EducationEducation
EXPLORATIONS FOR NEW ATTENDERS
Last Updated on Tuesday, 17 August 2010 20:24 Written by Robert Torrey Monday, 16 August 2010 09:33
EXPLORATIONS FOR NEW ATTENDERS The Welcome Team will present its semi-annual “Explorations for New Attenders” program on three consecutive Wednesday evenings in October (13th, 20th & 27th). Each week the course will begin at 5:30 with a simple supper and childcare will be available if requested when registering for the course. Join with other newcomers in an informal exploration of the life of this church.
v Ask Questions v Tell Stories
v Share Hopes v Meet People
v Get Oriented to the Episcopal Tradition and Worship
v Get Information about the Activities You May Find Most Meaningful
v Get Oriented to the Building and Spaces & Learn our History
v Learn How to Become a Member
Please call the church office at (802)-254-6048 to register or enroll at the Welcome Table.
My Experience of Education for Ministry
Last Updated on Wednesday, 19 May 2010 10:28 Written by Anne W.S. Montgomery Sunday, 09 May 2010 09:33
June marks my EfM (Education for Ministry) graduation, completing four years of weekly gatherings focused on the Judeo-Christian traditions, and based upon theological reflection about how we can “minister” in our own ways the teachings of Jesus Christ.
This step leaves me wondering how and where to take the multiple revelations EfM (Education for Ministry) has produced. At 67 I do not plan to enter a seminary, nor act as a missionary to spread the word of Jesus into the heart of darkness. No, I shall do none of these noble actions. But I do wish to act in some way to transmit this enlightenment. I shall thus begin with my initial decision to join in this program. To do so, I need to add a small amount of personal history.
In 1993 I had left St. Michael’s, the year I lost both my father to cancer and my 26-year-old nephew to AIDS. While Father Paul Thompson helped me through my grief, I could only find solace in his wisdom. I could not find God. In 2003, thanks to the generosity of my late mother, I retired at 60 and returned to attending St. Michael’s. Once back I was overwhelmed at the changes. I not only found Thomas Brown in place, but also a new Deacon recently relocated from Maryland, one Joel Hill. With Joel came EfM.
EfM was a challenge in many ways for a cradle Episcopalian such as myself. Often frustrated, irritated, and garrulous in my need for self-importance, I persevered. I wanted to read all of the Old Testament (which, as a good Episcopalian, I had never done). I wanted to learn about the Apostles and the Gospels. And I hoped to understand the development of this religion into which I was born but which I had never studied. Most importantly, I loved my classmates, discussing our disparate paths, perspectives, and the true Christian humility we shared as one.
The knowledge I have gained in EfM has been boundless. Over these five years of study, I have followed the schisms, persecutions, and cruelties inflicted in the name of Christianity along with the great sacrifices made to ensure the word of Jesus Christ would survive. I have read of scholars who promoted freedom of voice, and of those who condemned all but the most rigid 3rd-century dogma set by different councils. I have reaped and now wish to sow.
Each week, I run into class full of hope and joy, humor, and love, greeting my classmates and mentor with true pleasure and gratitude. I wait to hear of their lives and share mine. Together, we talk about ways to minister, especially in our Theological Reflections, in which we take what occurred in those early Biblical times and try to apply them to our lives today. I laugh over Saul’s search for his father’s asses, leading to his becoming a king, and weep at the cruelty displayed for misdoings or breaches of faith. I wonder at Abraham’s sacrifice or plan to execute of his beloved son, Isaac— could I have killed my own child? No, I believe not, but I can stand in awe of such faith. I weep with Mary as her Son is willingly stretched on His Cross, burning with pain.
Of even more importance, I have begun to listen, really listen, to hear others, and while on occasion agreeing to disagree, I have spent much thought on their positions: on Jesus, on being a Christian, and on leading a Godly life.
And so my EfM chapter ends in June. I leave, rejoicing in this Christian path, this EfM that Joel Hill has brought to our church.
And now? Now I shall minister in my way to all as my Deacon has done in hers. My future is as uncertain as is all of life, but it is now richer and more directed because of this class in Education for Ministry. I am truly grateful. Thank you, Joel Hill.
Anne W.S. Montgomery
Education for Ministry
Last Updated on Wednesday, 19 May 2010 10:28 Written by Joel Hill Thursday, 06 May 2010 19:47
When we are baptized, we are made ministers, and we promise to do a number of things, including: to follow in the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to seek and serve all persons, and to strive for justice and peace among all people. Those are acts of ministry.