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Beloved Community is built with ongoing practices that bring it fully to life.
The term “Beloved Community” can be traced to 19th-century American religious philosopher Josiah Royce and Beloved Community was a part of Boston University’s School of Theology’s curriculum. In the 1950s, when Martin Luther King Jr. was a student there, he took to heart the concept and the actions needed to bring Beloved Community into being. Royce’s statement inspires our work in the Division of Community Engagement and Belonging (DCEB):
I believe in the beloved community and in the spirit which makes it beloved, and in the communion of all who are, in will and in deed, its members, I see no such community as yet; but nonetheless my rule of life is: Act so as to hasten its coming.
Josiah Royce, Religious Philosopher
What is at the center of Beloved Community is a combination of inner work and institutional restructuring and does not happen without those two practices in tandem. Dr. King did not believe it would just appear, but that it must be first envisioned and then consciously and intentionally made possible.
Shirley Strong, leader, writer, Beloved Community Consultant, and former CIIS Dean of Students and Director of Diversity, has been a guiding force in CIIS’ development of Beloved Community. She continues to advocate for and consult on the practice and application of Beloved Community, and has written the handbook A Handbook for Building Beloved Community: Lessons Learned.
Strong also co-leads DCEB’s online Transformation Series with Rachel Bryant, DCEB Vice President. Together they model Beloved Community, inviting CIIS faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members to join them as guests where they discuss the rich and ongoing work of Beloved Community. Below are snapshots of their work together from September 2025 onward.
In September 2025, Bryant and Strong came together at what was, and continues to be, a turbulent time in what is now called the United States or Turtle Island. They leaned into Beloved Community, and especially CIIS’ Beloved Community Agreements — nine agreements created by Strong in 2008, when she was Dean of Diversity at CIIS. Among the topics covered was how to enact these agreements in group settings, which ones they gravitated to, which ones they felt challenged by, and how Beloved Community Agreements could shape the practices for holding space and each other in loving ways.
In October 2025, Bryant and Strong were in conversation with Cori Franco, CIIS student, and Sarah Heady, CIIS Director of Institutional Giving, about harnessing an abundance mindset, CIIS’ newest grant-seeking tool, Instrumental, and how abundance comes in many forms and always in community.
In November 2025, Bryant and Strong invited Jeanine Canty, professor in the Transformative Studies Ph.D. program within CIIS' Department of Transformative Inquiry, to talk about cultivating ecological resilience in beloved community, especially related to her newest edited book, Ecological and Social Healing: Multicultural Women's Voices. Jeanine shared her passion for transformative studies and being out in nature, along with ecological practices that are joyful and restorative.
Thank you Division of Community Engagement for holding deep, thoughtful events like this one with Jeanine. I was moved, informed, and stirred to connect and be interconnected with nature!
Transformation Series participant
To celebrate a year of transformation, care, and community, Bryant and Strong invited Eduardo Duran, Indigenous healer, clinical psychologist, and author of Buddha in Redface and Healing the Soul Wound: Trauma-informed Counseling for Indigenous Communities and Native American Postcolonial Psychology. Duran was in conversation with Valentina Salazar, DCEB Program Manager, and they discussed his work, engaging with ancestral lineage and Indigenous practices, and integrated wellness in turbulent times.
The fall series celebrated a tapestry of experiences, ideas, and backgrounds and as we prepared for spring 2026, our goal was to continue to bring unique, vital conversations to our Transformation Series attendees.
This was my first time attending the event as a first year Ph.D. in Transformative Studies. I will be attending their meetings in the future to listen, to hear the conversations and to grow as part of their ‘Beloved Communities.
Transformation Series participant
For January 2026, Bryant and Strong invited Phil Weglarz, Professor and Program Chair of CIIS Expressive Arts Therapy (EXA) department to talk about how Beloved Community is practiced within a hybrid academic program. Weglarz was joined by Mimi Savage and Christine Brooks, EXA professors, and they shared about the power of art-based therapy and connecting to community online and in-person.
In honor of Black History Month and CIIS 12th annual 28 Days of Blackness, Bryant and Strong invited Dr. Kathy Littles, CIIS Provost to the Transformation Series to explore Black art and art movements, and specifically her life in art and cultural museums before CIIS. Dr. Littles shared how it felt to be Black woman in art museum spaces and how important context and history is to understand Black history, experiences, and art.
To close the spring 2026 semester, Bryant and Strong to talk about Strong’s handbook on building Beloved Community, and the lessons learned from a lifetime of learning and practicing Beloved Community. Strong shared what inspired her as a child, what the civil rights movement and the poor people’s campaign mean to her, the importance of non-violence social justice work, and why she wrote the Handbook.
In looking ahead to an enriching fall 2026 season of Transformation sessions, it is invaluable to reflect on the ideas, the passions, the questions, the moments of connection, the laughter, and emotions that comprised the series so far. Each event generously expanded Beloved Community at CIIS, and we are excited to continue to build on this in the coming semester.
The Transformation Series is always wonderful. I learn so much by listening to other's perspectives. It's a great space to feel uplifted and heard!
Transformation Series participant
Explore our past sessions further with our YouTube playlist, and stay updated about upcoming sessions by checking out our calendar of events.
Our team is here to support individuals, CIIS community, and beyond to flourish and experience a feel of belonging.
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