Education

The eMinistry Network

Connecting the Church in Ministry

Registration and

Fee Policies

CLASSES:

Creating and Supporting Families of Faith in the 21st Century

One Size Doesn't Fit All: How to Select Curriculum for your Congregation

Making It Real and Relevant: Christian Education in the 21st Century

Designing a Confirmation Program that Speaks to Youth and Invites Ministry

Creating and Supporting Families of Faith in the 21st Century Click here to register!

There are four main distractions in our culture which keep families from actively practicing their faith and experiencing spiritual growth. In this class we'll explore these distractions in depth and assess the ways in which your congregation's Christian Formation programs currently respond to them. We'll also look at the importance of the church as community, and the congregation (and its leaders) as role models for individuals and families in deepening their spiritual life. Join us for a lively hour of presentation and discussion as we seek concrete ways that your congregation can help its families develop more intentional, active faith lives.

Leader: Heidi Hawks

Date: Monday, June 2, 2008

Time: A 90-minute class, beginning at 7:00 pm Eastern (6:00 pm Central, 5:00 pm Mountain, 4:00 pm Pacific)

Cost: $15.00 Please read eMinistry's registration policies before you register

Class size: Limited to 12

Class#: CMC-ED108

This training is made possible in part by funds from the Roanridge Trust, administered through the Office of Congregational Development of the Episcopal Church Center,815 2nd Ave., New York, NY 10017. Please click here for additional important information about eMinistry's Roanridge projects.

Heidi Hawks is a Christian Education consultant with 15 years’ experience working with children, youth and adults, first as a high school social studies teacher and then as a Youth Director and Christian Education Director. Heidi has worked in churches with memberships ranging from 35 to 2700 members, developing and implementing Christian Education programs, classes, and events for children, youth and adults.

Heidi has Master’s degrees in religion from Wake Forest University and in education from UNC-Greensboro, and is currently working on her PhD in education, specializing in spiritual development. In conjunction with her degree work and her career in Christian Education, Heidi teaches, presents seminars and workshops, and writes and publishes curriculum for all ages. Heidi lives in NC with her husband, Randy, and their three children, who are 14, 12, and 9 years old. For more information, visit Heidi’s website, www.seespiritgrow.com.

One Size Doesn't Fit All: How to Select Curriculum for your Congregation

Leader: Sharon Ely Pearson

Date: Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Time: A 90-minute class, beginning at 7:00 pm Eastern (6:00 pm Central, 5:00 pm Mountain, 4:00 pm Pacific)

Cost: $15.00 Please read eMinistry's registration policies before you register

Class size: Limited to 12

Class#: CMC-ED107

Are you always perplexed when looking through curriculum catalogs and the many published materials offered as to which one is right for your congregation? Are you looking for something that will fit the needs of your teachers and students? Join us as we explore the various types of curricula: lectionary-based, scope & sequence, Montessori-type and Rotation Model as well as other tools for evaluating and assessing materials.

Using the lens of your church’s mission statement as well as your programmatic framework, we’ll weed through the immense and deep fields of curriculum offered to today’s church from a variety of sources (including, but not limited to, Church Publishing's Living the Good News, Episcopal Children's Curriculum, All Things New and Godly Play)

so that you can make an educated and faithful decision for the coming program year.

Sharon Ely Pearson became Church Publishing’s first Christian Formation Specialist in November 2007 after ten years as Children’s Ministries and Christian Education Coordinator for the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut. With a B.S in Special Education, she has a certificate in Christian Education from Hartford Seminary and a Master’s degree in Christian Education from Virginia Seminary. Having over 30 years experience in Christian formation at the parish, diocesan, provincial and church-wide level, she is a certified Godly Play teacher, EfM mentor and active in the National Association for Episcopal Christian Education Directors (NAECED). She is a member of PEALL (Proclaiming Education for All, an Executive Council task force charged with making recommendations regarding theological education and Christian formation to the 2009 General Convention). She lives in Norwalk, CT with husband, John, a dog and too many books waiting to be read and several that are waiting to be written. They are the proud parents of a graduate student at Boston University and a daughter who is a marine biologist and educator.

Known for her monthly e-newsletters while in the Diocese of Connecticut and her diocesan website pages (http://www.ctdiocese.org/resources/christianed.shtml), Sharon has experience in helping congregations choose curriculum for children, youth & adults as well as leading workshops or retreats on a variety of topics.

Making It Real and Relevant: Christian Education in the 21st Century

Click here to register!

