Course Descriptions
In addition to courses listed in the catalog of our partners at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, these courses are offered at Bexley Hall:
Anglican Divines
Anglican Divines looks at the broad development of Anglican theology from the Reformation to the present. We study formational Anglican theologians like Richard Hooker, Joseph Butler, William Porcher du Bose, Charles Gore, William Temple, Sarah Coakley, Kwok Pui Lan, Rowan Williams, and others – taking seriously the globalized, post-colonial, and multicultural realities of Anglican Communion. The course also examines significant themes in Anglican theology, such as: ecclesiology, missiology, and the ecumenical engagement of the Episcopal Church. Instructor: Dean Ferguson or Professor Fout
Anglican Formation The Letter to the Ephesians reminds us that to be a disciple means to grow continually toward “the measure of the full stature of Christ” (4:11-13); this is especially the case for those who are preparing for ordained ministry. In a certain sense, everything we do at Bexley Hall is “Anglican formation” – study, worship, prayer, fellowship, as well as play – but the process of formation is engaged in a particularly intentional way in this weekly gathering which includes celebration of the Holy Eucharist. Although it is taken for course credit, the focus is on engaging spiritual practices as a group, praying with and for one another, and discussing a common text together. Over the years we have engaged in a variety of forms of prayer, including lectio divina, the examen of consciousness, meditating with icons, and centering prayer. In everything we do we commit ourselves to serious spiritual disciplines of open listening, mutual support, and confidentiality. Students and faculty participate in Anglican Formation together, as we acknowledge our common need for spiritual discipline and common life. Instructor: Professor Feyerherm
Anglican Moral Theology
How are we to live, what sort of person should we be, and how does our Anglican Christian faith inform and shape our responses to these questions? These are the questions which lie at the heart of this course. We look at some historical answers that Anglicans have given, as well as spend some time looking at way that “ethics” in general has been done (and ways that that might be problematic). The focus of the second half of the class is on a contemporary Anglican response to these questions found in the work of Samuel Wells, and practical elaborations of this approach. Instructor: Professor Fout
Celtic Christian Life & Thought, 300-1500 CE This course attempts to dig below the assumptions of popular literature and gain an honest, historically grounded appreciation of medieval Celtic Christian leaders, communities, worship, theology, and spiritual practices. Beginning with the “Golden Age” of Celtic Christianity – the time of Patrick, Brigid, Brendan, and others – and moving through the middle ages, we seek both to understand the gifts that Celtic Christians have to offer the contemporary church as well as to filter out the misperceptions and generalizations that have become prevalent. The course focuses on early hagiography, monastic communities, distinctive Celtic styles of religious art, music, liturgy, theology, and contemporary expressions of Celtic tradition such as is found in the Iona community. Instructor: Professor Feyerherm
Contemporary Anglican Theology/Topics in Anglican Theology
Contemporary Anglican theology is some of the richest, most creative theology being done today, and this course provides opportunities to engage with the distinctive ways that today’s Anglicans approach knowledge of God. Figures to be covered change from time to time (and are often decided in conversation with the enrolled students), but typically include Donald MacKinnon, Sarah Coakley, Rowan Williams, the figures of the movement known as Radical Orthodoxy, and postcolonial Anglican theology. In addition, the course Topics in Anglican Theology is offered from time to time and focuses on a particular theme in Anglican thought and practice, such as Anglican apologists, or the Anglican poetic tradition. Instructor: Professor Fout
Daily Liturgical Prayer The Book of Common Prayer 1979 established the Holy Eucharist as the principal mode of worship on Sunday morning in the Episcopal Church. But the Daily Office – Morning Prayer, Noonday Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Compline – has remained at the heart of Anglican daily prayer, in monastic communities, in parishes, and in homes, rooting worshipers in praise, psalmody, scripture, and intercession. Other Christians outside of the Anglican and Roman communions, and especially those in the Emerging Church movement, have been drawn to the way in which the daily office provides a healthy pattern of individual and common worship. In this course we consider the origins of daily liturgical prayer in the early Christian period, its development through the centuries, and its flowering in various contemporary forms, including those of the Episcopal/Anglican and Lutheran traditions as well as independent communities such as Taizé and Iona. Students also are asked to commit themselves to praying some form of the daily office during the semester and to reflect on its effect on their lives. Instructor: Professor Feyerherm
History and Polity of the Episcopal Church
