Contextual Education

CE551a,b./CE551HYBa,b. Contextual Education I Site Reflection/Integrative Seminar

Fall, Spring. Credit, three hours per semester for two semesters. (Faculty)

For Contextual Education I, MDiv students choose a social service or clinical setting unless they enroll in the Teaching Parish or Episcopal and Anglian Studies track. Students on the residential plan choose from sites in the Atlanta area arranged in advance by the Office of Contextual Education. Students on the hybrid plan arrange sites by individual contract following guidelines set by the Office of Contextual Education. Through four hours of weekly engagement in these sites during the entire academic year, (fall and spring) students have the opportunity to experience various ministries, contexts, and pastoral relationships. In the first semester, students meet weekly in their 90-minute Contextual Education I Site Reflection group led by a site or teaching supervisor. In the second semester, students continue working four hours per week at the same Contextual Education I site. Students meet with a member of the faculty and their site or teaching supervisor for a weekly, two-hour integrative seminar. To earn credit, students also participate in a mandatory orientation at the start of the fall semester and additional learning modules/plenaries during both the fall and spring semesters. An evaluation is completed at the end of each semester and in progress grade (IP) is assigned at the end of the fall semester if the student is performing satisfactorily. If the student continues to perform satisfactorily and has met all requirements for both semesters at the end of the spring semester, both the fall and spring semesters will be awarded a grade of Satisfactory (S). The two semesters must be completed within the same academic year for credit to be earned.

CE551ANGa,b./CE551ANHa,b. Contextual Education I for Episcopal and Anglican Studies

Fall. Credit, three hours (Lowrey)

For postulants preparing for ordination or those preparing for other forms of ministry in the Episcopal church or other Anglican traditions. Students are placed in parish settings and participate in two-hour weekly reflection seminar in which they examine the parish as a situation of ministry. The class analyses specific church ministry situation, acts of ministry, priority and dilemmas, and development of an operational theory of ministry. Students also participate together in weekly evensong worship and other formation practices.

CE551TPa,b./ CE551TPHa,b. Contextual Education I: Teaching Parish

Credit, three hours per semester for two semesters. (Faculty)

Permission of instructor needed. First-year MDiv students who are in the Teaching Parish Program may enroll for CE551TPa,b in lieu of CE551a,b. Participants are assigned to student pastor groups in respective geographical areas or in an online group if on the hybrid plan under the leadership of the teaching parish supervisory pastors, ordained ministers who serve as Candler adjunct faculty. Coursework is experiential and collegial in nature, with student pastors engaging in practice and reflection on a variety of ministerial activities (e.g., preaching, systems analysis, pastoral care, and teaching). To earn credit, students also participate in a mandatory orientation at the start of the fall semester and additional learning modules/plenaries during both the fall and spring semesters. 

CE552ANGa,b. Contextual Education II for Episcopal and Anglican Studies

Credit, three hours per semester for two semesters. Prerequisites: CE551a,b/ CE551ANGa,b. (Higginbotham)

For postulants preparing for ordination in the Episcopal church or other Anglican traditions. Students are placed as interns in parish settings and participate each week in a two-hour reflection seminar, which examines the parish as a situation of ministry. The class analyzes specific church ministry situations, acts of ministry, priorities and dilemmas of ministry, and development of an operational theory of ministry.

CE552a,b. Contextual Education II

Credit, three hours per semester for two semesters. Prerequisites: CE551a,b/ CE551ANGa,b. (Faculty)

Second-year MDiv students who are not in the Teaching Parish Program choose an ecclesial setting that shares a life of worship as well as ministry. The student’s work in the ecclesial setting is supervised by a site mentor. Students meet in reflection groups each semester. These groups inquire into the history, meaning, and execution of the practices of an ecclesial community. Students remain in the same placement and small group for two semesters. An evaluation is made at the end of each semester, and an IP (in progress) grade is assigned at the end of the first semester if the student is performing satisfactorily. To receive credit, the student must satisfactorily complete two consecutive semesters.

