Fall Formation Opportunity: EFM

About Education for Ministry

 
Education for Ministry (EfM) is a unique experiential theological education program for laity under the auspices of the Programs Center of the School of Theology. Since its foundation in 1957, the program has assisted students in discovering how to respond to the call to Christian service. The program requires four years to complete, and students enrollfor one year at a time. EfM helps people encounter the Christian tradition's breadth and depth and bring it together with their experiences of the world in the process of theological reflection.

EfM groups meet across the United States in 89 Episcopal dioceses and 12 parishes that sponsor the program. A group consists of six to 12 participants and a trained mentor who meet weekly, for two and a half to three hours, over the course of a nine-month academic year.

Approximately 70 EfM trainers accredited by Sewanee lead more than 200 mentor trainings per year. Ninety-five EfM coordinators (volunteer servant leaders) administer and support the program within their dioceses. Along with the United States, EfM groups are available in Australia, the Bahamas, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

Students who are unable to enroll in the face-to-face EfM groups may enroll in the Internet-based program, EfM Online. There are currently 16 online EfM groups, 53 online mentors, and 116 online students. 

In Shelton, Tuesday Nights!

You are invited to join our Education for Ministry group. We are a small group of inquiring Christians who meet weekly (September to June) to discuss Scripture, church history and theology. Discussion is lively and fun, reading is interesting and enlightening, (no papers or tests) and an opportunity to learn and grow in your faith. Our evenings consist of discussion, projects, worship and of course, snacks! The program covers four years but your commitment is for one year at a time. We meet on Tuesday evenings at St Paul's in Huntington from 6:45 to 9:30 PM. If you are interested in learning more about this great program, please contact Ginnie Glassman at GinnieG123@aol.com or 203-268-9322 or Nancy Wilson at 203-929-1722.

Important Words on Living in the midst of Death

Go over to this blog entry by Richard Beck:

The William Stringfellow Project: A Second Birthday

Stringfellow has much to say to us and Beck beautifully puts it before us.

What is an Episcopalian?

Some reflections from the youth confirmands:

"Being an Episcopalian is just being a person in one big family trying to make a difference...as followers of Jesus Christ...and we believe in the Father, Son & Holy Spirit.  We strive to love our neighbors and respect the dignity of every person."

"Being an Episcopalian means caring to everyone...means we are accepting of others...means we believe in one God and have a set of beliefs that affects me every day.  I look to God in times of need...the shooting at Newtown was hard to deal with...I leaned on my faith to help me come to terms with it.  Without my beliefs I don't know what I would do."

Book Recommendations: Open Heart & Lamb

'Open Heart' By Elie Wiesel

Elie Wiesel, Holocaust survivor and Nobel laureate, underwent emergency open-heart surgery at the age of 82.  Open Heart is his reflection on that event and the events of his life.  The result is a slender volume in which he considers the power of memory and hope in his life.

"I belong to a generation that has often felt abandoned by God and betrayed by mankind," he writes. "And yet, I believe that we must not give up on either. … We must choose between the violence of adults and the smiles of children, between the ugliness of hate and the will to oppose it."

 'Lamb: The Gospel according to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal' by Christopher Moore

While Christopher Moore watched a PBS Frontline special called From Jesus to Christ, which talked about the life of Christ, what we know and what we don't, including the missing years from twelve to thirty in the Gospels; Moore thought, "Someone should write that story. And since I know nothing about religion or history, I should be that someone."

It is a comedy.  It is fiction.  And as Moore states at the end, "I like to think that while he carried out his sacred mission, Jesus of Nazareth might have enjoyed a sense of irony and the company of a wisecracking buddy."

I recommend both books for the good of your soul.

Faith of Teenagers

There have been three recent articles that caught my attention on the faith of teenagers:

Sticky faith:  What keeps kids connected to church?
May 17, 2013 by Jen Bradbury

Why I Made My Teenager Go to Church
by Mallory McDuff 05-06-2013

Why Congregations Shouldn’t Work So Hard to Keep Their Young People
May 6, 2013 By Rev. Heidi Haverkamp.

Read them all and think about how we engage our youth today.

I also just found these blog articles about Discerning Ministry with Teens:

http://www.buildfaith.org/2013/05/21/discerning-ministry-with-teens-part-1/

http://www.buildfaith.org/2013/05/22/discerning-ministry-with-teens-part-2/

CT Episcopal Media: Camp Washington intro

Great introduction!

License & Background Check

I am still not sure why it is unreasonable to ask those who want to purchase a weapon (gun) in the United States to undergo a background check and be licensed?

The second amendment states:

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

We should regulate who can purchase it and make sure they are licensed.  We do that for drivers and cars?  Why not guns?

A prayer for our times...

O God, you have bound us together in a common life. Help us, in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.