This online class introduces biblical Hebrew for the sake of Old Testament preaching, teaching, and personal study. Students will learn the Hebrew alphabet, essential Hebrew grammar, and important theological vocabulary, and they will become familiar with online tools and resources. The class will be fun, engaging, and enriching for all who desire a deeper understanding of Hebrew Scripture in its original language.

This course is for all pastoral caregivers, for those who are fulfilling a call to tend to the sick, and those who make pastoral visitations in your congregation.

The New Testament is clear that the proclamation of God’s Reign (or Kingdom) is at the heart of the Good News. But what exactly did Jesus mean when he preached that message? And what connection (if any) is there between what Jesus preached and the communities of Jesus followers that Paul established? What can our study of this teaching mean for our churches today? These are the questions that we will explore in this class by reading key passages from the Gospels and Paul’s letters, as well as current scholarship related to these questions.

This ten-week course, taught by Dr. Joshua Davis, will be offered via Zoom on Mondays from 5:30 – 6:30 pm EST beginning June 3rd and ending August 5th. The enrollment fee is $150 to audit or $375 to receive course credit.

This course will explore concepts of race and ethnicity in the Hebrew Bible in three ways: 1. Analyzing concepts of race/ethnicity in biblical materials in the context of the ancient world. 2. Reading biblical interpreters who foreground ethnic identity in their interpretation of biblical texts. 3. Histories of how the Bible has been used in discussions of race in the US. Throughout the course, students will have opportunities to reflect theologically on how race impacts their own reading of the Bible and the theological resources of the Bible for racial reconciliation.

The first part of this course deals with those background issues necessary for a proper understanding of the sacred texts, including inspiration, inerrancy, canonicity, biblical history, and how the reader is to interpret biblical texts. The second part of the course applies these concepts to a study of the Pentateuch, concentrating on Genesis, Exodus, and Deuteronomy.

Join the Rev. Erin Jean Warde in a 10-week discernment of how we are in relationship with alcohol. In this course, the discernment will be both interior and exterior, as you learn more about alcohol in the global and cultural context, and are given tools to look inward spiritually. You’ll explore how alcohol affects us in mind, body, and soul, such that you will be encouraged to get prayerfully curious about how drinking shows up in your life, while trusting how the Spirit leads you into answering the question: How do I want to be in relationship with alcohol? This course will engage spiritual reflection and practical theology, as it covers how alcohol affects a variety of aspects of life and faith, such as: cultural norms, its use in religious spaces, hospitality, embodiment, trauma, social justice, releasing judgment around substances, and caring for those who struggle in their relationship with alcohol.

This 10-week course will be offered via Zoom on Wednesdays from 5:30-6:30 pm, beginning November 8, 2023 and ending January 31, 2024.

The course can be taken for credit as a part of the Stevenson School for Ministry for $300. It can also be taken as a continuing education class that allows you to sit in on classes, participate in conversations, and no assignment submission is needed for $150. Register on EventBrite for this course.

Becoming Beloved Community 2 builds upon the learning about systemic racism from the Becoming Beloved Community 1 course. Theological reflection will be the primary means through which we explore how to live into our identities as antiracists. We will take a deep dive into our formation as disciples and how that influences our fight to eliminate systemic racism.

This 10-week course will be an online Zoom meeting, hosted on Tuesday evenings, 7-8:00pm. The class will begin on Tuesday, August 22nd and end on October 24th.

The instructors will be the Rev. Kevin Barron and Dr. Marion Schwartz.

Registration is free for those in the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania. Registration is $150 for all others.

Registration is free for those in the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania. Registration is $150 for all others. Register for this event on EventBrite.

Using the framework of the Episcopal Church’s “Becoming Beloved Community” this course on antiracism will lead participants through four pillars rooted in the Baptismal Covenant: Telling the Truth about the Church and Race; Proclaiming the Dream of Beloved Community; Practicing the Way of Love; Repairing the Breach in our Churches; and Repairing the Breach in Society and Institutions. The course is designed to provide future and current leaders of the church with the knowledge and background to combat the sin of racism as an integral component of our Christian formation, particularly focusing on dismantling systemic racism within and outside of the institution of the Church. This course defines racism as the combination of racial prejudice, racial discrimination, and power and not the bad acts of misguided individuals. The Beloved Community is defined as one that seeks and promotes justice for the least among us.

This 10-week course will be an online Zoom meeting, hosted on Tuesday evenings 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm. The class will begin on Tuesday, May 28, and ends on July 30.

Registration is free for those in the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania. Registration is $150 for all others.

SSFM is dedicated to the lifelong learning and discernment processes of all Episcopalians in the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania and beyond. If the cost would prevent you from participating, please email ssfm@diocesecpa.org for a discount code.

Registration is free for those in the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania. Registration is $150 for all others. Register for this event on EventBrite.

God is present and active in the world, reconciling, healing, and saving all of creation.  By the grace of God, we participate in what God is already doing. Using the Book of Acts as a model for contemporary ministry in the communities in which God has planted us, students are equipped to witness and serve as instruments of God’s peace and reconciliation for the world.

Scholarship funds to help you pay for this course are available if you can demonstrate need and if you are a member of a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Central PA.  For information on scholarships, please contact the Dean.

Sign-up for this and any 10-week courses on Populi. Find a quick how-to video here.  Don’t have a Populi login? Send us a quick email.