ESR Courses Fall 2022
Earlham School of Religion is the primary Quaker seminary for the Religious Society of Friends. We provide a Christian theological education to all who wish to participate in a spiritual and academic journey for good. Earlham School of Religion seeks to help you discern your unique talents and develop your own forms of ministry for today’s world. From social work to creative writing, entrepreneurship to healthcare, our graduates work to heal the world both from behind the pulpit and beyond it.
Search our courses
| wdt_ID | Course Prefix | Course Number | Course Title | Format | Timing | Description | Institution | Teaching Faculty | Day | Time | Room | Status | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | FC | 101-T | Spirtual Formation and Personal Practice | Intensive | August | Students engage in a multidimensional reflection on their personal spiritual journey as experiential grounding for ministry. Students explore spiritual autobiography (their own and others) and personal and corporate Christian spiritual disci-plines, as we | ESR | Higginbotham | M-F | TRU | active | 2022 | |
| 2 | M | 237-T | Spiritual Formation Through Contemplation and Action | Intensive | August | This course focuses on the personal and corporate spiritual journey as an experiential grounding for ministry that is socially engaged. The attention to one’s own journey is interrelated to the responsive listening and prayerful presence of the class comm | Bethany | Ottoni-Wilhelm | M-F | 10 | active | 2022 | |
| 3 | M | 240-T | Bivocational Ministry | Intensive | August | Bivocational ministry is a reality for pastors in the twenty-fi rst century. Whether they have a career that supports their ministry or they need a part-time job to help make ends meet, many pas-tors today are bivocational. Bivocational ministry may also | Bethany | Baisley | M-F | active | 2022 | ||
| 4 | QS/SP | 390 | Quaker Spirituality | Intensive | August | Quaker Spirituality will explore spiritual practices of Friends, past and present. Topics will include letters of spiritual nurture, worship and ministry, journals, contemplative prayer, discernment, the apophatic way, and recent directions, such as Quake | ESR | Angell | M-F | 06:30 AM | MOR | active | 2022 |
| 5 | WR | 230-T | Creative Non-Fiction | Intensive | August | This course will give you an opportunity to explore the rich possibilities of creative non-fiction, one of the most popular and quickest growing forms of literary writing practiced today. It will introduce you to some of the subgenres of creative nonficti | ESR | Brazil | M-F | 06:30 AM | DEC | active | 2022 |
| 6 | T | 221/221-B | Science and Religion | Intensive | August | This course will examine the relationship of science and religion in the current Western culture and throughout history. Although many view these disciplines as being in constant conflict or in completely separate realms, this course will examine how a mo | Bethany | Bethany Adjunct | M-F | 06:30 AM | 40 | active | 2022 |
| 7 | M/T | 255-T | Theology and Ministry in Response to Crisis | Intensive | August | A crisis can be personal, church-wide, national, or even global. In any event, it presents opportunities for ministry. It raises questions for theology, regarding suffering and hope. Further, some (not all) extreme situations have the capacity to teach us | Bethany | M-F | 20 | active | 2022 | ||
| 9 | SC | 370/370-B | Supervised Ministry | In-person/Blended | Fall 2022 | The Supervised Ministry Seminar helps students prepare for ministry through an internship in a setting appropriate for their calling and gifts, and through theological refl ection on their experiences. Each week, supervision by an experienced practitioner | ESR | Johnson | Mon | 08:50 AM | TRU/Zoom | active | 2022 |
| 10 | ACEN | 102 | Conscious Financial Living | Fall 2022 | Description coming soon | Bethany | Hess | Mon | 03:10 PM | 20/Zoom | active | 2022 | |
| 11 | PM | 150/150 B | Pastoral Spirituality | In-person/Blended | Fall 2022 | This course emphasizes the personal side of pastoring. Topics will include maintaining one’s overall health and spiritual focus, being part of a pastoral family, building healthy relationships with a congregation, and identifying one’s philosophy of minis | ESR | Baisley | Tues | TRU/Zoom | active | 2022 | |
| 12 | P | XXX/XXXB | Bethany Peace Course | In-person/Blended | Fall 2022 | Description coming soon | Bethany | Bethany Peace Hire | Tues | 10/Zoom | active | 2022 | |
| 13 | T | 101/101-B | Intro to Theological Reflection | In-person/Blended | Fall 2022 | This course introduces theology as a practice of creative and critical reflection on humanity, the world, God, and Jesus from a faith perspective. In this class we will put perennial theological themes in dialogue with insights from the natural sciences a | Bethany | Hathaway | Tues | 20/Zoom | active | 2022 | |
