Spring 2024 Continuing Education
Registration is now open for Spring 2024 continuing education courses.
Thriving in Bi-Vocational Ministry (TBVM) is a continuing education program that provides pastoral leaders safe, collaborative cohorts to learn, develop, or hone practical skills for ministry such as preaching, pastoral care, Biblical interpretation, church administration and spiritual formation.
Participants are integrated into peer learning communities where difficulties can be processed, successes celebrated, and experiences and resources can be shared. TBVM provides participants with the techniques and supportive relationships they need to develop their competency, confidence, and stamina for ministry.
Thriving in Bi-Vocational Ministry SPRING 2024 Course Offerings
Admission is first come, first served, and most courses have a maximum of 15 participants.
All applicants will be notified by email regarding their application.
NEW FOR SPRING 2024: Soul Care – Spiritual Direction & Formation for Lay Leaders
Spiritual Direction Cohort Leaders: Rebecca Hall and Aneya Elbert
Day and Time: 1st and 3rd Mondays of the month, 5:30-6:30 CST
Date: February – April, 2023
Who: Lay leaders such as: Wardens; children or youth ministers; ministry leaders; lay pastoral care givers; lay preachers; lay administrators; adult formation leaders; lay worship leaders
This is an inaugural peer-learning cohort specifically for supporting lay leaders in their varied roles in the church. We will focus on spiritual formation and practices and forming a supportive community of leaders. Each session’s discussion will revolve around a short reading or teaching. There will be opportunities to share ministry experiences, challenges, and growing edges.
Who is eligible for the following TBVM Cohorts?
Eligible participants for the following cohorts are locally-formed priests, deacons, or lay leaders in the Iona Collaborative network of dioceses or local schools of formation, BKSM, or Stevenson School for Ministry. If you are currently a student at a local school, please wait until you graduate to register for a cohort. Current TBVM students may only register for one course at a time. If you are currently registered for a TBVM course that will continue into the Spring 2024 semester, please consider joining our Fall 2024 cohorts.
COHORT CLOSED: Preaching Mark in Lectionary Year B
PLEASE NOTE: THIS COHORT IS AT CAPACITY & HAS BEEN CLOSED
Instructor: The Rev. Jane Patterson, Ph.D
Days and Time: Tuesdays, 4:00-5:15 p.m. Central Time
Dates: February 6-April 23 (no class Holy Week or Easter Week)
Preaching is always an honor, often a delight, and regularly a discipline. This cohort will practice paying close attention to how the Word is conveyed through Mark’s dramatic narrative and intimately observed characters, and will interpret a variety of lectionary passages toward preaching today. Brief weekly audio teachings will introduce some of the main themes in Mark, while cohort sessions will explore ideas for preaching particular Sundays and Holy Days in Year B.
Liturgy Lab Cohort: Planning and Implementation
Cohort Leader: The Rev. Dr. Nathan Jennings
Day and Time: Thursdays, 1:30-2:30 p.m. CST
Dates: February 1 – April 25 (skipping March 14, 28 and April 4)
New and experienced liturgists will gather weekly to learn strategies for effective liturgy planning and execution. Several sessions will focus on planning for Holy Week and other important liturgical seasons. The rest of the course will be guided by your needs. In the first session we will complete a survey to discover what parts of liturgical planning feel overwhelming or for which you feel unprepared. Sessions will be created as we go to help liturgists feel confident and inspired.
Pastoral Care Lab Cohort
Cohort Leader: The Rev. Cindi Brickson, ECMN Southern Region Dean
Day and Time: Mondays, 7:00-8:15 PM Central Time
Dates: February 5-April 29 (no class Holy Week or Easter Week)
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 Trauma Informed Care. 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.
Writing as a Spiritual Practice Cohort
Cohort Leader: Dr. Claire Colombo
Day and Time: Tuesdays, 2-3pm Central Time
Dates: February 6-April 30, 2024
Our primary writing utensil is neither our laptop, nor our iPhone, nor even our favorite gel pen, but rather our body: It is through the body that we receive the raw materials that get shaped and expressed in the writing we do — and the writing itself is a physical act. Starting with this premise, we will explore somatic practices that help us access creative energy; we will develop writing practices (expressive, reflective, contemplative) that support healing and open pathways into our own wisdom; and we will experiment with forms of writing that connect us with those we serve and with God.
Note: Technical proficiency in writing is not required for enrollment in this course.
Questions?
Please contact Rebecca Hall, Programs Director, rebecca.hall@ssw.edu.
These courses are part of the wider Thriving in Ministry Initiative generously funded by Lilly Endowment, Inc., Trinity Wall Street Church, and the Iona Collaborative.
