Education for Ministry (EfM) Online
A new Education for Ministrty (EfM) Online group is being recruited by Deacon Georgia Giacobbe for start-up the second week of September, 2015. EfM continues to be a Christian education program developed and provided by the University of the South, Sewanee. The EfM program is a wonderful program of study and reflection that provides people from all walks of life with the education to grow in Christian faith and to carry out their ministries.
The EfM Web site and prospectus provide a wealth of information on the program, its mission, and an outline of the course of study for all four years. EfM Online offers those who cannot attend a weekly face-to-face group an opportunity to participate in this course of study.
The core study of EfM remains the same. The first year students study the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament), second year students study the New Testament, third year students read about Church History, and year four students conclude with Theology, Ethics, and Interfaith Encounter. Weekly, all students are expected to read and discuss their assignments on a discussion board on Sewanee’s website. Then once per week for an hour and a half, all students are logged in online, and work in the seminar group setting, linking what they have learned from their readings, experiences, and beliefs in theological reflection.
The course is led by a mentor (Georgia). The mentor’s job is to just be a mentor. They are not the experts, not the teachers, and not the disciplinarians. Mentors do participate in the discussions just like the other members of the class. Mentors will ask questions to lead the discussion toward an end point, and from time to time will ask what the class thinks is the central point of what is being discussed.
The “face-to-face” group time will be scheduled for Thursdays from 7:00 to 8:30 pm. To participate you need your own computer and a broadband internet connection. Tuition pays for all the reading materials, which are mailed to you. If you had participated in the former EfM format, a real face-to-face group, you would pick up with the year where you left off. Georgia will register this group to begin this September, 2015. Registrations need to be completed by mid August. If you wish to enroll, or if you just are curious, contact Dcn. Georgia Giacobbe at dngeorgia@gmail.com or 541-965-2976 (cell). You can also go to the EfM website at
http://efm.sewanee.edu to learn more about the program.
Find the PDF here