Course Listings

"Foundations" is the Episcopal Divinity School's way of introducing incoming masters program students to the understandings and commitments underlying the school's purpose statement "to form leaders of hope, courage, and vision" who "serve and advance God's mission of justice, compassion, and reconciliation." Students will consider vocation both as the call to personal transformation and to act as God's agents of change and liberation in the world. Analysis will consider personal, interpersonal, institutional, and cultural power dynamics and will focus on race and racism as it informs our understanding of other forms of oppression. Through experiential learning, class presentations, and assignments, students will reflect on how their own social location shapes their actions and thinking while developing tools for theological reflection, social analysis, and engagement in the struggle for the renewal of the Church and the world.

Limited to EDS masters students and required of first-semester master of divinity and master of arts in theological studies candidates. Occasionally non-masters students may enroll with permission of the instructors. Offered annually.

This introductory course will familiarize students with the tenets of Islam, the Q'ran, and various Muslim practices, paying special attention to the role of women therein.

Runs Week 1 of June Session 

An introduction to the DMin program, including: the history of the EDS DMin program, degree program process, and program formation. In the colloquium, participants discuss their ministerial contexts, future ministerial direction, and a projected program of courses that leads to a thesis proposal and project.

Week 1, Mon-Fri, 2:00-6:00pm in Sherrill Hall, Room 155; Week 2, Mon-Fri 9:00am to 12:00pm in Sherrill Hall, Room 153

An introduction to the institution of ancient Israelite prophecy, beginning with narratives about the prophets in the Deuteronomistic History. Some of the important texts in the four scrolls of the classical prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Book of the Twelve) will then be considered. Special attention will be given in this course to exegesis of poetic texts, using historical, sociological, and literary critical methodologies.

This course will consider the history, structure, and governance of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC), as well as the values, theologies, and cultures that have shaped and continue to shape MCC. We will also explore the context of LGBTQ liberation movements and the larger religious landscape.

In addition to the reading material, lectures, and class discussions, guest lecturers will offer further perspectives. This course is designed to fulfill the MCC ordination requirement for polity.

Credits: 2.00 credits

Location: Sherrill Hall, Room 250

Day(s): Mon, Tues, Weds, Thurs, Fri (June 10-14, 2013)

Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm

MCC General Convention

Students who attended MCC Polity on campus or online during June 2013 term at EDS will have an opportunity to meet daily at MCC General Convention in Chicago to further explore polity and governance within MCC.  Meetings at General Convention are TBD after completion of the course in June. Those who wish to participate in this portion of the class must be on site at General Convention and willing to meet daily.

Pre-requisite: MCC Polity EDS June 2013

Credits: 1.00 credits

Location: TBD at General Convention

Day(s): Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday (July 1-5, 2013)

Christian identity is partly based on an understanding of Judaism in the first century and the “Jesus revolution” as reflected in the New Testament, but there has been another revolution in knowledge about the complexities of Judaism and earliest Christianity. How does this revolution in knowledge affect modern Christian identity? This course begins with a new exploration of Hebrew Bible passages and Judaism in the first century, and a fresh questioning of how the followers of Jesus related to the varieties of Judaism. A number of passages from the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament will be analyzed in depth.

This course invites students to explore several of theologian/ethicist activists, issues, and understanding of the Social Gospel Movement, its ecumenical aspects, and its legacy in contemporary contextual theology and ethics in addressing the church’s participation in social justice movements. Readings will include works from such notables as Walter Rauschenbusch, Vida Scudder, Nannie Helen Burroughs, Reinhold Niebuhr, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Martin Luther King, Jr., among others. Offered every three years.

The growth of Christianity in the Global South exerts increasing influence on Global Christianity. This course explores how assumptions about Christian mission affect debates on "human sexuality" and vice versa. It examines the various world views among Christians in churches in South and North, their histories and socio-economic settings vis à vis views of human sexuality and the missio Dei (God's work in the world). An interdisciplinary endeavor, the course will identify ways in which the debates threaten Christian mission and partnerships between the global South and North as well as new initiatives or opportunities for missionary engagement. 

This introductory course will offer some theological, theoretical and practical foundations for pastoral care. Topics covered will include theologies of compassion and hope, history and models of pastoral ministry, practices of listening, “seeing” and visiting, the role of liturgy and importance of self-care. Site visits will provide opportunities to consider the importance of understanding and engaging with context and marginalization.

