Christian Education Newsletter Available

The latest issue of the RCC (Resource Center for Churches) Newletter has been mailed to those who wish to have paper copies. A link to an electronic copy has been placed on page one of our web site: www.resourcesforthejourney.org This copy and older copies can be seen in our website subsection Newsletter.

Please take a moment to check out the newsletter. It is full of information about programming resources for youth and adults. Of course the resources listed are only a portion of what we have available. See the Catalog also on the RCC Website.

Online Courses Available

The registration deadline for two upcoming courses “History and Polity of the Disciples of Christ” and “Introduction to Christian Thought” is August 21st. Information for both courses is below along with a link to our website where you can download the registration form. If you have any questions or need additional information, please feel free to contact me.

Krystal Jacobs, Office Administrator
Missouri School of Religion
Email: krystalmsr@earthlink.net

History and Polity of the
Disciples of Christ

The purpose of this on-line course is to explore and analyze the history, polity and characteristic beliefs of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Specific aims of the course include the following:

• ¨ Becoming familiar and knowledgeable about the origins, development, growth and current status of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

• ¨ Understanding and articulating the characteristic beliefs and practices which make the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) a unique part of the universal church while celebrating the Disciples' ecumenical pilgrimage.

• ¨ Identifying and being aware of how the polity of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) works.

Instructor: Rev. Ken Watson, D.Min. is the recently retired Associate Minister of First Christian Church in Columbia, Missouri. Responsibilities in that position were to give staff oversight for Adult Christian Education, membership development, local outreach, worship, property concerns, and the unique Computer Lab which the church began developing in 1994. A native Missourian, Ken was raised in Warrensburg where he also completed his undergraduate education in Psychology in 1967. Following graduation, he attended Lexington Theological Seminary in Kentucky, graduating in 1972 with a Doctor of Ministry degree. After serving pastorates in Iowa, he came to Columbia in 1978 to pursue a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology at the University of Missouri and was granted that degree in 1985. From 1981 to 1984 he served as Associate Minister for Broadway Christian Church in Columbia. From 1984 to 1994 he served as Associate Regional Minister for the Christian Church of Mid-America, with primary responsibilities in leader development, Christian education and overseas ministry relationships.

Start Date: September 2, 2008 Course will run for 12 weeks
Registration Deadline: August 21, 2008
Cost: $350.00
Texts:

• Joined in Discipleship: The Shaping of Contemporary Disciples Identity, Mark G. Toulouse.
• Journey in Faith: A History of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) by William E. Tucker and Lester G. McAllister

Click for more information and to register

Introduction to Christian Thought

This course will be an introduction to the breadth of theologies and issues central to Christian Thought including analysis of their socio-historical roots. Attention will be given to significant theologians and social movements that have impacted the contemporary landscape of thought.

Rev. Christine Isham-Walsh, Phd. Ordained in the Christian Church (DOC) in 2005, Christine received her PhD from Drew University with an emphasis in contemporary ethics. Her dissertation explored issues of racism in Christian Feminist Theological Ethics and was titled: Engaging Differences: Replacing the search for essentials in feminist theological ethics with a conversation on difference. She has served the local church in various leadership positions, as Elder, and Sunday school teacher as well as well as Associate and Senior Minister positions. She currently balances working for the State of Missouri Department of Social Services, filling various pulpits on Sundays, and the busy lives of her two teenagers with great joy and by the grace of God.

Start Date: September 2, 2008 Course will run until October 30
Registration Deadline: August 21, 2008
Cost: $350.00

Texts:

• Modern Christian Thought: The Twentieth Century. James C. Livingston , Francis Schussler Fiorenza, Sarah Coakley, James H., Jr. Evans , eds. Fortress Press, 2006.

• Building a Biblical Faith by Charles Bayer. Chalice Press, 1994.

Click for more information and to register.

Fall Term Weekend Courses at United Seminary

United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities
Announces 4 weekend classes for Fall Term 2008.
Each of these classes will meet on a Friday evening and Saturday morning,
one weekend a month, beginning in September.

Justice, Liberation and Hope in the Theology of Paul (CH231)
Taught by the Rev. Neil Elliot, editor with Fortress Press and author of “Liberating Paul”
We will examine developments in recent scholarship that challenge the traditional picture of the apostle Paul. Specific topics include Paul’s critical engagement with Roman slavery, the patronage system, and Roman imperial ideology; the problem of theology and praxis in Paul; Paul’s relationships with emancipated persons in the assemblies, especially women prophets; the presence of subordinationist or “kyriarchal” themes in Paul’s letters; and the challenge of interpreting Pauline texts rightly in the contemporary global context. Class will meet on United’s campus in New Brighton.

Major 20th Century Moral Thinkers – Katie Geneva Cannon (TR552)
Taught by the Rev. Alika Galloway, organizing co-pastor of Kwanzaa Community Church in Minneapolis and working towards her doctorate at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia. This seminar is a close reading of selected works by Katie Geneva Cannon. Dr. Cannon was the first African-American woman ordained in the United Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.); she focuses her work in the areas of Christian ethics, Womanist theology, and women in religion and society. Class will meet at Kwanzaa Community Church, Minneapolis.

Empowering Lay Leadership (CL541)
Taught by Dr. Jean Morris Trumbauer, Director of United’s Doctor of Ministry Program
An emerging paradigm of church requires us to move beyond our view of members as “volunteers,” or satisfaction with “maintaining church programs,” and our reliance on “time and talent” forms to invite laity to ministry. Leaders of the church are challenged to re-envision the foundations and practice of sharing the ministry. This course explores a holistic approach to gifts-based ministry and the multiple components of a shared ministry system for today’s congregations. Class will meet at Pilgrim Congregational UCC in Duluth MN.

Reimagining the Church (TR820)
Taught be Dr. Eleazar Fernandez, professor of Constructive Theology at United
This is a course that introduces students to the classical as well as the various contemporary models of the church or ecclesiologies. Then these ecclesiologies will be critiqued in light of the tradition and contemporary challenges that the church is facing. Furthermore, students will engage in reconstructing or re-imagining an ecclesiology that is not only faithful to the Christian heritage but also responsive to the current context, both globally and locally. Class will meet at the Carriage house of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Duluth MN.