March 2026 Course Descriptions

Register for March

xContemporary Catechumenate
The Adult Catechumenate (Liturgical Rites and Faith Formation Process) one is the best kept secret within the Episcopal and Lutheran churches. Two resolutions from the 1988 General Convention of the Episcopal Church encouraged the Catechumenate to be the preferred way to initiate adults for Baptism, Confirmation, Reception, and reaffirmation of Baptism in the Episcopal Church. Similar guidelines exist in the ECLA Church. 

The goal of this course is to provide an overview of the Catechumenate. The Catechumenate is an ancient process of forming adults in the Christian faith over time. This Christian Initiation process is suitable for adults whether they have never been Baptized (a Catechumen), an adult who has been Baptized (a Candidate) and or an adult that desires to be received into the Episcopal or Lutheran Churches The goals of this course are to:

• Obtain knowledge of the history of the ancient Catechumenate in the early Christian Church, and qualities of the renewed of the Catechumenate process in the contemporary church.
• Obtain and demonstrate a working pastoral knowledge and skills of the Catechumenate process in each students pastoral setting.
• Obtain the ability to design and practice the Adult Catechumenate suitable for each students pastoral setting.
• Become more aware of one’s own spiritual / faith journey to be sensitive and aware of others journey of faith.

Required Texts

• Bushkofsky, Burke and Rouse, eds. Go Make Disciples: An invitation to Baptismal Living,  Augsburg Press, 2102.
• Turrell, James F.  Celebrating the Rites of Initiation: A Practical Guide.  Church Publishing, 2025.
• Wagner, Nick. The Way of Faith: A Field Guide for the RCIA Process. Twenty-Third Publications, 2015. 
• Access to the current  Book of Occasional Services of the Episcopal Church:  https://www.episcopalchurch.org/files/lm_book_of_occasional_services_2018.pdf

Recommended, but Not Required:

• See syllabus

Your Instructor:

• The Rev. Dr. Larry Ehren is an Episcopal priest in the Diocese of West Missouri, who recently retired as Priest in Charge at St. Mary Magdalen. He is a graduate of BKSM in Anglican Studies, has a Master of Divinity degree from Boston College's Graduate School of Ministry and Theology, an MBA from Rockhurst University, and undergraduate degree from Saint Louis University in Psychology and Philosophy. He recently completed his Doctor of Ministry studies in Christian Spirituality at the Virginia Theological Seminary. He has pastoral experience with the Catechumenate in a variety of settings. He currently serves as an Advisory Board member of Journey to Baptismal Living (an ecumenical resource for the Catechumenate) and recently served as a Catechist for Baptized for Life (a Lilly Foundation initiative within the Episcopal Church). In addition, he is a member of the Board at the Ignatian Spirituality Center of Kansas City and serves as a prayer companion for those making the Spiritual Exercises in Everyday Life

xGospels
There is one Jesus of Nazareth, but four authoritative witnesses to his life and mission. In this course, we are going to study the New Testament gospels in their biblical, historical, and narrative contexts. We are going to develop an appreciation for both their collective and distinctive witness to Jesus Christ and to the life of discipleship. How does their witness inform our understanding of who Jesus was then and who Jesus is now? And how does this knowledge shape our understanding of who we are as his witnesses and activate us and empower us for ministry in his name?
Required Texts       

• Newbigin, Leslie. A Walk through the Bible. Regent College Publishing, 2011.
•  Powell, Mark Allen. Introducing the New Testament: A Historical, Literary, and Theological Survey Grand Rapids, Mich.: BakerAcademic, 2009.
  
• Bible: New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) or New Revised Standard Version: Updated Edition (NRSVue)
  

Your Instructor 

• The Rev. Dr. J. Ted Blakley serves as the rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Hutchinson, Kansas. Before coming to Grace, Ted served as the Curate of St. John's in Wichita, he taught as a long-term substitute in the Wichita Public Schools, and he was the Scholar in Residence and Executive Director of St. Mark's Press. He is the author of the three-volume series, A Lector's Guide and Commentary to the Revised Common Lectionary. which is available through St. Mark's Press (stmarkspress.net). He received his Ph.D. in New Testament from the University of St. Andrews in Scotland (2008). He and his wife, Rebekah, have four children ranging in ages from 13-24. 

xSacramental Theology
This course addresses the basic principles of sacramental theology from a classical Anglican standpoint and the historical development of the Book of Common Prayer as a response to those principles. Working from the perspectives of ritual theory and identity formation, using the theological categories of incarnation, ecclesiology, and soteriology, this course provides the foundations of a theological and methodological approach for further study and practice of the liturgical worship in the Episcopal tradition.
Required Texts         

• Boersma, Hans. Heavenly Participation: The Weaving of a Sacramental Tapestry. First Edition. Grand Rapids, Mich: Eerdmans, 2011.
• Weil, Louis.  Liturgical Sense: The Logic of Rite (Weil Series in Liturgics).  New York:  Seabury Books, 2013.

Recommended Texts     

• Martos, Joseph. Doors to the Sacred: A Historical Introduction to Sacraments in the Catholic Church. Updated ed. edition. Liguori, Missouri: Liguori Publications, 2014.
• Valantasis, Richard. Dazzling Bodies: Rethinking Spirituality and Community Formation. Eugene, Oregon: Cascade Books, 2014.

Your Instructor

• Dr. Donna Ruth Hawk-Reinhard, AF is a professed member of Anamchara Fellowship.   She has a PhD in Historical Theology from Saint Louis University and an MDiv from Covenant Theological Seminary.  Since 2008, she has taught classes in spirituality, early and medieval church history, introduction to Christian theology, and Anglican Studies in a variety of contexts including vocational, university, and seminary settings.  Her research area is the intersection of sacramental theology, liturgy, and Christian identity formation. 
  
  

Social Ministry II
This course will apply concepts learned in Social Ministry I to the participant’s particular local context.  Students will develop ministry partnerships within their own local community and will learn basic community organizing principles such as asset mapping.  This course will use, in part, the Called to Transformation model of Asset Based Community Development developed by the Episcopal Church and Episcopal Relief & Development.
Required Texts   

• Mather, Michael. Having Nothing, Possessing Everything
• Harder, Cameron. Discovering the Other: Asset Based Approaches for Building Community Together

Your Instructors

• The Rev. Deacon Shane Schneider

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!

March Overview

• Classes begin on Monday, February 16.  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  March 14-15 , 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, April 10.
  
• Grades due April 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 March Courses