Bloy House News
The Episcopal Theological School at Claremont
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Greetings!
Greetings from Bloy House, the Episcopal Theological School at Claremont, where our Spring 2016 session is nearing completion. Thank you for considering Bloy House/ETSC for theological coursework and continuing education alike. For information, phone 909.621.2419 or email bloyhouse@cst.edu.Faithfully in Christ,
(The Very Rev.) Sylvia Sweeney, Ph.D.
Bloy House Dean and President
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All welcome for May 7 graduation
Five seminarians complete programs
During the May 7 Commencement Eucharist, the Bloy House community will graduate five seminarians: Dana Fachner of St. Timothy's, Apple Valley; Norma Guerra of All Saints, Pasadena and Messiah, Santa Ana; Lisa Jacoby of St. Margaret's, San Juan Capistrano; Jana Milhon-Martin of St. John's, La Verne; and Celeste Stump of St. Mark's, Upland. Dana and Jana will receiving Certificates of Anglican Studies. Norma, Lisa, and Celeste will be receiving Diplomas of Theological Studies. There will be a graduation luncheon following the service. All are welcome to attend. Visitors planning to stay for lunch need to send $20 in advance to Bloy House, ETSC at 1325 N. College Ave. Claremont, CA 91711.
Seminary representatives visit Bloy House
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|  | | Ruth Meyers | |
This spring we have been delighted to have special presentations by representatives of the three seminaries Bloy House is in partnership with. In March the Rev. Dr. Ruth Meyers, Academic Dean of Church Divinity School of the Pacific, and the Rev. Dr. Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook, Academic Dean of Claremont School of Theology and faculty member of Bloy House both made presentations on their seminaries and our partnership programs. On April 16 we will
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| | | Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook | |
also be delighted to host Brendan Hughes, Admissions officer of Episcopal Divinity School for a similar presentation. Anyone in the area interested in learning more about EDS is welcome to attend this lunchtime meet. The lunch will begin at approximately 12:15 immediately following our community Eucharist. Cost of the lunch is $15 and reservations must be made in advance by writing to bloyhouse@cst.edu.
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 Dean Sweeney preaches at Li-Tim Oi Center
On March 19 Dean Sweeney had the honor of serving as the preacher for the opening session of the latest certificate program of the Li Tim-Oi Center. The Rev. Dr. Thomas Ni was the translator for the sermon. In celebration of the Feast of St. Joseph she talked about parents as the primary teachers of their children and how Christian Education directors can support the teaching ministry of parents. This certificate of Christian Education program will be taught by the Rev. Dr. Fennie Chang of St. Thomas, Hacienda Heights, and UC Irvine Episcopal Chaplain. Fennie's doctoral work is in Christian education, and she will offer her students important insights into the nature of Christian formation in 21st century life, ways to develop curriculum, and Christian spirituality practices. The course is taught in Mandarin Chinese. Those interested in attending this or future Li-Tim Oi Center classes should contact the Rev. Dr. Thomas Ni at thomasni@yahoo.com.
Instituto de Liderazgo names Martinez new director
The Instituto de Liderazgo is a ministry of the program group on Hispanic Ministry in the Diocese of Los Angeles. It began four years ago with a vision for raising up and training lay leaders for various essential ministries in the Spanish speaking communities of the diocese. This past fall Carlos Ruvalcaba became the first Instituto student to continue his studies by becoming a postulant of the diocese and a seminarian at Bloy House.
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| | | Roberto Martinez | |
Through the last four years in cooperation with Bloy House, the Instituto has offered Certificates of Lay Leadership in topics such as Administration, Evangelism, Holy Scripture, Catechesis, Pastoral Care, and Christian Spirituality. After two years as the director, the Rev. Vincent Schwahn of St. Mark's, Van Nuys, will take a rest, and the Rev. Roberto Martinez of Magdelana, Glendale, will be taking the reins as director of the program. Watch your summer Bloy House News for announcements on upcoming certificate programs to be offered by the Instituto. All Instituto courses are taught in Spanish meeting at several churches across the diocese.