A course for the courageous, who wish to explore first-hand the liberatory and transformative power of their voices in community. Using the classroom community as a laboratory, the course will combine (1) practical work on voice production and the body/mind/soul as human instrument with (2) in-class discussion and small team exploration of readings on voice, identity/community membership and leadership. Voice work will include group exercises for freeing the body and voice, as well as individual work in front of the group using prepared spoken texts and/or sung pieces. Readings will be drawn from writings on the physical voice and voice as an element of social location from womanist, feminist, anti-white supremacist and other anti-oppression perspectives. Participants will engage questions of voice and power in pastoral, liturgical, theological, educational and spiritual contexts.

Limited to 12 students. No auditors. Students will attend all sessions, even if registering as a mini course. 

[Pre-requisite: FTP 1010: Foundations for Theological Praxis] 

How do we share the Good News of our faith in a twenty-first century context? Much of the U.S. population is unchurched. Should they hear our story? Why? In what ways? After a quick glance at the history of Christian evangelism, this course looks at how individuals and congregations can know their own story and share their own story with the world around us. Explore how worship, mission, committee meetings, our buildings, and our members all communicate part of who we are, and how we can be more intentional about communicating really Good News to neighbors who are longing.

Course description pending.

An introduction to the literature and theologies of the First Testament/Hebrew Bible, as well as to the history, society, cultures, and religions of ancient Israel in the context of the ancient Near East from the Exodus to the Exile.

Mondays 2-4pm, Thursday 3-4pm

“Foundations” is the Episcopal Divinity School’s way of introducing incoming master’s program students to the understandings and commitments underlying the school’s purpose statement “to form leaders of hope, courage, and vision” who “serve and advance God’s mission of justice, compassion, and reconciliation.” Students will consider vocation both as the call to personal transformation and to act as God's agents of change and liberation in the world. Analysis will consider personal, interpersonal, institutional, and cultural power dynamics and will focus on race and racism as it informs our understanding of other forms of oppression. Through experiential learning, class presentations, and assignments, students will reflect on how their own social location shapes their actions and thinking while developing tools for theological reflection, social analysis, and engagement in the struggle for the renewal of the Church and the world.

Limited to EDS masters students and required of first-semester MDiv and MATS candidates. Occasionally non-masters students may enroll with permission of the instructors. 

9:30am - 4:30pm 8/26, 27, 28, 29; Tuesdays 10-12:30pm on 10/1, 10/29, and 12/3

How would a governing board function more efficiently and effectively if they paid attention to their feelings? How might newcomers’ ministry change if those responsible for welcoming and incorporating newcomers paid as much attention to the feelings of visitors as they did to what they were wearing? How might youth ministry change if we valued the feelings of young people as much as we honored their intellectual questions? Lay and clergy leaders are trained to be intellectually competent for ministerial leadership. In classrooms and internships, they learn practical, behavioral skills such as preaching and how to administer sacramental rites. This course equips leaders to be able to read and understand their own feelings and to increase the emotional or affective competence of committee members, religious educators, and all parishioners. The course will look at recent literature that examines the interplay of thinking and feeling. It will examine how individuals and groups learn not to express certain feelings to their detriment. It will offer strategies for becoming more affectively transparent.

A critical study of the challenges and the contributions of Third World feminist theology to the theological discipline. The works of Mercy AmbaOduyoye, Elsa Tamez, IvoneGebara, Chung Hyun Kyung, and Mary John Mananzan will be studied. G

Enrollment Note: This course is available for in class students as well as up to 12 students enrolled as online simulcast students.

An exegesis course on John’s gospel, emphasizing the literary development of the gospel, the reconstruction of the author’s community, and its relation to Judaism.

An introduction to the literature of the New Testament in its historical, social, and theological context. Attention will be given to learning basic exegetical techniques.

Limited to 12 DL students. [EDS-DL students given priority; No TL, Commuters, or BTI students]

Online (Required Live Sessions: Thurs 7:00-9:00pm 9/5; 10/10; 11/7; 12/12)

The focus on this course is the historical theological and ethical development of Anglican moral theology and contemporary concerns of The Episcopal Church. Foundational thinkers, methods, themes, and related aspects of the moral life will be outlined and students will participate in class presentations. This course serves as an introductory course for competence in the field.

Enrollment Note: Limited to 15 in-seat and 10 online. Preference is given to EDS Final Year students. 