This course looks at the development of the Episcopal Church, from the colonial period to the present.Throughout the course, the emphasis is on how the Episcopal Church adapted historical aspects of Anglicanism to its unique setting in the American context. We also look at how the Episcopal Church has interacted with other Christian communions, formulated a mission strategy, and struggled with inclusion of African Americans, women, Native Americans, and gay and lesbian persons. We also spend time on what every leader in the church needs to know from the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church. Instructor: Dean Ferguson
History of English Christianity The churches of the Anglican Communion in the 21stcentury have become truly international in their liturgy, doctrine, and governance; yet they have a single root in common, which is found in the history of Christianity in England and the British Isles. From the beginning, the churches in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland reflected qualities all their own that both connected them to the Church Universal and set them apart. This course surveys the history of Christianity in the British Isles from the Celtic period through the present day, and seeks to sort out what are the particular charisms of the British Church that continue to nourish and inspire us today. Students will not only be introduced to historical overviews but will also be invited to explore their own interests in particular movements and major figures related to English Christianity. Instructor: Professor Feyerherm
Liturgics I
This course is typically taken by students in their first term in residence at Bexley Hall. The course aims to help them develop a deep familiarity with the liturgy, a practical know-how in planning services, and a pastoral wisdom in leading communities in their worship of God. We focus on becoming comfortable and conversant with the prayer book, hymnal, and other services of the Episcopal Church; gaining skills in observation and assessment of liturgies; developing familiarity with leading worship, including singing; and becoming at ease with our own presence in leading the service. The entire class is intended to help you make a good start in formation of priestly identity or for other roles of leadership in the church. Instructor: Professor Fout
Liturgics II: History of Liturgical Worship Christian liturgical worship did not spring up fully formed: it has evolved significantly over the past centuries and is always deeply embedded in its cultural context. All of the dimensions of liturgical worship – foundational texts, architecture, art, music, vestments, vessels, and choreography – offer a collective window into the living tradition of the Church over time; Liturgics II is about delving into this rich history, especially that which surrounds the celebration of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. This course builds on the introduction to the Prayer Book and Hymnal offered in Liturgics I by taking in wider historical horizons and exploring liturgical theology more deeply. Instructor: Professor Feyerherm Liturgics III: Liturgical Theology, Eucharistic Celebration, and Leading the Pastoral Rites of the Episcopal Church In some seminary curricula this is known as “mass class,” but Liturgics III is much more than that. An important component is learning how to serve at the Eucharist in the liturgical roles of deacon and presider, but there are deeper questions at the heart of this class: Who am I as a leader of Christian liturgy? How does my liturgical presence reflect and embody my vocation as a priest? How do Christian liturgy and my particular role in it function theologically and pastorally? And how do I deal with the potential liturgical nightmare that is the average church wedding? This course seeks to integrate liturgical theology and hands-on practice such that students are prepared to serve as reverent and faithful presiders in the context of the worship of the Episcopal Church. As well as covering basic Eucharistic practices and gestures, the course also addresses the liturgical aspects of baptisms, weddings, funerals, the Rite of Reconciliation, and, given the relationship of full communion between our two churches, worship in the Lutheran tradition. Instructor: Professor Feyerherm
Seeking God
No doubt God is already seeking us and has already found us, but as created beings we all need some practice in responding to God’s search for us. This course is a basic introduction to some of the classic Christian spiritual practices, ways in which throughout history Christians have sought to engage and focus their desire for God through prayer, worship, physical disciplines, and communal patterns of life. The course is both theoretical and practical – we study the way various practices and patterns have been embodied in Christian history, we explore classic spiritual texts, and we actually engage these practices ourselves, both as a group and individually. Some of these practices feel comfortable and familiar; others seem alien and even threatening to our understanding of who God is and how we might seek God. But this is part of the process – along the way we are stretched and challenged, but also upheld and strengthened. We learn our need of God, and our need of each other, in the midst of the search. Some of the spiritual practices that are explored in the course of the term include: Daily liturgical prayer (the Daily Office); Lectio divina (Praying with scripture); Praying with icons or other images; Centering, or contemplative prayer; Examen of consciousness (a Jesuit form of prayer); Music and dance; Communal life and discipline, including monastic life; Rule of life; Ascetic discipline (e.g., fasting); Praying with poetry; Prayer and study. Instructor: Professor Feyerherm