Formation for the vocation of ministry is the mission of Bexley Hall.  Our aim is not mold students into some ideal model of ministry, but to help each person discover his or her own gifts and charisms.  At Bexley, formation is accomplished through study, worship, prayer, practice and reflection.

 

Academics are Just the Beginning

Your academic work is the starting point.  In our course of study you will be asked to engage deeply in the areas of Bible, Theology, Church History and Liturgics.  Here you will encounter the breadth of the entire Christian tradition, while coming to an even greater understanding of the unique expression of that tradition that is Anglicanism.  You will take classes not just with fellow Episcopalians, but also with students from our partner institutions Trinity Lutheran Seminary and the Methodist Theological School of Ohio.  In this mix you will find a wonderful opportunity to come to a deeper understanding of Anglicanism as well as the ability to express and claim that identity as your own.

Worship is the glue that binds the community together.  All worship at Bexley Hall is planned by students and offered to the whole community. Early each weekday, prior to classes, we offer Morning Prayer, the exception being Thursdays, when we celebrate the Eucharist. The primary service each day is the 10 a. m. chapel, which alternates between the Lutheran and Anglican traditions, and includes a Wednesday Eucharist. Each night there is Evening Prayer. This too alternates between traditions. In addition there is an Evensong on Thursdays and a Eucharist in the Anglican tradition on Tuesday evenings.

At Bexley Hall, we seek to encourage the application of general knowledge in the particular.  All students, by virtue of being matriculated, are members of the Bexley Society.  The Society gathers each Wednesday after the community Eucharist to discuss and learn practical aspects of ministry, often from practitioners from the local community.  Through service to the community and in our practices of hospitality—such as the Fall Cookout and the Thursday Common Meal—we  learn the importance of fellowship in the life of the Church.  In addition, each student is required to complete at least one year of Field Education in a parish or other ministry setting.  Most students also complete one unit of Clinical Pastoral Education in the summer after their Junior year at an accredited Chaplaincy site, where issues of pastoral identity and practice are explored and developed.

 

Time for Reflection

Bexley Hall’s idea of formation holds that it is critical to take time to reflect upon our actions and to discern the workings of the Spirit in our ministries, both individually and corporately.  All students are enrolled in Anglican Formation, where each week we examine our lives and take the needed time to reflect and discern.  We do this in many ways, including through readings spiritual practices.  In addition, the entire Bexley Hall community takes two retreats each year where we set aside the busyness of our lives for a day or two to focus on the work of the Spirit in our lives.