When in doubt, go back to school.
In January, 2018, I began the Certificate in Online Learning and Teaching (COLT) program at the University of Albany. I had recently relocated to Albany, New York from Columbia, Maryland and I was struggling to find a new job. I have been an ordained minister since 1993 and served an amazing congregation in Columbia for 12 years prior to moving. It was hard to leave that congregation, and I wasn't sure I was ready to dive back into another ministry position. So as part of my discernment about what would be next for me, I figured I would go back to school. But what, exactly, should I study? There was--and there continues to be--so much that I need to learn.
Over 25 years ago, I spent three years studying for the professional degree that allowed me to become an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. I earned by degree from Harvard Divinity School which is a different sort of place than a denominational seminary that may have had a stronger focus on the practical skills of ministry. My education at Harvard was highly academic--I learned Biblical Hebrew and church history and quite a bit of academic theology. This course of study suited me well, but when I began serving as the sole pastor of a struggling urban church directly after graduating, I realized how little I knew about the actual practice of ministry. I spent the next decade (at least!) just learning how not to embarrass myself.
About 12 years after being ordained, I began serving the amazing congregation in Columbia, Maryland, awkwardly named the Kittamaqundi Community ("KC"). This congregation grew out of a series of house churches in Washington, DC called Church of the Savior that valued spiritual education like no other community I've ever encountered. In the early days of KC, prospective members were required to take 6 classes, each meeting weekly for 8-10 weeks, before they could join the church. Each participant wrote a short "paper" (similar to a learning journal) for each class which they would read out loud to the other participants. And while classes were no longer required by the time I arrived, there was still an expectation that I would offer 2 or 3 classes per year. And these classes did not use pre-purchased curriculum--I was to design and lead the classes with the input of the church members and friends.
I got to work--and produced a number of classes that people enrolled in and enjoyed. At first, most of my classes were book studies, but over time I became more ambitious and created some classes around themes like "Evil" and "Call". Creating these classes was a huge challenge since I had never taken a single education course in my life and I knew nothing about instructional design for adult learners. But I learned a lot through trial and error. A lot of error.
What kept me going was the impact that these classes had on the church community. The format of these classes continually challenged participants to consider new ideas or images or experiences and then to share their response with others in the class. They were also required to hear the responses of others, and to consider them respectfully. As a result, the classes established an ethic of exploration and growth in the church. And they reinforced the idea that we can learn from each other. For the first time, I experienced the church as a learning community.
So when I had the opportunity to go back to school and learn something new, I enrolled in a program in the School of Education. In my first course, I encountered the model of education that would become a dominant theme in my studies: a classroom (in-person or virtual) needs to become a "learning community". Synthesis!
In January, 2018, I began the Certificate in Online Learning and Teaching (COLT) program at the University of Albany. I had recently relocated to Albany, New York from Columbia, Maryland and I was struggling to find a new job. I have been an ordained minister since 1993 and served an amazing congregation in Columbia for 12 years prior to moving. It was hard to leave that congregation, and I wasn't sure I was ready to dive back into another ministry position. So as part of my discernment about what would be next for me, I figured I would go back to school. But what, exactly, should I study? There was--and there continues to be--so much that I need to learn.
Over 25 years ago, I spent three years studying for the professional degree that allowed me to become an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. I earned by degree from Harvard Divinity School which is a different sort of place than a denominational seminary that may have had a stronger focus on the practical skills of ministry. My education at Harvard was highly academic--I learned Biblical Hebrew and church history and quite a bit of academic theology. This course of study suited me well, but when I began serving as the sole pastor of a struggling urban church directly after graduating, I realized how little I knew about the actual practice of ministry. I spent the next decade (at least!) just learning how not to embarrass myself.
About 12 years after being ordained, I began serving the amazing congregation in Columbia, Maryland, awkwardly named the Kittamaqundi Community ("KC"). This congregation grew out of a series of house churches in Washington, DC called Church of the Savior that valued spiritual education like no other community I've ever encountered. In the early days of KC, prospective members were required to take 6 classes, each meeting weekly for 8-10 weeks, before they could join the church. Each participant wrote a short "paper" (similar to a learning journal) for each class which they would read out loud to the other participants. And while classes were no longer required by the time I arrived, there was still an expectation that I would offer 2 or 3 classes per year. And these classes did not use pre-purchased curriculum--I was to design and lead the classes with the input of the church members and friends.
I got to work--and produced a number of classes that people enrolled in and enjoyed. At first, most of my classes were book studies, but over time I became more ambitious and created some classes around themes like "Evil" and "Call". Creating these classes was a huge challenge since I had never taken a single education course in my life and I knew nothing about instructional design for adult learners. But I learned a lot through trial and error. A lot of error.
What kept me going was the impact that these classes had on the church community. The format of these classes continually challenged participants to consider new ideas or images or experiences and then to share their response with others in the class. They were also required to hear the responses of others, and to consider them respectfully. As a result, the classes established an ethic of exploration and growth in the church. And they reinforced the idea that we can learn from each other. For the first time, I experienced the church as a learning community.
So when I had the opportunity to go back to school and learn something new, I enrolled in a program in the School of Education. In my first course, I encountered the model of education that would become a dominant theme in my studies: a classroom (in-person or virtual) needs to become a "learning community". Synthesis!
I love how you integrated the work of your ministry with the concepts in education.
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