An online course on Hispanic ministry is one of three classes open for registration now on the Seminary of the Southwest's website.
"Historical and Cultural Contexts for Hispanic Ministry, "From
(Stem) Cell to (Prison) Cell - Life Ethics," and "We Give You Greeting:
Prayer and Praise from the Celtic Tradition" are the offerings in Term Three
of the seminary's distance learning program. There are no educational
prerequisites for these Lay School non-credit courses. The Oct. 6 through
Nov. 14 classes are limited to 25 persons and tuition is $65 per course.
Detailed course descriptions, computer capability requirements and a
registration link can be found at www.etss.edu/online_courses.shtml
If you've checked this blog recently, you probably thought time had stopped...and even rolled back! That's because the diocal.org site was hacked (twice) and the backup from six weeks ago had to be used to rewrite the server. 6 weeks of blog entries are now in cyber-heaven, but this evening I am finally able to get back in to begin editing and blogging.
As Douglas Adams famously said, "Sorry for the inconvenience."
The deadline for the second round of Creative Ministry Grants is September 26th -- and don't forget to use the new, improved application form (available at the right hand side of this blog).
I know this probably seems like a bureaucratic requirement, but the intent is more about collecting specific information than about a particular form. Contact me if you have questions!
How can our ministries develop leaders that have fluency with a changing and complex future? Under the auspices of the Christian Futures Network, some 13 Christian leaders gathered in San Francisco on July 20-21, 2003 to examine how to raise up leaders of vision, creativity and foresight, through both formal and informal training. The participants represented theological think-tanks, global study centers, ministry associations and doctoral studies programs -- and a couple of lowly Episcopalian congregational development folk.
Here is a brief Summary by Rick Luoni (who attended with me), drawn from notes by leader Jay Gary:
1. Why Faith Needs Foresight
Jay Gary, president of PeakFutures in Colorado Springs suggested that a new
field of 'Christian futures' was now needed to help faith serve the purposes of God in our generation. In view of acclerating change, he appealed to 2 Peter 1:4-6, saying we
must add 'foresight' to our faith. To respond to the challenges before us, Gary claimed we must increase our 'response-ability' by adding foresight to our hindsight and insight.
2. The Foresight Principle
Dr. Richard Slaughter, foundational professor of foresight from Swinburne University of Technology in Australia defined 'foresight' as an in-built ability of humans "to create and maintain a high-quality, coherent and forward view and to use the insights arising in organizationally useful ways." While individuals might reflectively use foresight in their daily lives, foresight in social groups is less practiced. Slaughter shared how businesses in the '90s such as Nokia or Interface became industry leaders by overcoming this shortsightedness through the use of "strategic" foresight tools, such as environmental scanning or trend analysis. Beyond this pragmatic use, he shared how "social" foresight operated progressively, to give leaders the tools to redesign society beyond the industrial age. Slaughter invited us to become program champions in our organizations and nurture them as "institutions of foresight" that could "highlight dangers" or "create social innovations" and thereby participate in the "deep design" of our society at the "civilizational" level. Slaughter encouraged leaders to revise leadership paradigms and embrace the forward view as a significant domain of study and action.
3. The New Context of Christian Futures
Dr. Todd Johnson, director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon Conwell Seminary, offered a review of 20th century literature, illustrating how faith had thought about the future. While many writers had considered the future of the church, they had largely approached the issue from a impressionistic, pietist, or pop futures framework. Despite efforts by missiologists, such as the late David Bosch, few Christian leaders had engaged in the kind of
depth analysis of the church and society that foresight demanded. The previous evening, Dr. Ted Peters, director of the Center for Theology and Natural Sciences in Berkley, Calif., had shared about his work in bio-ethics and how theologians were working to prevent genetic discrimination. Until ministry leaders become future fluent they will continue to be prey to repressive populist movements that seek to legitimate themselves through religion.
from Sarah T. Moore's Episcopal News Service article:
Though affirming a gay bishop for the church and discussing rites
to bless same-sex relationships gained international attention, the 74th
General Convention dug deeper to lay groundwork of a rejuvenated church
proclaiming Jesus as Lord in the 21st-century world.