Leader: Heidi Hawks

Date: Two Mondays, February 11 and 18, 2008

Time: 7:00 pm Eastern (6:00 pm Central, 5:00 pm Mountain, 4:00 pm Pacific)

Cost: $24.00 Please read eMinistry's registration policies before you register

Class size: Limited to 12

Class#: CMC-ED106

This teleclass is designed to broaden the knowledge of anyone involved in Christian Education regarding the key characteristics of the postmodern society in which we live, and how they influence peoples’ spiritual and religious development. By understanding what motivates people in today’s world, we can — regardless of the size of our Christian Education program — adapt, modify and revitalize our programs to make them more real and relevant to our members.

The course will encompass two sessions:

In the first session, we’ll explore the postmodern world:

1. What are the main characteristics of postmodernity? (technology, globalism, pluralism, individuality, changing understandings of family and community, and rapid, constant change)

2. How do we see these characteristics affecting our congregations and our Christian Education programs?

In the second session, we ‘ll look at Christian Education:

1. What are recent discoveries in the field of education that are relevant for Christian Education? (multiple Intelligences, learning styles, special needs, different learners)

2. How can a Christian education program incorporate, easily and inexpensively, some of these discoveries and ideas? How does this work for small churches with multi-age groups?

Faithful Words: A Class for Lay Preachers

Leader: Elizabeth Hasen

Date: Coming Spring 2008

Time: 7:00 pm Eastern

Cost: $22.00 Please read eMinistry's registration policies before you register

Class size: Limited to 6

Class#: CMC-ED105

You're in a small parish and suddenly (or gradually) you've been designated the official lay preacher for your congregation. You can find good resources for sermons on the internet and use them, OR you can intentionally begin to live into this unique ministry of speaking the Word of God faithfully and regularly to the people you know and love.

This two-part class will look at many aspects -- both theological and practical -- of the role of preaching as a lay person. We'll explore these elements of preaching, among others:

	The source of your authority to preach (besides the Bishop!)
	How to choose your theme from those suggested by the weekly lectionary
	How a parish sermon advisory group works
	Preparing and presenting a sermon -- the technical stuff
	The different kinds of sermons you can preach
	The use and power of stories

Join us for this supportive and challenging exploration into the fascinating ministry of preaching.

Elizabeth Hasen is the founder and director of the eMinistry Network. In her earlier incarnation she has fifteen years' experience in ordained pastoral ministry in the Dioceses of Vermont and Kentucky, in parishes ranging from the Cathedral in Burlington, Vermont to a small suburban parish in Louisville, Kentucky -- and she now supplies regularly in parishes in the Diocese of Spokane. She taught the fourth-year preaching course for people preparing for diaconal ministry in the Diocese of Vermont in 1993-94, and was one of two students in her class at Virginia Theological Seminary nominated to attend the Excellence in Preaching conference for Episcopal seminarians. She's experienced (and preached) the best and the worst of sermons -- and both enjoys and wrestles with the continual challenge to preach the Gospel faithfully.

One Size Doesn't Fit All: How to Select Curriculum for your Congregation

Click here to register!

Leader: Sharon Ely Pearson

Date: Tuesday, April 1, 2008

Time: A 90-minute class, beginning at 7:00 pm Eastern (6:00 pm Central, 5:00 pm Mountain, 4:00 pm Pacific)

Cost: $15.00 Please read eMinistry's registration policies before you register

Class size: Limited to 12

Class#: CMC-ED107

Using the lens of your church’s mission statement as well as your programmatic framework, we’ll weed through the immense and deep fields of curriculum offered to today’s church from a variety of sources so that you can make an educated and faithful decision for the coming program year.

Being Families of Faith

Leader: Heidi Hawks

Date: Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Time: A 90-minute class beginning at 7:30 pm Eastern (6:30 pm Central, 5:30 pm Mountain, 4:30 pm Pacific)

Cost: $15.00 Please read eMinistry's registration policies before you register

Class size: Limited to 12

Class#: CMC-ED108

THE CLASS DESCRIPTION WILL BE POSTED SHORTLY....

Knowing (and Loving) Scripture:

A Class for Adults who Work with Youth (and others!)

Leader: Greg Syler

Date: To be offered again Fall 2007

Time: 7:00 pm Eastern (one-hour teleclass)

Cost: $12.00

Class#: CMC-ED100

The Bible, as so many have come to know, has great power, mystery, tradition, and history, but can it also speak to daily life in Christ? Moreover, can it speak to our youth -- especially junior to senior high youth -- who might not yet be willing to take on the whole of Christianity but who nevertheless are searching, yearning, desiring something deeper and life-transforming?

