February 2027 Course Descriptions
Forms of Christian Ethics: The Rev. Dr. David Cox (P, Year One)

Forms of Christian Ethics (P)
Throughout Christian history, Christian ethics has come in many forms, rooted in different historical circumstances, cultural milieus, and theological traditions.  With the goal of appreciating and applying this diversity, this course starts by exploring the forms of Christian ethics through the classic philosophical distinction between goals, duties, and virtues.  In addition, the course helps students wrestle with the relationship between Christian ethics and other tools for engaging the human condition—philosophy, the natural sciences (including medicine), and the social sciences (sociology, psychology, politics, economics).  Students will consider the question: To what degree is Christian ethics independent of these other forms of knowledge; and to what degree can Christian ethics be integrated with them?  As this question is engaged, students will encounter how different Christian perspectives have described the sources, activities, and purposes of Christian ethics.
Required Texts             
  • Lovin, Robin. An Introduction to Christian Ethics. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2011.
  • Samuel Wells. Christian Ethics: An Introductory Reader. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010.
  • Additional readings to be distributed by the instructor.
Your Instructor
  • TBD.

Interpreting and Preaching the Parables of Jesus
This course explores the parables of Jesus in their social-political, literary, and theological dimensions. Special attention will be paid to the parables in their original context and how their content can be interpreted for contemporary audiences.
 Required Texts
  • Harper-Collins Study Bible, NRSV or New Oxford Annotated Bible with Apocrypha, NRSV
  • Scott, Bernard Brandon, Hear Then the Parable: A Commentary on the Parables of Jesus, Fortress Press, 1990
  • Blomberg, Craig, Preaching the Parables: From Responsible Interpretation to Powerful Proclamation, Baker Academic, 2004
  • Snodgrass, Klyne, Stories With Intent: A Comprehensive Guide to the Parables, Eerdmans, 2018
  •  Other readings provided by the instructor           
 
Your Instructor
  • Lynne Moss Bahr is dean of the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry. She holds a M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. in historical theology (Judaism and Christianity in Antiquity) from Fordham University. She has taught New Testament and Early Christianity at Rockhurst University, Fordham University, St. John’s University, and Manhattan College. She is the author of ‘The Time Is Fulfilled’: Jesus’s Apocalypticism in the Context of Continental Philosophy (T & T Clark/Bloomsbury) and a number of essays and journal articles.

Preaching 2
Building on competencies from Preaching 1, you will gain confidence and insight into your own homiletical process as the faithful means by which we give voice to the lived and scriptural experience of the word of God. My expectation is that you will get better through practice and by beginning to internalize a routine for sermon design that works for you. We will also explore and practice preaching during times of turbulence and political instability. All of this, it is hoped, will create in us essential exegetical principles for homiletics no matter the situation.
  
Required Texts    
  •    Schade, Leah D. Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide. New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2019. Selected sections to be discussed will be chosen and noted in the final syllabus.
  • Two articles from the Winter 2019 issue of Anglican Theological Review, sent with the syllabus: “Preaching in a Politically Divided Age” and “Preaching on Issues of the Day.”
Your Instructor
  • The Very Rev. Torey Lightcap is Dean of Grace Cathedral in Topeka, Kansas. Prior to this recent appointment he served as Canon to the Ordinary for the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas for five years. He is an alumnus of the Seminary of the Southwest (M.Div, ’04), Oklahoma State University (M.S., ’96), and Oklahoma Baptist University (B.A., 1994).

Social Ministry I
This course will explore the Biblical, theological, and historical foundations of social ministry in an Episcopal/Anglican context. Participants will also gain a basic understanding of  contemporary issues related to poverty in our communities such as, but not limited to, hunger, education, senior citizens, housing, mental health, refugee resettlement, and other issues which  push persons to the margins of society.
Required Texts         
  •  Christian Social Witness. Harold T. Lewis, 2001.
  • Students will also be invited to read another text on issues related to poverty in the United States and lead a discussion in class about the particular text.  A list of potential books for this project will be included with the syllabus.
Your Instructor
  • The Reverend Deacon Shane Schneider serves in the Diocese of Western Kansas at Grace Episcopal Church in Hutchinson and as Deacon-in-Charge at St. Anne’s Episcopal Church in McPherson. A graduate of Kansas State University, he holds an M.A. in Sociology from Arizona State University and an M.P.S. in Social Entrepreneurship from Fort Hays State University. An alumnus of The Bishop Kemper School for Ministry, he received diaconal ordination in 2022. For more than a decade, Dn. Shane has worked in communications and marketing for Saint Francis Ministries, an Episcopal child and family services nonprofit based in Salina, Kansas.  He also serves as an adjunct online sociology instructor for Fort Hays State University, where he teaches Introduction to Sociology and Diversity & Multiculturalism in the U.S. 
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!

February Overview
  • Classes begin on Monday, January  11.  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/Zoom Focus Weekend meets  February 13-14 , 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, March 12.
  • Grades due March 30.

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 February Courses