Education For Ministry
Meeting Times: This group currently meets on Wednesday evenings from fall through spring with the year beginning in September.
Contact: Theresa Ford
What We Do: Education for Ministry, affectionately known as EfM, is a program of theological "education-at-a-distance" from the University of the South`s School of Theology.
Students sign up one year at a time for this four-year program. It covers the basics of a theological education in the Old and New Testaments, church history, liturgy, and theology.
The University of the South (Sewanee) provides a four-year course of study for lay persons of any faith on our common ministry to which all are called at Baptism. This course does not prepare participants for the ordained ministry, but rather to live their life more intentionally as a Christian. Each year is a separate unit, beginning with Hebrew Scripture, New Testament, Church History, and Contemporary Theology.
No academic background is required for this class, as its goal is making the information accessible to lay people and finding joy in its message. Upon graduation, EfM graduates receive a certificate of completion. Continuing education credits are available through Sewanee.
For more information, contact Theresa Ford.
2 Min Prayer Prompts
During the pandemic, Elsa, our priest, made a series of helpful short videos on ways to deepen in your prayer life. You can find them here.
What on Earth Should I Say?
Enroll in this four session workshop to learn helpful pastoral care skills for lay-people. It will help you know what to say when anyone you care about is suffering. Another class will begin on the four Mondays in June at 6:30 pm.. If you’re interested in taking part in this workshop, contact Elsa
Pocket of Peace
At noon on Wednesdays, a small group meets together for an hour of prayer and connection with an optional 10 minutes of silent centering meditation at the end. If you enjoy taking a deep dive into faith with others and would like to enrich your understanding of the Scripture passage that will be used in the upcoming Sunday service, you may find this friendly group to be richly nourishing. We are currently still meeting on Zoom, and all are welcome. Connection info is at the bottom of the home page. If you have questions, contact Pat Campbell.
Online Prayer
Since the spring of 2020, St. James has offered daily opportunities to pray with others online on our Facebook page. Elsa offers a short time of intercessory prayer each morning with Early Morning Prayer at 7:30am, Mon-Thurs, also on Facebook live. The service lasts 15 minutes or less and offers the chance to start the day off with prayer and centering yourself in God.
Healing Prayer
St. James has a very active healing prayer team that offers people healing prayers every Sunday. During the pandemic, the group has offered personal healing prayers on zoom, or will pray for those who email them a request. While we are worshiping outside this summer, prayer requests will only be taken online, since we cannot thus far get close enough to each other to pray intimately in person. If you are interested in the healing ministry, this group meets quarterly to explore issues of spirituality and healing and would be happy to welcome you. Take part with the group for a while and decide if you’d like to be on one of the healing prayer teams. For questions, contact Carol Clinton.
