Continuing Education

COURSE CLOSED FOR FALL 2025

For some “heresy” is a “dirty word”: it conjures images of people who have “gotten out of line” with ecclesiastical officials, leading to excommunication or being burned at the stake. Others think it simply means “false teaching” or that it doesn’t matter. However, heresy is far more theologically complicated, technical, and important than that. When looked at historically, heresy proves to have been the catalyst for orthodoxy; without certain heresies the Christian Church would have never arrived at certain foundational beliefs, e.g. Nicene-Constantinople Creed. The goals of this course are to: (1) provide theological definition of heresy and its relationship to the creation of orthodox; (2) identify those ancient–about a dozen–officially defined heresies and how to avoid “accidentally falling” into them; and (3) examine how “secularism” and “fundamentalism,” byproducts of the European Enlightenment, aka “modernity,” can be seen as the new “heresies,” that continue to plague the Western Christian Church yet also present an opportunity for a renewal of orthodoxy in today’s deeply divided Church and world.

Instructor: Prof. Greg Zuschlag, Ph.D.

Day/Time: Wednesdays, 5:00pm-6:15pm CT

Dates: September 3-November 5

COURSE CLOSED FOR FALL 2025

This course offers a transformational approach to tough conversations that starts with the assumption that disagreement and even conflict are ordinary. So, we develop frameworks and practices to work through these conversations constructively, with a view to strengthening our relationships while promoting the common good. Students are introduced to several promising skill sets, including public deliberation, adaptive leadership, and nonviolent communication. Students are encouraged to reflect on episodes from their careers and ministry contexts, experiment with new practices, and process these experiences with peers.

Offered through a collaboration with Eastern Mennonite Seminary and the Episcopal Diocese of Texas

Instructor: The Rev. Dr. Jacob Alan Cook and Canon Dr. Josh R. Ritter

Day/Time: Wednesdays, 2:00pm-3:30pm CT

Dates: September 10-November 12

COURSE CLOSED FOR FALL 2025

This class will include short readings, videos, and a workshop-style approach to aging with grace and dignity. Together, we will discover the process of aging as a consummation of wisdom and strength, and we will focus on wellness, creativity, and joy.

Instructor: Dr. Sally H. Lombardo

Day/Time: Tuesdays, 6:00pm-7:15pm CT

Dates: September 9-October 28

COURSE CLOSED FOR FALL 2025

This series will introduce a regular, formative practice of Christian discernment the instructors have used both in and outside of congregations for 25 years. The group process enables participants to engage faithfully the events, challenges, and joys of their daily lives and work, as they make living connections with the Scriptures. Over time, participants will find that they are integrating the spiritual and the daily in ways that are natural, practical, and inspiring. As one participant in a reflection group said, “It’s like living my life in full color.” This course will also lay the groundwork for helping others to be formed more deeply in the image of Christ. There is no advance preparation for meetings, but regular attendance is needed for steady formation.

Instructor: The Rev. Jane Patterson, PhD and The Rev. John Lewis, DPhil

Day/Time: Tuesdays, 4:00pm-5:15pm CT

Dates: September 9-November 11

COURSE CLOSED FOR FALL 2025

Someone once asked Jesus what the key is to living a faithful life. Jesus responded with the ancient words of the Shema, which Christians call the Great Commandment, to love God with all our Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength. But what do these four things mean and how do we live them out in purposeful and practical ways? Jesus implores us to put love of God and neighbor at the center of all four of our “identities” – our vocational, relational, intellectual, and incarnational self. Over ten weeks we will explore the meaning of the Shema/Great Commandment and how it serves as a wholistic, balanced, and integrative framework for a life of discipleship and spirituality. You will be resourced for your own spiritual life and also given tools to implement Jesus’ Great Commandment as a model for Christian formation in the congregation you serve.

Instructor: The Rev. Rich Nelson, M.A.C.F.