| 14 | B | 210/210-B | Poetics of Jesus | In-person/Blended | Fall 2022 | Jesus of Nazareth apparently did not teach in logical propositions so much as in parables, paradoxes, and poetry. When we rise to Jesus’ theopoetic bait, we may find that we do not get off the hook easily. His surprising plots and arresting metaphors chal | Bethany | Ulrich | Tues | 20/Zoom | active | 2022 | |
| 15 | HS | 250/250-B | Creation of Modern Quaker Diversity | Fall 2022 | At the core of this course is the examination of controversies in the Religious Society of Friends, focusing on but not exclusive to the nineteenth century, and the historical impact that these controversies have had. This course will examine the developm | ESR | Angell | Tues | TRU/Zoom | active | 2022 | ||
| 16 | M | 220/220-B | Patterns of Worship | Fall 2022 | This semester-long course will introduce students to the theological, historical, creative, and performative dimensions of diverse patterns of corporate worship in North America (i.e., blended, emergent, Anabaptist, other). Through the creative interplay | Bethany | Ottoni-Wilhelm | Tues | active | 2022 | |||
| 17 | HS/PJ | 1XX/1XX-B | Peace Studies | In-person/Blended | Fall 2022 | ESR | ESR Peace Hire | Tues | active | 2022 | |||
| 18 | FC | 110/110-B | Exegeting the Call and Culture of Ministry | In-person/Blended | Fall 2022 | ECC provides a formational context in which to process seminary life and discern readiness to participate in Ministry Formation (F 301). Participants in this course explore the various aspects of Christian ministry with particular attention to pastoral/co | ESR | Poole | Tues | 20/Zoom | active | 2022 | |
| 19 | BS | 111/111-B | Biblical Hebrew | In-person/Blended | Fall 2022 | This course provides an introduction to basic Hebrew grammar and vocabulary, as well as to the tools for translation, such as lexicons and dictionaries. These courses prepare the student for subsequent reading and exegesis of the Hebrew biblical texts. | ESR | ESR Hire | Wed & Fri | TRU/Zoom | active | 2022 | |
| 20 | B | 102/102-B | Reading the New Testament Contextually | Fall 2022 | This survey course is an invitation to deeper, contextual understandings of the 27 diverse writings that make up the second part of the Christian canon. It is designed for both new and experienced readers of the Bible. We will practice thoughtful and imag | Bethany | Ulrich | Wed | 20/Zoom | active | 2022 | ||
| 21 | M | 263/263-B | The Shape of Ministry in a High Tech World | Fall 2022 | Students will explore the places where ministry can be enhanced and made more productive through the use of various technological tools at our disposal. Technology, as with all tools for ministry, must equip us to be more fully aware of how God is present | Bethany | Poole | Wed | 20/Zoom | active | 2022 | ||
| 22 | PC | 333/333-B | Human Sexuality | In-person/Blended | Fall 2022 | This seminar examines the manner in which sexuality is a dimension of any relationship and the specific ways in which sexuality is an issue in ministry. The class explores the effects of sex roles, cultural conditioning and gender as the parameters within | ESR | Higginbotham | Wed | TRU/Zoom | active | 2022 | |
| 23 | WR | 220/220-B | Writing the Story | In-person/Blended | Fall 2022 | Stories shape our world and our being; they move us intellectually, emotionally, morally, and spiritually. But while we intuitively recognize when we’ve heard or read a good story, knowing how to write one is trickier. This course offers an introduction t | ESR | Brazil | Wed | TRU/Zoom | active | 2022 | |
| 24 | M/T | 241/241-B | Ministry Across Generations | In-person/Blended | Fall 2022 | Grounded in the discipline of practical theology, this course examines Christian ministry from the standpoint of intergenerational concerns, including three large questions: 1) What does it mean to do ministry in a world where half the population is under | Bethany | Haitch | Wed | 20/Zoom | active | 2022 | |
| 25 | PJ | 2XX/2XX-B | Peace Studies | In-person/Blended | Fall 2022 | Description coming soon | Bethany | ESR Peace Hire | Thurs | TRU/Zoom | active | 2022 | |
| 26 | T | 315/315-T | Theopoetics | Fall 2022 | In recent years several theologians and scholars of religion have contended that “theology, after all, is a kind of writing.” Moving beyond older models that present theology as a metaphysics or systematics, those influenced by both the postmodern turn in | Bethany | Holland | Thurs | 20/Zoom | active | 2022 | ||
| 27 | FC | 301/301-B | Ministry Formation | In-person/Blended | Fall 2022 | Participants engage in critical and constructive reflection concurrent with their fi eld education ministry placement in this year-long course (400 hours in the placement over the course of two semesters.) Students consider a variety of ministry topics, w | Bethany | Poole | Thurs | 20/Zoom | active | 2022 | |