This class -- helpful for anyone who wishes to deepen his or her relationship with Scripture -- is based on the assumption that what our young persons need is found in and through the Bible: reading it, praying it, searching it, and using it. Being adult leaders of our youth -- in our congregations and our lives -- requires that we ourselves know and love the stories of Scripture, and that we make reading and reflecting on the Bible a part of our daily life.

This class will explore examples from the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and Jesus' use of parables, which can teach us how to glean not only research and information from the Bible but also transforming power for our lives. We'll learn how to really "read" the Bible, as it is meant to be read, with our youth -- starting with the thesis that reading the Bible with one another is a freeing act of finding God, finding meaning, and finding -- again -- the importance of the Body of Christ.

The Rev. Gregory (Greg) Syler is curate at Church of Our Saviour, a city parish in Chicago. He works with adult formation, liturgy, young adults and youth ministries, both at church and in the Diocese of Chicago. A graduate of the University of Chicago Divinity School, he taught on the theology faculty at The Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School for four years, before completing seminary work at Virginia Theological Seminary. In summer 2005, Greg returned to Chicago with his fiancé, Meredith (a seminarian in the Episcopal Church) and to his passion for ministry at transitional points in people’s lives, effective and dynamic preaching, good friends, teaching and bible study, woodworking and cooking.

Designing a Confirmation Program that Speaks to Youth and Invites Ministry

Click here to register!

Leader: Jenifer Gamber

Date: Monday, February 25, 2008

Time: 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm Eastern (90-minute teleclass) -- 6:30 Central, 5:30 Mountain, 4:30 Pacific

Cost: $15.00 (group discount available for 3 or more people from one congregation)

Class#: CMC-ED103

Class size: Limited to 12

Confirmation is a mature public affirmation of faith and commitment to the responsibilities of their Baptism. Many churches, including the Episcopal Church, expect their young people to be confirmed. How can we design a program that invites a deeper commitment to Christ and a faith community rather than graduates our youth from Sunday School?

Learn about the basic elements of a confirmation program: how to help youth explore questions of faith, identify how God is speaking to them, and discern their ministry in the world.

This class is for new and seasoned leaders alike as well as those beginning or revising a confirmation program. Bring your questions, your successes and challenges.

Jenifer Gamber is a textbook editor specializing in higher education. She is the author of the new book My Faith, My Life: A Teen’s Guide to the Episcopal Church and Leader Guide to My Faith, My Life both published by Morehouse Publishing (2006). See her website myfaithmylife.org, a place for Episcopal teens to explore their faith.

Jenifer has over 20 years experience working with children and youth in a church setting as Sunday School teacher, youth group leader, Journey to Adulthood Coordinator, and confirmation catechist. She will be leading a workshop in using technology to speak about faith in the language of teenagers at the National Association of Episcopal Education Directors’ (NAECED) annual conference January 25-28 in Jacksonville Florida (see www.naeced.org).

Jenifer lives with her husband and two teenage children in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Advent: Season of Dislocation (An Advent Lectionary Study Group)

Leader: Charles Hoffacker

Date: Past class

Class: CMC-ED104

Christ's arrival (his "advent") is profoundly disruptive: when he is born at Bethlehem, when he returns at the end of time, and when he comes among us now. The Advent season witnesses to how Christ repeatedly dislocates our lives that we may accept his gift of life. Beneath the manic holiday period, a dynamic of transformation is at work for God's people.

This series will engage the scripture passages for the four Sundays of Advent in a way that will appeal to seekers and church members as well as preachers and teachers. Participants will come to claim more completely for themselves the assertion made by Bernard of Clairvaux about the three advents of Christ:

In the first, Christ was our redemption; in the last, he will appear as our life; in this middle coming, he is our rest and our consolation.

Charles Hoffacker is an Episcopal priest, writer, and teacher who has served in parish and campus ministries in Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan. He lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife and daughter and recently became interim pastor at St. Peter's Church In Poolesville, Maryland.

Charles is the author of A Matter of Life and Death: Preaching at Funerals and has contributed articles, reviews, and columns to many publications. His sermons appear in Sermons that Work and on www.lectionary.org and are featured regularly in SermonWriter.

After thirteen years as dean of the Blue Water Convocation, Charles received the Diocese of Eastern Michigan Excellence in Ministry Award. He is also the recipient of the first Blue Water Peace Award.