RESILIENT HOPE, FAITHFUL PRACTICE
2024 Summer/Fall Course Catalog
Resilience and vibrancy in ministry require that people be lifelong learners. Lifelong learning isn’t just a way to fill a knowledge gap – it’s a way of life marked by curiosity, agency, and reflective practice.”
–Dr. Helen Blier Director of Lifelong Learning Columbia Theological Seminary
The Center for Lifelong Learning (CLL) at Columbia Theological Seminary offers exciting online and in-person opportunities, on and off campus, for participants to engage in classes, seminars, workshops, and other learning experiences. CLL courses and programs help with daily ministry challenges and related professional settings.
The 2024 summer course catalog offers intentional ways to address the taxing, mental, and spiritual demands ministry can have on its leaders in hopes of equipping them for maximum longevity.
Center for Lifelong Learning
www.ctsnet.edu/academics/lifelong-learning/
Keep up with the CLL’s latest news, courses, and programs by subscribing to the monthly newsletter, Journeying Together. Cover Art: They Sing at Night by Israel Galindo
Participant Denominational Profile
1 from Singapore 1 from Canada
Data Source: 2023-2024 CLL Dashboard Report
CLL Online Courses
Since 2014, the CLL has offered over 100 online courses. Program topics have included age and stage Christian education and teaching practice and theory, intercultural competency, grief, death and dying, stewardship, congregational ministry, church staff relations, conflict resolution, coaching, prayer, spiritual formation, spiritual direction, journaling, storytelling, LGBTQIA+ issues, older adult ministry, preaching, biblical studies, arts, science, and faith.
“
[My most surprising insight from the Wounded Ministers Retreat was] how similar all of the stories were—I really thought it was just me.”
—Ministering to Ministers, Wounded Ministers
Retreat Participant
PASTORAL EXCELLENCE PROGRAMS
Build on best practices for your professional and personal development as a ministry leader.
The Pastoral Excellence Programs of the Center for Lifelong Learning include two professional development programs for clergy: The Wounded Ministers Retreats and Leadership in Ministry (LIM) Workshops.
Housing and meal pricing vary depending on location. Financial aid is available for all locations.
Free, monthly webinars are also available for those interested in systems theory but don’t want to register for an entire cohort. LIM faculty teach the webinars, which are open to all (see the webinar schedule in this section). Partial scholarships are available for all in-person and online LIM workshops
August 26 - 28 2024 What’s
Next For Me?
Discerning Your Next or Second Career Ministry Calling.
Find your life-giving ministry career in this guided and practical process for discerning your ministry vocation. Whether you want to discover your vocational passion, change your ministry context, enter a new field, or seek a post-retirement second career, this practical program will provide both method and process to discover your next calling.
Location: The Center for
Lifelong Learning, Decatur, GA.
With: Michael Tate Program Fee: $300 (scholarships available)
Wounded Ministers Retreats
Program Fee: $100 for individuals, $150 for couples
Virginia October 14-17, 2024
With: Beverley Buston, Skip Irby, Skip Johnson, Robert Dibble, Clarice Dibble, Julie Josund, and Michael Cook.
Location: Eagle Eyrie Conference Center, Lynchburg, VA North Carolina
April 28-May 1, 2025
With: Beverley Buston, Skip Irby, Skip Johnson, Robert Dibble, Clarice Dibble, Bill Harkins, and Julie Josund.
Location: William Black Lodge, Montreat, NC
Leadership in Ministry Webinar Schedule
• September 13, 2024
• October 18, 2024
Leadership in Ministry Workshops
September 2- November 30, 2024
Leadership In Ministry ONLINE
September 16-18, 2024
Leadership In Ministry Richmond
With: Israel Galindo, Elaine Boomer, Andrew Archie, Carla Toenniessen, Lance King, and Bill Pyle.
Location: The Roslyn Center, Richmond, VA.
Program Fee: $525 (single session for fall)
September 30- October 2, 2024
Leadership In Ministry Boston
With: Israel Galindo, Margaret Marcuson, Elaine Boomer, Rebecca Maccini, and Meg Hess.
Location: Rolling Ridge Conference and Retreat Center
Program Fee: $525 (single session for fall)
• November 8, 2024
• January 10, 2025
November 11-13, 2024
Leadership In Ministry Atlanta
With: Israel Galindo, Michael Cook, James Lamkin, Skip Johnson, Dan Koger, and Vanessa Ellison.
Location: The Center for Lifelong Learning, Decatur, GA.
• February 14, 2025
• March 14, 2025
Program Fee: $525 (single session for fall)
SAVE THE DATES:
Spring workshops open in the fall.
