Awarded Grants - 134 results
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Assessment of the Impact of Specialized Theological Education on Pastoral Ministry
Proposal abstract :
The Project will help assess the effectiveness of seminary faculty in preparing students for pastoral ministry shaped by healthy boundaries and good judgment in pastoral relationships. The outcome of this assessment will serve to better prepare seminary faculty to effectively provide specialized teaching in theological education. In turn, the preparation of students for pastoral ministry will be enhanced. The assessment will focus on faculty and administrators previously trained by FaithTrust Institute through the Seminary Project.
Learning Abstract :
For nearly ten years, FaithTrust Institute has educated the faculty and administrators of seminaries on professional ethics in pastoral ministry through the Seminary Project. The key objective of this training is to prepare future pastoral ministers to be aware of and address issues of professional ethics within their congregations and their denominations. Recently, FaithTrust Institute convened a gathering of 15 faculty and administrators to assess the impact these trainings have on student learning. Participants believe strongly that FaithTrust Institute should continue its training and expand it to include all seminaries in the Association of Theological Schools. Students benefit from learning about healthy boundaries, the role of judicatory committees, and ministerial ethics is an issue of power and abuse rather than an issue of "sexual morality." Success of the FaithTrust Institute Seminary Project is reflected in seminaries incorporating the training and educational materials into their curriculum on a permanent basis.
The Project will help assess the effectiveness of seminary faculty in preparing students for pastoral ministry shaped by healthy boundaries and good judgment in pastoral relationships. The outcome of this assessment will serve to better prepare seminary faculty to effectively provide specialized teaching in theological education. In turn, the preparation of students for pastoral ministry will be enhanced. The assessment will focus on faculty and administrators previously trained by FaithTrust Institute through the Seminary Project.
Learning Abstract :
For nearly ten years, FaithTrust Institute has educated the faculty and administrators of seminaries on professional ethics in pastoral ministry through the Seminary Project. The key objective of this training is to prepare future pastoral ministers to be aware of and address issues of professional ethics within their congregations and their denominations. Recently, FaithTrust Institute convened a gathering of 15 faculty and administrators to assess the impact these trainings have on student learning. Participants believe strongly that FaithTrust Institute should continue its training and expand it to include all seminaries in the Association of Theological Schools. Students benefit from learning about healthy boundaries, the role of judicatory committees, and ministerial ethics is an issue of power and abuse rather than an issue of "sexual morality." Success of the FaithTrust Institute Seminary Project is reflected in seminaries incorporating the training and educational materials into their curriculum on a permanent basis.
Learning From Our Graduates: Alumni Experiences of Ministry and the Revision of Our MDiv Degree Program
Proposal abstract :
Project funding will support the reconfiguration of how religion, theology, and pastoral ministry skills are taught to the rapidly-changing student body in our MDiv program. This project will support twelve faculty members each interviewing three alums who have graduated since 2003. As a seminary that remains deeply committed to our MDiv degree as one important component of our mission, we are currently revising this degree to better meet the rapidly-changing needs of (1) those interested in traditional and emerging forms of church ministries, and (2) those who desire a strong theological education for their current and future work as change agents in organizations outside of traditional religious institutions. We know that we have much to learn from these 36 alums as our seminary undergoes its most significant renovation of its faculty, degrees, and related programs since the early 1970s.
Learning Abstract :
As Pacific School of Religion (PSR) undertakes a revision of our MDiv degree program, this Wabash-funded project supported the work of five faculty members and one senior administrator who interviewed (and, in most cases, shadowed) 30 of our recent alums in their current ministry/work settings. The goal of these interviews was to understand the work of these alums so that our revised degree remains responsive to current trends in ministry and better prepares future PSR students to succeed in traditional and non-traditional fields of service to church and society. The conclusions of this study include (1) "5 Affirmations" of the degree program: Field Education; Contextual Learning Opportunities; The Graduate Theological Union (GTU); Community Life; and PSR's Centers; and (2) "4 Recommendations for Improving the PSR MDiv Degree Program": eradicating Racism and White Privilege/Supremacy; Spiritual Formation; Community Life; and the need for a course in Non-Profit Administration and Management.
Project funding will support the reconfiguration of how religion, theology, and pastoral ministry skills are taught to the rapidly-changing student body in our MDiv program. This project will support twelve faculty members each interviewing three alums who have graduated since 2003. As a seminary that remains deeply committed to our MDiv degree as one important component of our mission, we are currently revising this degree to better meet the rapidly-changing needs of (1) those interested in traditional and emerging forms of church ministries, and (2) those who desire a strong theological education for their current and future work as change agents in organizations outside of traditional religious institutions. We know that we have much to learn from these 36 alums as our seminary undergoes its most significant renovation of its faculty, degrees, and related programs since the early 1970s.
