In 2025, Sewanee’s Education for Ministry program (EfM) will celebrate its 50th anniversary. Highlights include:

Education for Ministry is a program of the School of Theology that helps the faithful discover the Christian tradition, bringing it into conversation with their experiences of the world. Through its small-group seminars, this model recognizes the profound importance of stories and storytelling, both individually and collectively; the critical work of building community; and the development of skillful disciples who can articulate their faith. EfM seminar groups meet in person and online, developing theologically informed, reflective, and articulate seekers of God.

“For half a century, EfM has provided a tremendous opportunity for Episcopalians to gather in community for learning, formation, and theological reflection,” says Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe. “As the world around us changes, I am grateful that we can continue counting on EfM to form us so powerfully in the faith that sustains and guides us.”

Revised and New EfM Curriculum Announced

Earlier this week, EfM announced revised courses of study with the goal of creating formation options that will continue transforming seekers of God through small-group theological reflection. The revised and new offerings will be trialed by participants of EfM’s 50th anniversary celebration to take place in Sewanee, June 5-8, and be available for program-wide implementation in September 2025. Revised and new curricula include:

  • EfM: Classic—The four-year program that has transformed lives for the past 50 years will be rebranded at the 50th anniversary celebration and recognized as the foundational program that started it all. The program covers Hebrew Scriptures, Christian Scriptures, Christian History, and Christian Ethics and Spirituality.
  • EfM: Wide Angle—a one-year program that gives participants a taste of each of the classic four years. Participants can either be brought into a traditional seminar group or create a stand-alone group.
  • EfM: Reflections—short courses last six to eight weeks and consist of study, engagement, and theological reflection.
  • EfM: Fun—uses manipulatives designed for adults to enhance seminar engagement and focus.

Planned for later release is EfM: Catechumenate, which engages the Episcopal tradition through ritual, study, and preparation for the journey of faith.

“Education for Ministry looks good at 50!,” says the Rev. Kevin M. Goodman, executive director of EfM. “The program that started it all in 1975 earns “classic” status as new challenges and opportunities have provided growth and expansion of the program now and for many years to come.”

Webinar: A free webinar introduction of the revised curriculum will be held April 1 at noon CDT. All are welcome and encouraged to attend. Register here for the link.

Celebrate 50 Years of EfM in Sewanee, June 5-8

Everyone is invited to attend—current program participants, mentors, coordinators, trainers, staff, and graduates, and those curious about biblical-based study—when EfMers from around the country and the globe will gather for fellowship, learning, reflection, and worship. 

Celebration highlights include:

The Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers: The celebration’s keynote address will be delivered by the Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers. The author of The Church Cracked Open, and The Episcopal Way (with Eric Law), Spellers has directed mission and evangelism work at General Theological Seminary and in the Diocese of Long Island. She most recently served as canon to Presiding Bishop Michael Curry for Evangelism, Reconciliation, and Creation Care. “No one has done more than EfM over the last 50 years to grow and launch powerful, wise, theologically savvy Episcopalians into ministry in daily life. Period! I can't wait to celebrate with the global EfM community this spring and to see what creative, faithful ventures God has in store for the next 50 years,” says Spellers about the upcoming celebration in Sewanee.

Lilli Lewis in Concert: On Saturday evening, June 6, award-winning singer-songwriter Lilli Lewis will perform a special concert to mark and celebrate 50 years of EfM. An opera singer and classical pianist turned folk-rock diva, Lewis has been wowing audiences with her extraordinary talent and powerful message for over two decades.

Exclusive Preview Access to Revised Curriculum: During the three-day celebration, participants will be provided online access to the revised and new EfM curriculum. EfMers can preview the content on their own and participate in guided workshop sessions.

Seminars: Workshops and seminars offered will cover the art of theological reflection and the introduction of revised curriculum, including: EfM: Classic, which explores the traditional four-year course of study; EfM: Wide Angle, which introduces God’s salvation history and the work of the Church through story, study, and scholarship; EfM: Reflections, a series of short courses that last six to eight weeks and consist of study, engagement, and theological reflection, and EfM: Fun, which incorporates manipulatives designed for adults to enhance seminar engagement and focus.

