These full year academic courses comprise about twelve classes per semester. The satisfactory completion of one course enables a student to receive one credit unit. These classes are designed to be in greater depth and scope than other offerings bearing similar titles. All persons are welcome to register for these courses.
- SMM100909 Seminar on Mission and Ministry
in the Diocese of Long Island
(Fall 2010) - This course will provide an overview of the basic elements of Anglican theology,
polity, and ecclesiology with a primary focus on the Episcopal Church. It will also
provide an overview of the customaries, expectations, and shared opportunities for
Christian ministry in the diocese of Long Island. It is hoped that all aspirants, postulants, new clergy, and interested lay persons engaged in some aspect of ministry in
the diocese will participate in this important offering led by the bishop of the diocese.
Instructor: The Right Reverend Lawrence C. Provenzano, Bishop of Long Island
Time: Thursdays starting at 7:00 pm
Dates: SMM100909: Sept. 9, 30; Oct. 21; Dec. 2; Jan. 20, 27
Place: Mercer School of Theology
Fee: SMM100909: $125
> Click here to register
- NT 100 / NT 101 Introduction to The New Testament
(Fall 2010 / Spring 2011) - How did early Christians speak about Jesus Christ? What do early Christian writings
tell us about the myriad of issues that the early Christian disciples faced after
the end of the earthly ministry of Jesus? How can we integrate the experience of the
early church with our experience of discipleship today? Using these questions as a focus, the class will explore the writings of St. Paul in the Fall and the writings of
the evangelists in the Spring. The approach to this study will be exegetical, historical
and theological.
Text: The Holy Bible, New Revised Standard Version
Commentaries, concordances, and Bible dictionaries will also be used from time to time.
Instructor: The Rev. Dn. Elizabeth A. Belasco, PhD
Time: NT100/NT101 Saturdays starting at 9:00 am
Dates:
NT100: Sept. 18, 25; Oct. 2, 9, 16, 23, 30; Nov. 6, 20; Dec. 4, 11, 18
NT101: Feb. 12, 19, 26; March 5, 12, 19, 26; April 2, 9, 16; May 7, 14
Place: Mercer School of Theology
Fee: NT100: $250
Fee: NT101: $250
> Click here to register
- TH100 / TH101 Introduction to Theology
(Fall 2010 / Spring 2011) - In this class students will learn to think theologically. We will examine the major doctrines
of the Christian faith, their biblical and historical roots, the controversies that
gave rise to them (and often continue), and why they matter to us today.
The Fall session will focus on the following questions: What is the Word
of God? (authority); Who is God? (theology); Who is Jesus Christ? (christology);
What is the Holy Spirit? (pneumatology); How do these "persons" relate to each
other? (trinity). The Spring session will focus on the following questions: What is the church? (ecclesiology); Who are we? (anthropology); How are we saved? (soteriology);
What is the Kingdom of God?; What happens in the end? (eschatology)
Students need not take these courses sequentially, but it is advisable to include both
in your program of study.
Instructor: Dr. Karyn Carlo, PhD
Time: TH100/TH101 Thursday evenings starting at 7:00 pm
Dates:
TH100: Sept. 16, 23, 30; Oct. 7, 14, 21, 28; Nov. 4, 18; Dec. 2, 9, 16
TH101: Feb. 10, 17, 24; March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31; Apr. 7, 14; May 5, 12
Place: Mercer
Fee: TH100 $250
Fee: TH101 $250
> Click here to register
- PBL100914 The Book of Common Prayer, Worship and Liturgy
(Fall 2010) - This course will help students to become familiar with using The Book of Common
Prayer as a daily primer and discover new and exciting opportunities for worship and
Liturgy. The students will be paired in groups and challenged to analyze and better
understand liturgies falling within the rubrics of The Book of Common Prayer.
Instructor: The Rev. Darryl James
Time: Tuesdays starting at 7:00 pm
Dates: PBL100914: Sept. 14, 21, 28; Oct. 5, 12, 19, 26; Nov. 2, 16, 30; Dec. 7, 14
Place: Mercer School of Theology
Fee: PBL100914 $250
Postponed
- THL110210 Theology and Literature
(Spring 2011) - H. A. Williams, English monk and writer, once mused "How odd it is, from one
point of view, to long for eternity and to be sent to the public library." Just as Nathan
the prophet pointed at David and declared "You are the man," so also with great
works of literature: Chaucer's Pardoner and Shakespeare's Macbeth, Tolstoy's Ivan
Ilych and Alexi Andrevich, T. S. Eliot's Becket and C. S. Lewis's ghosts, Charles Williams's
Simon and Joanna, Trollope's dean and choir master, and Susan Howatch's
clerics and Michael O'Brien's Father Elijah—all of them point at us and say, "You
may not be who I am—a clergyman or a nobleman, a necromancer or an elected official—
but underneath I have a claim on you. You may think that you meet me merely
in a piece of literature, but it is really yourself you meet, even if you have not imagined
such a possibility." What this course will do is examine masterpieces of literature
from the Middle Ages through the late twentieth century in terms of a theological
perspective so that, as H. A. Williams argues, "we will put ourselves in our own shoes
and realize that they belong to everyone else as well."