Day/Time: Tuesdays, 4:00pm-5:00pm CT

Dates: September 9-November 11

COURSE CLOSED FOR FALL 2025

The current climate emergency and other environmental perils call faith communities to respond. But how? What might it mean to appreciate how a “green” faith qualifies today as a central—rather than special interest—component of Christian belief and practice? How in particular might we find an ecological vision of life rooted in traditional church teachings such as those bearing on Creation, Salvation, Incarnation, the Holy Trinity, and Resurrection?

Our course’s full immersion in “ecotheology” will involve us in questions like these. We’ll also discuss faith practices linked to “ecospirituality,” including meditative engagement with the green world and the observance of Sabbath rest.

For most of our sessions you’re asked first to absorb key points of theological content through an asynchronous recording and a brief reading assignment before meeting online to share discussion and reflection on that content with other class members.

Offered through a collaboration with The Center for Deep Green Faith

Instructor: Dr. John Gatta

Day/Time: Thursdays, 7:00pm-8:15pm CT

Dates: September 4-October 30

COURSE CLOSED FOR FALL 2025

Brené Brown discusses burnout in terms of vulnerability, boundaries, and resilience. She believes that burnout arises not just from excessive demands but from neglecting what restores us—rest, connection, and meaning.
Burnout reflects a deeper issue: losing ourselves amid a culture that equates busyness with worth. This group spiritual direction invites us to explore spiritual practices as sources of renewal. Together, we will cultivate habits that nourish our souls and support our callings.

We must reflect on what truly matters beyond productivity—relationships, creativity, joy. Transformation requires community, where we learn that we are more than our outputs. Through connection, we embrace humanity, allowing ourselves to rest and reimagine our lives. This work is challenging, but as we find strength in community, we nurture our spiritual resilience, helping each other on this journey.

Let’s tell our stories as lay leaders. Let’s embrace this together and hold one another up.

Instructor: Aneya Elbert, Spiritual Director

Day/Time: Thursdays, 6:30pm-7:30pm CT

Dates: September 4-November 6

COURSE CLOSED FOR FALL 2025

This course is designed for clergy serving in the primary role of leadership in a small congregation. This cohort will provide training in the ins-and-outs of running a parish liturgically, pastorally and administratively as well as support and resources for ministry particularly focused on the church calendar in this season (September-December) of the year. Participants in this course will learn effective methods of church administration, basic principles in pastoring small churches, and helpful ideas for liturgy. Cohort members will explore both big-picture topics and practical details such as what organizational systems work best for their church, how to plan for the bishop’s visit, and/or what stewardship in a small church looks like. Content of the course will also be shaped, in large part, to the specific needs of members of the cohort.

Instructor: The Rev. Canon Leyla King

Day/Time: Wednesdays, 1:45pm-3:00pm CT

Dates: September 3-November 12 (skipping one week TBD)

COURSE FULL for 2025

Join colleagues in ministry in honing your capacity to provide pastoral care for those entrusted to you. This course will review the basic skills needed for providing competent and caring pastoral care and focus on caring for the following populations: those experiencing Grief & Loss, Seniors, members of the LGBTQIA community, those with dementia or other memory loss, and caring for the Caregiver. We will review & engage Family Systems Theory and work/life balance. This course will focus on building students’ skill sets to help others effectively, ethically, and safely when providing pastoral care. This course is ideal for people who are new to or are leaning into their roles as providers of pastoral care.

Instructor: The Very Rev. Cindi Brickson

Day/Time: Mondays, 7:00p-8:30p Central

Dates: February 3-April 7

COURSE FULL for 2025

The course will address the challenges of slavery, racism, and reparation in The Episcopal Church through careful engagement with the Christian scriptures. Starting with the complicated biblical witness on slavery, the course will consider what we should do with the positive use of the language of enslavement that appears in both the scriptures and the BCP. The course will draw direct links between the biblical treatment of slavery and modern affirmation of it in the Anglican and Episcopal Churches and will discuss the interpretive approaches available for rejecting the language and paradigms of slavery. The course will also consider biblical texts linked to racism and address interpretive approaches oriented around anti-racism. Finally, students will consider the biblical witness on making amends for corporate sins and the sins of previous generations, and discuss how these biblical imperatives relate to modern reparations movements.

