St. Stephen's currently sponsors an EfM group which will be completing an academic year of study in December 2021.
If you are interested in participating in our new 2022 EfM group (which will choose a meeting day and time that fits the needs of the new group) please text:
- Gaylene Reiten: 360-720-6280 for details.
Our current group meets via Zoom and invites interested persons to visit our group. At our current regular meeting time on Tuesday, October 19, 2021, 12:30-3pm we will be discussing an essay about one EfM goal, that of:
- "Integrating Belief, Behavior, and Doctrine".
If you would like to read the essay and join the discussion you will be provided with a copy of the essay by texting Gaylene: 360-720-6280.
Education for Ministry, efm.sewanee.edu is a program in the Beecken Center of the School of Theology at the University of the South. CEU's are offered for registering and completing each of the four years of curriculum. Here is an overview of EfM copied and pasted from the website:
EfM enhances the experience of Christians Living in Community in the following ways:
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EfM begins the academic year by sharing a focused portion of our spiritual autobiography. As we each share our own stories and listen attentively to another’s stories, we come to know each other and the relationship deepens.
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EfM also provides an education in the content of the Christian tradition through reading the Bible alongside some basic biblical commentary, church history, and practical introductions to Christian theology and ethics, as well as through encouraging an appreciation for ways in which Christians respond to encounters with those of other faiths.
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EfM expects that weekly worship in the meeting, usually with members taking, in turn responsibility for leadership, is a component of the seminar group’s work together.
- EfM participants learn and practice theological reflection nearly every week.
- Under girding the whole EfM curriculum is the practice of listening for and responding to God's call to ministry in daily life.
