Course Catalogue 2025-2026

The prophet Jeremiah ministered to disobedient Israel, urging them to return to God, and warning of judgment. The people refused his message and experienced the dislocation and disruption of exile. The book is raw and at times graphic and shocking, and reflects the pain, pathos, and anguish of the prophet, the people, and even God. Yet amidst the darkness of Jeremiah’s ministry, the faithfulness of God sustained the prophet and held out to the people the promise of hope. Working closely with the text in its historical, literary, and canonical contexts, and utilizing the insights of trauma studies and readings from the church around the globe and across time, this course attends to the book’s message for Jeremiah’s contemporaries and its exilic compilers, and finds its resonance in our own uncertain times. For any who wrestle with God or seek to find him in difficult times, for any who minister to God’s people in the midst of such challenges, and for any who desire a fuller understanding of God’s faithful work amidst his people, this course will enliven and challenge.

A review of all of the surviving works of Richard Hooker, often called the first theologian of Anglicanism, his Calvinism and reaction to Calvinism, his scholasticism, and his defence of the institutions of the Church of England.

This an introduction to the main concepts and terminology developed by thinkers between the fifth and fourteenth centuries. Special attention is given to scholastic philosophy. We will cover topics such as the relation between faith and reason, the existence and nature of God, human life and happiness, virtue and vice, and the difference between divine and human law.

The course aims to familiarize students with some of the main innovations and challenges in interpreting the figure of Jesus of Nazareth and of Christian claims regarding his divine status that have taken place since 1800. There will be a consideration of Jesus from the standpoint of the development of historical approach to the bible as well as new formulations of speculative Christology. It will introduce perspectives from a range of perspectives, including representation of Jesus in politics and the arts, and consider some new approaches within theology.

Secondary Practicum in Spiritual Direction: A two-week intensive course consisting of integration of theory and practice of spiritual direction. A model of non-residential Retreat in Everyday Life is used for this practicum.

The course aims to familiarize students with some of the main innovations and challenges in interpreting the figure of Jesus of Nazareth and of Christian claims regarding his divine status that have taken place since 1800. There will be a consideration of Jesus from the standpoint of the development of historical approach to the bible as well as new formulations of speculative Christology. It will introduce perspectives from a range of perspectives, including representation of Jesus in politics and the arts, and consider some new approaches within theology.

Study of theory and practice of spiritual direction, and of depth psychological, humanistic, and cognitive behavioural therapeutic practice. Emphasis on Christian tradition.

This course presents the mystical traditions of Christianity with reference to other faith practices as the experience of a sacred journey of transformation according to the narrative pattern of life, death, and resurrection (or in Richard Rohr’s contemporary expression, “order, disorder, and reorder”). As we examine the rich history of Christian mystical experience and parallels within other ancient spiritual traditions, we will recognise the special role of entheogens, or sacred fungus and plant medicines, alongside other practices, in facilitating or deepening transcendent experience. We will examine the potential role of entheogens in mystical encounters today, mindful of both ethical considerations and diverse perspectives on their usage. Interdisciplinary reflection will draw upon research in human consciousness, psychology, anthropology, comparative mysticism, medicine, and spiritual care, and invited guest speakers from different contexts, including indigenous spiritual leaders and clinical researchers studying the benefits of psychedelic therapy (including for addiction, trauma, and end-of-life care), will assist students as future faith leaders and spiritual care providers to develop a holistic and coherent response to the current psychedelic revival. We will emphasise harm reduction and overall wellbeing, and uphold sacred narrative, ritual, and spiritual disciplines as essential elements of the “set and setting” for a healthy and transformative use of entheogens. Structured around the key concepts, practices, and texts of mystical tradition, as well as the lives and teachings of influential mystics within Christianity and beyond, the course provides the opportunity to explore the ongoing invitation of the sacred journey of transformation – both with and without entheogenic aids – for us to embrace change, navigate challenges, accept inner healing, experience personal and spiritual growth, and establish a more profound and interdependent connection with the divine, with others, and all creation. Please note that this course neither condones nor encourages illicit or unsafe behaviour.

This course presents the mystical traditions of Christianity with reference to other faith practices as the experience of a sacred journey of transformation according to the narrative pattern of life, death, and resurrection (or in Richard Rohr’s contemporary expression, “order, disorder, and reorder”). As we examine the rich history of Christian mystical experience and parallels within other ancient spiritual traditions, we will recognise the special role of entheogens, or sacred fungus and plant medicines, alongside other practices, in facilitating or deepening transcendent experience. We will examine the potential role of entheogens in mystical encounters today, mindful of both ethical considerations and diverse perspectives on their usage. Interdisciplinary reflection will draw upon research in human consciousness, psychology, anthropology, comparative mysticism, medicine, and spiritual care, and invited guest speakers from different contexts, including indigenous spiritual leaders and clinical researchers studying the benefits of psychedelic therapy (including for addiction, trauma, and end-of-life care), will assist students as future faith leaders and spiritual care providers to develop a holistic and coherent response to the current psychedelic revival. We will emphasise harm reduction and overall wellbeing, and uphold sacred narrative, ritual, and spiritual disciplines as essential elements of the “set and setting” for a healthy and transformative use of entheogens. Structured around the key concepts, practices, and texts of mystical tradition, as well as the lives and teachings of influential mystics within Christianity and beyond, the course provides the opportunity to explore the ongoing invitation of the sacred journey of transformation – both with and without entheogenic aids – for us to embrace change, navigate challenges, accept inner healing, experience personal and spiritual growth, and establish a more profound and interdependent connection with the divine, with others, and all creation. Please note that this course neither condones nor encourages illicit or unsafe behaviour.

This course is designed to intensify the experience of individual spiritual direction and supervision initiated in Practicum in Spiritual Direction: RGP3/6661 and Retreat in Everyday Life: RGP3/6248. Through supervision and discernment the director grows in a deeper awareness of responses to a perceived presence or absence of God in the ministry of spiritual direction. Supervision is valued as a way to enable the spiritual director to help others recognize and integrate God's presence and direction in every aspect of life. Through an integrative theological reflection paper and a pastoral competency interview, the course is intended to reveal the spiritual director's appropriated theology and practice of spiritual direction as a ministry.

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.

The course will look at the spiritual journey as it is depicted from scripture to the present day. It will examine texts from different religious traditions and cultures to explore the basic human understanding of a person as pilgrim. Learning objectives: 1. An exploration through spirituality of what it means to be human; 2. An examination of a history of spirituality; 3. An examination of some guides, compasses, maps and techniques of exploration of the territory called ?the spiritual life.? The course is of note: to those interested in 1. spirituality both theoretical and practical; 2. discernment; 3. cultural history; 4. Narrative theology; 5. Interdisciplinary studies.