Education for Ministry Canada
A Programme of Theological Education by Extension

Purpose

Every baptized person is called to ministry. The Education for Ministry (EfM) programme provides people with the education to carry out that ministry. During the Service of Confirmation we ask God to "Renew in these your servants the covenant you made with them at Baptism. Send them forth in the power of the Spirit to perform the service you set before them." (Book of Alternative Services p 268) EfM offers an opportunity to discover how to respond to the call to Christian service and carry out their ministries.

The History and Scope of the Program

The Education for Ministry programme began with a vision of enrolling a few hundred students. Within a few years it became a programme reaching thousand students in groups around the globe. In addition to EfM groups throughout the USA, EfM can be found in Germany, Great Britain, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, the Bahamas, Hong Kong, Honduras, Italy and Switzerland. Over 70,000 students have participated in the program. Education for Ministry in Canada is operated by the Diocese of Kootenay under Licence from the School of Theology of the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, USA. All policies and arrangements in Canada come under this licence. EfM groups exist from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island, plus those who take the course On-Line.

The University of the South

The University of the South is located on the Cumberland Plateau in south central Tennessee. It is governed by twenty-eight dioceses of the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church in the USA. The University of the South first opened in 1868. It has a College of Arts and Sciences with approximately 1,300 students and a School of Theology with approximately 90 full-time students and a summer graduate school. EfM is an extension program of the School of Theology. The University of the South is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and the School of Theology is accredited by the Association of Theological Schools. The University of the South, affectionately called Sewanee, is well known for producing church leaders. Three of the last four presiding Bishops of the Episcopal Church graduated from Sewanee.

Why EfM?

Lay persons face the difficult and often subtle task of interpreting the richness of the church's faith in a complex and confusing world. They need a theological education which supports their faith and which also trains them to express that faith in day-to-day events. As the emphasis on lay ministry has grown in the latter part of the twentieth century, EfM has come to be an important part of that growth by providing a programme that develops an informed and knowledgeable laity. The EfM programme does not evaluate or recommend individuals for ordination. Some dioceses use EfM as part of the preparation for ordination under rules which permit ordination without a seminary diploma. We do not recommend EfM for this purpose unless it is used as part of a comprehensive programme of preparation for ordination.

Our Call Minister in the World

Many people think that one must be ordained in order to be "a minister." The fact is that all baptized Christians are called to be active participants in the church's total ministry. This total ministry is nothing less than the exercise of the church's vocation to continue the ministry of Jesus. He reconciled the world to God. We are called to incarnate that reconciliation in our own time and in our own place through worship, service to others, and by proclamation of His word to all people. The EfM programme is preparation for the ministry to which we are called. It is that vocation to which we are sent at the end of the Eucharist as we pray: "Send us out to love and serve the Lord."

The preparation for ordination vows usually takes place at a residential seminary. There candidates develop their knowledge of Holy Scripture and theology and grow in the skills of preaching, leading worship, and administering the church's sacraments, as well as in their ability to be spiritual directors. The EfM programme does not teach these skills.

The Programme

The seminar group is the nucleus of the Education for Ministry programme. A group consists of six to eleven students and a trained mentor meeting weekly over the course of a nine-month academic year. These meetings are usually from two-and-a half to three hours in length. Through study, prayer, and reflection, EfM groups move toward a new understanding of the fullness of God's kingdom. This process can be illustrated by a two-rail fence. One rail is the Christian tradition. The other is the collective experience of the group's members. The rails are linked by fence posts which represent the seminar sessions where life and study meet. The fence is grounded in the soil of regular worship which is vital to the life of the group.

Study

Participants are given weekly lesson assignments to study with the help of resource guides. Students are responsible for setting their own learning goals. They spend between two and four hours in study and preparation each week. In the seminars students have an opportunity to share insights and discoveries and discuss questions which the study materials raise for them.

Reflection

More important is the development of skills in theological reflection. The goal to learn to think theologically. By examining their own beliefs and their relationship to our culture and the tradition of our Christian faith, students can learn what it means to be effective ministers in the world. In coming to terms with the notion that everything we do has the potential for manifesting the love of Christ, we discover that our ministry is at hand wherever we turn.

