Friends,
I'm finding the experience of this pandemic to be paradoxical. I feel deeply restricted. Restricted in the sense that I'm now working mostly from home while parenting, unable to travel to see beloved family, having to change or step away from the ways we used to work, worship, play, recharge. Our family finances have become a lot tighter thanks to the economic impact of the pandemic. There's a massive amount of fear and grief that comes with all of that.
And yet the paradox comes in the fact that in some ways, we have some freedom and spaciousness that we didn't perceive before. In that space, I sometimes wonder why it used to feel hard to be fully present to family members. We've found some spaciousness to reimagine how we are called to live as a family. Without wanting it, we've found the strength or courage or vision to make some changes in how we work, worship, play, recharge. In the midst of the grief and fear there is some silence and some spaciousness in which I'm finding myself able to sit still, meditate, and pray.
The paradox here makes me think of Jesus' words: "Those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it." (Matthew 10:39 & 16:25, Luke 9:24, Mark 8:35, John 12:25) In the midst of loss, devastation, grief, and change, we are promised renewal, resurrection, rediscovery. Jesus does not elaborate on exactly how that happens. But Christian tradition holds that the story we tell about his life, death, and resurrection is a promise for all of us -- not just for life after death, but for life
in the midst of
change, loss, and grief.
This forced liminal space of the pandemic, whether it feels to you today like a tomb or a threshold, has forced our faith communities to discover inner strength and callings we didn't know we had. The courage to take worship online and discover new ways of being together. Remembering how to make liturgy intimate and personal. Spaciousness, too, to attend to the ways the Holy Spirit has been moving in our city and around the world in response to the murder of George Floyd. I hope we're also finding in this liminal space the courage to abandon the distractions that would keep us from continuing to listen, learn, and act for racial justice. There, friends -- there is both loss and promise. Letting go, submitting to loss of control, and finding God's vision of Beloved Community calling us back up into a new kind of life.
If that spaciousness for new life resonates with you, we hope you'll take advantage of the School for Formation's resources this fall. Our courses are listed below, with two big changes in response to the circumstance of the pandemic:
- All our courses will be entirely digital. Instead of having in-person days, we'll have more frequent videoconferences for students to interact with instructors and teachers. A big upside here? These courses just got much more accessible to folks in Greater Minnesota who have found our usual locations (Collegeville and Faribault) to be too far to drive. It's possible that we might discover how to serve all ECMN's faith communities better in this experiment.
- All our courses are offered without required tuition. We know the pandemic has created the unwanted spaciousness of unemployment and income loss for so many households in Minnesota, and we want to bring our resources within reach. You can choose whether and how much of a donation you may want to make -- it's not required.
You've got gifts and skills to offer to God's mission in ways you haven't imagined yet. Take a step this fall toward putting those gifts and skills into practice. You won't regret it.
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Sincerely,
Susan
The Rev. Susan Daughtry
Missioner for Formation
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Donation Based Registration for Fall 2020
For Fall 2020, ECMN and the School for Formation will offer our courses to all in ECMN without requiring tuition. The economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has had far-reaching consequences for our members and faith communities, and we hope to bring our learning resources into reach during this challenging time! If you are in a position to make a financial donation, your gift will help us continue to offer robust learning opportunities at accessible rates for ECMN leaders in the future. Thank you for learning with us!
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Register for Courses Today!
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August
Join fellow Safe Church trainers from across ECMN for a yearly chance to touch base, renew your certification, and connect with emerging wisdom.
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Missional Leadership I: Participating in God’s Life and Love for the World
August 10 – September 28
This course will explore biblical and theological understandings of mission as we seek to understand the church’s identity and purpose in a post-establishment, post-colonial era.
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Intro to Preaching: Craft an Effective Sermon by Friday
August 4 - September 28
This course will focus on Lectio Divina as a personal prayer practice, and as a prayerful means to build an authentic sermon. You will learn to read the text as if you’ve never seen it before, to notice what piques your curiosity and makes you want to dig deeper to learn more, and then to tell a story about it. This is a way to craft a message that you believe and that others will believe, too.