This survey course will give students a working knowledge of the history (histories), ethos, and cultures of The Episcopal Church including an appreciation of both the highlights and the challenges of Anglicanism in the United States. Included will be a study of the practice of The General Convention and an investigation into The Constitution and Canons of The Episcopal Church. The history and polity of The Episcopal Church will be placed within the context of the global Anglican Communion. The ability to apply insights as religious leaders to pastoral and missional contexts will guide the course.

Enrollment Note: Limited to 15 in-seat and 10 online. Preference is given to EDS Final Year students. 

This course will begin by exploring the calling of the church to be a transformative agent in society. Such an exploration will be undertaken through a study of critical social theories and praxis in new social movements and their relationship to religion.

Through preparing choral music for weekly Eucharist and special events, students will develop skills in musical presider ship; study church history and theology in diverse repertoire of sung prayer; and deepen their understanding of the power of music and the arts in both personal and public spheres. (Limited to EDS students)

This course provides an introduction to theological writing and research in an American academic context. The WRITE Seminars provide an overview of the theological genres and how to write them.

The advent of the digital age has irrevocably changed the landscape of research but it has not fundamentally altered the complexity of the research process. In fact, it could be argued that while computer based research brings the libraries of the world to the desktop it is more difficult than ever to evaluate and synthesize the sheer wealth of information that is available. This course is an introduction to library research for students enrolled in master’s level and certificate degree programs in theological studies. Its practical aim is to introduce students to the online and print information resources, available through the Library and on the Web, which can be accessed in writing their research papers/projects. Through a process of inquiry, hands-on workshops, and guided by the research questions they have formulated, students create their own network of resources integrating new information into their knowledge base as they begin writing their research. This course is also designed to address the growing need of students to become conversant with emerging technologies, to become effective researchers as students and life-long learners.

Course runs Week 1 of term. 

Through selected texts, guest lecturers from different faith-traditions, and case studies, this course will attempt at an analysis of both the rich resources and the formidable obstacles in five of the major world religions for building communities of just peace. As human communities everywhere continue to be torn apart by ethnic violence, racial conflicts, gender, hetero-sexist and other forms of injustices, it is an imperative for theological communities to examine the religious factors that exacerbate injustices and forms of hatred, and explore how religious traditions have inspired justice, peace and human flourishing. Attention will be paid to the possibilities of inter-faith co-operation and the consequent re-visioning of the symbolic, ritual/liturgical, and conceptual practices across religious traditions for joint-action in subverting hatred and building justice and peace. Underlying the course is the conviction that there can be "no peace among the nations without peace among the religions. No peace among religions without dialogue between the religions." --Hans Küng.

No description available.

Taking into account the social locations of the reader(s) as well as the texts, this course enters the worlds of Isaiah of Jerusalem as well as the Isaianic poet-prophet of the Exile and after through exegetical study of the Isaianic corpus. Special attention will be given to lectionary passages and to theological issues related to preaching from the Book of Isaiah.

This seminar examines the development of Eucharist and Baptism with special attention to the question of their relationship to each other and how that relationship affects the practice of baptismal preparation and the reception of communion. 

A course designed to strengthen ability and confidence to preach compassion and justice in diverse communities. It will include: readings from African Americans as well as other voices and contexts, discussion of prophetic challenges, student preaching of at least two sermons, and a variety of homiletic resources.

Limited to 12 students

A course for the courageous, who wish to explore first-hand the liberatory and transformative power of their voices in community. Using the classroom community as a laboratory, the course will combine (1) practical work on voice production and the body/mind/soul as human instrument with (2) in-class discussion and small team exploration of readings on voice, identity/community membership and leadership. Voice work will include group exercises for freeing the body and voice, as well as individual work in front of the group using prepared spoken texts and/or sung pieces. Readings will be drawn from writings on the physical voice and voice as an element of social location from womanist, feminist, anti-white supremacist and other anti-oppression perspectives. Participants will engage questions of voice and power in pastoral, liturgical, theological, educational and spiritual contexts. Limited to 12 students. No auditors. Students will attend all sessions, even if registering for the two credit option.

Prerequisite: FTP 1010: Foundations for Theological Praxis

This course will assist the DMin students to produce the DMin thesis project proposal and develop skills in research, writing, and preparing the thesis project. 

Pre-requisite: FTP 1010, Foundations for Theological Praxis

Course schedule: Friday 6:00pm - 9:00pm; Saturday 9:00am to 4:00pm; Feb 7 and 8, March 21 and 22, April 25 and 26. 