March 3- May 30 and September 1- November 28, 2025
Leadership In Ministry ONLINE
Program Fee: $875
March 3-5, and November 10-12, 2025
Leadership In Ministry Atlanta
Program Fee: $875
• April 18, 2025
March 17-19 and September 15-17, 2025
Leadership in Ministry Richmond
Location: The Roslyn Center, Richmond, VA.
Program Fee: $875
May 5-7 and September 29- October 1, 2025
Leadership In Ministry Boston
Program Fee: $875
For full Pastoral Excellence Program details and fees and to register, visit www.ctsnet.edu/academics/ lifelong-learning/pastoral-excellenceprograms-courses/.
Did you know bivocational and covocational ministry is the new norm in congregations?
It’s often an unnoticed and underreported trend. Still, it will soon send shockwaves through religious systems (theological schools, denominations, and their networks) once it reaches the tipping point of its impact on enrollments in seminaries, the economics of denominations, the nature of pastoral vocations, models of congregational ministry, and other critical factors in the American religious landscape.
Dr. Israel Galindo Dean of the Center for Lifelong Learning at Columbia Theological Seminary
The program has provided a beautiful community in which to live more deeply into a contemplative life while learning the art of spiritual direction. A real gift!”
—CSD Listening Heart Participant
CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY PROGRAMS
The Center for Lifelong Learning’s contemplative spirituality programs are grounded in Christian spirituality, Scripture, theology, and a rich history of tradition. Contemplative spirituality means fully engaging with the world and making choices rooted in our relationship with God. Join one of the Contemplative Spirituality Programs offered below.
Certificate in Contemplative Spiritual Formation
Choose from three concentrations: General: Enrich your spiritual insights and growth through diverse courses of your choosing.
Spirituality in the Second Half of Life:
Whether you are entering this phase or supporting others on this journey, discover a profound spiritual outlook and tools to navigate life’s second half.
Contemplative Living: Are you drawn to the contemplative dimension of Christian teachings and practices? Experience everyday life as prayer by integrating spiritual practices into daily activities.
Certificate in Contemplative Spiritual Direction
Sensing a call to accompany others on their spiritual path through compassionate listening? The Contemplative Spiritual Direction program focuses on spiritual formation and experiential learning, complemented by individual and group supervision.
September 7 – December 7, 2024
Contemplative Living I: Contemplative Practices in Daily Life ONLINE
Experience your life as prayer through contemplative living as you learn to cultivate, integrate, and embody contemplative spiritual practices into daily life within a community of seekers. If you’re wondering how to stay more attuned with yourself, others, and God’s presence, this course is for you.
With: Julie Saad Program Fee: $700 (early bird discount of $100 until July 31).
August 7-28, 2024
Spiritual Dimension with the Enneagram ONLINE
Delve into how your type’s habits and patterns keep you asleep in life, blocking the vibrancy of your soul.
With: Sandra C. Smith Program Fee: $210
September 23 – November 1, 2024
Spiritual Formation and Older Adults ONLINE
It’s not uncommon to question our identity, legacy, family, and community roles, and imminent death as we age. In this course, you’ll explore how congregations and other faith communities can engage in conversations and practices to nurture spiritual formation into older adulthood. If you’re pondering deep and thoughtful questions about aging, this course is for you.
With: Mary Anona Stoops
Program Fee: $265
October 10-October 13, 2024
The Spiritual Wisdom of Trees: Lessons from our Elders Trees possess ancient spiritual and ecological wisdom on how to live deeply with human and non-human
April 21-25, 2025
Contemplative Retreat: Five-Day Dual Track Centering Prayer Intensive / Post Intensive Retreat
kin, Earth, and Divine Mystery. If you want to explore spiritual deepening through connections with the living world, this course is for you.
With: Beth Norcross and Leah Rampy
Location: Montreat Conference Center, Montreat, North Carolina
Program Fee: $450 (housing meals not included). Scholarships available.
October 28-November 1, 2024
Contemplative Retreat: Three- and Five-Day Centering Prayer Retreat
Centering prayer is a form of Christian silent meditation rooted in the life and teachings of Jesus. If you want to learn Centering Prayer to deepen your contemplative journey in the contemporary world, this course is for you.
With: Leslee Terpay
Location: Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, GA
Program Fees: Three-day track, $380, Five-day track, $700 (housing and meals included).
January 25 – April 26, 2025
Contemplative Living II: Daily Life as Prayer ONLINE
Intended for those who have taken Contemplative Living I.
Using the foundational lessons from Contemplative Living I, this course helps you re-evaluate your life while continuing to embrace the practice of living each day as a form of prayer. If you’re ready to deepen the practice of daily contemplation, this course is for you.