| 28 | FC | 102/102-B | Spiritual Formation and Public Ministry | In-person/Blended | Fall 2022 | This course builds upon FC 101 and seeks to connect spiritual formation to social transformation. We will look at some repre-sentative figures who have connected their spiritual life and theology to their work for social change. This course is also an int | ESR | ESR Peace Hire | Thurs | MOR/Zoom | active | 2022 | |
| 29 | T | 218/218-B | Spirituality and Ecology: Sabbath Poetry of Wendell Berry | In-person/Blended | Fall 2022 | As a novelist, poet, environmentalist, and farmer, Wendell Berry is well known for his scathing critiques of the industrial economy and corporate agriculture, as well as his support for local economies and ecologically sustainable farming. What is much le | Bethany | Hathaway | Thurs | 20/Zoom | active | 2022 | |
| 30 | P | XXX/XXXB | Peace Studies | In-person/Blended | Fall 2022 | Description coming soon | Bethany | Bethany Peace Hire | Fri | 20/Zoom | active | 2022 | |
| 33 | T | 207-W | Brethren Beliefs & Practices | In-person | Weekend Intensives | This course examines major beliefs and doctrinal interpretations along with practices that shape the Church of the Brethren. The course will study Brethren beliefs and practices across the span of time, with reflection on historical theology and in ecumen | Kettering-Lane | Fri/Sat Aug 26-27, Sept 30-Oct 1, Nov 4-5 | active | 2022 | |||
| 34 | H | 101-W | History of Christianity 1 | In-person | Weekend Intensives | This course gives an overview of the history of Christianity from the apostolic period to the eve of the Reformation. Topics addressed include theoretical issues in studying the history of Christianity, early Christianity, the Constantinian shift, Augusti | Rogers | Fri/Sat Aug 26-27, Sept 30-31, Sept 30-Oct1 | active | 2022 | |||
| 35 | B | 314-W/314-B | Exegisis of Chronicles, Ezra-Nehemiah | In-person/Blended | Weekend Intensives | The books of 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah were written during the postexilic period of ancient Israel in the midst of cultural change. Following the traumatic experience of exile, the community in Judah struggled to form a new identity as the pe | Schweitzer | Fri/Sat Sept 23-24, Oct 21-22, Dec 2-3 | active | 2022 | |||
| 37 | H | 103-0 | American Religious History | Online | Fall 2022 | This introductory course studies American religions generally, including Native American, African American, and European American religions and the ways that these religions have influenced each other; the roles of major churches in the development of Ame | ESR | Angell | active | 2022 | |||
| 38 | BS | 101-0 | Intro to Old Testament | Online | Fall 2022 | This course introduces students to the diversity of literary and theological traditions in the Old Testament. Attention will be given to the formation and role of these traditions in the context of the life and history of the people of Israel and to their | ESR | ESR Hire | active | 2022 | |||
| 39 | WR | 240-0 | Writing Public Theology | Online | Fall 2022 | Public theology occurs in many genres, media, and forms. Here, we will concentrate primarily on short, written forms – essays, reviews, and similar types of cultural criticism and commentary. We will work on writing craft but also on rhetorical strategy. | ESR | Brazil | active | 2022 | |||
| 40 | PC | 101-0 | Intro to Pastoral Care | Online | Fall 2022 | The purpose of this course is to give a broad overview of caregiving in the life of the congregation and of the pastor’s role within the caregiving process. The course will also help students define the theological foundation of their approach to pastoral | ESR | Higginbotham | active | 2022 | |||
| 41 | PM | 101-0 | Intro to Preaching | Online | Fall 2022 | This course will assist students in acquiring the basic knowledge and skills for effective biblical preaching. Attention will be given to biblical exegesis in the preparation of sermons, and students will be instructed and given opportunity to apply homil | ESR | Baisley | Year Long | active | 2022 | ||
| 42 | TS | 101-0 | Intro to Theological Reflection | Online | Fall 2022 | This course introduces students to the history and practice of reflecting on faith, on the Church’s theological symbols, and the way in which particular doctrines give shape to our experience. This course forms students’ exposure to the expansive and dive | ESR | Kim | active | 2022 | |||
| 43 | P | 201-0 | Conflict Transformation | Online | Fall 2022 | This course provides the student with an introduction to the study of conflict and its resolution. We will explore the basic theoretical concepts of the field and apply this knowledge as we learn and practice skills for analyzing and resolving conflicts. | Roberts | active | 2022 | ||||
| 44 | H | 101-0 | History of Christianity I | Online | Fall 2022 | This course gives an overview of the history of Christianity from the apostolic period to the eve of the Reformation. Topics addressed include theoretical issues in studying the history of Christianity, early Christianity, the Constantinian shift, Augusti | Rogers | active | 2022 |