Education for Ministry

I was feeling a degree of “disconnect” at St. Paul’s when Christy Adams spoke to us about Education for Ministry in the spring of 2004.  However, Christi got my attention, and I signed up, making a four-year commitment to something I knew very little about.  Had I lost my mind?!!  No, as Hap Horton, the priest who was my spiritual director for many years, said at an earlier turning point in my path, “God has you by the ear, Mina, and when that happens the best thing you can do is follow because God will not let go ”  So, in September 2004, I felt a familiar tug and a new journey began.

My first question was, “What is EFM?”  I remember the following answers:

• EFM is a distance education program offered by the University of the South.  
  

• It’s an in-depth study of the Old and New Testaments and Church History.

•  It’s a class that meets once a week to study, discuss and reflect on God revealed. 

The latter one hooked me, but after four years I’ve learned a few more things about EFM that might be of interest to you. 

Try these:

• EFM broadens an understanding of our Jewish, Christian and Anglican heritage, from the Creation to current and emerging issues.

• EFM shows God revealed at different times and in different cultures.

• EFM deepens faith by increasing an awareness of grace and the constant, loving presence of God and the Holy Spirit.

• EFM teaches students to apply theological reflection in their daily lives.

• EFM provides a rich and meaningful experience of community in the Church.

• EFM helps to understand liturgy and its importance in worship and daily living.

• EFM helps students identify a spiritual path and personal ministry.

Are you satisfied with your answers to the big questions, like “Why does God let bad things happen to good people?” or “Where was God during the Crusades?” or “Where is the Spirit when I need help?” or “How do Christians continue to love one another when they differ on such important issues?”  My experience has been that EFM does not provide definitive answers to these questions, but it does reveal how such questions have been dealt with in the past and it shows EFM students how to live spiritually enriched lives in Christian community.  That has more than justified the commitment for me.

Students enroll each summer for a class that begins in September, meets once a week and continues through May.  It takes four years to complete the course, but some students take a break between years two and three.  I chose to go without a break, and I’ve been pleased that I did.  The readings were shorter each year, and year three was delightful, packed with information about early Church history that was new to me.  Year four has been comparatively easy.  Most important, with students from more than one year enrolled in each class, there is an on-going review that helps students see connections and patterns that enrich and clarify the big picture.

To “make” a class must have six people enrolled.  Three members of our class will graduate in May, and you will soon hear Christy making her annual appeal.  I hope some of you will consider enrolling in EFM for the class that begins next fall.  The best way I can summarize the impact of EFM is to say it’s a class that will help you learn to talk the walk and walk the talk.  Finally, if feeling disconnected is an issue for you as it was for me, participating in EFM will make disconnection at St. Paul’s a thing of the past.