Pastoral Theology Courses for the 2013 Winter Session

This course is designed to provide students with a solid foundation for biblical preaching by exploring the implications of preaching a text and preaching the gospel. Preaching the gospel is considered from historical, biblical, theological, pastoral and creative perspectives with a view to producing sermons that engage the world and offer hope. A four-step methodology is taught that can be adapted to various sermon forms. Exegesis assignments, quiz on the readings, two sermons, peer evaluations, book report. Evaluation: each sermon, 33%; exegesis and book report, ??%; peer evaluations, 12%; and 8.5%; participation 8.5%.

The course will provide an overview to education ministry and to faith formation. It will examine the purpose, context, and content of CE and examine basic learning theory and curriculum resources. Students will also read a spiritual memoir and reflect on transformation in the Christian life. Practical skills for educational ministry will include evaluating curricula, contextual analysis of an educational site, and designing and facilitating a workshop. Intercultural challenges for CE will be discussed. Aspects of age-related ministry will include resources for children, youth and adults. In addition, education at different life stages will be studied as moments for formation of individuals and families as well as the community (baptism and confirmation). Students are encouraged to research a historical or contemporary practice of CE/formation and develop a paper on that topic. Students will read Tye, Pazmino, McClaren, Miles and Winner. Evaluation: Participation 10%; Site visit paper 20%; Literature review/proposal 20%; Final Paper and workshop design 50%.

Explores various aspects of ministry, in particular the theology and practice of ordained ministry within the Reformed traditions. Topics include understandings of ministry, the call, functions and roles in ministry, challenges and contexts for ministry today and in the future, leadership and authority, and spiritual practices. Various methods of learning will be used (small group, lecture, discussion, mentorship experience).  This is a three hour class time, 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Exploration of leadership and ministry in the context of a theological understanding of the nature of the Church and the scope of its ministry. Weekly readings, class participation, critical review assignments, book review, major paper. Tutorial 2-3 pm.

Survey of selected topics from Books I, II, III, and VI of the 1983 Code of Canon Law. Course goals include preparation for jurisdiction exam and ministry. Class attendance and participation (10%), selected readings (10%), final oral exam (80%).

This course deals with the many intersections of music and worship within a Christian context, and more specifically, within a Presbyterian worship service.

This will be a lecture course with readings exploring the foundations on which individuals build their spiritual beliefs. It will explore the development of spiritual awareness in children, how we attribute causality to events, intrinsic and extrinsic religion, atrocities committed in the name of God, the variety of religious experience, cults and dogma, dimensions of denominational allegiance, new religious movements, and related topics.

As follow-up to EMP1101 "Worship I" ( or an equivalent introductory course on worship), a praxis-based study of history, theology and practice of worship, focusing on the pastoral liturgies of weddings, funerals and pastoral occasions. Particular attention will be given to the Reformed and Methodist liturgical traditions, set in the context of ecumenical developments and influences. Biblical, historical, theological and pastoral dimensions will be explored through lectures, presentations, readings, written assignments, discussion, on-line discussions and resource sharing, a class visit to a funeral home, group worship planning and conduct of actual services. Prerequisite: EMP1101 "Worship I", or an equivalent introductory worship course. Lectures, presentations, readings, written assignments, discussion, on-line discussions and resource sharing, a class visit to a funeral home, group worship planning and conduct of actual services. Requirements: Participation (10%); Resource Review (10%); Book Reflection (20%); Group Worship planning and Celebration (Credit); Congregational Policy (10%); Liturgy Project (50%). 

This course will investigate the sacramental celebrations, the liturgy of the hours and the liturgical year of the Roman Rite from their historical, theological, spiritual and pastoral dimension. Requirements: class attendance, short papers and final exam.

The student will develop a theological framework regarding the character and place of preaching in the life of a local Church. This includes the place of the Church within the mission of God, the importance of analyzing and engaging with the way culture shapes the local community, and the understanding of what it means to be faithful to God in the way we handle the biblical text. The student will also learn to identify and implement the basic skills that are foundational to preaching. Weekly reading, listening to sermons by a variety of preachers, class participation, preparation, delivery and critique of sermons.

Foundational elements for pastoral care: theology of ministry, acceptance of self, relationships, grief and loss, prayer, suffering, art of listening, care with the sick and infirm at home and in institutions. Lectures, discussion, case study, reflection paper, oral exam.

There is great interest in the contemporary Church in the challenge to minister across cultural lines, especially in more pluralistic settings. This course endeavors to apply insight from key moments in the history of Christian mission for the sake of such a contemporary pastoral approach. The course will accomplish this by surveying theories of culture, considering chapters in mission history, and by identifying strategies for current and future cross-cultural ministries. The course will include lectures, case-studies, presentations,and field trips. Students will be evaluated based on participation, book reports, and a term paper.

An introduction to the theology and practice of evangelism in contemporary society. We will look critically at different evangelistic practices in light of scripture and culture, and consider how healthy evangelism might affect leadership, parish life, worship, preaching, lay ministry, outreach programs and personal relationships. Requirements include book reviews, field work, and an integrative paper.

