The focus of Bishop's School is to prepare vocational deacons and others preparing for ordination. The curriculum is designed to meet the canonical requirements for those ministries. The classes rotate on a four-year cycle so participants may enter at the beginning of any semester and continue through the four-year program.
People in the ordination process may miss only one session and still receive credit for the course.
Although the focus is on preparation for ordination, anyone is welcome to register and attend any or all of the courses. A $75 fee per course is payable with registration. To register, please email Canon Jane Teter or send a postal note (Diocesan House, 333 Wyandotte Street, Bethlehem, PA 18015) with the following information: your name, address, phone number(s) and email address. We need to be able to reach you in case of inclement weather or other schedule changes. Checks should be payable to: The Diocese of Bethlehem, marked for Bishop's School and sent to Canon Teter's attention.
Questions about Bishop's School may be sent
to: The Rev. Canon Jane Teter
Spring 2012
The spring semester of Bishop's School will be held at St. Stephen's, Wilkes-Barre. The morning session will be from 9:30-11:30, lunch from 11:30-noon, afternoon session from 12-2 p.m on the following dates:
January 28
February 4, 25
March 3, 17, 31
April 14, 21, 28
May 5 (12 is a snow day)
The courses for the spring session of Bishop's School are:
New Testament - taught by The Reverend Daniel Gunn (morning session) and
Ethics and Moral Theology - taught by The Reverend John Heffner (afternoon session)
New Testament
Required text: An Introduction to the New Testament by Raymond Brown
Ethics and Moral Theology
Required texts: The Oxford Annotated Bible, any ed. (New Interpreters' and Harper-Collins study Bibles are acceptable
but not preferred).
The Book of Common Prayer
Fall 2011
The fall semester of Bishop's School will be held at St. Stephen's, Wilkes-Barre from 9:30 to 2:00 on the following Saturdays:
September 17, 24
October 1, 22, 29
November 5, 12, 19
December 3, 10 (17 reserved for a snow day)
The morning class will be Church History, led by The Rev. Brian Pavlac; the afternoon class will be The Old Testament, led by The Rev. Daniel Gunn.
Church History
Books required for morning session:
Joel F. Harrington, A Cloud of Witnesses: Readings in the History of Western Christianity,
currently published by Cengage Learning, but there are used versions from Wadsworth or
Houghton Mifflin.
Diarmaid MacCulloch, Christianity: The First Three Thousand Years, published by Penquin
The Old Testament
Books for the afternoon session:
Required:
The New Oxford Annotated Bible (NRSV w/Apocrypha) any edition
A Short Introduction to the Hebrew Bible by John Collins (ISBN: 978-0-8006-6207-3)
Recommended:
Introduction to the Hebrew Bible by John Collins (ISBN: 978-0-8006-2991-5)
Supplemental/Suggested (wait until afer first clas discussion to purchase)
The World's Easiest Guide to Understanding the Bible by Stan Campbell
OR
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Bible by James Bell and Stan Campbell
The Oxford Companion to the Bible by Bruce Metzger and Michael Coogan
Please also read the Message of the Old Testament found in a .pdf format here.
Spring 2011
The spring semester of Bishop's School will be held at St. Peter's, Hazleton from 10 to 3:00 on the following Saturdays:
January 15 & 29
February 5 &19
March 5, 12 & 19
April 9 & 16
May 21
The morning class will be Preaching, led by Bishop Paul V. Marshall; the afternoon class will be led by leaders of various ministries in the diocese. See the schedule below for leaders and topics:
January 15 - Ty Welles - Constitution and Canons
January 29 - Bruce Reiner - Church Finances
February 5 - Bruce Reiner and Jane Teter - Church Administration
February 19 - Tony Pompa - Clergy Wellness
March 5 - Andrew Gerns - Evangelism
March 12 - Andrew Gerns - Evangelism
March 19 - Brian Pavlac - Christian Formation
April 9 - Dan Charney and Donna Jean Kiessling - Stewardship
April 16 - Dan Charney and Donna Jean Kiessling - Stewardship
May 21 - Kat Lehman - Communication
Fall 2010
The fall semester of Bishop's School will be held at St. Peter's, Hazleton from 9 to 3:00 on the following Saturdays:
September 18
October 2, 16 & 30
November 6, 13, & 20
December 4, 11 & 18
The morning class will be Diaconate/diakonia, led by the Rev. Canon Michael Piovane; the afternoon class will be Spirituality and Ministry, led by the Rev. Canon Ginny Day.
Diaconate/diakonia
Books for the morning session of Bishop's School
Required:
Being a Deacon Today by Rosalind Brown
The Diaconate: A Full and Equal Order by Jamaes M Barnett
Many Servants: An Introduction to Deacons by Ormonde Plater
Deacons in the Liturgy by Ormonde Plater
Spirituality and Ministry
Books for the afternoon session of Bishop's School
Required:
Liturgical Spirituality by Phlip H. Pfatteicher
Godly Play by Jerome Berryman OR
The Religious Potential of the Child by Sofia Cavelleti
Working the Angles by Eugene Peterson
Spring 2010
The spring semester of Bishop's School will be held at St. Peter's, Hazleton from 9 to 3:00 on the following Saturdays:
January 16 & 30
February 13 & 27
March 6 & 20
April 10 & 17
May 1 & 8 (15th is a snow day, if needed)
The morning class will be Planning and Leading Liturgy, led by the Rev. Raymond Harbort; the afternoon class will be Pastoral Care, led by the Rev. Canon Andrew Gerns.
Planning and Leading Liturgy
Books for the morning session of Bishop's School
Required:
Celebrating the Eucharist by the Rev. Patrick Malloy available from Church Publishing
The Book of Common Prayer
1982 Hymnal
Pastoral Care
Books for the afternoon session of Bishop's School
Required:
An Introduction to Pastoral Care by Charles V. Gerkin available from Amazon.com
Handbook of Ministries of Care by Genevieve Glen, Marilyn Kofler, and Kevin O'Connor (2nd Edition) available from Amazon.com
The Book of Common Prayer
Ministry with the Sick available from Church Publishing
Enriching our Worship 2 available from Church Publishing
Ministry with the Sick or Dying available from Church Publishing
Burial of a Child available from Church Publishing
Fall 2009
The Fall semester of Bishop's School will be held at St. Peter's, Hazleton from 10 to 3:30 on the following Saturdays:
September 26
October 17, 24, 31
November 7, 14, 28
December 5, 12, 19
The morning class will be Book of Common Prayer, led by Bishop Paul Marshall; the afternoon class will be Theology, led by The Rev. John Francis.
Book of Common Prayer
Books for the morning session of Bishop's School
Required:
The Book of Common Prayer (a copy you are willing to write in)
The Book of Occasional Services
Enriching our Worship volumes 1 and 2 (order from Church Publishing)
Mitchell, Praying Shapes Believing
Hoving, Tiffany’s Table Manners for Teenagers (This is to be read before the first session.)
Recommended:
Jones, Yarnold, Wainwright, Bradshaw, The Study of Liturgy
Louis Weil, A Theology of Worship
Jeffrey Lee, Opening the Prayer Book
Theology
Books for the afternoon session of Bishop's School
Required:
Mysteries of the Faith by Mark McIntosh. It is the 8th book in the New Church's Teaching Series, published by Cowley.
Please direct any
questions or comments to the webmaster@diobeth.org
