What is the Parish Ministry: Risking Faithfully Focus like?
In a world filled with fear, what does it mean to pastor people into faithful risk? How do we welcome change without demanding it? in fact, how can change offer a playful opening into the new things God is forever doing in and around us? Where does faithful stewardship of institutions and resources fit into this call to risk? Together we will explore these questions and more.
While most Doctor of Ministry candidates who elect the Parish Focus serve congregations, others with specialized ministries have found it a flexible vehicle adaptable to their own situations. These have included denominational posts, ecumenical agencies, prison work, and various school ministries. Involvement of the local congregation or agency is a necessary and valuable component of the Doctor of Ministry (DMin) Program Parish Focus in ongoing course work and project.
What faithful risks is the Spirit calling us to embrace? What does a culture of faithful risk-taking look like during an average week of ministry? How is risk itself not something to be avoided, but instead a necessary ingredient in faithful congregational leadership? Explore with us!
- The Rev. Ben Johnston-Krase, Co-Planter of Farm Church, Durham N.C.
What does the D.Min. look like at Pittsburgh Seminary?
The Doctor of Ministry is a professional doctoral degree providing space for renewal, growth, companionship among peers, and rich dialogue with faculty. The D.Min. allows you to step out of your ministry context to sift through new information and ideas while at the same time stepping back into your ministry context to discover how and why that learning matters. At the end of your course work, you will design and implement a project that engages your ministry context in conversation with your work in the classroom.
What sorts of topics will be discussed?
- Recovering the Pastoral Role: Risk and Leadership
- Understanding Contexts: Risking Where We Are
- Art, Embodiment, and Risk: Worship, Justice, and Practices of Disruption
- Wired Into Risk: Technology and Ministry
- Congregational Care and Conflict: Risks of Encounter in Congregational Care
Cohort
Classes in the Parish Focus: Risking Faithfully cohort meet for two weeks in January and June for two years. This program is 36 credits and is typically completed in three to four years.
