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BKSM's summer session provides you with a variety of continuing education opportunities, whether you are ordained, a current seminarian, or a lay leader. These offerings are not part of the regular schedule of courses offered at BKSM, and they vary from year to year.
While it is our intention to offer these classes face-to-face, we will continue to watch COVID-19 developments carefully as the summer draws closer, and we will let you know if the entire class must be moved to Zoom-based instruction. However, you may register to participate via Zoom at any time.
The cost for summer courses is $100. Breakfast and lunch are on your own, though drinks (coffee, tea, soft drinks, water) are provided throughout the day. If you wish to stay at Upton Hall, the charge is an extra $40.
Unless special arrangements are made through Dean Don Compier, all classes are audited classes with no grades, though your participation will be noted on a transcript. For the richest classroom experience, students are highly encouraged to prepare for face-to-face instruction by completing all assigned reading ahead of time.
Leadership Reboot
Saturday, May 30 & Saturday, June 6
9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon
Special Note: The registration deadline for this class is Saturday, May 9 in order to have time to obtain and read course materials prior to face-to-face instruction. Due to the nature of the classroom experience, this course is limited to 12 participants.
This seminar is ideal for all pastoral leaders – ordained and unordained, official and unofficial, veteran pastors and those in the initial stages of preparation, Parish Ministry Associate students and those simply interested in leadership – who value a confidential and caring context in which to:
About Your Instructor
Engaging in Meaningful Conversation Amid Disagreement
Saturday, June 20
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., with an hour for lunch (on your own)
In this highly polarized and contentious time, we find it increasingly difficult to have meaningful conversation with people with whom we disagree, be it in our families, among our friends and co-workers, or within our church circles. How do we better navigate such conversations as followers of Jesus? This course, back by popular demand, offers a variety of perspectives and approaches, grounded in both theology and interpersonal communications.
Your Instructor
The Future of the Church
Saturday, June 27
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., with an hour for lunch (on your own)
We all know what the numbers are; over the years Pew Research has done the studies. How do we, the Church, follow the Way of Love that Jesus calls us to in the 21st century? How do we hear the Spirit, listen to the Spirit and worship, in Spirit and in Truth? This workshop will begin talking briefly about where we are, but we want to look forward not back. We want to talk about how we live out our Christian principals in the 21st century with new generations, new needs and updated approaches to Christian community. Participants will take part in an open nonjudgmental conversation to identify needs that are not being met. We will also explore ideas and resources to promote becoming beloved community. After the class, we will form an online group to continue our discussion. This workshop is not about “saving our church” but it is a time for us to listen to each other and the Spirit of God.
About Your Instructors:
Infant Death: Grief and the Path to Remembrance
Saturday, July 11
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., with an hour for lunch (on your own)
Infant death is one of the most devastating experiences anyone could face. Although nothing can take away the pain or fill the baby's place in your heart, it can help to acknowledge your grief and share feelings with others who have had similar losses. You might be plagued with anger, guilt, or perhaps you're tormented by questions that simply can't be answered. This course is especially for those who experienced this devastating loss and those who minister to them. We will look at how everyone copes with grief in different ways, acknowledging that this type of grief can take a heavy toll on marriages and other intimate relationships. This workshop will explore methods to help this heart-wrenching grief to remain on the path to remembrance. The workshop will close with a prayer service.
About Your Instructor:
Stress Management for Clergy and Lay Leaders
Saturday, July 25, 2020
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., with an hour for lunch (on your own)
Being a leader in any organization can be stressful. Leadership in the church has unique stressors that can make it more stressful than leadership in other organizations. Church leaders need to be a non-anxious presence, which in many cases is not easy to do. Managing stress can be helpful in accomplishing this. Learning to manage stress can be very beneficial for church leaders, both for themselves and for the churches they serve. This course is designed to help church leaders identify the effects of stress on mind, body and spirit and how it can be managed in positive ways.
