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Index of EfM Updates.
Click for A Summary of EfM at St. John's.
Click for EfM Update July 22nd, 2009
Click for EfM Update September 10th, 2008.
Click for EfM Update May 18th, 2008.
Click for EfM Update January 28th, 2008.
Click for A Summary of EfM at St. John's.
EfM Update: July 22nd, 2009.
How quickly the school year has gone by! St.John’s second Education for Ministry (EfM) seminar year ended on June 14.
Seven seminarians completed Year Two (New Testament) and one seminarian completed Year One (Old Testament.)
All of them are returning next school year to tackle Year Three (Church History) and Year Two respectively.
We have a few slots open for thecoming 2009/2010 school year and will be looking to fill these slots on a first-come, first-served basis.
We will start again on Sunday September 13.
EfM is a distance learning theological education program of the School of Theology of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.
Participants commit one year at a time to meet regularly in seminars led by a trained mentor.
Completion of the program takes four years, during which participants study the Old Testament, New Testament, church history, theology and ethics.
EfM provides a comprehensive, experiential education in the foundations and message of ourChristian faith.
Why do people participate in EfM? Many desire to increase their knowledge of the Christian heritage.
Some want to continue their spiritual formation, or they wish to prepare for special lay ministries.
People have joined EfM and become involved in social ministries, work in nursing homes and hospices, become better church school teachers, lay readers,
Christian education and church leaders.
EfM is also a way to prepare for seminary studies or participate in local ordination programs.
EfM teaches you how to think theologically, deepens your faith and your understanding of our Christian heritage,
and provides you with a new confidence to be Christ’s minister.
EfM works because people are hungry for theological education.
It works because the program comes to the student in his or her home town and provides credible scholarship,
carefully supported by a tried and tested educational design.
EfM works because it adapts to a variety of situations under a wide range of leadership styles and expectations from students.
EfM is sponsored by most dioceses of the Episcopal Church and is also used among other denominations, in the U.S., Australia,
the Bahamas, Canada, New Zealand and in Europe.
If you have questions about EfM, or would like to join our seminar group and begin EfM next September,
or if you have finished part of EfM and want to come back and pick up where you left off,
please contact Fuad Saba. We hope you will join us.
Click for A Summary of EfM at St. John's (below).
EfM Update: September 10th, 2008.
Education for Ministry is back in session at St. John’s! We started up again this year on September 7,
and will meet every Sunday in the church library from 5:30 PM to 8 PM until the end of May 2009, with breaks for the holidays.
This year we have eight returning seminarians who will work on the Year Two material (New Testament),
and one new seminarian working on the Year One material (Old Testament).
In addition to the Bible materials, we will work on the Common Lessons,
and will learn new and exciting methods of doing Theological Reflection ('TR').
We also have worship and snacks at every session.
So, if you missed the sign-up for EfM at the Ministry Fair, it’s not too late to join up and enjoy the benefits of this program.
If you are interested, please check out the EFM web page at http://www.sewanee.edu/EFM/index.htm,
and call the EfM Mentor for St. John's: Fuad Saba.
Click for A Summary of EfM at St. John's (below).
EfM Update: May 18th, 2008:
How quickly the school year has gone by! St. John’s first Education for Ministry (EfM) seminar year will come to a close on May 25,
as the group celebrates the completion of its first year together.
EfM is a program of theological education-at-a-distance of the School of Theology of the University of the South (Sewanee).
Students sign up one year at a time for this four-year program.
It covers the basics of a theological education in the Old and New Testaments, church history, liturgy, and theology.
Why do we have 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.
Many need and want a theological education which supports their faith and also teaches them to express that faith in day-to-day events.
As the emphasis on lay ministry has grown, EfM has come to play an important role by providing a program that develops an informed and knowledgeable laity.
The EfM program is preparation for the ministry to which we all are called.
It is that vocation for which we pray at the end of the Eucharist:
"And now, Father, send us out to do the work you have given us to do,
to love and serve you as faithful witnesses of Christ our Lord."
If you have questions about EfM, or would like to join our seminar group and begin EfM next September,
or if you have finished part of EfM and want to come back and pick up where you left off,
please contact Fuad Saba.
Click for A Summary of EfM at St. John's (below).
EfM Update: January 28th, 2008:
2007 marked the first time that EfM was offered at St. John's. Our seminar includes 7 "seminarians" as well as a mentor, Fuad Saba.
We meet weekly during the school year (except around holidays) in the St. John's library on Sundays from 5:30 to 8 PM.
A typical EfM seminar session includes a "get on board" opening discussion, a review of one or more chapters from the Parallel Guide materials,
a Theological Reflection session, worship and even snacks.
This year all of the participants are in Year One, which reviews the Old Testament.
We started out the year by sharing our spiritual autobiographies, and then learned how to apply the basic techniques of Theological Reflection to passages of scripture.
As of the end of 2007 the class had reviewed chapters in the Parallel Guide dealing with the Hexateuch (Genesis through Joshua.)
We learned the "documentary hypothesis" regarding the authorship of these books,
and learned to appreciate the differing viewpoints and priorities of the various authors of these books
(the Yahwist, Elohist, and Priestly authors, as well the two Deuteronomist authors,
and the redactor(s) who combined these various sources into the books of the Hexateuch)
as we studied the Creation, Noah, Babel, Abraham, Joseph, Joshua and Sinai / Exodus stories.
Over the remainder of the school year, we will tackle three more "Common Lesson" discussion topics,
expand the scope of our Theological Reflection techniques,
and review the Parallel Guide chapters dealing with the rest of the Old Testament.
We have room in our seminar for five more "seminarians" (class size is limited to twelve)
so if you are interested in deepening your faith
and expanding your vision of your personal ministry by joining EfM for the 2008 - 2009 school year (beginning in September 2008),
please contact Fuad Saba.
Click for A Summary of EfM at St. John's (below).
A Summary of EfM at St. John's.
Education for Ministry (EfM) is a program of theological education-at-a-distance of the School of Theology of the University of the South
(also known as Sewanee).
Students sign up for one year at a time. It takes four years to complete the program,
which covers the basics of a theological education in the Old and New Testaments, church history, liturgy, and theology.
The seminar meets once a week during the school year, under the guidance of a trained mentor.
Fuad Saba, a member of the congregation at St. John’s, is an EfM graduate and a trained EfM mentor.
Please contact Fuad Saba if you are interested in finding out more about EfM or becoming an EfM student.
Sewanee's EfM webpage is at http://www.sewanee.edu/EFM/index.htm
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