New Partnership in Minnesota
Bexley Seabury, Episcopal Church in Minnesota to collaborate
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."
Read more.
|
Listening to the Powerless
Diversity & Context with Professor Eric Law

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.
Read more.
|
Trustee Associates Named
Ten leaders pledge to act as ambassadors
Seminaries rely on faithful friends for support, advice and encouragement. The Bexley Seabury Seminary Federation also depends on our friends to act as ambassadors, telling the wider church and the wider world about our distinctive role as a seminary beyond walls, open to all.
To recognize those who serve Bexley Seabury with special dedication, our board of directors has created the position of trustee associate and named these ten faithful friends of the Federation to the new position:
 |
Bob Bottoms
|
|
 |
Eleanor Chabraja
|
|
 |
Carl Gerdau
|
|
 |
Kate Koeze
|
|
 |
Bill Lane
|
|
 |
Wendy Lane
|
|
 |
Roger Lumpp
|
|
 |
Withrow Meeker
|
|
 |
Bob Reber
|
|
 |
Tony Ruger
|
|
|
January 2015 at Bexley Seabury
Weeklong intensives in Chicago
 Development and Theology
January 12-16, 2015
Milner Seifert and Elise Feyerherm offer an introduction to the principles and practices of Anglican worship with particular focus on the Episcopal Church.
Anglican Theology and Ethics
January 5-9, 2015
Ellen Wondra teaches a course on the breadth and variety of theologies and ethics in the world-wide Anglican Communion as well as "classic" Anglican theologians and moral theologians.
Congregational Systems 
January 12-16, 2015
Emlyn Ott of Trinity Lutheran Seminary teaches an introduction to systems and organizational theory in relation to congregations and other church groups. Students will explore issues in organizational and ministry development as well as strategies for systemic change.
Diversity & Context
Weeklong Intensive: Jan 19-23
Eric Law of the Kaleidoscope Institute will help students increase their intercultural competency for congregational development in a diverse changing world.

Non-profit Management and Community Development: January 5-9, 2015
Suzi Holding and Jody Kretzmann will explore how asset-based community development and greater neighborhood involvement can breathe new life into congregations at a time when many are struggling with shrinking budgets and exploding social needs in their communities.
|
Apply Now to Begin DMin Study in June 2015
Programs in preaching, congregational development
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.
|
2015 Leadership Institute in June
Apply online to attend annual Kellogg School training
Our fifth annual Leadership Institute, a three-day program with the Center for Nonprofit Management, Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, will take place June 15-17, 2015. This popular summer course is tailored to meet the distinctive needs of clergy and lay leaders. Learn more and apply online.
"I didn't find any of the material covered to be something that I couldn't use. I was really taken with the quality of instruction. In a situation like that, the professors from Kellogg could have hit a single, but they were swinging for the fences. When I got home I began to explode with ideas."
The Rev. Darrel Proffitt Church of the Holy Apostles Katy, Texas
|
Strategies for Teaching the Bible Professor John Dally in Indianapolis
On three weekends in the spring, Professor John Dally will teach "Strategies for Teaching the Bible" at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Indianapolis. Designed for both lay and ordained teachers as well as anyone who would simply like to learn more about the Bible, the course will present six strategies for teaching the biblical story in ways that lead to personal and communal transformation.
The course is open to students for academic credit, continuing education or enrichment, and group discounts are available. Learn more and download a flyer.
|