Ecumenical Sunday School Symposium October 4

September 29, 2014

Dear Friends,

If you are involved in the religious education/faith formation of children in your parish community, you should plan to be with us this next Saturday for a great day of shared resources to assist you in this vital ministry.  You are not alone in this work.  Come and be together: be refreshed and share the light of your own experience.  

Here are the details:

On October 4, 2014 | 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Symposium
Ecumenical Sunday School Symposium
Mercer School of Theology
Open to Christian Educators

Presented by the Diocese of Long Island in cooperation with the Parish Resource Center

A day for all Christian Educators to gather for workshops, training, networking, and retooling for the upcoming year.  Topics will address the interests and concerns of today's Sunday School teachers, Christian Education Directors, and Youth Ministry volunteers.

Workshop topics include:
building programs that include people with developmental disabilities
spiritual renewal for Sunday School teachers
introduction to Godly Play
using web resources in Christian Education
teacher training 101 – where to begin
Reset 2014 – faith formation with today's youth

Fee: $25 per person includes continental breakfast and lunch.
Register online at www.CPR4Church.org, or contact either:
·      The Parish Resource Center by email at Consultantliw@prctr.org or by phone 516.285.0919, or
·      Myra Garnes Shuler at the Diocese of Long Island by email atmgarnesshuler@dioceseli.org or by phone 516.248.4800

You can access an up-to-date listing of Mercer fall theological/spirituality events today at:
tinyurl.com/MercerFall14

Blessings,
John McGinty+

Dean
Canon for Formation 
The Very Rev. Canon John P. McGinty
Dean
Canon for Formation

Fall Days Coming | Greek Course Postponed

September 17, 2014

Dear Friends,

As the daylight lessens day by day now, and autumn is soon to officially begin, more and more people are here at Mercer School each day - as courses begin,  as yearlong programs for clergy in transition commence, as we ready for the opening of our School for Ministry preparing men and women for ordained ministry in the church for the world.  Fall is a time of fresh air, new beginnings, and excitement.  We are already at work on our Spring 2015 catalogue as well.  The days and the seasons fly by - and through them all we are under the watchful care of the One who calls us to being and calls us to love.

I want to let you know today that our course on Ancient and New Testament Greek, scheduled to open on September 30th, will not be taught this year.  This is due to a number of other responsibilities in the life of instructor Thomas Gimbel.  It is our sincere hope that another course featuring his talents will grace Mercer classrooms before long.

The following fall offerings are coming up:

Beginning September 25, 2014 | 7:00 – 8:30 pm
Course
Befriending Grief
Mercer School of Theology
Open to the public

Befriending Grief is an eight-week exploration through grief. We will explore grief at its core, how we deal with it, why we avoid it, and how it affects our health, our relationships, and our life decisions. We will look at loss in our own lives our society, and our church.  We will explore the place of religion and spirituality in the grieving process. 
Instructor: Joseph Diele
Joseph Diele has been a certified hospital chaplain since 1982. He has ministered in hospitals, nursing homes, and hospices. He has trained and supervised chaplains in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan. At present he is the Bereavement Coordinator for Caring Hospice of New York.
The course will meet Thursday evenings beginning Thursday, September 25 and continue for eight (8) sessions.  Fee: $30.00.  Register online @ http://tinyurl.com/FriendGrief.  Registration closes on September 18.

On October 4, 2014 | 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
Symposium
Ecumenical Sunday School Symposium
Mercer School of Theology
Open to Christian Educators

Presented by the Diocese of Long Island in cooperation with the Parish Resource Center

A day for all Christian Educators to gather for workshops, training, networking, and retooling for the upcoming year.  Topics will address the interests and concerns of today's Sunday School teachers, Christian Education Directors, and Youth Ministry volunteers.

Workshop topics include:
building programs that include people with developmental disabilities
spiritual renewal for Sunday School teachers
introduction to Godly Play
using web resources in Christian Education
teacher training 101 – where to begin
Reset 2014 – faith formation with today's youth

Fee: $25 per person includes continental breakfast and lunch.
Register online at www.CPR4Church.org, or contact either:
·      The Parish Resource Center by email at Consultantliw@prctr.org or by phone 516.285.0919, or
·      Myra Garnes Shuler at the Diocese of Long Island by email at mgarnesshuler@dioceseli.org or by phone 516.248.4800

You can access an up-to-date listing of Mercer fall theological/spirituality events today at:
tinyurl.com/MercerFall14

Blessings,
John McGinty+

Dean
Canon for Formation

Remembering | And Getting Underway

September 11, 2014

Dear Friends,

Today this nation and the world remembers the events of September 11, 2001.  What happened that day has forever etched a world of meaning on the simple phrase "September 11."  It has never since been an ordinary day, and it likely never will.  

Thirteen years on, if anything, after the longest period of war - by far - in the history of the United States, we find ourselves in a world that is experienced as just as dangerous, uncertain, and frightening as it was then.  As of last evening, we are again - or still? - engaged in a military campaign to defeat a group whose methods and means and principles seem not only outside the expectations of 21st century Christians, but also of many 21st century Islamic leaders and teachers around the world.  

As that campaign goes on, and as decisions in its regard are made at the highest levels of government(s) allied in that pursuit, there is another responsibility specific to disciples of Jesus Christ.  It is quite simple.  It is to ask this question out of a sincere and open heart: Is there another way?  Ultimately, in the sense of what at last will bring the prospect of resolution and peace to the planet, is there another approach, another way of effectively confronting opponents and violence?  

Paul the Apostle wrote in the 20th verse of the 12th chapter of his letter to the Romans, according to the King James version: 

"Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head."  

Responding to the enemy's primary and deep human needs (and note Paul does call this other 'enemy') first is a means both to changing the destructive relationship we find ourselves thrust into, and to render a judgement as well on the actions of the other.  There is a 'both/and' inherent in Paul's admonition that insists at least that there must be something at last beyond the bombs and the special forces interventions, even if we accede that these may be necessary.  God help us all as we remember on this day, and look for the path to tomorrow.

______________________

At Mercer School last night, basing ourselves on the assertion that following the way of Christ is a 'going concern,' we gathered for an Academic Convocation to open the 2014-2015 learning year. Bishop Chilton Knudsen, assistant bishop for the Diocese of Long Island, led Evening Prayer and preached a powerful word on our freedom to choose to learn and to be transformed as we do. Quoting Parker Palmer, the bishop noted that to learn something new is to experience a moment of crucifixion.  What we were before has died, and we live on into something new, into resurrection.  

Moving from the Good Shepherd Chapel to the Clarence Jones Library at Mercer, we received a clarion call to theological learning that engages both mind and spirit in the lecture shared by Bishop Allen Shin, Suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of New York, who served on the Mercer School faculty until February of this calendar year.  The transcendent is real, and in our pursuit of learning we look for it along the landscape of our reading, conversation, and reflection.  Bishop Shin's lecture will be shared on our site soon.

The evening concluded with a reception by the Vision Wall in the gallery area, where conversation continued and new and returning faculty and students were introduced to one another.  We pray God's blessing upon our efforts together this coming year.

Sincerely,
John+

The Very Rev. John P. McGinty
Dean
Canon for Formation