Worship

The seminar is supported by a life of prayer and regular worship. EfM groups are encouraged to develop a pattern of worship appropriate to their situations. Liturgical materials are furnished with the course materials.

The Mentor

Seminar groups work under the leadership of mentors who contract to serve as guides and administrators. They are not teachers in the traditional sense who are expected to impart information about the Christian tradition. The teacher's role is built into the programme materials.

As administrator of an EfM group, the mentor is the person through whom the group communicates with EfM Canada. A mentor must work as an enabler rather than as an informer of people. Mentors may be lay or ordained persons. Criteria by which mentors are selected include: having experience in serious religious study, having a familiarity with methods of biblical scholarship, possessing a mature faith, being able to live with the ambiguity within the interpretations of the biblical tradition, possessing skills which help a group to develop its own life, and demonstrating a willingness to perform administrative duties.

Mentor Training

Someone who wishes to become a mentor must attend a training session and be accredited as a mentor. Mentor training is available in Sewanee, in the dioceses under contract to EfM, and by special arrangements with the EfM office in Kelowna, B.C., Canada.

The period of accreditation for a mentor is eighteen months. Mentors must renew their certification to remain active. Only accredited mentors may enroll students for EfM groups. After mentors have completed their second training experience, Mentor Formation sessions are available to provide new areas of growth and expertise for experienced mentors.

Mentors receive an honorarium in appreciation of their service. They are independent contractors and are not employees of EfM Canada, or the University of the South. Where and when mentors choose to meet with their seminar groups, as well as exactly how they will work together, are decisions they reach with their own students.

The Education for Ministry programme is a four-year curriculum. Each "year" is a nine-month cycle of study. Students enroll for one cycle at a time. Groups may enroll in any month from September through May. We do not enroll students or new groups in June, July, or August.

Each EfM group must be financially viable; therefore, groups must have a minimum of six students. To maintain an effective learning environment and to provide participation or everyone, EfM groups may not have more than twelve students. At the time of enrollment students pay the full year's tuition. In case of a move during the academic cycle, a student may transfer to another group.

In Canada the current regular tuition is $425.00 per academic cycle (nine months). Groups which operate under institutional sponsorship are entitled to to an annual tuition fee of $375.00. Payments are due at the the time of enrollment. Tuition is set for each academic cycke effective September 1st each year. Fees pay for the EfM materials and the honorarium for the mentor. In addition, students need a Bible and may wish to obtain additional reading materials suggested in the bibliographies.

Sponsorship

A parish, diocese, or judicatory can become a sponsoring agency. Contracts provide an official link with the diocese, honoraria for trainers to train mentors in the diocese, and a lower tuition. EfM works with all denominations, and special contractual relationships are drawn up to cover agreements with other denominations in Canada.

Credits for EFM

EfM grants 18 Continuing Education Units (CEU) for each year of study. There are no examinations or papers. EfM is not a course which offers college credits towards a degree.

Education for Ministry: Academic Contents

The Scope of the Programme

Participants in the EfM program study the entire sweep of the Christian tradition, from the earliest period to the present. Students learn the disciplines of biblical exegesis and interpretation, systematic theology, church history, ethics, liturgics and ascetical theology. The traditional content is not studied in a vacuum. Students belong to small "communities of learning" in which the events of each person's life may be examined in the light of the materials being studied. While the course materials provide substantial academic content, the focus of the programme is on life as ministry and understanding that ministry. EfM provides Christians with that basic skill which is the foundation of all Christian ministry; theological reflection. In doing this, participants sharpen their skills of personal and cultural assessment and enhance their ability to be effective in a variety of ministries.

Outline of the Reading Materials

There are thirty-five group meetings during the course of an academic cycle. New students begin with the first lesson of the first year. Frequently students in the same group may be studying at different levels. They read thirty-four chapters of academic content and five common lessons which help the group to get started, to learn to reflect theologically, to develop its spirituality and life of worship, and to examine the potential for various kinds of ministries. Each year the students encounter a new cycle of common lessons so that they complete four different cycles during their time in an EfM group.

Click on the link to see a copy of the EfM Syllabus