Bishop Kemper School for Ministry
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Focus Weekends at the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry

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Students meet in Topeka, Kansas, the second Saturday and Sunday morning of each month, August through May. Students thoroughly prepare for their focus weekends for about four weeks in advance, completing all assigned readings and pre-class assignments for a single topic/course. During the weekend, students receive 10 hours of face-to-face instruction in their chosen subject from a highly qualified instructor.

On Saturday mornings, students devote 90 minutes to careful consideration of practical issues in ministry (praxis) as a group and 90 minutes to group discussion
(colloquim) to explore their emerging sense of call with their cohort. 


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For students taking classes for personal enrichment, course instruction does not officially begin until after lunch on Saturday, at 1:00 p.m., which gives you the option of traveling to Topeka on Saturday morning for class. Of course, you are more than welcome to spend the night on Friday and join us for breakfast, morning prayer and praxis on Saturday morning.  Colloquium is the only time of the weekend reserved for those students on a track for ordination.

Students will tell you that some of the most enriching time they spend together happens over meals, during worship and at evening receptions on Friday and Saturday nights.


Classes meet at historic Bethany Place, just a few blocks from the Kansas Capitol and the downtown area. Classes take place at Grace Cathedral and at the Upton Hall Conference Center, which also provides student accommodations.

 To learn more about the facilities used for classes and to get directions, visit the Find the Campus page on our website. 

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.