Course description pending. 

This course aims to offer a theoretical framework with a practical understanding of collective violence, from the perspective of religious studies and political science. In the first part we will identify the basic trajectories that religious leaders and policymakers follow. In the second part we will explore an integrative method with the goal of improving communication between religious leaders and policymakers, as well as the coordination of the existing strategies and tactics of conflict management.

An investigation of ancient Israelite women vis-à-vis women in the Hebrew Bible. Such figures as Eve, the matriarchs, Judith, Ruth, Esther, and Susanna, as well as metaphors of women as “evil,” will be considered critically from social, literary, and cultural perspectives, focusing on the construction and representation of gender in the biblical text and in the culture.

A course for the courageous, who wish to explore first-hand the liberatory and transformative power of their voices in community. Using the classroom community as a laboratory, the course will combine (1) practical work on voice production and the body/mind/soul as human instrument with (2) in-class discussion and small team exploration of readings on voice, identity/community membership and leadership. Voice work will include group exercises for freeing the body and voice, as well as individual work in front of the group using prepared spoken texts and/or sung pieces. Readings will be drawn from writings on the physical voice and voice as an element of social location from womanist, feminist, anti-white supremacist and other anti-oppression perspectives. Participants will engage questions of voice and power in pastoral, liturgical, theological, educational and spiritual contexts.

Limited to 12 students. No auditors. Students will attend all sessions, even if registering for the two credit option.

Prerequisite: FTP 1010: Foundations for Theological Praxis

This workshop encompasses the nuts and bolts of enacting the various liturgies of the church. Training for practical worship and musical leadership is affected through confronting the structure and meaning of the rites as enacted and by expanding students' facility for leading worship by means of vocal and movement exercises.

What does Christian theology have to say to the present ecological crisis? This course introduces discussions on the relation between God and creation in biblical, classical, and contemporary theological texts. Students will explore different doctrines of God and formulate their ideas on cosmology, humanity, salvation, and the work of the spirit.

A critical exploration of intersections between a cluster of contemporary theologies—for example, feminist, queer, postcolonial, “child theology”—and liturgical theology and practice.

Enrollment Note: This course is available for in class students as well as up to 12 students enrolled as online simulcast students.

Womanist Ethics explores the experience of African American women from slavery to the present as a valuable and valid subject for Christian ethics. The course focuses on several themes that elucidate many of the sources, methods, and content that womanist use in the analysis of the black religious tradition, race, gender, class, and sexuality. The class is taught in seminar style, inclusive lectures, student-led group discussion, art, and music. 

Time: Friday 6:00pm to 9:00pm, Saturday 9:00am to 4:00pm; 1/31-2/1; 2/28-3/1; 4/11-4/12

This course is an introduction to the sources, methods, and major doctrines of Christian theology. Topics to be covered include revelation, the persons and functions of the Trinity, sin and grace, the church and sacraments, missiology, and last things. Particular attention will be paid to the historical development as well as the contemporary reconstructions of such doctrines.

Enrollment Note: This course is available for 15 in class students as well as up to 10 students enrolled as online simulcast students.

This course will examine the new challenges confronting the Church in social ministry. Particular emphasis will be placed on institutional responses to the environmental crisis, health care delivery, housing for all people, and a close examination of the criminal justice system. The premise of the course involves the recognition that the word urban has become a code for race and as such the course will examine racism as a personal and institutional impediment to positively engaging all social issues. We will review previous strategies, evaluate their effectiveness and utility for the 21^st century, and seek clarity regarding the appropriate roles for the Church, for the government, and the private sector as each seeks to respond to the crisis that our cultures faces in these areas. G

Those of us called to serve parishes will most likely start in a church that feels 'not yet big enough' to support the ministry we've dreamed of.Most congregations in the United States have less than 75 in attendance. We will start with the ecclesiology question: what is church? and then explore how to help congregations answer the question 'what is this church?". We will look at finding effective ministry in yoked and shared ministries, cooperative ministries, very small churches, new churches, and dying churches. In each case we will explore what leadership roles are called for, and how to continue to be ministers to the world in these contexts.

This course provides an introduction to theological writing and research in an American academic context. The WRITE Seminars provide an overview of the theological genres and how to write them. DL and/or Commuter Students only, no BTI students. Online course - dates TBD.