Instructor: The Rev. John Morrison
Time: Thursday evenings starting at 7:00 pm
Dates: THL110210: Feb. 10, 17, 24; March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31; Apr. 7, 14; May 5, 12
Place: Mercer School of Theology
Fee: THL110210 $250
- CE110208 Introduction to Christian Ethics
(Spring 2011) - This course will explore the nature of ethics and moral theology and identify resources
and methods which enable people to make ethical decisions. The course will
enable students to become familiar with some of the major thinkers in ethics, both
ancient and modern. Each student will identify and clarify an ethical topic, define a
position in writing drawing upon a variety of resources, and make a presentation to
the class. Assigned readings and lively discussions will be an important part of the
learning process.
Instructor: The Rev. Lawrence R. DeLion, PhD
Time: Tuesdays starting at 7:00 pm
Dates: CE110208: Feb. 8, 15, 22; March 1, 8, 15, 22, 29; Apr. 5, 12; May 3, 10
Place: Mercer School of Theology
Fee: CE110208 $250
- Workshops on Christian Formation for Church School Teachers
- The purpose of these workshops is to offer insights and reflect on opportunities
for developing, enriching, or expanding Church School programs in a variety of
settings. This course will assist church school teachers, organizers, and Christian
formation leaders in preparing educational content material in a parish setting. It
will also provide opportunities for sharing insights, creative curricula, and other
techniques which support faith formation at all levels.
Instructor: The Rev. Charles Ackerson, PhD
CF101023: Enriching Church School Programs
Time: 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Date: Saturday, October 23, 2010
Place: All Saints Episcopal Church, Baldwin, NY
> Click here to register
CF110326: Opportunities for Curriculum Planning and Development
Time: 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Date: March 26, 2011
Place: Mercer School of Theology
Fee:
CF101023 $30 (includes lunch)
CF110326 $30 (includes lunch)
- GR101016 Grant Writing Workshop
- How do you identify appropriate resources to bring your ministry to life? This workshop
will explore how to translate an idea into a marketable plan; how and where
to find local, state, and federal funding sources to match the proposed project; key
elements to a successful application; and sustaining the ministry. During this workshop the Episcopal Charities of Long Island application will be used as a template
for learning.
Instructors: Ms. Angela Zimmerman and The Rev. Claire Nesmith
Time: 10:00 am - 2:00 pm (please check website for updates)
Date: Saturday, October 16, 2010
Place: Mercer School of Theology
Fee: GR101016: $30 (includes lunch)
> Click here to register
- Contemporary Issues of Christian Spirituality
(Fall 2010) - Churches will either live or die depending on the response of the people of
God to the challenge to build God's church for now and the future. In the Diocese of
Long Island individuals, clergy, religious, and laity are responding to that call in both
traditional and new and exciting ways. These series of courses aims to inspire, share
and encourage the renewal of churches. Opportunity will be given to listen to how
one church is responding to God's call and listening also to program participants'
experiences in their own parishes and situations and providing space for questions
and reflection around the business of being mission churches in a mission focused
diocese.
All are welcome to register for the complete series of classes or any individual session.
Instructor: The Rev. Simon Foster
Time: 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Place: St. Johns, Lattingtown
CS101101 Christian Spirituality and Parish Renewal
Date: Monday, November 1, 2010
> Click here to register
CS101116 Christian Spirituality and Building Community
Date: Tuesday, November 16, 2010
> Click here to register
CS101201 Christian Spirituality and Mission
Date: Wednesday, December 1, 2010
> Click here to register
Fee: $30 per session (includes lunch)
- SR110212 Developing a Spiritual Rule of Life
(Spring 2011) - The emphasis of this mini-course is on developing a pattern of prayer and spiritual practices
to facilitate ongoing growth and transformation as disciples of Jesus Christ. By giving
our spiritual lives a "support structure" or a "training strategy," we are following the
pattern of Christians through the centuries who sought to order the events of ordinary
life around a set of practices done regularly. Course participants will begin to work out/
refine their own Rule of Life as they look into practices undergirding the lives of men and
women whom God has used most powerfully over the last 2000 years across the Christian
traditions.
Instructors: Mrs. Kathryn Sides, et al.
Time: Saturdays 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Dates: February 12, 1011; March 12, 2011; April 9, 2011
Place: Mercer School of Theology
Fee: $30 per session (includes lunch)
