Theological schools debate how much field education is the right amount and how to integrate practical experience into ministerial training. But what if field education were inseparable from M.Div. courses? And what if seminarians’ primary classmates were the people in the congregations they serve during their three years of seminary?
Bexley Seabury Seminary, an EpiscoÂpal school based in Chicago, has such a model in mind as it relaunches its M.Div. degree program. “At every step,” the school states, “students will be challenged to connect the content of their academic work with insights and reflections drawn from their internship experience.”
KyungJa Oh, director of field education and formation, sees the advantages of keeping students rooted in the context of ministry.
Read it all from the Christian Century.