Instructor: Dr. Jolyon G. R. Pruszinski

Day/Time: Fridays, 1:00p-2:15p Eastern

Dates: February 7-April 11

COURSE FULL for 2025

This weekly discussion-based course will introduce a circular model for understanding vocations, with weekly guided reflections on aspects of the circle in light of biblical narratives of calling. While we will discuss practices of discernment, the course is not intended for discerning new vocations as much as becoming aware of how we might deepen in our understanding and practice of our current vocations. Later sessions will engage questions of helping others discern their callings, and discerning the calling of a congregation. The course is appropriate for all orders—lay, deacon, and priest—and is especially relevant for people serving bi-vocational and small churches.

Instructor: The Rev. Jane Lancaster Patterson, Ph.D.

Day/Time: Tuesdays, 4:00p-5:15p Central

Dates: February 4-April 8

COURSE FULL for 2025

Rebecca Sokoll, a Brooklyn-based psychotherapist, suggests setting aside date nights “to foster connection with an important person in their life.” Date Nights with God is a weekly practice to foster connection with God and to provide space for participants to support one another as they explore their evolving identity as clergy. The ten-week course will use creative activities, contemplative prayer, and writing to facilitate presence and availability with God and with one another. Materials for creative activities will be provided by the instructors and no aptitude or identification as a “creative” person is needed. This class is for ordained clergy, both deacons and priests. The instructors are bi-vocational priests serving small parishes in The Diocese of Texas.

Instructor: The Rev. Terry Pierce and the Rev. Rhonda Rogers

Day/Time: Tuesdays, 6:30p-8:00p Central

Dates: February 4-April 8

COURSE FULL for 2025

A combo of lecture-based discussion and workshop activities on the Year C lectionary Gospel readings during Lent (from Ash Wednesday to the Triduum) focusing mostly on exegeting Luke and John with the goal of improving the process and content of homiletical production. Participants will learn about the communities of Luke and John to better ground their homilies in the different perspectives of these two evangelists and do practical exercises that will facilitate their actual preaching of the Lent and Triduum texts and create continuity from major liturgy to major liturgy. Some attention will be given to the non-gospel lectionary readings as well.

Instructor: Prof. Greg Zuschlag, Ph.D.

Day/Time: Thursdays, 5:00p-6:15p Central

Dates: February 6-April 10

COURSE FULL for 2025

As caregivers who are often on the front lines of emotional and spiritual support, clergy and lay caregivers need to be equipped with a deep understanding of trauma and its profound effects on the body, mind, and spirit. By becoming trauma-informed, pastoral caregivers can better serve their communities with sensitivity, compassion, and wisdom. This course will cover the neurobiology of trauma, recognizing signs of trauma, effective listening and communication skills, setting healthy boundaries, and creating safe spaces for spiritual exploration and growth. By the end of this course, you will understand not only the “what” and “why” of trauma-informed care but also the “how” – the practical steps you can take to make a meaningful difference in the lives of those who are hurting.

Instructor: The Rev. Sarah Knoll, ACPE

Day/Time: Mondays, 7:00p-8:30p Central

Dates: February 3-April 7

COURSE FULL for 2025

The purpose of this 10-week, online class is to train lay leaders to serve as teachers, mentors, or, perhaps, spiritual directors for people who want to connect at a deeper level with the divine power and presence of God. This series will demonstrate that what we call “the spiritual journey” involves more than becoming familiar with a variety of Christian spiritual traditions and practices. Participants will be invited to do some in-depth, personal reflection about what we call spiritual transformation, which is a process that we don’t control, but is led by the Holy Spirit.