About Your Instructor
While it is our intention to offer these classes face-to-face, we will continue to watch COVID-19 developments carefully as the summer draws closer, and we will let you know if the entire class must be moved to Zoom-based instruction. However, you may register to participate via Zoom at any time.
The cost for summer courses is $100. Breakfast and lunch are on your own, though drinks (coffee, tea, soft drinks, water) are provided throughout the day. If you wish to stay at Upton Hall, the charge is an extra $40.
Unless special arrangements are made through Dean Don Compier, all classes are audited classes with no grades, though your participation will be noted on a transcript. For the richest classroom experience, students are highly encouraged to prepare for face-to-face instruction by completing all assigned reading ahead of time.
Leadership Reboot
Saturday, May 30 & Saturday, June 6
9:00 a.m.-12:00 noon
Special Note: The registration deadline for this class is Saturday, May 9 in order to have time to obtain and read course materials prior to face-to-face instruction. Due to the nature of the classroom experience, this course is limited to 12 participants.
This seminar is ideal for all pastoral leaders – ordained and unordained, official and unofficial, veteran pastors and those in the initial stages of preparation, Parish Ministry Associate students and those simply interested in leadership – who value a confidential and caring context in which to:
- understand more clearly the distinction between technical and adaptive challenges and changes
- want to explore and make progress on a current or looming challenge or dilemma;
- learn about their appropriate role in conflict
- address how, in this time of dramatic change, we as leaders remain attentive to the voices of those around us while listening even more closely to God’s call to us.
About Your Instructor
- The Rev. Roger Gustafson is bishop emeritus of the Central States Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Prior to serving as bishop, he was a co-pastor of Advent Lutheran Church, Olathe. He earned his Master of Divinity degree with honors from Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary in Berkeley, California, and his Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota. He has served as dean of the Kansas City-area ELCA churches, and chaired the Church Planters missions team in the Kansas City area. He recently received certification as an ELCA coach.
Engaging in Meaningful Conversation Amid Disagreement
Saturday, June 20
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., with an hour for lunch (on your own)
In this highly polarized and contentious time, we find it increasingly difficult to have meaningful conversation with people with whom we disagree, be it in our families, among our friends and co-workers, or within our church circles. How do we better navigate such conversations as followers of Jesus? This course, back by popular demand, offers a variety of perspectives and approaches, grounded in both theology and interpersonal communications.
Your Instructor
- The Rev. Arthur Rathbun has been an ordained priest for 57 years. He holds a BS in Psychology from Penn State, an MDiv from General Theological School, and an MS in Counseling from Kansas State University. He has had advance training from Menningers and other places in self regulation training. Fr. Art worked 30 years at the Kansas State University counseling center, where he did some conflict resolution work. He also taught a large number of classes at K-State. In addition to serving as vicar of many small church and as a college chaplain, Fr. Art. was dean of Christ Cathedral, Salina. He has been a colloquium facilitator for third-year students on the priest track at Bishop Kemper School for Ministry for the past nine years.
The Future of the Church
Saturday, June 27
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., with an hour for lunch (on your own)
We all know what the numbers are; over the years Pew Research has done the studies. How do we, the Church, follow the Way of Love that Jesus calls us to in the 21st century? How do we hear the Spirit, listen to the Spirit and worship, in Spirit and in Truth? This workshop will begin talking briefly about where we are, but we want to look forward not back. We want to talk about how we live out our Christian principals in the 21st century with new generations, new needs and updated approaches to Christian community. Participants will take part in an open nonjudgmental conversation to identify needs that are not being met. We will also explore ideas and resources to promote becoming beloved community. After the class, we will form an online group to continue our discussion. This workshop is not about “saving our church” but it is a time for us to listen to each other and the Spirit of God.