Roman Catholic Church legislation on institution of marriage with special attention to the teaching of Vatican Council II. Class participation, exam.

This course explores world religions through music, one of the most universal features of human life. It will focus on the various traditions and phenomena of religious music in comparative perspective, and examine the way in which music reflects the religious tenets and has been used as a means of interacting with the divine. Covering seven of the major religions.

This course is intended to prepare candidates for ordination to preside at the liturgical celebrations of the Roman Rite. Requirements: class attendance, practicums, mid-term and final exam. Prerequisite: one liturgy course.

Christian spirituality as the root of western culture with an emphasis on the challenge to shape a spiritual and social vision in the post-modern world. Lectures, discussion, reflection papers.

This course introduces the participant to the theological, spiritual and pastoral principles that inform and impact parish ministry. Models of an integrated life of holiness from Scripture and Tradition as well as practical strategies for effective pastoral and personal integration will be presented and reflected upon. This course is part of the Diaconate Formation Diploma program at St. Augustine's.

An examination of the vocation, identity and lifestyle of the Catholic priest for the fostering of his holiness, integrity and health in ministry and the spiritual life. Lectures, discussions, reflection papers and final exam.

The aim of this course is threefold. 1. To expose the student to contemporary forms of critical and cultural analysis. 2. To use that analysis to look at spirituality. 3. To expose the student to contemporary manifestations of spirituality in a post-modern age.

For Basic Degree students there will be short papers, class presentations and class participation.   For Advanced Degree Students, in addition to the work done for the Basic Degree students there will be a major paper of 12-16 pages.

Advanced Homiletics is a one-semester course that follows Introduction to Homiletics. This course gives students an opportunity to develop a theology of preaching based on the discussions of the survey of the tradition of Catholic preaching in Introduction to Homiletics and through opportunities to preach. Students will employ those characteristics of outstanding preaching as determined in Introduction to Homiletics. This course also gives students an opportunity to develop critical peer and self-assessment skills. Lectures, online postings, preaching, presentations and papers.

This pass/fail course offered to seminarians in their last semester at St. Augustine provides opportunities to investigate preaching from a Catholic perspective, discuss questions on homiletics, read key documents from the Church on preaching, preach, give feedback to fellow preachers, and reflect on the feedback received in class. Students will be assessed on a pass/fail basis for two homilies given in class, one paper on a theology of preaching, and two self-assessments.

The MRE Practicum offers participants the opportunity to reflect upon and integrate the theological, philosophical, historical, and pedagogical areas of study, to practice the knowledge and skills, to profit from a supervised peer-supported group and to relate teaching contextually in a post-modern globalized reality. This is a required core Religious Education course of St. Augustine's MRE candidates. Lectures, class discussions, written reflections on readings, theology of ministry paper, and practicum project. Prerequisite: Completion of ten courses in the MRE degree program.

Curriculum is the selection and organisation of experience for pedagogical purposes. The criteria  that determine what is selected and how it is organised articulate fundamental values about the nature of the world and our calling in it. This course will encourage critical evaluation of the criteria that are commonly employed and of how the curriculum can be shaped to better reflect a Christian worldview. Curriculum is conceived not as a static collection of materials, but as a dynamic plan that directs the learning process and governs the organically developing relationship between teachers and learners. The course employs an extensive Study Guide, two books plus book chapters and journal articles, with an online discussion forum and Skype/ telephone conferencing. Participation in the forum and a professionally- oriented research paper will provide the basis for evaluation. Study Guide to accompany texts and readings; online discussion forum; Skype/ telephone conferencing. Online Forum participation (30%); Research paper (70%). 

This course will examine the presuppositions and first-principles that enable one to speak coherently about leadership. It will introduce students to definitions of leadership, and traits and characteristics of leaders. It will also develop a template of the Catholic understanding of leadership

The course aims at distinguishing some of the more significant ways of conceptualizing human development in psychology and how they have influenced contemporary thinking about religious development. It will discuss the nature/nurture debate of religious development, that is, the various contextual factors and intra-psychic processes at work across the life span and their implication and influence in religious development. In the process it will explore some of the psychological issues involved in religious development and point out their applied relevance. Students will be asked to write several reports on assigned readings and a longer essay for the end of the term. A previous course in psychology and religion would be helpful but not essential.

This advanced course explores the potential for civic/ecclesial partnership for social transformation in the city of Toronto. Students will serve for nine hours a week in a secular agency dedicated to social transformation, participating in a project within the agency on its own terms. In class students will explore issues related to partnership of ecclesial and civic organizations that pursue common goals with different motivations and ways in which social transformation can occur. Although the course will focus on social transformation in the city of Toronto, students are urged to develop analogies to the towns and villages they expect to serve after they have concluded their studies. Evaluation includes two written papers and a class presentation.

