Bishop Kemper School for Ministry
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August 2020 Course Descriptions

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August Overview
  • The Zoom Focus Weekend meets  August 8-9, on Saturday from 8:30-6:00 and on Sunday from 8:30-12:15. The detailed weekend schedule is here.
  • Classes begin on Monday, July 13.
  • Classes end on Friday, September 11 (if taken for credit).
  • Tuition is $100 to audit, $210 for credit, which includes your overnight stay at Upton Hall & all meals.
  • If you prefer a hotel, BKSM has a special rate of $75.50 (including tax) at nearby  Senate Luxury Suites.
  • Apply for the $100 Jim Upton lay scholarship.
  • Register online for classes.
BKSM welcomes you to take courses with us for personal enrichment or continuing education. Classes are always richer with occasional students around the table.  We encourage you to experience this remarkable, uplifting community of learning, worship and fellowship for yourself!

Christian Spirituality
This course will introduce you to basic Christian themes of spirituality in the tradition of the western church, primarily through the lens of a Rule of Life. We will study and explore the two foundational rules of the tradition from the first four chapters of the Acts of the Apostles and the Rule of St. Benedict. Resources will be shared so that you will be able to develop your own Rule of Life with a view toward helping your future parish-based communities to develop their own, communal, Rule.
Book List            
  • Luke. The Acts of the Apostles, Chapters 1 – 4. New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).
  • Benedict, Editor: Timothy Fry. The RB 1980, The Rule of St. Benedict in English. Collegeville, MN: The Liturgical Press, 1982. (n.b. just the Rule for $2.95 – not the entire commentary).
  • de Waal, Esther. Living with Contradiction, an Introduction to Benedictine Spirituality. Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing, 1997.
  • Pennington, M. Basil. True Self, False Self. Spencer, MA: Crossroads Publishing, 2000.
  • Guenther, Margaret. At Home in the World. New York: Seabury Press, 2006.
Your Instructor
  • Brother James Dowd, OSB, is a Benedictine monk and Prior of Incarnation Monastery and The Benedictine Way in Omaha, NE. Before serving in Nebraska, he served at Holy Cross Monastery in West Park, NY and at Mariya uMama weThemba Monastery in Grahamstown, South Africa. Brother James is passionate about exploring the intersection of the quest for Christian social justice and the contemplative life. Before his years in monastic life, Brother James had a career in theater and television.

Christian Theology II
Christian Theology II provides a biblical, historical, and systematic overview of the following Christian concepts: Christ and Salvation, the Holy Spirit, Church and Sacraments, and Eschatology. The goal of this course is to provide diaconal candidates (as well as lay persons interested in personal enrichment) with a theological foundation for effective ministry in the world today.
Reading List     
  • McGrath, Alister. Theology: The Basics, 4th ed. Wiley-Blackwell, 2018.
  • McGrath, Alister. Theology: The Basic Readings, 3rd ed. Wiley Blackwell, 2018.
Your Instructor
  • Dr. Wilburn (Bill) T. Stancil is Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Rockhurst University, Kansas City.  Since 1980, he has taught theology at four different universities and theological seminaries.  Dr. Stancil is a licensed lay preacher in the Episcopal Church and a frequent speaker to civic groups and churches of many denominations in the Kansas City area.

Homiletics for Lay Preachers
This course provides students an overview of basic homiletical principles as these pertain to the ministry of lay preaching. Students will offer practice sermons.
Reading List     
  • Long, Thomas G. The Witness of Preaching, third edition. Westminster John Knox Press. 2016.
Your Instructor
  • The Rev. Dr. Bill Fasel is a recently retired Episcopal priest. He currently serves part time as the Assistant to the Bishop for Leadership Development in the Diocese of West Missouri. Fasel holds a D.Min. in Congregational Development from Seabury-Western.

Practice of the Eucharist
This course addresses the need of Episcopal clergy to lead worship thoughtfully, prayerfully, and in accordance with the 1979 Book of Common Prayer.  Upon completion of this course, successful participants will be able:
  • to design coherent Eucharistic services for the various seasons of the church year. 
  • to explain the history and structure of the Eucharist in the 1979 BCP.
  • to lead a “normal Sunday” with competence, confidence and elegance. 
  • to lead special services which incorporate the Eucharist, including baptism, funerals, and the services of Holy Week
  • to assign/delegate various roles to deacons, laypersons, and assisting priests according to the rubrics of the 1979 BCP
Reading List (required)
  • Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, together with the Psalter or Psalms of David, according to the use of The Episcopal Church [1979]. Church Hymnal Corporation, New York: 1979.
  • Hatchett, Marion.  Commentary on the American Prayer Book. HarperOne: San Francisco, 2013. 
  • Hatchett, Marion. “What’s in a Rubric?” Sewanee Theological Review (51:4), 2008.
  • Huntington, William Reed. A Short History of the Book of Common Prayer, Together with Certain Papers Illustrative of Liturgical Revision, 1878-1892. Thomas Whitaker: New York, 1893. The text of this resource is available online at <http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/short_history_BCP.htm>.
  • The Hymnal 1982 according to the use of The Episcopal Church. The Church Hymnal Corporation: New York, 1985.
  • Lathrop, Gordon. The Pastor. Fortress Press: Minneapolis, 2006.
  • Malloy, Patrick.  Celebrating the Eucharist: A Practical Ceremonial for Clergy and Other Liturgical Ministers. Church Publishing: New York, 2007.
  • Michno, Dennis. A Priest’s Handbook: The Ceremonies of the Church. Church Publishing: New York, 1983. (Various editions of this exist, any one is fine.)
Reading List (optional)
  • Dearmer, Percy.  A Parson’s Handbook (Various editions)
  • Galley, Howard E. The Ceremonies of the Eucharist: A Guide to Celebration. Cowley Publications: Cambridge, MA, 1989.
  • Ritual Notes (various editions from the 1880’s to the 1960’s)
  • Stuhlman, Byron D. Prayer Book Rubrics Expanded. Church Publishing, Inc.: New York, 1987.
Your Instructor
  • The Rev. Dr. Benjamin Thomas is the Director of Church Relations for the St. Francis Foundation. Previously, he served as the Dean and Rector of Christ Cathedral, Salina, KS, after serving as Assistant Rector at Grace Church, NYC. He earned his M.Div. (‘07) and Th.D. (‘11) from the General Theological Seminary in New York. His research interests include patristic and early medieval theology. He lives in Eden Prairie, MN with his wife Holly and their four children.
Register Now for August Courses
Address for Tuition Payments/Donations:
The Very Rev. Don Compier, BKSM Dean
410 SE Independence Ave.

Lee’s Summit, MO 64063
Physical Address:
Bishop Kemper School for Ministry

701 SW 8th Avenue
Topeka, KS 66603

The Bishop Kemper School for Ministry is a collaborative venture of the Episcopal Dioceses of Kansas, West Missouri, Nebraska and Western Kansas.
BKSM also partners with the Central States Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
BKSM offers classes and programs to educate people for church leadership in both lay and ordained vocations.