November 2026 Course Descriptions

Christian Theology 1
This course provides a biblical, historical, and systematic overview of the following Christian concepts: Revelation, the Bible, God, Creation, Humanity and Sin. The goal of this course is to provide students enrolled on the diaconal track (as well as lay students interested in personal enrichment) with a theological foundation for effective ministry in the world today.
Required Texts
  • McGrath, Alister. Theology: The Basics, 4th ed. Wiley-Blackwell, 2018.
  • McGrath, Alister. Theology: The Basic Readings, 3rd ed. Wiley Blackwell, 2018.
Your Instructor
  • Dr. Daniel F. Stramara, Jr. is a professor of historical theology in the Department of Theology & Religious Studies at Rockhurst University, arriving in 1997. He graduated with a Ph.D. from Saint Louis University (1996) with a concentration in early Christianity, particularly Greek. His research focuses primarily on mining the richness and diversity of early Christianity, the Scriptures, and conceptions of God. Stramara is the author of two books: Praying—with the Saints—to God Our Mother (Eugene, OR: Cascade Books, 2012) and God’s Timetable: The Book of Revelation and Feast of Seven Weeks (Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2011). He has written over twenty-five articles published in national and international journals, and is a two-time recipient of Rockhurst’s Daniel L. Brenner Award for Outstanding Faculty Scholarship. Stramara has also been awarded by Rockhurst University five Presidential Grants for Faculty Development and seven Thomas More Grants for scholarship. Stramara likewise has published numerous historical-genealogical articles.

Contemporary Ethics
This course examines various trajectories in theological ethics from the early twentieth century to the present, including those connected to Protestant Liberalism; Neoorthodoxy and Postliberalism; Roman Catholicism after Vatican II; Liberation Theologies; and Post- and De-colonial approaches. Special attention will be paid to pressing issues of the present, especially racism, LGBTQIA+ concerns, and the climate crisis.
Required Texts
  • Schneider, Laurel C., and Thelathia Nikki Young. Queer Soul and Queer Theology: Ethics and Redemption in Real Life. Routledge New Critical Thinking in Religion, Theology and Biblical Studies. Routledge, 2021.
  •  Bauman, Whitney, and Kevin J. O’Brien. Environmental Ethics and Uncertainty: Wrestling with Wicked Problems. Routledge, 2020. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429290503.
  •  Dorrien, Gary J., Aaron Stauffer, and Charlene Sinclair, eds. Organizing Visions: Social Ethics and Broad-Based Solidarity Activism. Orbis Books, 2025.
  •  Bretherton, Luke. A Primer in Christian Ethics: Christ and the Struggle to Live Well. Cambridge University Press, 2023.
  •  Other readings provided by professor.
Your Instructor
  • The Rev.   Dr.   Aaron   Stauffer

Liturgical Leadership
This course will explore what it is to lead worship and how to do so effectively and authentically. We will focus on the non-Eucharistic liturgies of the Book of Common Prayer (including the Daily Office, Ministry to the Sick and Dying, Marriage, and Burial) and use simulation opportunities to discuss how the officiant/presider lives into the role of conduit between God and God’s people through worship.
We will also discuss the liturgical calendar and special considerations in planning for Advent, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and Eastertide.    Written assignments will encourage students to reflect on leading worship authentically and engagingly as they respect the “wiring” of their own liturgical styles.
Required Texts
  • Adams, William Seth. Shaped By Images: One Who Presides. New York: Church Publishing, 2000.
  • The Book of Common Prayer and Administration of the Sacraments and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church. New York: Church Publishing, 2001.
  • Mitchell, Leonel L. Pastoral and Occasional Liturgies: A Ceremonial Guide. Cambridge, MA: Cowley, 1998.
  • Mitchell, Leonel L. Lent, Holy Week, Easter, and the Great Fifty Days: A Ceremonial Guide. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2007.
  • Pitts, David R. Lift Up Your Hearts: Liturgies and Ceremonies of the Episcopal Church. Fort Thomas, KY: Crown, 2025.
  • Platter, Ormande. Deacons in the Liturgy, 2nd Edition. New York: Church Publishing, 2009.
Your Instructor
  •  The Rev. John Spicer has served as rector of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Kansas City, Missouri, since 2012. Before that, he served as associate rector at St. Andrew’s and as vicar of Church of the Good
    Shepherd in Springfield, Missouri. Before being ordained in 2002, Spicer was a writer and editor. He is the author of   Beating the Boundaries: The Church God is Calling Us to Be (Morehouse, 2016) and
    Bringing Us to Our Knees: The 1906 Springfield, Missouri, Lynching,    Anglican and Episcopal History,
    March 2024.

Preaching I
This course is designed as an introductory view to the world of preaching and as an “on-ramp” to designing and delivering sermons rich in content that articulate the lived and scriptural experience of the word of God.  Objectives are to:
  • Explore constitutive elements of preaching and types of sermons.
  • Establish a trustworthy hermeneutical and exegetical process for sermon design.
  • Elicit your own homiletical voice and style.
  • Prepare and preach a sermon on an assigned text.
  • Practice giving and receiving feedback on sermons from a generous community.
Required Texts
  • Cressman, Lisa Kraske. Backstory Preaching: Integrating Life, Spirituality, and Craft. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2018,
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).
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!

November Overview
  • Classes begin on Monday, October 12.  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  November 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, December 11
  • Grades due December 31.

Tuition & Scholarships
  • Tuition is $100 to audit a class in person or online, $282 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 November Courses