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Bloy House receives art gift from Van Nuys parish
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On the teaching weekend before Palm Sunday Bloy House students had the opportunity to participate in early Holy Week events during their worship time. On Friday of that week seminarian Carlos Ruvalcaba of St. Mark's, Van Nuys led the seminary in a Moments of the Cross service with music and meditation. As part of that service students had the opportunity to contemplate seven stations of the cross through an exquisite series of naďve folk paintings done by Billy Baumann. The seminary has been presented with this beautiful set of paintings so that in future years there will be the opportunity to continue the tradition of praying the stations of the cross. A grateful thank you to St. Mark's for this beautiful gift that will enrich our lives together for years to come. 'Singing the Exsultet' with Dr. Lisa Sylvester On March 16 Dr. Lisa Sylvester, Music Director of St. Mark's, Altadena, and Voice Professor at University of Southern California offered a 90-minute workshop for those who were preparing to sing the exsultet at their Easter Vigil services. The event was attended by deacons and lay persons from across the diocese, and we hope that additional music workshops on seasonal topics will be led by Lisa in the coming months and years. Lisa also offers a long retreat weekend on use of the voice in proclaiming the Gospel, leading music in a congregation, and Taizé music. Check your summer Bloy House News for upcoming musical training events. Talks on future of theological education continue On March 3, Dean Sweeney had the opportunity to attend a lunch gathering of members of St. Matthew's, Pacific Palisades, where she gave a presentation on the future of theological education. Theological education across the church is in a time of major change. Many seminaries are now supplementing residential models of formation with forms of distributed and hybrid learning, seeking to meet the needs of those seeking ordination but who are unable to make the financial and personal sacrifices required to attend a three year residential seminary. Bloy House has historically been the front line in finding ways to offer alternative models that are both more cost effective for seminarians and also more compassionate of the needs of seminarians and their families. We are proud of what we have accomplished in the last fifty-seven years, and think we have much to share with the broader church. On Sunday, May 1 Dean Sweeney will be making a similar presentation to the congregation of Church of the Messiah, Santa Ana. One of the things that she stresses in all of these presentation is our commitment to forming lay persons, deacons, and priests together in a heterogeneous community, so that from day one ministers understand how to work within the deep complementarity of orders that is our gift as Episcopalians. Bloy House to Participate in Episcopal Church Foundation Vital Teams Gathering Once again this year Bloy House has been invited to participate in the Episcopal Church Foundation's Vital Teams gathering that will take place at Cathedral Center in Echo Park this April. Vital Teams is the strategic arm of Episcopal Church Foundation that is committed to supporting activities that further develop a cooperative team approach to ministry between clergy and lay leaders. Representatives from Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Bexley-Seabury, ChurchNext, Bishop Kemper Seminary, Virginia Theological Seminary, General Seminary, the Diocese of Minnesota, and the Diocese of Colorado will also be in attendance. Together we will discuss initiatives we are involved with that support lay leadership formation and clergy lay shared ministry endeavors.
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 Sustaining joy and gratitude By Sylvia Sweeney
I have just finished a book about rediscovering the meaning of Christmas in preparation for writing a book review. What struck me as I finished the book was how difficult it seemed for the authors to truly live into the joy and blessing that is Christmas. They did well discussing the anticipation and preparation leading up to Christmas, but somehow could not get as excited about living into Christmas itself. Often they would turn their sights back to their own sinfulness and undeservedness of the gift that is Christmas. Joy, gratitude, blessing, goodness, happiness seemed to be ephemeral unsustainable attitudes in their writing. Somehow to be "religious" their writing needed to be somber and self-critical. I found it all quite sad.
By the time this email reaches your mailboxes, it will be Eastertide. We the church will be living in what should be the most awe-filled, joy-filled season of our lives. In the early church those newly baptized and all the faithful who loved them would not stop their catechetical gatherings after the baptisms and Easter celebrations of the vigil. They would return to their teachers for eight more days to bask in the glow of what they had experienced, to digest it fully, to understand the power and the meaning of that holy bath, holy birth, and first meal of life in community. This time was called the time of Mystagogy, the study of the mysteries. It was meant to be a time of joy and exuberance, of gratitude and contemplation, of thankfulness and belonging. Much like the old tradition was for married couples to leave for a honeymoon after the wedding, this week of Mystagogy was meant to be a honeymoon of sorts. A time when nothing was more important to their lives than reliving those precious moments of invitation, of conversion, and of new belonging and learning how to live more deeply into them on the other side.
As Christians we are often much better at preparing for things to happen than living into them as they are happening. But God wants us to drink deeply from life's cup. To taste joy. To smell eternity. To feel the embrace of the body of Christ enfolding us in a kind of safety and protection the world cannot know. God wants us to bathe in divine love and lounge in the opulence of prodigious grace given freely. God wants us to have a honeymoon at the end of our Easter just to drink in the miracle and let it reconstitute us, making us whole and perhaps even happy.
During these fifty days of Easter may your hearts be as full of thanks as they were full of longing during Lent. May you find again and again that as we return to the empty tomb, it is still empty! Christ is still risen for us, and still waiting to embrace us in a garden full of the sweet smells of resurrected life.
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Your support is appreciated
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Financial contributions to support the work of Bloy House are appreciated year-round. Thank you for your consideration and generosity. Gifts may be mailed to Bloy House, the Episcopal Theological School at Claremont, 1325 N. College Avenue, Claremont, CA 91711.
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In this issue: Please scroll down for more on upcoming courses and student and faculty activities.
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An easy way to support Bloy House, ETSC
Support Bloy House by shopping at Amazon! It is very easy. Just go through this link, or go through Amazon smile. Log in using your existing Amazon account and then search "The Episcopal Theological School at Claremont" as your charity of choice. Bloy House gets 5% of all proceeds!
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Bloy Bling
Just a reminder that Bloy House polo shirts (in Bloy House Blue with the Bloy House seal) and Bloy House coffee mugs are still available through the Bloy House office. Cost of the polo shirts is $26 and mugs are $10. Bloy House tippet seals are available through the office for $20.
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