Instructor: The Rev. Craig MacColl

Day/Time: Thursdays, 3:00p-4:30p Mountain

Dates: February 6-April 10

Fall 2024 COURSE FULL

This introductory course in Contemplation and Care for Creation is facilitated by members of the Center for Deep Green Faith who believe that the root cause of the environmental crises we face is spiritual in nature. When we are estranged from God’s presence in the world around us and from nature, we harm the planet we call home. This certificate course draws on the age-old resources of orthodox Christianity for the spiritual connections to God’s creation that heal and renew both humanity and creation. Using the contemplative exercises found in Living In An Icon (Robert Gottfried & Frederick W. Krueger), our cohort will gather via Zoom to share our experiences of growing closer to God and creation through time spent in contemplation of nature.

Instructor: Deacon Joey Clavijo

Day/Time: Every Other Thursday, 2:00p-4:00p CDT

Dates: September 12-November 21

Fall 2024 COURSE FULL

This course is designed for priests and/or lay people serving in the primary role of leadership in a small congregation. This cohort will provide training in the ins and outs of running a parish liturgically, pastorally, and administratively as well as support and resources for ministry particularly focused on the church calendar in this season of the year. Participants will learn effective methods of church administration, basic principles in pastoral care, and helpful ideas for liturgy. Cohort members will explore both big-picture topics and practical details such as what organizational systems work best for their church, how to plan for the bishop’s visit, and/or what stewardship in a small church looks like. The content of the course will also be shaped, in large part, to the specific needs of members of the cohort.

Instructor: The Rev. Canon Leyla King

Day/Time: Wednesdays, 2:00p-3:30p CDT

Dates: September 11-November 13

Fall 2024 COURSE FULL

An open dialogue by and with deacons in the early stages of their ministry. Over ten weeks, we will hear each other’s stories of our personal faith journey, our calls to ordained life, and each other’s hopes and expectations moving forward. Together, we will explore the influences of Body-Mind-Spirit that attract us, engage us, and enable us. We will travel together to uncover our gifts and resources and acknowledge our challenges and limitations. By sharing our stories, we can more effectively integrate what we do with what we believe and what we say. We will learn how to encourage others by building healthy relationships with family, clergy, peers, and parishioners. Through these connections, we can discover untapped spiritual resources, such as irony, poetry, humor, and the creative spirit within.

Instructor: Archdeacon Roger Saterstrom
Diocese of Tennessee

Day/Time: Wednesdays, 4:00p-5:00p CDT

Dates: September 4-November 6

Fall 2024 COURSE FULL

Please join us for a weekly Group Spiritual Direction. We will create a welcoming, safe space for lay leaders to share their awareness of God in their lives with others in a spiritual community. We will support and respond with prayerful listening to each person’s lay ministry through mutual agreement. This contemplative gathering of kindred souls will witness and discern God’s movement in each other’s ministry.

Instructor: Aneya Elbert

Day/Time: Mondays, 5:30p-6:30p CDT

Dates: September 9-November 4

Fall 2024 COURSE FULL

After introducing the communal-contextual exegetical approach to Gospels that counters standard and problematic interpretations of Jesus, we will dedicate ourselves to an extensive comparison and contrast of how Mark and Luke tailor their retellings of the Jesus story in a way that addresses the pastoral needs or their respective communities, especially in light of how each community’s demographic make-up and social location is impacted by its relationship to the Roman Empire of the day. The aim of this course is homiletical and pastoral, and affords students the opportunity to analogize from the original Gospel communities and their concerns to our present communal contexts and issues, especially as it relates to how Christian communities ought to relate to the “polis.”

Instructor: Prof. Greg Zuschlag, MDiv., PhD, JD

Day/Time: Thursdays, 5:00p-6:15p CDT

Dates: September 12-November 14