Mercer End of Year Celebration!LUNCH & LEARN FOR BUSY PEOPLE
Lunch & learn began as the response to a question: What if we offered short courses for busy people around the time of the lunch hour? Local parish adult education offerings often take place in the evening. Some people prefer not to drive at night or give up their evening at the end of a workday. If we kept to a midday schedule, that might attract those who could commute to the school late in the morning and leave before evening rush hour. And so “Lunch & Learn” was born.
Our first short course was during Eastertide 2018. We presented a five-part course on the history of our Episcopal tradition as our diocese approached the celebration of its 150th anniversary. Since then, we have offered courses covering a variety of topics, including “The Story of the Hymnal,” “Viewing Paul through a Detective’s Lens,” “Hidden Jewels in the Book of Common Prayer,” and other scriptural, pastoral, and liturgical subjects. Our original schedule included a bag lunch and took place immediately after the daily midday Eucharist at the Cathedral. Our move to an online lunch & Learn via Zoom in spring 2020 offered a more convenient venue for those working either at home or in the office. It also allowed us to increase our offerings. As the program has evolved, our enrollments have climbed, and the variety of topics increased. Since 2020 more than thirty short courses have been offered, with an average of 20-30 participants in each session. Courses are usually offered once monthly on three or four consecutive Thursdays. Each session meets exactly from 12 noon to 1 p.m. via Zoom. |
Oops! How often have you followed a link to a website on the Internet to encounter a symbol like the above? But since we caught your attention, here’s an update on the work the School for Ministry staff will be doing over the summer to prepare for a new academic year in September.
We will update and revise the School for Ministry section of www.mercerschool.org to further clarify our offerings and share our plans. So here’s a look ahead at the shape of our program starting in September: Still online? Yes. We will continue offering our online core curriculum, program, and popular Lunch and Learn sessions on Zoom through June 2025. Focus. We will stay laser-focused on our academic program supporting the formation of deacons for the Church while providing opportunities for members of the lay order to engage in serious study of scripture, theology, church history, liturgy, and other churchy topics. Courses. In fall 2024, we will teach all nine courses in the three-year program for the first time since 2020. But there are some changes. The first-year courses in liturgy (LT1) and church history (CH1) have been revised and will be taught by two of our new faculty members. The second-year New Testament Gospel of John course (NT2) has also been revised. New Old Testament and Christian ethics courses will be offered in the fall. Faculty. Any school is as good as its faculty. Most of our faculty have earned doctorates or other advanced academic degrees in their fields. Last year, we added three new, experienced scripture teachers. For the upcoming academic year, we welcome Dr. Laura Nelson (philosophy and ethics), The Rev. Dr. Clair McPherson (church history), and The Rev Jenn Pilat (liturgics) to the team. Their biographies are posted on the school website. Church Law. The institutional church is governed in the context of both religious and secular laws. The Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church provide the principal framework for our polity. To provide church leaders with a course in relevant Episcopal Church Law, an online self-study course was introduced in the spring of 2023. Canonical and constitutional changes made in the 2022 and 2024 General Conventions will be incorporated into an updated version of the course. Special Programs. Our ordination track students lament the need for in-person gatherings in their formation. Leveraging the gifts of our faculty and adding outside guests, we plan to provide opportunities for us to gather at Mercer for occasional special events. Keep watching the Mercer website front page (www.mercerschool.org) over the summer for further details. Self-Study Course in Episcopal Church LawWe are excited to announce the Episcopal Church Law Self-Study Course. In a web-based multimedia format, you will be introduced to the structures and laws (canons) which make up the unique “polity” of the Episcopal Church.
In addition, we will consider the intersection of “church law,” as described in the constitutions and canons of the General Convention and the Diocese of Long Island, with the varieties of secular law. This new format allows you to take the course at your own pace on your own schedule. This course is designed for clergy and lay leaders. Registration is required and is now open! More information about our School for Ministry program, please click here and contact Director of Academic Programs - Canon Ted Gerbracht [email protected].
HOW TO REGISTER FOR
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Fall Catalog will be live at the end of August!Welcome to Mercer! |