[DL and/or Commuter Students Only]

Through preparing choral music for weekly Eucharist and special events, students will develop skills in musical presider ship; study church history and theology in diverse repertoire of sung prayer; and deepen their understanding of the power of music and the arts in both personal and public spheres. (Limited to EDS students)

This course explores different dimensions of a holistic and passionate spirituality for the modern world. The contribution of eco-conscious theologians, feminist religious writers, and Asian religions will be studied and the relationship between spirituality and the body, human desire, poverty, ecology, and power will be clarified. A particular focus of this course will be on how to lead a discussion group on spirituality in churches, schools, and the workplace. G

The Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht are the result of conflicts with the Roman Catholic Church. The dogma of infallibility and universal primacy of the pope (1870) ignited a protest movement to save the doctrine and the structure of the Ancient Church and its communion ecclesiology.

From the beginning, the Old Catholic Churches were also involved in the ecumenical movement. One important result is the so called "Bonn Agreement" of 1931, which declared "Full Communion" between the Old Catholic Churches and the Anglican Communion.

This lecture wants to make known history and theological concern of the Old Catholic Churches to a wider circle of theologians, who are interested in ecumenical theology. Instructor: Prof. Günter Esser, University of Bonn, Germany

Studies show that less than 3% of American congregations are fully multicultural. Neither progressive nor conservative theological stances alone determine the level of pluralism reached. This course will focus on the dynamics of liberation and oppression as they are lived out within the context of faith communities and religious organizations. Grounded in the theory of interlocking oppressions, the course understands race as a key variable in the history and organization of American religions, and therefore integral to understandings of theologies, ecclesiologies, and ministry. Through a mix of theory and practical application, and skill-building, students will also have an opportunity to look at the ways other social identities and interreligious encounters shape congregational life.

This course examines the corpus of books known as Deuteronomistic History, in which some of the most colorful individuals in the Bible can be found. The books deal with ancient Israel's settlement in Canaan, its rise, decline, and eventual fall. We will examine the various dynamics involved in recording this "history," and how these voices are related to shifts in political power that require religious legitimacy. Special attention will be given to the exegesis of texts, using historical, sociological, and literary critical methodologies.

“Foundations” is the Episcopal Divinity School’s way of introducing incoming master’s program students to the understandings and commitments underlying the school’s purpose statement “to form leaders of hope, courage, and vision” who “serve and advance God’s mission of justice, compassion, and reconciliation.” Students will consider vocation both as the call to personal transformation and to act as God's agents of change and liberation in the world. Analysis will consider personal, interpersonal, institutional, and cultural power dynamics and will focus on race and racism as it informs our understanding of other forms of oppression. Through experiential learning, class presentations, and assignments, students will reflect on how their own social location shapes their actions and thinking while developing tools for theological reflection, social analysis, and engagement in the struggle for the renewal of the Church and the world.

Limited to EDS masters students and required of first-semester MDiv and MATS candidates. Occasionally non-masters students may enroll with permission of the instructors. 

Course Runs Week 1 of June session; Tuesday through Friday 9:30am to 4:30pm

This course will explore a range of feminist critique and construction of Marian doctrine and its contribution to contemporary theology and ministry. 

There are many related questions currently about the nature of work in the 21st century-the meaning of vocation as a Christian in the church and workplace, the changing nature of work in the global economy, and ethical issues arising between faith and workplace life. Through lecture, discussion, and projects, this course will examine these questions as they affect the individual, ministry in the church, and the church's witness in society.

Who is Jesus Christ for us today? This course will explore a number of contextual christologies, including the Black Christ, the feminist Christ, the womanist Christ, the Asian Christ, the Asian feminist Christ, the Latina Christ, the queer Christ, and the disabled Christ. This course will also explore the intersections of postcolonial and queer theory with contemporary christological reflection. G

Those whose work it is (or will be) to help form the spiritual lives of others will find this course particularly useful. The course will introduce several methods of meditative prayer, discuss how these methods might be taught and modeled in classes, workshops, prayer groups and retreats. 

Open first to EDS students and alumni/ae; other students space permitting.

Runs Week 2 of June session.

An introduction to the DMin program, including: the history of the EDS DMin program, degree program process, and program formation. In the colloquium, participants discuss their ministerial contexts, future ministerial direction, and a projected program of courses that leads to a thesis proposal and project.

Runs Week 2 of June session.

This course introduces DMin students to the personal, interpersonal, cultural, and institutional dimensions of antiracism work. Students will explore how this work relates to their ministry and thesis project. G

Runs Week 1 of June session.