Learning Abstract :
As Pacific School of Religion (PSR) undertakes a revision of our MDiv degree program, this Wabash-funded project supported the work of five faculty members and one senior administrator who interviewed (and, in most cases, shadowed) 30 of our recent alums in their current ministry/work settings. The goal of these interviews was to understand the work of these alums so that our revised degree remains responsive to current trends in ministry and better prepares future PSR students to succeed in traditional and non-traditional fields of service to church and society. The conclusions of this study include (1) "5 Affirmations" of the degree program: Field Education; Contextual Learning Opportunities; The Graduate Theological Union (GTU); Community Life; and PSR's Centers; and (2) "4 Recommendations for Improving the PSR MDiv Degree Program": eradicating Racism and White Privilege/Supremacy; Spiritual Formation; Community Life; and the need for a course in Non-Profit Administration and Management.
Partners in Ministerial Formation: Shifting the Pedagogical Center (for the Expanding Ministry Formation into New Pedagogical Contexts RFP)
Proposal abstract :
This project proposes a new model for creating cooperative pedagogical spaces for ministry formation. Wake Forest University School of Divinity will convene a year-long seminar in 2012-13 for ministry leaders and theological educators to develop cooperative pedagogies of ministerial formation, which will be implemented in newly designed courses to be offered in the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 academic years. These courses will shift the conventional center of theological education pedagogies from the classroom to the ministry site, positioning faculty and clergy as partners in ministerial formation.
Learning Abstract :
Attentive to the changing landscapes of ministry, "Partners in Ministerial Formation: Shifting the Pedagogical Center" created five courses that explored emerging wisdom about the practice of ministry. Courses in public and nonprofit leadership, monastic spirituality, congregational narrative and identity, and African American culinary culture pushed the classroom out into the world, partnering with ministry practitioners and local ministry settings to explore course themes in conversation with lived religious experience. Some courses developed projects in local ministry settings that made a lasting impact in those communities. All of the courses excavated emerging wisdom about the life and work of ministry, making the seminary a public setting in which ministry leaders found space to reflect on their practice of ministry, and seminary students joined them in that journey.
This project proposes a new model for creating cooperative pedagogical spaces for ministry formation. Wake Forest University School of Divinity will convene a year-long seminar in 2012-13 for ministry leaders and theological educators to develop cooperative pedagogies of ministerial formation, which will be implemented in newly designed courses to be offered in the 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 academic years. These courses will shift the conventional center of theological education pedagogies from the classroom to the ministry site, positioning faculty and clergy as partners in ministerial formation.
Learning Abstract :
Attentive to the changing landscapes of ministry, "Partners in Ministerial Formation: Shifting the Pedagogical Center" created five courses that explored emerging wisdom about the practice of ministry. Courses in public and nonprofit leadership, monastic spirituality, congregational narrative and identity, and African American culinary culture pushed the classroom out into the world, partnering with ministry practitioners and local ministry settings to explore course themes in conversation with lived religious experience. Some courses developed projects in local ministry settings that made a lasting impact in those communities. All of the courses excavated emerging wisdom about the life and work of ministry, making the seminary a public setting in which ministry leaders found space to reflect on their practice of ministry, and seminary students joined them in that journey.
Bridging the 'Classical'/'Practical' Divide: Pitfalls and Possibilities of Seminary Partnered Teaching in Bible and Pastoral Theology
Proposal abstract :
The unfortunate divide that still exists between the so-called ‘practical’ and ‘classical’ disciplines often leaves seminary students unable to integrate their curricular work and engage in effective ministry. Fragmented learning can all too easily lead to fragmented ministry. This project aims to encourage and develop a collegial model of sustained conversation between Bible and pastoral theology within a representative sampling of theological schools in the United States for colleagues who have previously engaged in or who are open to the exploration of partnered (i.e. team) teaching. In a retreat workshop, five faculty teams will share syllabi and one integrative teaching and learning exercise for partnered courses (already taught or envisioned). Each presentation will be followed by questions and critique. The retreat setting is meant to foster a think tank community of inquiry for partnered teaching. Participants will compile a ‘best practices’ list, create a support network for conversation, generate an evaluative tool, and compile resources for partnered teaching and learning.
