Dear
SIM alumni, seminarians and friends,
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As many of you are aware,
especially our seminarians, the General Ordination Examination (GOE) is being
administered this week. SIM is grateful
for those taking this requisite step in their courageous pursuit of vocation to
ordained ministry in The Episcopal Church.
In 1970, the General Convention of
The Episcopal Church created the General Board of Examining Chaplains to
standardize the process of canonical examination for ordination. The first
examination was administered in 1972. The canons of the church (Title III, Canon 7, Section 5a)
require that before ordination a candidate must be examined and show
proficiency in:
- The Holy Scriptures
- Church History, including the Ecumenical Movement
- Christian Theology
- Christian Ethics and Moral Theology
- Studies in Contemporary Society, including Racial and Minority
Groups
- Liturgics and Church Music
- Theory and Practice of Ministry
"The basic task of
theological education today is much the same as it was when SIM was founded in
1857. The Bible must be opened and its
rich and varied texts explored. The history
of the church through the ages must be taught.
The great theological issues and questions must be confronted. If a student has a vocation to the ordained
ministry, he or she must learn how to preach the gospel effectively, how to
administer the sacraments rightly and how to be a good pastoral care giver.
Time has not altered these tasks of theological education."
Over half of SIM's 2009/2010 grant
recipients are seniors. Many are taking
GOEs right now. Please join SIM in
praying for "our" and all seminarians taking the examination. On this day of
The Epiphany, may God's light shine upon them and provide them a warm and
peaceful calm.
Faithfully,
Tom Moore
Executive Director
SIM
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