Lewczyński’s program of the “archeology of photography,” developed in the 1970s. Lewczyński’s idea consisted in restoring Kantor’s “reality of the lowest rank,” i.e. the rejected microhistories hidden in the anonymous and the forgotten or taken out of an ashtray at the Warsaw Central train station. Today, however, one tends to forget that Lewczyński’s gesture of artistic legitimization did not aim at giving new meanings, but above all at blurring the boundary between everyday items and those which emerged from some kind of “aesthetic situation” (Maria Gołaszewska). This aspect of his art can be seen, e. g, in his visual journal, where the artist included objects of particular importance – next to Xerox copies of his own works or works of other artists, he placed also shopping receipts. Lewczyński equaled the value of cheap receipt paper with the noble velvety quality of bromine. He did not reduce his collected items to their aesthetic function, having rejected the institutionalized idea of the artifact as a work of art to enjoy by the audience. Anticipating the postulates of Bruno Latour, instead of showing objects appropriated by the power of the gaze, he presented actors: things that asked questions on their own.

Addressing "Who Are You as a Scholarly Professional?" Through Artful and Creative Engagement

This work o ers examples and discussion of the work of participants in a graduate- level education course where creative engagement and meaningful learning through artful inquiry were pursued in addressing the question, "Who are you as a scholarly professional?" We provide a brief description of the nature of coursework, followed by descriptions of participants’ work, and the authors’ experiences as graduate student and instructor in creating a Visual Journal and conducting the experience, respectively. There is a discussion of the motivations, challenges, and outcomes experienced by the authors as they seek to create meaningful and transformative learning experiences for themselves and others.