Learning Abstract :
Because the unfortunate divide still exists between the so-called ‘practical' and ‘classical' disciplines, seminary students struggle to integrate their curricular work with their ministerial practice. Our project encouraged and developed a collegial model of sustained conversation between Bible and pastoral theology to address this divide. We invited colleagues from a representative sampling of theological schools in the United States who had previously engaged in or who were open to the exploration of partnered teaching. In a retreat workshop, five faculty teams shared syllabi and integrative teaching and learning strategies for partnered courses. Each team presentation was followed by collaborative critique. The retreat setting fostered a think tank community of inquiry for partnered teaching. Participants compiled a ‘best practices' list, created a support network for conversation, and gathered resources for partnered teaching and learning. Participants received invitations to present papers on partnered teaching at the 2013 Annual Meeting of SBL.
The unfortunate divide that still exists between the so-called ‘practical’ and ‘classical’ disciplines often leaves seminary students unable to integrate their curricular work and engage in effective ministry. Fragmented learning can all too easily lead to fragmented ministry. This project aims to encourage and develop a collegial model of sustained conversation between Bible and pastoral theology within a representative sampling of theological schools in the United States for colleagues who have previously engaged in or who are open to the exploration of partnered (i.e. team) teaching. In a retreat workshop, five faculty teams will share syllabi and one integrative teaching and learning exercise for partnered courses (already taught or envisioned). Each presentation will be followed by questions and critique. The retreat setting is meant to foster a think tank community of inquiry for partnered teaching. Participants will compile a ‘best practices’ list, create a support network for conversation, generate an evaluative tool, and compile resources for partnered teaching and learning.
Learning Abstract :
Because the unfortunate divide still exists between the so-called ‘practical' and ‘classical' disciplines, seminary students struggle to integrate their curricular work with their ministerial practice. Our project encouraged and developed a collegial model of sustained conversation between Bible and pastoral theology to address this divide. We invited colleagues from a representative sampling of theological schools in the United States who had previously engaged in or who were open to the exploration of partnered teaching. In a retreat workshop, five faculty teams shared syllabi and integrative teaching and learning strategies for partnered courses. Each team presentation was followed by collaborative critique. The retreat setting fostered a think tank community of inquiry for partnered teaching. Participants compiled a ‘best practices' list, created a support network for conversation, and gathered resources for partnered teaching and learning. Participants received invitations to present papers on partnered teaching at the 2013 Annual Meeting of SBL.
Ministry Formation in Jewishly-Grounded, Seminary-Based Clinical Pastoral Education
Proposal abstract :
The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) now requires all rabbinical students to complete units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). Our Center for Pastoral Education is unique in that it operates in a multi-faith context (open to seminarians and clergy of all faiths) and, whereas most CPE programs are situated in hospitals, we place students in social service agencies, hospices, and other innovative settings. The process of ministry formation has neither been sufficiently studied in the non-classroom context of a CPE program nor in a Jewish context. We will make an important contribution by investigating ministry formation for Jewish students in CPE field units, during which they are challenged to engage with different theological approaches as well as practice in diverse settings in partnership with agency professionals. The study will entail textual research, interviews and a current/former participant survey, and result in a paper for publication and dissemination.
Learning Abstract :
As a result of this grant, we gained valuable insight about the impact of clinical pastoral education (CPE) on ministry formation, and ideas about how these insights can be adapted to advance ministry formation for Jewish students more broadly. The results of this study will help enhance Jewish CPE programs and other elements of clergy training at JTS and begin to fill a void in the field of ministry formation, where research specific to a Jewish context is lacking.
The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) now requires all rabbinical students to complete units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE). Our Center for Pastoral Education is unique in that it operates in a multi-faith context (open to seminarians and clergy of all faiths) and, whereas most CPE programs are situated in hospitals, we place students in social service agencies, hospices, and other innovative settings. The process of ministry formation has neither been sufficiently studied in the non-classroom context of a CPE program nor in a Jewish context. We will make an important contribution by investigating ministry formation for Jewish students in CPE field units, during which they are challenged to engage with different theological approaches as well as practice in diverse settings in partnership with agency professionals. The study will entail textual research, interviews and a current/former participant survey, and result in a paper for publication and dissemination.
Learning Abstract :
As a result of this grant, we gained valuable insight about the impact of clinical pastoral education (CPE) on ministry formation, and ideas about how these insights can be adapted to advance ministry formation for Jewish students more broadly. The results of this study will help enhance Jewish CPE programs and other elements of clergy training at JTS and begin to fill a void in the field of ministry formation, where research specific to a Jewish context is lacking.