COS's EfM group meets on Thursdays at 6:30pm in the conference room of the Parish Commons. This is a robust 4-year program for adults which was crafted from Sewanee Seminary of the South and you can learn more about the program below. It explores theological education for the laity, incorporating worship, study, and spiritual reflection. Registration for this program happens in late summer with a start in September. EfM recruits participants each summer and begins in September, running for 36 weeks. Please contact the office if you are interested in this program. 

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Education for Ministry (EfM) lives at the School of Theology of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.

It is a unique, small-group formation program based on study and practice in theological reflection which is offered at parishes across the country and beyond. Since its founding in 1975, this international program has helped more than 120,000 participants discover and nurture their call to Christian service where they live, work, and play. EfM helps the faithful discover the Christian tradition, bringing it into conversation with their experiences of the world. EfM seminar groups develop theologically informed, reflective, and articulate seekers of God.

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Weekly assignments guide participants’ responses to the engagement material. Small-group seminars utilize EfM’s Core Practices to provide focus and discipline to EfM seminar life.

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Textbooks support a multi-media study approach, providing participants with their weekly engagement assignment. Participants go through EfM: Classic beginning with Year 1, studying linearly through to Year 4. The focus of study for each year is:

 

 

• Year 1 - The Hebrew Scriptures (The Old Testament)

• Year 2 - The New Testament

• Year 3 - Church History

• Year 4 - Ethics and Spirituality