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Education for Ministry (EfM) is a program of theological education-at-a-distance of the School of Theology of the University of the South. Students sign up one year at a time for this four-year program. It covers the basics of a theological education in the Old and New Testaments, church history, liturgy, and theology. Students meet regularly, usually once a week, in seminars under the guidance of trained mentors. The program grants a certificate at the completion of the four years and 18 Continuing Education Units for each year's work.
Participants
in the
EfM
program study the entire sweep of the
Christian tradition, from the earliest period to the present. Students learn the
disciplines of biblical exegesis and interpretation, systematic theology, church
history, ethics, liturgics and ascetical theology. These are the disciplines
which form the core of a seminary education. The traditional content is not
studied in a vacuum, however. Students belong to small "communities of
learning" in which the events of each person's life may be examined in the
light of the materials being studied. While the academic material is
substantial, the focus of the program is on life as ministry and understanding
that ministry.
EfM
does provide adult Christians with
that basic skill which is the foundation of all Christian ministry --
theological reflection. In doing this, it sharpens the skills of personal and
cultural assessment and enhances students' ability to be effective in a variety
of ministries.
Our Call to be Ministers in the World
Many
people think that one must be ordained in order to be "a minister."
The fact is that all baptized Christians are called to be active participants in
the church's total ministry. This Total Ministry is nothing less than the
exercise of the church's vocation to continue the ministry of Jesus. He
reconciled the world to God. We are called to incarnate that reconciliation in
our own time and in our own place through worship, service to others, and by
proclamation of his Word to all people.
The
EfM
program is preparation for the ministry to which we are called. It is that
vocation for which we pray at the end of the Eucharist: "And now, Father,
send us out to do the work you have given us to do, to love and serve you as
faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord."
The preparation
for ordination vows usually takes place at a residential seminary. There
candidates develop their knowledge of Holy Scripture and theology and grow in
the skills of preaching, leading worship, and administering the church's
sacraments, as well as in their ability to be spiritual directors. The
EfM
program does not teach these skills.
Diocesan Coordinator - Maggie Taliaferro
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