20/20 is 'fostering a missional perspective'
by Sarah T. Moore
[ENS] Though affirming a gay bishop for the church and discussing rites
to bless same-sex relationships gained international attention, the 74th
General Convention dug deeper to lay groundwork of a rejuvenated church
proclaiming Jesus as Lord in the 21st-century world.
"We are fostering a missional perspective," said Sarah Lawton, chair of
the 20/20 Strategy Group and vice chair of the Standing Commission on
Domestic Mission and Evangelism. "It's something you cannot legislate,
but [can] lay out the framework. We're fostering that culture in every
level - national church, diocese, and congregations - and it's being
received joyfully."
Lawton, a deputy from the Diocese of California, has spent long hours on
the convention floor considering legislation. Although she agrees
strongly that a legal process doesn't make a church, she is well aware
that in many ways in the Episcopal Church, it is legislation adopted at
General Convention that drives the action.
"We want to be disciples who make disciples. We preach not the Episcopal
Church, but Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as servants for Jesus'
sake," said the Rev. John A. M. Guernsey, chair of the Standing
Commission on Domestic Mission and Evangelism, addressing the House of
Deputies on the second day of convention.
"The emergence of the 20/20 vision opened our eyes," added the Rev.
James Lemler, speaking of the 20/20 report to the deputies at the same
time. "The church needs to get ready for the mission we are talking
about."
And getting ready it is.
Resolutions spread into nine areas (leadership, spirituality, prayer and
worship, research, new congregational development, vital congregations,
the Next generation, communications, funding and reporting) and emerged
with challenges to the church to be "a church we haven't seen yet,"
according to the Rev.Winnie Varghese, chaplain at Columbia University.
"Many of these have a sense of urgency" to get on with the mission of
the church, she said. Resolutions to help the growth of vital
congregations through evangelism, education, communication and
spirituality, prayer and worship have been adopted, she noted.
Episcopalians should see efforts to plant churches speed up with
partnership money for dioceses and congregations earmarked from the
national church - especially those reaching out to underserved areas,
diverse populations and urban areas; publications in multiple languages,
especially Spanish, to reach the quickly growing Hispanic presence in
the United States will emerge; and most importantly, identifying youth
and young adults as the number one priority of the church.
Liturgy took center stage too, contained in several resolutions,
including the House of Bishops' reauthorization of Enriching Our Worship
to expand liturgies and music to reflect the diversity of cultures and
peoples to which the Episcopal Church is reaching out.
"We breathe in through liturgy and breathe out in action," said Lawton.
Embracing ceremonies reflected in many languages and cultures and
incorporating them into Episcopal liturgies will enrich the church.
Bishops and deputies voted to recommend that all dioceses "strongly
encourage" contemporary language competency for those seeking
ordination. That raises the bar on awareness and reality of the flood of
immigrant population coming to this country and those of the Episcopal
Church from Latin America in Province IX of the church.
"Regardless, it elevated the discussion for the first time about
bringing multiculture leadership everywhere to the center," Lawton said.
"We never send missionaries out into the world without training and a
level of competency. We must think of domestic mission in the same sense
as foreign - for they are here, among us. We are urging dioceses to get
people thinking about that."
One of the most important steps was approval of leadership programs for
18- to 25-year-olds, internships for young people and money to fund it,
Lawton noted. Convention is considering a budget that includes $5.3
million for youth and young adult ministries of a $146.4 million total.
"That is huge. These are our leaders for the next generation. Youth and
young adults were taken seriously and identified as the number one
priority identified by Program, Budget and Finance," said Lawton.
"It is an exciting time to be an Episcopalian," said the Rev. Dr. Ian
Douglas in a General Convention newscast interview as convention began
its concluding days. Domestic and international mission are entwined,
and this convention has named both a great urgency and greater
understanding for the church to act.
Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold said in his opening address the first
day of convention, "My prayer is that this convention will be a part of
the continuing process of discovery and growth."
As convention comes to a close, Lawton said, "We need to adjust to being
a church in a very changing time. People seem ready to embrace this. Now
go home and do it."