About Your Instructors:
- Ordained for the past thirty years, the Rev. Tom Baker has served as a rector, priest in charge, and supply priest. The majority of his ministry has been in healthcare, serving as a director of Spiritual Care for Hospice of the Chesapeake and then lead chaplain for Palliative Care at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland. For the past four years, he has been serving as the director of Spiritual Care at Stormont Vail Health, where he leads a team of seven Spiritual Care Providers and on Sunday’s puts on his cape and serves as a supply priest for the Diocese. He is married to Cherie, a United Methodist Pastor, and they have four grown children, seven grandchildren, one great grandchild, and two crazy cats Wrigley and Ivy. His lifelong passion has been desperately trying to convert everyone he meets into a Cub fan. Go Cubs!
- The Rev. Anne Flynn is a deacon, serving at Grace Episcopal Cathedral in Topeka. As part of her work, she helps lead the outreach ministries at the Cathedral including the church’s involvement with Topeka JUMP a coalition of 25 congregations focused on social justice. Anne also serves as chaplain to Stephen Ministers and The Order of the Daughters of the King. In addition to her work with JUMP, Anne is the current president of the Topeka Interfaith and active in ecumenical conversations and events supporting dialogue between all faiths in our community. A native of New York, Anne moved to Kansas with her husband five years ago and holds a full-time job as a hospice chaplain at Midland Cares.
Infant Death: Grief and the Path to Remembrance
Saturday, July 11
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., with an hour for lunch (on your own)
Infant death is one of the most devastating experiences anyone could face. Although nothing can take away the pain or fill the baby's place in your heart, it can help to acknowledge your grief and share feelings with others who have had similar losses. You might be plagued with anger, guilt, or perhaps you're tormented by questions that simply can't be answered. This course is especially for those who experienced this devastating loss and those who minister to them. We will look at how everyone copes with grief in different ways, acknowledging that this type of grief can take a heavy toll on marriages and other intimate relationships. This workshop will explore methods to help this heart-wrenching grief to remain on the path to remembrance. The workshop will close with a prayer service.
About Your Instructor:
- Ordained for the past thirty years, the Rev. Tom Baker has served as a rector, priest in charge, and supply priest. The majority of his ministry has been in healthcare, serving as a director of Spiritual Care for Hospice of the Chesapeake and then lead chaplain for Palliative Care at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Maryland. For the past four years, he has been serving as the director of Spiritual Care at Stormont Vail Health, where he leads a team of seven Spiritual Care Providers and on Sunday’s puts on his cape and serves as a supply priest for the Diocese. He is married to Cherie, a United Methodist Pastor, and they have four grown children, seven grandchildren, one great grandchild, and two crazy cats Wrigley and Ivy. His lifelong passion has been desperately trying to convert everyone he meets into a Cub fan. Go Cubs!
Stress Management for Clergy and Lay Leaders
Saturday, July 25, 2020
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., with an hour for lunch (on your own)
Being a leader in any organization can be stressful. Leadership in the church has unique stressors that can make it more stressful than leadership in other organizations. Church leaders need to be a non-anxious presence, which in many cases is not easy to do. Managing stress can be helpful in accomplishing this. Learning to manage stress can be very beneficial for church leaders, both for themselves and for the churches they serve. This course is designed to help church leaders identify the effects of stress on mind, body and spirit and how it can be managed in positive ways.
About Your Instructor
- The Rev. Arthur Rathbun has been an ordained priest for 57 years. He holds a BS in Psychology from Penn State, an MDiv from General Theological School, and an MS in Counseling from Kansas State University. Fr. Art has taught Stress Management at K-State for 25 year and has lectured widely on this topic around the country. Additionally, he has had advance training from Menningers and other places in self-regulation training. Fr. Art worked for 30 years at the Kansas State University Counseling Center. In addition to serving as vicar of many small church and as a college chaplain, Fr. Art was the dean of Christ Cathedral, Salina. He has been a colloquium facilitator for third-year students on the priest track at Bishop Kemper School for Ministry for the past nine years.