May 2021 Course Descriptions
May Overview
- Classes meet May 8-9 from Saturday at 12:30 pm (lunch at noon) to Sunday at 12:00 noon.
- Classes begin on Monday, April 12.
- Classes end on Friday, June 11 (if taken for credit).
- Tuition is $100 to audit, $210 for credit, which includes your overnight stay at Upton Hall & all meals.
- If you prefer a hotel, we have a special rate of $75.50 (including tax) at
- 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
Doctrines of the Third Person
This course will explore classical doctrines of the Third Person, including the Holy Spirit, the Church, and Eschatology.
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 reconciliation, 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. Students will be expected to demonstrate knowledge of the resource materials, comprehension of key concepts, and a personal plan for engaging in the work of transforming racist systems. (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
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. Previously, Compier taught Master’s and Ph.D. courses in theology, philosophy, mission, cultural studies (including Latino/a/x history and thought) and church history at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA. He is the author of several award-winning books. He is currently researching the history of Eucharistic thought in Anglicanism. Dean Compier serves on the board of the Ignatian Spirituality Center of Kansas City.
Doctrines of the Third Person
This course will explore classical doctrines of the Third Person, including the Holy Spirit, the Church, and Eschatology.
Book List
- McGrath, Alister. Christian Theology: An Introduction, 6th edition. Wiley Blackwell, 2016.
- Karkkainen, Veli-Matti. An Introduction to Ecclesiology: Ecumenical, Historical & Global Perspectives. InterVarsity Press, 2002.
- Dr. Wilburn (Bill) T. Stancil is Professor Emeritus of Theology and Religious Studies at Rockhurst University, Kansas City. In his 40-year teaching career, he taught theology at four different universities and theological seminaries. Dr. Stancil is a licensed lay preacher in the Episcopal Church and a frequent speaker to churches of many denominations in the Kansas City area.
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 reconciliation, 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. Students will be expected to demonstrate knowledge of the resource materials, comprehension of key concepts, and a personal plan for engaging in the work of transforming racist systems. (This workshop satisfies the canonical anti-racism requirements for clergy and lay leaders.)
Book List (required)
- The Sin of Racism: A Call to Covenant (Pastoral Letter from the House of Bishops, March 2006
- “Speaking of Freedom” an open letter to the church (Spellers, Douglas, and Varghese July 4, 2020)
- Stamped From the Beginning (I. X. Kendi) -OR-“Seeing White” (from the Scene On Radio podcast, J. Biewen)
- So You Want to Talk about Race (I. Oluo) -OR- Dear White Christians (J. Harvey)
- 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)
- Reconstruction After the Civil War (PBS Documentary)
- Stand Your Ground (K.B. Douglas)
- How To Be an Antiracist (Ibram X. Kendi)
- 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, was published by Lexington/Fortress Academic in December 2019. This work analyzes how Paul’s letters, particularly 2 Corinthians, witness to complex debates between Paul and the communities in which he worked. It argues that women played an important role in the development of the Christian community in Corinth.