December 2023 Course Descriptions

Environmental Mission
One of the Episcopal Church’s priorities is to practice creation care, by which we intend “to safeguard the integrity of Creation and to sustain and renew the life of the Earth”. Intentional creation care is a relatively new area of the mission of the Church. This course is designed to familiarize students with some of the history and current practices around creation care in TEC and to equip students to carry out this aspect of TEC’s mission, and then we will consider where we go from here. What do we need to be ready for as climate change increasingly affects our own lives? What might we do liturgically, pastorally, and in our communities to bring integrity, joy, and hope in the face of growing environmental crises? Does the name ‘creation care’ convey the relationship with the natural world around us to which God calls us?
Required Texts   
  • Harper, Fletcher.  GreenFaith: Mobilizing God & People to Save the Earth. Abingdon Press, 2015.
  •  Rienstra, Debra. Refugia Faith: Seeking Hidden Shelters, Ordinary Wonders, and the Healing of the Earth. Fortress Press, 2022.
  Your Instructor
  • The Venerable Betsy Blake Bennett taught philosophy at Hastings College for sixteen years, and has been an Episcopal deacon since 2004. Along with serving as Archdeacon for the Diocese of Nebraska, she serves at Church of the Resurrection in Omaha. The focus of her diaconal ministry is religious environmental work and its intersection with other justice issues. A 2008 GreenFaith Fellow, she has been active in several religious environmental organizations as well as the Association for Episcopal Deacons. Her M.A. in philosophy is from The Ohio State University; her B.A. is from Earlham College.

Pastoral Theology
This course surveys the many aspects of pastoral care and counseling for the parish priest and deacon. The course examines the biblical and theological foundations of pastoral care and counseling (including its history and the basic models in use today), the placement of this form
of ministry in the context of parish life, how pastoral care and counseling fit into the community context of mental health services, legal and ethical issues involved, resources available, and various occasions for care and counsel from clergy.
Required Texts   
  • Benner, D. G.  Strategic Pastoral Counseling: A Short-Term Structured Model (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2003.
  • Helsel, P.B. Pastoral Care and Counseling: Care for Stories, Systems, and Self. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2019.
  • Wimberly, E. P. African-American Pastoral Care and Counseling. Cleveland, OH, Pilgrim, 2006.
  Your Instructor
  • Dr. James R. Beck is Emeritus Professor of Counseling at Denver Seminary in Littleton, Colorado. In retirement, he recently moved to Manhattan, Kansas, and is active at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church there. His teaching career was preceded by clinical work at Valley Psychological Center in Carmichael, California and by a Christian Education staff position at First Baptist Church in Corvallis, Oregon. He earned a Th.M. at Dallas Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. at Rosemead School of Psychology. He and his wife have two children, six grandchildren, and three greats. He currently serves as Historiographer for the Diocese of Kansas.
BKSM welcomes you to take courses with us for personal enrichment or continuing education. Classes are richer with occasional students around the table.  We encourage you to experience this remarkable, uplifting community of learning, worship and fellowship for yourself!

December Overview
  • Classes begin on Monday, November 13.  You will receive an email and syllabus directly from your instructor. If you have  not received anything from your instructor by Tuesday, please contact us.
  • The in-person Focus Weekend meets  December 9-10 , on Saturday from 7:30 am-9:00 pm and on Sunday from 7:30am-12:15pm.
  • The detailed weekend schedule is here.
  • Classes end on Friday, January 12.
  • Grades due January 31.

Tuition & Scholarships
  • Tuition is $100 to audit a class in person or online, $240 to take a class for credit in person, which includes  overnight accommodations at Upton Hall &  meals, $165 to take a class for credit on Zoom.
  • Apply for the $100 Jim Upton lay scholarship. Scholarships also available for students on an ordination track.
  • Many hotels are available throughout Topeka. Most are 15 minutes away or less.
Register for December Courses