CE552TPa,b. Contextual Education II: Teaching Parish

Credit, three hours per semester for two semesters. Prerequisites: CE551a,b or CE551TPa,b and permission of instructor needed.(Faculty)

Second-year MDiv students who are in the Teaching Parish Program may enroll in CE552TPa,b in lieu of CE552a,b. Participants are assigned to student pastor groups in geographical areas under the leadership of the teaching parish supervisory pastors: ordained ministers who serve as Candler adjunct faculty. Coursework is experiential and collegial in nature, with student-pastors engaging in practice and reflection on a variety of ministerial activities (e.g., preaching, systems analysis, pastoral care, and teaching).

CE553ANGR. Contextual Education for Episcopal and Anglican Studies

Credit, two hours per semester after completion of CE551ANGa,b and CE552ANGa,b.

For postulants preparing for ordination in the Episcopal church or other Anglican traditions. Students are placed as interns in parish settings and participate each week in a two-hour reflection seminar, which examines the parish as a situation of ministry. The class analyzes specific church ministry situations, acts of ministry, priorities and dilemmas of ministry, and development of an operational theory of ministry.

CE553TPR. Teaching Parish

Credit, variable (one to two hours per semester); four hours maximum. (Faculty)

This course is taken after the completion of the CE551TPa,b and CE552TPa,b sequences. Participants are assigned to student pastor groups in geographical areas under the leadership of the teaching parish supervisory pastors, United Methodist ministers who serve as Candler adjunct faculty. Coursework is experiential and collegial in nature, with student-pastors engaging in practice and reflection on a variety of ministerial activities (e.g., preaching, systems, analysis, planning, and teaching).

CE695R. Internship

Credit, variable; six hours maximum. (Faculty)

Internships are a student initiated practical experience for which the student gains academic credit at Candler. Students can intern with a church, an agency, or with an existing internship program. Students must have a Candler faculty member and an approved placement supervisor identified to direct the internship. Internships provide students with an opportunity to tailor their course of study by meeting specific learning goals, to enrich and/or complement their courses, to gain experience in a particular aspect of ministry, or to obtain greater exposure to a broader range of vocational pathways and professional opportunities. It also can be an important avenue for discernment of the student’s professional ministry and calling. Candler also offers a number of summer internships that feature stipend support for work in congregations. Designed to foster more intensive formation and proficiency in the practice of ministry, these internships include online mentoring and an online reflection group, so that students get the maximum benefit from this immersion experience.

CE696R. Clinical Pastoral Education

Credit, variable; six hours maximum.

Basic Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) is available to seminarians during the fall, spring, and summer of each year at sites accredited by the national Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE). CPE is most often located in hospitals, clinics, and community agencies, and the program has a concentrated focus on spiritual care, counseling, and relational skills development. Some traditions (e.g., some UM Conferences) require CPE for ordination; students need to determine the specific requirements. CPE can be a part of a person’s preparation for parish ministry, chaplaincy, lay ministry, teaching and counseling. Students apply directly to the site where they would like to do CPE. Once accepted into a particular CPE program, students can apply for Candler academic credit for CPE through the Office of Contextual Education.

CE697R. Clinical Pastoral Education No Credit

Credit, none.

Students who complete Clinical Pastoral Education who do not wish to claim academic credit hours but wish to record completion of a CPE unit for the purpose of completing concentration or similar requirements may elect this zero-credit course upon verification of completion of the CPE unit by the Candler Office of Contextual Education. Students who wish to record zero credit CPE in the semester in which they are graduating must do so before the end of add/drop/swap for the semester; the Office of Contextual Education will not post a grade of Satisfactory until after the unit has been verified as completed at the end of the semester. Otherwise, the record will be posted in the next semester after the unit has been verified as completed by the Office of Contextual Education.