June 17-21, 2013

This course offers Seabury's Summer Institute with the Kellogg School Center for Nonprofit Management for academic credit through two additional full-day extended sessions on June 20 and 21 open at added cost to qualified participants for MDiv or DMin academic credit. For more information, contact Susan Harlow at 773.380.7042 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Weeklong Intensive 3 credit or CEU hrs. MDiv or DMin

Location:

Monday thru Wednesday:  Northwestern University's Chicago Campus, Wieboldt Hall, 340 Superior Street

Thursday and Friday:  Seabury Western Theological Seminary campus, 8765 West Higgins Road, Suite 650, Chicago

Syllabus 2013 Non Profit Management 1: Leadership Skills for Clergy and Lay

June 3-7, 2013

What are religious congregations and why do we need them?

The answers would seem obvious. Congregations constitute the largest volunteer gathering of religious people in North America. Yet the definition of religious congregations is shifting and expanding as new models emerge for communal worship.

The focus has grown from what takes place within physical houses of worship—Here's the church, here's the steeple—to include the wealth of possibilities offered by online communities and by groups of people who gather outside of the traditional church. Can new kinds of congregations serve people who currently aren't being served?

This one-week course will examine religious congregations from theological, historical, sociological and economic perspectives. Included in the discussions will be emerging and fresh ministries that are popping up on the religious landscape and an exploration of what God is calling the church to be and do in today’s world.

The Rev. Dr. Susan Harlow, course instructor and Seabury's director of congregational development, said she finds great value in being part of a congregation.

"These are earthbound communities seeking a life of transcendence," she said. "They are seeking more: more love, more relationships, more authenticity, more God. And there's a good deal of comfort in seeking with others. If one person is powerful, a committed group addressing the same issue is even more powerful.

Harlow said she'd like to say "come and see" to people who feel they have no need for a religious community.

"Sometimes when people say I'm spiritual, they're saying they realize there is something more to life but don't want to be part of a religious community," Harlow said. "But I say come and see. The spirit is at work in community. And in community, you understand forgiveness in a different way."

Students will leave the course with a better understanding of how congregations support our faith journey, challenge our personal perception of God, and broaden our understanding of who God is.

Instructor: The Rev. Dr. Susan Harlow, Director of Congregational Development

Dates: June 3-7, 2013

Weeklong Intensive 3 credit or CEU hrs. MDiv or DMin

Syllabus: Syllabus 2013 Congregations in the 21st Century REVISED

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June 9-15, 2013

Community organizing is all about relationship building, a crucial component of effective ministry. Come to this course and learn new skills for getting to know the wider community context in which your congregation is situated.  The core of this course is the Industrial Area Foundation's acclaimed national leadership training and learn how to use community organizing as a powerful approach to living out one's faith in the world.

Seminarians learn a great deal about the history and content of the Bible but can find it difficult, post-seminary, to translate their learning into knowledge that parishioners can use and share easily with others. This course will present six strategies for teaching the canonical story efficiently and impactfully in ways that lead to personal and communal transformation. Participants will both learn the content of the Bible afresh and how to teach it to others using the same methods.

Instructor:  The Rev. Dr. John Dally

Dates:  September 27-28, November 1-2, December 6-7 in Chicago. Classes take place from 1 pm on Friday through Saturday at 4:30 pm with online work between meetings.

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A monthly gathering of students and faculty in MDiv program for retreat-like setting for prayer, mutual support, and holy conversation on topics related to the Anglican Christian tradition, inculcating spiritual practices that integrate heart, soul, and mind.

Instructor:  The Rev. Karl Ruttan

Dates:  September 6, October 4, November 1, December 6 in Columbus

This course is an introduction to the principles and practices of Anglican worship with particular focus on the Episcopal Church.  The course will cover the nature of worship and the history of its evolution; and the theology and use of music in worship.

Instructor: Therese DeLisio and Milner Seifert 

Dates: September 20-21, October 25-26, November 15-16 in Chicago. Classes meet from 1 pm on Friday until Saturday at 4:30 pm with online work between meetings.

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An overview of the history, theology, and development of the Book of Common Prayer, including use of music in worship.

Instructor:  The Rev. Susan Smith

Dates:  Fall 2013 semester in Columbus

The Field Education Seminar in Columbus provides an opportunity for those in field placements to reflect on the lessons learned on site.  Topics include everything from the basics of running a vestry meeting, planning a funeral and reading a spreadsheet to the broader issues of leading and managing adaptive change and how the Church might function in a rapidly changing cultural landscape.

Instructor:  The Rev. Stephen Smith

This course provides and introduction to the history, purpose and liturgical forms of the pastoral offices in use in the Episcopal Church, including baptism and the catechumenate, confirmation, marriage, reconciliation,  ministration to the sick and dying, and the burial rites. Readings are drawn from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, the 2003 Book of Occasional Services, and other supplemental texts that participants will find useful as their develop their skills in pastoral and liturgical practice.  We will play close attention to issues of inculturation and social context as we assess the effectiveness of the Prayer Book offices and related rites in a post-modern culture.

Instructor:  The Rev. Dr. Roger A. Ferlo

Dates:  September 20-21, October 25-26, December 6-7 in Columbus with online work between meetings

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This online-only course covers the basics of the canon law and polity of The Episcopal Church. This is a not-for-credit course that meets ordination requirements in The Episcopal Church.

Instructor:  The Rev. Dr. Ellen Wondra

Dates:  September 1-December 1

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This course provides an introduction and overview to history and development of the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion, with particular attention given to Anglicanism as as a diverse, globalized communion.

Instructor:  The Rev. Dr. Thomas Ferguson

Dates:  September 6-7, October 4-5, November 15-16 in Columbus. Classes meet from 1 pm on Friday until Saturday at 4:30 pm with online work between meetings.

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