May 2020 Course Descriptions
May Overview
- Due to COVID-19, classes are meeting online on Saturday May 9 from 9:00 am - 9:00 pm.
- Classes begin on Monday, April 13.
- Classes end on Friday, June 12 (if taken for credit).
- Tuition is $50 to audit, $115 for credit
- Complete a short application for the $100 Jim Upton lay scholarship.
- Register online for classes.
Anglican Spirituality
This course focuses on the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church as a prime source for personal and congregational growth in God's love.
Book List
Diversity, Justice and the Church's Mission
This course provides an introductory survey of systemic racism in America—its origins and foundations, as well as its costs —and will look at the position of the Episcopal Church in that history. We will explore how systemic oppression plays a role in perpetuating barriers to true diversity and racial harmony, and we will develop a functional definition of the difference between “non-racist” versus “anti-racist.” We will also discuss how we can intentionally move congregations along the continuum from being “exclusive” to “transformed” spaces. (This workshop satisfies the canonical anti-racism requirements for clergy and lay leaders.)
Book List
Required
New Testament
The course is a study of the Gospels, Epistles, and other writings of the New Testament that gives consideration to the their historical, literary, and theological dimensions. After taking this course, students will have gained a general understanding of the major stories and theological ideas of the New Testament, a basic familiarity with the variety of methods scholars use to interpret the New Testament, a basic sense of the origins and historical development of the New Testament, and an appreciation for variation and similarity within interpretations of the New Testament.
Book List
Dr. Arminta Fox is Assistant Professor of Religion and Director of Peer Ministry at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas. She earned her PhD in Biblical Studies from Drew University Theological School in Madison, New Jersey in 2015. A New Testament scholar, Dr. Fox’s primary areas of research include the complex development of identity in biblical texts and early Christian history, feminist biblical scholarship, contextual hermeneutics, and material culture. Her first book, “Paul Decentered: Reading 2 Corinthians with the Corinthian Women,” will be published by Lexington/Fortress Academic in 2019. This work analyzes how Paul’s letters, particularly 2 Corinthians, witness to complex debates between Paul and the communities in which he worked.
This course focuses on the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church as a prime source for personal and congregational growth in God's love.
Book List
- The Book of Common Prayer (BCP)
- Derek Olsen, "Inwardly Digest: The Prayer Book as Guide to a Spiritual Life" (Forward Movement, 2016).
- Recommended:
Commentary on the American Prayer Book by Marion Hatchett (HarperOne)
- The Very Rev. Dr. Don H. Compier (Ph.D. in theology, Emory University) is Dean of the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry. He also serves as Canon Theologian of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas and is an associate priest at St. Michael and All Angels, Mission, KS. Previously, Compier taught Master’s and Ph.D. courses in theology, philosophy, and modern church history at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA. He has also offered classes at Saint Paul School of Theology and Eden Theological Seminary. He led the graduate program in religion at Graceland University from 2002 until 2014, developing an innovative online curriculum. He is currently researching the history of Eucharistic thought in Anglicanism.
Diversity, Justice and the Church's Mission
This course provides an introductory survey of systemic racism in America—its origins and foundations, as well as its costs —and will look at the position of the Episcopal Church in that history. We will explore how systemic oppression plays a role in perpetuating barriers to true diversity and racial harmony, and we will develop a functional definition of the difference between “non-racist” versus “anti-racist.” We will also discuss how we can intentionally move congregations along the continuum from being “exclusive” to “transformed” spaces. (This workshop satisfies the canonical anti-racism requirements for clergy and lay leaders.)
Book List
Required
- So You Want to Talk about Race (I. Oluo) or ; Dear White Christians (J. Harvey)
- Stamped From the Beginning (I. X. Kendi) or; “Seeing White” (podcast, J. Biewen)
- I’m Still Here (A. Channing Brown) or; Between the World and Me (T. Coates) or; We Have Not Stopped Trembling Yet (E.J.R. David)
- Episcopalians and Race (G. Shattuck)
- Stand Your Ground (K.B. Douglas)
- Ms. Cheryl Cementina serves as the Adult Christian Formation Coordinator at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Kansas City Missouri. She holds a B.A. in Religious Studies from the University of California (Santa Barbara), a Master of Arts in Counseling from the University of Missouri (Kansas City) and a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology from the University of Central Missouri. In addition to her parish duties, she also serves on the Diversity and Reconciliation Commission of the Diocese of West Missouri and the Commission on Christian Formation (Diocese of West Missouri).
New Testament
The course is a study of the Gospels, Epistles, and other writings of the New Testament that gives consideration to the their historical, literary, and theological dimensions. After taking this course, students will have gained a general understanding of the major stories and theological ideas of the New Testament, a basic familiarity with the variety of methods scholars use to interpret the New Testament, a basic sense of the origins and historical development of the New Testament, and an appreciation for variation and similarity within interpretations of the New Testament.
Book List
- David L. Barr, New Testament Story: An Introduction. 4th ed. Cengage Learning Press, 2008.
Dr. Arminta Fox is Assistant Professor of Religion and Director of Peer Ministry at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas. She earned her PhD in Biblical Studies from Drew University Theological School in Madison, New Jersey in 2015. A New Testament scholar, Dr. Fox’s primary areas of research include the complex development of identity in biblical texts and early Christian history, feminist biblical scholarship, contextual hermeneutics, and material culture. Her first book, “Paul Decentered: Reading 2 Corinthians with the Corinthian Women,” will be published by Lexington/Fortress Academic in 2019. This work analyzes how Paul’s letters, particularly 2 Corinthians, witness to complex debates between Paul and the communities in which he worked.