New York School of Ministry Winter Update

Feb 7, 21 & 28, Mar 6 & 13 (7-9pm). Wednesdays: Jan 27, Feb 3 & 17, Mar 2, 9 & 16 (7-8pm). This course is open only to students who have completed this fall's Old Testament I.

Advanced Topics in Pastoral Care and Counseling

Webconferenced course: Saturdays: February 6, March 12, April 9 (9:30-4:45 with 1/2 hr. lunch break). Registration deadline is Jan 22. For more information or to register, click here.

Congregational Life

Webconferenced course: Saturdays: April 23 & 30, May 14 & 21 (9:00-2:30 with 1/2 hr. lunch break). Registration deadline is April 8. For more information or to register, click here .

NYSOM Information Nights

Jan 21 and Feb 2: 7-8pm.

Email [email protected] if you'd like to join a session.

Save the Dates!

Learning Events in 2016: April 15-16 at The Haven at Star Lake (r egistration will open on February 1). October 28-29 at Notre Dame Retreat House in Canandaigua.

NY Conference MID & Mentor Retreat

July 15-16 at Stony Point Center. Information will be sent directly to Members in Discernment soon.

From the Dean's Desk

Last summer, the UCC's Center for Analytics, Research, and Data(CARD) produced a fascinating report on their research exploring the relationship between ministerial excellence and congregational vitality. I would encourage you to check it out at this link. The study found that there are particular marks that are highly correlated with congregational vitality, which most UCC ministers need to strengthen:

1. The ability to mutually equip and motivate a community of faith

2. The ability to lead and encourage ministries of evangelism, service, stewardship and social transformation

3. The ability to read the contexts of a community's ministry and creatively lead that community through change or conflict

4. The ability to frame and test a vision in community

Marsha Williams and I have decided to focus most of the year's educational offerings on these particular marks of ministerial excellence. At NYSOM's learning events, we will offer the opportunity for participants to hone old skills and gain new ones. Our spring learning event will be held on April 15-16, in Black River-St. Lawrence Association, at a beautiful retreat center, called The Haven. We're delighted to have Rev. Beth DuBois as our leader once again. Program details will be posted in Happenings soon. Join us!

With blessings,

Marjorie

Spring Course Offerings

Advanced Topics in Pastoral Care and Counseling

This course offers an integrated pastoral and behavioral sciences approach to some of the more challenging situations faced by helping professionals. The course will be grounded in useful theories of human growth, development, and healing and will use both psychological and theological language and images to describe and develop the context, problems and interventions appropriate to the work.

Instructor: Rev. Wayne Gustafson, D.Min.

Dates: April 13, May 18, June 1, from 9am - 5pm

Registration Deadline: January 22

Congregational Life

This course explores the various dynamics at work in the life of a local church, toward the end of gaining insight into how to nurture a healthy and productive faith community.

Instructor: Rev. Mark Lawson, Ph. D.

Dates: April 23 & 30; May 14 & 21, from 9am - 2:30pm

Cost per 20-hour course:

NY Conference Participants: $250; Audit: $175; Repeat Course Audit: $100

Participants outside the New York Conference: $275; Audit: $200 (plus the Distance Learning Support fee of $69 per 20-hour course or $133 per semester).

For more information or to register, go to www.uccny.org/nysom-courses

NYSOM Information Nights

Does one of our courses look interesting? Are you wondering about whether a certificate program is for you? Are you unclear as to just what webconferencing is or uncertain about whether your computer can do it? Join Marjorie on Thursday, January 21 or on Tuesday, February 2, between 7-8pm, from your home computer for a webconferenced information session. She'll walk you through connecting to webex, if you need help, and answer questions about educational offerings. If you're interested, contact Marjorie at [email protected]. She'll send you an invitation to the session.

Webconferenced Pastoral Consultation Group

Wayne Gustafson always concludes his courses by emphasizing how important it is for pastoral care providers to have a consultation group. However, not everyone has that resource nearby. So Wayne is offering a new session of his pastoral consultation group. Designed for pastoral care providers who do not have access to face to face consultation, the group will meet via web conferencing twice a month from February to June. For a pdf with more information click here.

Helpful Documents at a Click

The Marks for Faithful and Effective Authorized Ministers are useful for those preparing for authorized ministry (MIDs) and for licensed, commissioned, and ordained folks who need a tool to do self-assessment. Click here for the Marks in list form. Click here for the Marks in grid form.

If you're a pastor, noticing a member of your congregation with gifts for ministry, if you're just beginning to discern a call to authorized ministry, or if you're just wondering about our programs, click here to see The New York School of Ministry 2016 Certificate Program Information. Click here for an application for the Christian Studies or the Christian Leadership Programs. For participants enrolled in a certificate program and pastors who might be interested in supervising, click here for Supervised Ministry Information.

If you want to understand the authorization process, click here for Section 2 of the Manual on Ministry

The New York School of Ministry educates and equips women and men for a variety of ministries in local churches -- Christian education, pastoral care, supply preaching, church music, and pastoral leadership. We offer five certificate programs, designed to provide personal enrichment and training for all aspects of congregational leadership. We serve individuals discerning a call to ministry by offering classes and a community of peers, spiritual discernment in continuing conversations with a mentor, supervised ministry, and bi-annual retreats. We serve local churches across the state by training lay leaders and those who will seek authorization from their associations to be licensed ministers, commissioned ministers, and ordained ministers. People do not need to be enrolled in a certificate program to take advantage of our courses or learning events. Courses and Learning Events may appeal to deacons, members of Caring Committees, those regularly involved in visitation, youth leaders, authorized ministers, or anyone else with a desire to learn. For more information, visit www.uccny.org/NYSOM/.