The School of Theology announces the publication of Education for Ministry, 50 Years of Engaging, Responding, and Reflecting. It is orderable online and available in bookstores beginning May 6.

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.

“For half a century, EfM has provided a tremendous opportunity for Episcopalians to gather in community for learning, formation, and theological reflection. As the world around us changes, I am grateful we can continue counting on Efm to form us so powerfully in the faith that sustains and guides us,” writes the Most Rev. Sean Rowe, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church about the landmark theological education program for lay church leaders.

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.”

The Rev. Kevin Goodman, executive director of Education for Ministry, summarizes, “As we move into the next fifty years, now more than ever, we are called to meet and understand people where they are and build community in Jesus’s name.

 

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.