This course seeks to familiarize students with the large sweep of the history of Christianity as a global religion so that they are able to identify key figures, movements, traditions, and turning points within it, from the early centuries in the Mediterranean world to the world-wide church of today. Attention will be given to the relationship of Christian life and thought to the changing historical, political, and social contexts. Students learn basic historical methodology, craft historical arguments, and make connections between past and present. This course will help students make sense of the complexity of Christianity and will provide them with resources for pastoral ministry and theological reflection.

Christianity is globally diverse. This course is designed to enable students to articulate their own convictions on major theological topics in respectful conversation with major streams (theological thinkers, texts, and movements) within the multi-faceted world-wide doctrinal and practical expressions of Christian churches.

This course brings together students from a cross section of masters level degrees and certificates to engage significant theological, ethical, and ministerial/pastoral questions. It expects students to deploy insight and learnings from their current and prior coursework as they consider those questions. With attention to the social and spiritual implications of interpretation, the course requires students to deploy a variety of analytical tools and pastoral skills, with the acknowledgement that simplistic responses are inadequate for complex issues.

Field Education 1: This course is the first in a two semester supervised ministry sequence and requires a one-year concurrent field education placement. This course has two key components: 8-10 hrs per week in an offsite field education and a biweekly 2-hr classroom component. In conjunction with the work that students are doing in their field education placement and their weekly on-site supervision, students meet with a faculty-led seminar class to process their offsite work and join in on-going theological reflection on their field education experiences and what they are learning about themselves, ministry, and community dynamics.

Field Education 2: This course is the second in a two semester supervised ministry sequence and requires a one-year concurrent field education placement. This course has two key components: 8-10 hrs per week in an offsite field education and a biweekly 2-hr classroom component. In conjunction with the work that students are doing in their field education placement and their weekly on-site supervision, students meet with a faculty-led seminar class to process their offsite work and join in on-going theological reflection on their field education experiences and what they are learning about themselves, ministry, and community dynamics. This course is intended to be taken in the semester following THEO 551 within the same academic year.

This course provides students with an intercultural experience that offers students opportunities to expand their global consciousness and empathy through immersion in a culture different than their own; engage in personal reflection on their place within an interconnected world; and to cultivate meaningful relationships with their peer group and the peoples in the host cultures.

The intercultural immersion experience involves travel in the US or internationally. Typically, travel will span 10 days and take place in May, following institutional graduation. This course will include periods of preparation for the travel experience and reflection afterward, which may occur via a variety of in person, hybrid, or synchronous formats.

Christian traditions have usually divided the Christian life into activities directed toward God, and activities directed toward other creatures, particularly humans. Ethical reflection as it evolved within the churches concerns this second set of activities. This course provides a basic background in the theory and practice of Christian ethics, including its biblical, theological, and philosophical foundations, and presents a framework for moral deliberation in Christian, multi-faith, and secular settings.

This course equips students to engage the richness and the challenges of the Old Testament critically, imaginatively, and theologically. Students will increase their knowledge of the content and character of the collection, the historical and cultural contexts of its origins, and the diversity embedded in the texts and their interpretation. They will develop their abilities to interpret Old Testament texts in ways that engage critical methods of biblical studies and honor the dignity of diverse peoples and our planet.

This course will introduce new students to the diversities present in the Seminary community and to institutional commitments toward forming a supportive community of learning and theological reflection. Students will be introduced to anti-racist frameworks, power, and privilege dynamics (to include the intersections of gender, sexuality, socio-economic class, abilities, etc.), and the role of language (inclusivity, pronouns, etc.) to include or exclude others. It will also introduce students to contemplative spiritual practices and theological writing.

This course will introduce students to skills necessary to lead congregational and non-profit ministries. It will cultivate awareness of attributes helpful in leadership. It will allow students to learn more about preferred styles of their own preferred styles of leadership and cultivate awareness and appreciation of other approaches as well.

This class introduces students to processes of and approaches to New Testament interpretation with a view toward vocational application. It provides a broad familiarity with contents and central themes of New Testament, early Christian, and other contemporary texts.

This course prepares students for religious leadership in diverse public contexts. Students will develop theological categories for social engagement, resources for social analysis, strategies for pastoral communication and communal care, and models for effective social action on the part of religious communities. The course engages active learning pedagogies, including a multi-stage project devoted to social change in students’ contexts. While contemporary topics may vary from year to year, each year the course will explore the intersection among religion, race, and ethnicity.

This course is designed to give an overview of the theory and practice of public speaking, centering on Christian proclamation in the context of public worship, and public oratory. It covers a brief history of public rhetoric, and spends time on the theology and place of preaching in communities of faith, with attention to culturally diverse groups. It will also build upon verbal communication skills, providing support for students to improve and care for their voices as they develop vocal stamina. Students will learn a variety of styles of oratory from conception to delivery, in order to explore and develop their own public voice.

This course equips students for the educational dimensions of all forms of ministry. It explores a variety of theories of Christian education and their theological and philosophical foundations. Particular pedagogical skills are examined and practiced, with an emphasis on group theory and leadership. Communal and individual contextual factors influencing the ways that students learn are taken into account.

This course will survey historical and contemporary models of spiritual/pastoral care and will introduce students to the basic knowledge, skills, and personal attributes needed for the practice of care in a variety of contexts, including parish based ministry, chaplaincy, and other non-profit settings. Training and practice in listening skills, spiritual/pastoral assessment, theological reflection, crisis care, and responding to a variety of common spiritual/pastoral issues will be included.

An introductory course on theology defined as the self-critically reflective dimension of the Christian life, and that it is imperative for all Christians to engage in this activity. Theology happens when Christians try to determine what they should do, how they should feel, and what they should think about their world in order to live as genuine persons of faith, i.e. something that Christians do when they are perplexed about how to live their lives most faithfully. This course invites students to read the works of others who have undertaken this task, and guides students as they do the same. Topics will be studied in the context of their historical development as well as confronting contemporary questions, ideas, and beliefs.

Introduction to the history of Christian worship and to the basic components of worship services. Through individual and group reflection students will examine and refine familiar liturgical practices; they will also learn and practice new ones, appropriate to their social and denominational contexts. The course will give attention to best practices for online worship.