Last week, the Episcopal Church in Minnesota (ECMN) and Bexley Seabury announced a partnership that will bring the federation's resources and expertise to bear on Christian formation and leadership development ministries in numerous ECMN communities.

Through the partnership, Bexley Seabury will collaborate with ECMN's formation and leadership development initiatives among the Ojibwe and Dakota communities, and provide several scholarships to ECMN participants in the Bexley Seabury Leadership Institute. The seminary will also collaborate with ECMN on an "incubator initiative" that will gather young adults and other stakeholders to visit emergent congregations in the Episcopal Church and bring back the best wisdom from those faith communities to Minnesota.

"ECMN is committed to assisting every faith community to acquire the resources they need to engage God's mission in their context," said the Rt. Rev. Brian N. Prior, bishop of Minnesota. "This emerging partnership with Bexley Seabury has the potential of offering significant faith formation opportunities."

President Ferlo said ECMN and the seminary federation are well matched. "Episcopalians in Minnesota have understood since the days of Bishop Henry Whipple in the mid-19th century that it is essential to root theological education in the context and culture of local communities of faith," he said. "Bexley Seabury shares this historic willingness to work collaboratively, to try new approaches, and to find ways to ensure that the best in Christian formation and training are available to people and communities that are sometimes overlooked.

"My hope is that this joint commitment to excellence in contextual formation will become a model for the church at a time when such models are keenly needed."

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Students who take Professor Eric Law's upcoming course, Diversity & Context, can expect to wrestle with some pressing issues in today's ministry:  how to hear the powerless, how to identify and respond to racism, and how to recognize and rejoice in diversity.

Participants can also expect to leave the weeklong intensive course with practical tools to serve congregations, help lead change and resolve conflict. The course is a core class for Bexley Seabury's doctor of ministry in congregational development program and is also open to seminarians as well as members of the community interested in CEUs or lifelong learning.

"Students discover ways to create a gracious environment to engage people, especially in the congregation situation, to speak the truth about themselves and the organization that is the church," Law says. "The process of getting at that is the understanding that people with different cultural backgrounds will speak their truth in different ways. In the course, we talk about the powerful and the powerless. If you get to only listen to the powerful in any situation, you won't get the complete truth. By listening to the powerless, you get a fuller picture of what is happening."

Law will teach his Diversity & Context course in Chicago from January 19-23, 2015. He has a long history with the seminary, where he has taught courses since Seabury's doctor of ministry program was created in 1995.

The relevance of the course only increases every year.

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Bexley Seabury's doctor of ministry programs prepare leaders for vital, dynamic, diverse communities of faith. Our flexible programs allow students to work independently and online with colleagues and enjoy intensive studies in Chicago for just a few weeks a year.

Doctor of Ministry in Congregational Development

Our low-residence doctor of ministry students have an unparalleled opportunity to learn, stretch, challenge themselves and others, and emerge at the end of three years with exceptional skills in leadership and deeper theological grounding for innovative and effective congregational ministry. A new cohort of students begins the program each June; the priority admission deadline is January 15. Learn more and apply online. 

Doctor of Ministry in Preaching

This ecumenical program, which includes intensive summer residencies and work in your home congregation during the year, is designed to help you become the preacher God is calling you to be. The Bexley Seabury Doctor of Ministry in Preaching Program is offered in collaboration with six other Chicago-area seminaries as the Association of Chicago Theological Schools (ACTS) DMin in Preaching Program. Apply by January 31 for admission in June. Learn more and apply online.