By Sharon Ely Pearson, a member of St. Matthew’s in Wilton, CT, and a 1998 EfM graduate with over 20 years of experience as an EfM mentor.
“What does it mean to be a Christian today?” For the Episcopal Church (and many mainline denominations) in the post-pandemic 21st century, it is a time where lots of questions are being asked about the future of the Church. In his first sermon as Presiding Bishop-elect, the Rt. Rev. Sean Rowe described The Episcopal Church as like the Christians to whom Paul wrote in Ephesus (Eph 6:10-18), as small, countercultural community fighting against the evils of the world. That means the church needs to learn how to have hard conversations with each other with love and respect “so we’re all pointing in the same direction – the transformation of the world by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”[1]
Being a Christian in 2024 is not much different than it was for those early Christians in Ephesus that gathered as a community to follow in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, breaking bread together, and sharing in the prayers. They were then sent out to do the work of proclaiming the Good News of Christ in word and example in their daily lives knowing that God, in Jesus, was always with them. How do we equip people today to act out their faith in this broken world that is so polarized and hungry for community and hope? How are we living out our Baptismal Covenant and being Christ-like when we are not sitting in a pew (or streaming from home)?
Dr. Fredrica Harris Thompsett states in her classic book, We Are Theologians: Strengthening the People of God (2004), “The church is created, chosen, pursued, sent, and given an important task to do. The central mission is not preservation, nor restoration, nor building reservations of Christian people who can live in the midst of unfriendly territory. The biblical mission of the church is to be God’s agents in the world.”
While not a panacea for everything, I have seen how Education for Ministry (EfM) has changed lives, giving hope for the future and empowering lay people to recognize and claim their ministry outside of their church’s building. Sponsored by the University of the South School of Theology in Sewanee, Tennessee, the EfM program is a four-year study and group reflection process for the formation of Christian ministry through the development of knowledge, attitude, skills, and identity as Christians. Published texts and essays provide the primary knowledge content in the study of the Christian tradition. Year One studies the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament). The second year offers a study of the New Testament. Year Three provides an overview of Christian (church) history. Theology, ethics, and interfaith encounter constitute the focus in the fourth year.
All of this is accomplished via a seminar group that consists of six to twelve participants and a trained mentor/s who meet weekly over the course of a nine-month academic year. Through discussion and guided reflection along with worship, the seminar furnishes an opportunity to deepen understanding of the reading materials. More important is the development of skills in theological reflection. Theology – a people’s understanding of God, humanity, and the world – is not a neutral or dull topic. While bits and pieces of adult formation via “how to” courses on spirituality, Lenten lectures, and Bible study classes are important to offer adults, they are typically poor substitutes for the ongoing theological conversation of mature Christians. Most of us have more, not fewer, questions as we mature in faith. By examining one’s own beliefs and relationship to our culture and the tradition of our Christian faith, participants come to realize that everything we do has potential for manifesting the love of Christ; we discover that our ministry is at hand wherever we turn. This is the core of EfM: to study, listen, ask deep questions in a trusted community while employing practical tools to focus, clarify, and interpret meaning for our personal, Christian lives.
In her 1990 book entitled The Authority of the Laity, Verna Dozier (1917-2006) depicts the church as a “sleeping giant,” a large corporate body that only needs to awaken to its full potential, its God-given mission. How might EfM awaken something in you or your congregation?
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For more information about Education for Ministry seminar groups in ECCT, contact:
- Christ Church, Greenwich (Monday nights: 6 PM – 9 PM): Susan Jackson and Lynne Jordal Martin, co-mentors (on-site)
- Holy Trinity, Middletown (Monday nights: 7 – 9PM and Thursday nights: 7 – 9 PM): Karen Otte and Victor Friedrich, co-mentors of both groups (on-line)
- St. James’s, West Hartford (Monday nights 6:30 – 9:00 PM): Ron Ward, mentor and ECCT EfM Coordinator (on-site)
- St. Matthew’s, Wilton (Monday nights 7 – 9:30 PM): Sharon Ely Pearson, mentor (on-line)
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On June 16, Bishop Laura Ahrens recognized seventeen individuals at a celebration and Holy Eucharist at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Wilton, having completed four years of study following the curriculum of EfM: Dan Broderick, Jean Florence Campbell, Constance Cowan, Pamela Dunham Ely, Charlotte Ann Griffin, Anne Marie Hsser, Mabel Maynard, Karolyn Nicolaides, Emily Ragsdale, Sabino (Rod) Rodriquez, Carole Sasha, Andrew Sasha, Robert Sherman, Ralph S. Yearwood.
[1] https://www.episcopalchurch.org/publicaffairs/81st-general-convention-of-the-episcopal-churchclosing-eucharist-sermon-by-presiding-bishop-elect-sean-rowe/