Through the development of the skill of theological reflection, the participants learn to reflect on their personal and ministerial or work experiences to discern the call of transformation and integration in the midst of the Christian tradition and world realities. This group process takes place in a peer faith setting. Regular attendance required. An overnight retreat is scheduled at the end of the course. One integration paper and mission statement. Pass/Fail for BD students; grade given for AD students.

Against the backdrop of revived enthusiasm for "Traditional Latin Liturgy” in parts of the Catholic Church in recent years, this course will invite students to a deep engagement with the historical processes that transformed the loosely organized local liturgical traditions of early medieval Rome and Gaul into a sophisticated pan-European rite.  Close study of the various annual cycles of prayers, readings and chants of the Mass and Divine Office, along with the external religious and political pressures that shaped their development over time, will be combined with an investigation of how liturgists and ordinary worshippers of different periods during the Middle Ages interpreted their liturgies as a unified system that both expressed theological truth and was itself a fitting object of theological reflection.

The New Homiletic refers to a revolution in homiletics that began in the 1950s. We will explore its emergence from the "old homiletic" and its emphases on a turn to the hearer, organic form, narrative plot, horizontal notions of authority, recovery of the Bible for the pulpit, inductive sermons, stories making their own points in their own ways, contextual understandings of truth, dynamic and tensive notions of language, and sermons as transformational experience. Key homileticians will be considered as we consider the relevance of the NH for today. 

A comparative study of selected mystical traditions of the major world religions. Themes of analysis will include: the nature and forms of mystical experience; perspectives on ultimate Reality; the role of the spiritual teacher or master; spirituality and social action; disciplines, methods and ideals of spiritual salvation or liberation. Readings will be drawn both from mystic writers and comparative theorists. Lectures, discussion, critical reflection papers.

The course introduces the student to the dynamics of grace presented in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, situating the Exercises both in their historical context and within its interpretations in contemporary culture. The goal of this course is 1. to prepare a student to engage in the role of directing the spiritual exercises, 2. to allow the student to understand the dynamics of these exercises, 3. to see the underlying anthropology and theology of these exercises. Pre-requisite: None, though some personal experience of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius - not necessary - would be an asset. For Basic Degree students: short essays; class participation and presentations. For Advanced Degree students: sort essays; major paper; active class participation.

The aim of this course is threefold. 1. To expose the student to contemporary forms of critical and cultural analysis. 2. To use that analysis to look at spirituality. 3. To expose the student to contemporary manifestations of spirituality in a post-modern age.

For Basic Degree students there will be short papers, class presentations and class participation.   For Advanced Degree Students, in addition to the work done for the Basic Degree students there will be a major paper of 12-16 pages.

This course focuses on a pastoral interpretation of 1 Corinthians and how this letter may be proclaimed in the life of the church today. Through an investigation of letter structure, a social cultural reading, congregational studies, and homiletical theory this course will seek to elucidate the possibilities of Paul's letter for preaching today. Prerequisites: Introductory courses in both preaching and New Testament.

The course aims at distinguishing some of the more significant ways of conceptualizing human development in psychology and how they have influenced contemporary thinking about religious development. It will discuss the nature/nurture debate of religious development, that is, the various contextual factors and intra-psychic processes at work across the life span and their implication and influence in religious development. In the process it will explore some of the psychological issues involved in religious development and point out their applied relevance. Students will be asked to write several reports on assigned readings and a longer essay for the end of the term. A previous course in psychology and religion would be helpful but not essential.

The scope of what was understood as 'liturgy' in the middle ages went far beyond the bare words used in the Mass, daily prayer and baptism and descriptions of how the services were performed. It included knowing the names and functions of the grades of ordained clergy (which varied from place to place) and their dress, the design of churches, their furnishing and consecration, the calendar of the liturgical year and of course the nature of the music which accompanied the liturgy.Teaching methods: lectures, DVDs of manuscripts, video, musical recordings.

 This seminar course explores the role of bodies and embodiment by analyzing particular contexts in Christian history and contemporary life. It raises and seeks to answer questions about death, suffering, and the after life, about the relationship between body, minds and soul, about sex, race, gender and dis/ability, about the body as a locus of knowledge/ wisdom, and about religious identity and agency. Putting historical readings from the early church, Medieval Christianity, and Modernity in dialogue with contemporary theological texts, students develop historical understanding of contemporary issues related to embodiment and Christian practice. Student engagement with the course will be evaluated by level and quality of participation, an in-class presentation on one set of readings, two short papers (~2 pages each), and a final paper 12-15 pages). This course qualifies as a designated spirituality elective at EM.

This course will develop knowledge and practice in select skills for intercultural life and work/ministry/leadership in heterogeneous publics.  We will draw on three resources: selected Canadian 'multicultural' narratives and policies; theological and ethical attention to social difference, complex identity formation and scriptural interpretation; and the case of the United Church of Canada project, “becoming an intercultural church.”  Seminar format with instructional input, small groups, modest cross-cultural immersion project. Evaluation: a book review (30%); a class presentation (30%), and a final integrative project (40%). Prerequisites: Basic Bible, Theology, Pastoral.