“The Word made flesh,” according to William Temple, is the most important phrase in all of Christianity because it affirms flesh as the vehicle and instrument for spirit. Although some scholars have described Jesus in John’s Gospel as a detached “god who seems to glide over the face of the earth,” a closer look reveals how much John’s Jesus takes great delight …
View course details “The Sensual Gospel of John: Experiencing the Fourth Gospel through the Five Senses”

This course seeks to empower Church lay leaders to understand their work and ministry in the context of spiritual leadership. Students will reflect on their own spiritual life journeys, will explore a toolkit of prayer practices and will begin to self-identify their ministries with the wider spiritual care of their congregations.  

Twitter Facebook Link Print “Advent is the season of the God-seeker. . . . May God help us to wake up to ourselves and in doing so, to move from ourselves toward God.” — Alfred Delp, Advent of the Heart, Seasonal Sermons and Prison Writings It might be said that the spiritual journey is a …
View course details “The Grace of the Four Consents”

This course is designed to introduce the student to a variety of Christian Spiritual practices that will enhance his or her spiritual journey and respective ministry. Each week, the student will explore the elements and context of a certain spiritual practice and be invited to participate in it.

In the fourth century Evagrius of Pontus said, “A theologian is one who prays and one who prays is a theologian.” This is a central concern of spiritual theology, and this seminar provides an opportunity for us to reflect on this aspect of the faith we confess and practice. Our goal is to deepen our …
View course details “Seminar: Traditions and Practices of Prayer”

How did the Church arrive at the confession that God is Trinity? And how should Christians understand this confession today? This course argues that the patristic development of trinitarian theology is integral to understanding its meaning. We will engage with the extraordinary theological work of the fourth-century controversies, before and after the Council of Nicaea, …
View course details “Confessing the Trinity: Nicaea to Now”

This course offers an introduction to the Christian spiritual tradition up to the modern period.  For two millennia Christians have been praying and responding to the self-giving love of God in Jesus Christ by the gift of the Holy Spirit.  This response to God has taken place under the conditions of our humanity and it …
View course details “The Christian Spirit: A History of Christian Spirituality”

This course is designed to help students explore some of the critical theological and personal dynamics of being and becoming persons who are image-bearers, persons-in-relation with the triune God, their fellow human, and creation, persons joyfully participating in God’s mission to the world of people and creation. The overarching goal is to help students in …
View course details “Soul of Ministry: Becoming Persons-in-Relation”

What does your body say to you? Does it want you to know that it is holy? And if so, then how do you tend to your body and discover its wisdom? These are some of the questions that we will explore in this experiential e-workshop. Our guide will be Christine Valters Paintner who is …
View course details “The Wisdom of the Body E-Workshop”

rawn from ancient prayer practices of the Christian contemplative heritage, Centering Prayer is a receptive method of silent prayer in which we experience God’s presence within. This prayer facilitates the movement from more active modes of prayer into resting in God and consenting to God’s presence and action within us. The facilitators, Lynn Langdon and …
View course details “Introduction to Centering Prayer Workshop”