With: Julie Saad
Program Fee: $700 (early bird discount of $100 until September 27).
February 4 –25, 2025
God beyond God: Meister Eckhart’s Radical Vision of Freeing Faith ONLINE
In one of his sermons, Thomas Eckhart (ca. 1260 – 1328) claimed that we must “take leave of God for the sake of God.”
To find God or to formulate an idea of God, we must abandon normative thinking and see “God beyond God.” If silence intrigues yet puzzles you, this course may be for you.
With: Mark Burrows
Program Fee: $210
For complete program details fees and to register, for spirituality courses and programs, visit www.ctsnet.edu/academics/lifelonglearning/spirituality-programs/.
@SpiritualityatCTSeminary
CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY PROGRAMS
(cont.)
Applications for the Certificate in Spiritual Direction Program are now open! The application deadline is May 1, 2025. Apply here: events.ctsnet.edu/profile/form/index. cfm?PKformID=0x30173abcd. For questions, please email junns@ctsnet.edu.
NEW | Certificate in Contemplative Prayer Retreat Facilitation
Become a facilitator of life-giving prayer retreat experiences by receiving step-by-step mentoring to help others engage in God’s presence. Thomas Keating’s teachings on the Centering Prayer Method, Human Condition, and other contemplative practices form the foundations of this course.
CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAMS
Address the daily challenges in ministry and professional settings with a continuing education course or program. Whether you want to dive into Scripture or engage the older adult community, these practical, post-graduate courses offer unique opportunities to remain a lifelong learner.
September 16 – 20, 2024 Guthrie Scholars
Guthrie Scholars is an independent study scholarship offered annually during the fall term. Participants can pursue theologically grounded research and writing of their choice while in the program.
September 18, 25; October 2, 2024
Pastor, Do You Have a Minute?
Mental Health and Ministry ONLINE
Lay and ordained ministers can join a synchronous 3-webinar lunchtime series focusing on the intersection of mental health and pastoral responsibilities. If you’re a clergy or a lay minister interested in enhancing your ability to respond to mental health issues in your community, this series is for you.
With: Chanequa Walker-Barnes, Brady Radford, and Lindsay Geist. Hosted by Dr. Helen Blier, Director of Lifelong Learning at Columbia Theological Seminary Program Fee: Pay what you are able, suggested $50
Leading During Elections: Faithful Practices for Our Fractured Politics
Gain access to online curricula and resources for adult education in faith communities during the election cycle, along with an in-person and live-streamed keynote event in early October.
Curricula will be available
August 15 – November 5, 2024
Program Fee: Pay what you are able, suggested $50 for access to the curriculum October 10 and November 14, 2024, and January 9, February 13, and March 13, 2025
Women’s Work ONLINE
Five synchronous evening “microretreats” with leading women, engaging you in practices to clarify and sustain your vocation. If you’re interested in
“centering down” and attending to your spiritual and vocational well-being, this course is for you.
With: Chanequa Walker-Barnes, Carrie Newcomer, Christine Yoder, Eileen Campbell-Reed and Mai-Anh Le Tran Program Fee: Pay what you are able; recommended $100 for the series
January 20 – February 27, 2025
Teaching for Transformation Older Adult Ministry ONLINE
Come and explore various ways to teach, learn, and examine teaching methods needed to adapt and enhance faith formation for older adults. If you’re currently in the Older Adult Ministry certificate program or are interested in strengthening your outreach to older adults, this course is for you.
With: Joyce MacKichan Walker Program Fee: $265
March 2 – April 11, 2025
Zen for Christians ONLINE
Discover introductory teachings and meditative practices of Zen Buddhism, addressing particular interests and concerns of Christians. You’ll learn basic Buddhist teachings and reflect on the similarities and differences between Zen meditation and Christian contemplative prayer.
With: Kim Boykin
Cost: $220 (early bird discount of $200 before January 6).
For full program details, fees and to register for continuing education courses and programs, visit www.ctsnet.edu/academics/lifelonglearning/.
“
Being a lifelong learner can make the difference between a vibrant, resilient ministry vocation and one that might count itself among the growing numbers of disenchanted clergy. Lifelong learners share these three qualities: curiosity, proactive learning and self-awareness”
—Dr. Helen Blier
Director of Lifelong Learning at Columbia Theological Seminary
701 S. Columbia Drive
Decatur, GA 30030
Summer 2024
PASTORAL EXCELLENCE PROGRAMS
CONTEMPLATIVE SPIRITUALITY PROGRAMS
CONTINUING EDUCATION PROGRAMS
ctsnet.edu/academics/lifelong-learning