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Pastoral Care: Advanced Skills
August 10 – September 28
Through readings, discussion, and self-reflective activities, you will:
- Focus on human awareness from the perspective of your own self-awareness.
- Enhance your understanding of a relational view of human existence.
- View human existence as a complex interplay of needs and inclinations that vary in the extent in to which they create connectedness versus isolation.
- Link basic helping skills to advanced topics discussed in the course.
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Building Bridges Across Culture and Race
Fall 2020: Sept. 14 – Nov. 2
Spring 2021: Feb. 1 – March 22
Take the next step into racial reconciliation by building bridges across culture and race. Meaningful steps toward dismantling racism start with understanding our own cultural lens and learning to listen deeply in relationship with others. This course trains you to build your ability to recognize and reconstruct your own cultural and racial bias. Through the Intercultural Development Inventory assessment, learning plan and one-on-one coaching, you’ll gain increased awareness, understanding, and skills in navigating race and culture.
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The Diaconate
September 14 – November 2
The Diaconate is an online course for deacons, deacons in formation, and those wishing to be better grounded in a sound understanding of The Sacred Order of Deacons including especially, members of local discernment committees and members of Commissions on Ministry.
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The Way of Jesus: How the Life, Ministry, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Make Christian Community and Affect Christian Practice
September 14 – November 2
This course seeks to break down the divide between knowing about Jesus or liturgy and knowing Jesus or liturgy, by studying basic Christological concepts through the lens of Christian History and contemporary practice. Students will be invited to make connections between their personal and corporate spiritual practices and aspects of Jesus’ earthly ministry: saying why what they are doing matters and showing how that mattering is therefore manifest in their lives.
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Discerning Your Part in God’s Mission
October 12 – November 30
Enrollment is limited to those in discernment for Holy Orders in ECMN, discernment facilitators, and Commission on Ministry members.
This is a course that speaks to the big WHY — God’s mission. Walk through weekly videos, readings, and conversations with others on the journey to frame your understanding of what God is up to in the world, how our faith communities can join in, and the particular Episcopal vision that helps us find our part in God’s work.
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Layers: The Story of the Old Testament
October 12 – November 30
This class is designed to empower students to teach, preach, and live the Old Testament as a theological story. To do this we will utilize the metaphor of layers to describe the development of the Bible and the experiences of hearers who have read, interpreted, and lived the text throughout history and today.
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The Creeds and Practical Theology
October 12 – November 30
This course examines the historical origins of the Nicene and Apostles Creeds with special attention to the theological conflicts that animated their formulations. After treating the original contexts in which the creeds were developed, the course will investigate contemporary Christian attitudes toward the creeds.
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Missional Management
October 12 – November 30
Join this seven-week online course exploring the foundations and supporting structures for movements and institutions engaged in God’s mission. Vestries, administrators, clergy, those in formation for leadership, and anyone who seeks to help their faith community move beyond maintenance and into mission are encouraged to join this course.
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Prayer Book I: The Sacraments
November 2 – December 21
This course introduces students to the study of liturgy and its practice in worshipping communities. Primary focus will be on the ways we think theologically about liturgy and how to lead in the liturgy. Particular attention will be given to how we use the Book of Common Prayer in the day-to-day life of a congregation.
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Introduction to Pastoral Care: Communication and Connectedness
November 2 – December 21
This course is designed to introduce you to pastoral care and the issues that commonly arise in pastoral ministry. Our goal is to address topics that are directly relevant and applicable to your real-life ministry work through readings, discussion, and self-reflective exercises.
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Missional Leadership Lab
What might it be like to travel lightly together and join in what Jesus is already up to in the places where you live and work, play and pray?Join a community of ECMN Episcopalians and discover how! The Missional Lab is designed as a series of conversations, experiments, and reflections. Our cohort of sojourners will gather to study, pray, and engage some missional experiments.
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The Rev. Susan Daughtry | Missioner for Formation
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