 

New Book Available for Pre-Order

The School of Theology announces the upcoming publication of Education for Ministry, 50 Years of Engaging, Responding, and Reflecting, celebrating EfM’s 50th anniversary in 2025. The program was developed in 1975 by faculty of the School of Theology at the University of the South and with leaders in The Episcopal Church.

This carefully curated collection of essays by the many contributors, participants, and leaders from the program’s inception to present day share how the writers’ lives have been touched and formed by this groundbreaking program. Authors include James F. Turrell, Karen Meridith, Edward de Bary, Katie Nakamura Rengers, Richard Brewer, Termaine Hicks, Anne Moats Williams, and many more.

“In the second half of the 20th century, The Episcopal Church adopted a new theology based on baptism: Baptism constitutes the Church; the Church is the whole people of God (clergy and laity alike); and baptism is a call to ministry,” writes Dean of the School of Theology the Very Rev. James F. Turrell in his forward. “The birth and growth of Education for Ministry was a response to, and was fueled by, this baptismal revolution.”

Grounded in the Christian story based on the Bible, church history, and the sweep of theological thought, EfM provides a foundation upon which to reflect theologically on today’s culture. As the Right Rev. Phoebe Roaf writes in her essay, “EfM has helped me become comfortable discussing my faith with people from various backgrounds and identifying how God was present in the events of everyday life.”

About Education for Ministry

The Education for Ministry Program (EfM) offers courses for small-group engagement and transformation developed by the School of Theology, at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. An estimated 120,000 individuals have participated in the program since its founding in 1975.

EfM believes our relationship to God matters and is a means of living in a complex world with faith, hope, and love. We believe in creating space for curiosity, community, and looking at life through the lens of relationship to God. We believe that the lens through which we deepen our relationship with God can be sharpened by specific practices. We call them EfM’s Core Practices. Our Core Practices are:



Living in Community

We value creating sacred space where people feel welcomed and safe. We practice:

  • Offering stories of our experiences.
  • Listening with ears of the heart.
  • Setting expectations for how group members seek understanding and explore together with respect and care.

Regular Prayer and Worship

We recognize the presence of God with us in every session, and we explore ways to deepen our individual spirituality. Group members typically share responsibility for leading worship, so we get to try different expressions of worship, such as poetry, music, and types of prayer.

Theological Reflection

Our conversations take on an added dimension in EfM’s model of theological reflection (TR). TR is a guided conversation that invites the Christian tradition, our experiences, our opinions, and the various cultures that influence us to speak to one another, all leading to discovering ways to live our faith more fully. This is a central practice for EfM. 

Study

EfM materials root us in Christian scripture, history, theology, and ethics. 

  • EfM is learner-driven. 
  • We invite you to small groups for reading and reflection.
  • You decide what’s relevant to your faith journey. 
  • No tests or papers due. Ever.

Vocational Discernment

When EfM talks about vocation, it isn’t so much about what a person does, but how a person lives with purpose. Vocational discernment lies within the idea of, “Who am I becoming?” and “What is my next faithful step?”

About the School of Theology

The School of Theology forms lay and ordained leaders for service to The Episcopal Church and the world. The seminary’s rigorous curriculum is grounded in the Anglican tradition of forming disciples through a common life of prayer, study, and service; the seminary offers residential education surrounded by God’s creation in a rural, natural setting. The School’s global contextual education program further equips students for the practical aspects of ministry in community, preparing graduates who are devout, learned, and useful.

About the University of the South

The University of the South comprises a nationally recognized College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, a School of Letters, and a distinguished School of Theology serving The Episcopal Church. Located on 13,000 acres atop Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau, the University enrolls 1,750 undergraduates and approximately 145 seminarians in master and doctoral programs annually. The University has 27 constituent Episcopal dioceses and is the only institution of higher education with such close ties to the The Episcopal Church.