A Message From the Dean
Dear Friends of the Maine School of Ministry,
Welcome!
MESOM currently offers affordable fall and spring courses taught by highly qualified faculty which are designed for adult students who are exploring their own spiritual formation, exploring a call to ministry, as well as ordained clergy seeking quality continuing education, and open to all persons seeking spiritual and educational and enrichment. In addition, as both the vision and reach of MESOM expands, shorter courses will be offered in collaboration with local churches and other justice seeking organizations here in Maine and beyond.
Please feel free to contact me directly for further conversation abut MESOM. I’m always excited to hear about your interests and your ideas about possibilities for future offerings.
Many blessings,
Ron Baard, Dean
SPRING 2021 Semester Courses
– Click on One of the Courses Below For More Information
– REGISTRATION is open until THE DAY BEFORE THE FIRST CLASS MEETING OF EACH COURSE. IF YOU HAVE any QUESTIONS OR WOULD LIKE TO CONFIRM YOUR REGISTRATION, PLEASE CONTACT THE DEAN OF THE MAINE SCHOOL OF MINISTRY
Course Description:
Open yourself to the wonder of letting the Easter story steep in your soul this season. Biblical Storytelling is a Spring semester 2021 practice-based course which will provide course participants with an introduction to the art of Biblical Storytelling for use in a virtual worship through an experiential learning approach. Stories from Lent, Holy Week and Easter morning will be the basis of our storytelling palette. This course is great for beginners as well as experienced preachers seeking some fresh inspiration.
Biblical Storytelling is a spiritual discipline through which you are invited to deepen your devotional faith and grow in your missional outreach. Everyone is a storyteller. Each person is a one-of-a-kind creation with distinctly original gifts, therefore, each story that a person tells will be uniquely expressed. There is no one perfect storytelling role model to follow. This course will survey a number of different techniques for learning and telling Bible stories. Course participants will develop and share their own Biblical Storytelling art through pre-recording and live virtual presentations.
Class Meetings:
This course will consist of four Saturday meetings from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm which will all be held on Zoom…
January 30, 2021
February 27, 2021
March 27, 2021
April 24, 2021
Course Instructor:
Course Description:
This course will cover the remainder of the New Testament after the Gospels and Acts. St. Paul and his epistles will feature prominently, since thirteen of the writings are attributed to him (though only seven are undisputedly from his hand). The names of other apostles and Pauline associates are linked to the rest, and the canonical closer is that mysterious, maddening, terrible, and beautiful work “The Apocalypse of John,” more commonly known as “The Book of Revelation.” The emphasis will be primarily on what Paul’s epistles and the others reveal about the evolution of the Jesus movement from the death of Jesus throughout the rest of the first century and into the second. We will look at the challenges the nascent church faced, both internal and external, the variety of early Christian practices and beliefs, and the gradual (and sometimes bitter) separation from its parent body, Second Temple Judaism. (Some of the later class sessions are not fully fleshed out, but changes or additions to the syllabus will be announced well in advance by postings on Google Classroom.)
Class Meetings:
This coursewill consist of five Saturday meetings from 9:00 am – 1:00 pm which will all be held on Zoom…
February 13, 2021
March 13, 2021
April 10, 2021
May 8, 2021
May 22, 2021
Course Instructor:
Course Description:
The course provides an overview to the academic study of the Bible. The course is designed to familiarize the student with the origins and development of the Old and New Testaments, the world of the ancient Near East, the types of literature in the Bible, and the development of the canon of Scriptures. Attention will be given to the role of Textual and Higher Criticism, the history of the transmission of the Bible, the translation of the Bible in English, and its reception and use today. The course will seek to consistently demonstrate the connection between the academic study of the Bible and its devotional and pastoral use.
Class Meetings:
This course will consist of eight Tuesday meetings from 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm which will all be held on Zoom…
January 19, 2021
February 2, 2021
February 16, 2021
March 2, 2021
March 16, 2021
April 6, 2021
April 20, 2021
May 4, 2021
Course Instructor:
Course Description:
Sunday morning worship is essential to the life of the Christian congregation. In this class we will take a closer look at what happens when the community gathers for worship. We will explore why we gather (looking at Biblical models of worship, history of worship, and the liturgical year) and how we gather (considering multi-sensory worship, our role as worship leader, and special worship services). We will focus on practical worship leadership skills and participants will have a chance to design a lead a worship service for the class.
Class Meetings:
This course will consist of eight Saturday/Sunday meetings from 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm which will all be held on Zoom…
February 20, 2021
February 21, 2021
March 20, 2021
March 21, 2021
April 17, 2021
April 18, 2021
May 15, 2021
May 16, 2021
Course Instructor: