On-Campus Course Offerings

June Intensive (ON CAMPUS)

Pastoral Counseling Skills

PCGR 6440 / CRN:
MaryBeth Werdel

June 12-16 Monday-Friday
10am - 4:30pm

 

This course introduces the practical skills required in the helping professions, including counseling, ministry, spiritual direction, and education. Students will engage with the theory of helping and the stages of exploration, insight, and action through lecture, discussion, and multi-platform media. The practicum aspect of the course consists of actual counseling practice in small groups, closely supervised by the instructor, in which students will alternate roles of counselor, client, and observer. Students will cultivate the practices of self-awareness and self-assessment, as well as develop skills in constructive peer evaluation.

 

 

Practicing Racial and Environmental Justice

Karen Crozier

June 20-24 Tuesday-Saturday

10am - 4:30pm

 

This week-intensive course examines the civil and human rights leadership, and thought, of Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977) with particular attention on how racial and environmental justice were both practices and ends in her activism, advocacy, and organizing endeavors. In foregrounding Hamer, students will engage racial and environmental justice issues both today, and during the civil rights era of the 1960s -70s, at the intersection of race, gender, and class. Through the exploration of the Black family, Black church, and Black-led civil rights organizations as institutions that birthed and nurtured Hamer with an alternative, redemptive religious education, students will learn the continuity of racial and environmental justice practices and ends from those on the margins with an additional aim of increasing and reconstructing students’ capacities to practice racial and environmental justice in their respective social and institutional contexts.

 

 

Building Bridges: LGBTQ Christian Ministry

Jason Steidl Jack

June 26-30 Monday-Friday 

10am-4:30pm

 

 

This course provides an introduction to the history, theology, and best practices of LGBTQ

Catholic ministry in the U.S.. Today, LGBTQ ministry is one of the fastest-growing areas of pastoral concern in Christian communities around the world. Who are LGBTQ Christians, and what unique spiritual needs and gifts do they bring to the church? This course will begin with an examination of official Christian teaching on LGBTQ issues, along with responses from Christian theologians and lay people. For more than half a century, there has been ongoing dialogue and, at times, the tension between Church’s doctrinal and pastoral approaches. Then, it will examine the history of LGBTQ Christian ministry, a prerequisite for understanding Church’s relationship to queer folks today. What questions and issues have today’s LGBTQ Christians and their allies inherited from the past? Finally, we will consider LGBTQ ministries themselves. How do they begin and function in churches? What are some best pastoral practices? The course will conclude with an exploration of LGBTQ ministry with trans people, young people, POC, and women. An intersectional understanding of ministry is imperative for anyone committed to lifegiving and holistic pastoral care. Throughout the semester, we will draw on the work of leaders in the field, such as Sr. Jeannine Gramick, Fr. James Martin, Fr. Bryan Massingale, Yunuen Trujillo, and Arthur Canales, with a special focus on the experiences of LGBTQ persons themselves.

Online Offerings

Online courses at the GRE are 8 weeks in duration. Students are not permitted to take two online courses in the same 8-week term without approval from their academic advisor and the assistant dean. Students are also reminded to discuss the workload required in taking traditional and online courses at the same time with their academic advisor. Online courses may not be audited. 

Please note: Students are REQUIRED to log in and take part in every week of online courses. Failure to complete activities during the first days of class can lead to your getting dropped from the whole course. 

Online A Courses 5/22 - 7/10

Old Testament

RLGR 6010 / CRN:
Giovanna Czander

An in-depth examination of the first five books of the Bible. This course will examine the historical origins of these texts in ancient Israel and the continuing significance of their central theological themes of promise, law, creation, election, redemption, and liberation. This course is an introduction to the exegetical methods of modern biblical study.

 

Pastoral Counseling Theory

PCGR 6386 / CRN:
Mary Toler

The purpose of this course is to provide a preliminary exposure to various counseling theories and approaches when working with diverse populations and their complex problems. The course will nurture your beginning development of a specific set of treatment values and strategies that reflect your unique personality style and will differentially address specific types of problems with theoretically sound interventions.

 

 

Online B Courses 6/28 - 8/16

Death, Dying, and Bereavement

PCGR 7420 / CRN: 

Joseph Walters

 

This course will focus on personal experiences with death and loss; the theological perspectives of major world religions on death and grief; myths about and components of grief; meaning making; issues facing the terminally ill; appropriate care for the bereaved in differing situations; and our own self-care as pastoral care workers and pastoral mental health counselors.

 

Discernment in the Christian Tradition

SPGR 6830 / CRN:
Chad Thralls

This course offers a two-fold introduction to Christian traditions for the discernment of spirits. During the first half of the course, we pursue a historical review of the various articulations of spiritual discernment from New Testament foundations through the 16th century. During the second half of the course, we concentrate on the theory and practice of Christian discernment and decision-making grounded in the writings of St. Ignatius Loyola. We engage in a critical, close reading of Ignatius' "Rules for the Discernment of Spirits" (weeks 1 and 2) and "The Election," both texts from "The Spiritual Exercises," as well as selected letters and other writings by Ignatius. This course also emphasizes each student's personal appropriation of this material through the discussion of discernment case studies.

Certificate in Supervision Summer 2023 Courses

Introduction to Supervision    

SPGR 6910 / CRN: 

Maria Tattu-Bowen

Online
May 31, 2023 - June 28, 2023 with two synchronous meetings per week (to be scheduled after registration is complete)

 

The first course in Fordham GRE’s Advanced Certificate in Supervision, Introduction to Supervision offers participants intensive immersion in supervision basics, including case preparation, supervision theory, spirituality, and ethics. Students will have repeated practice offering supervision to others and giving feedback to classmates as they do the same.  Only open to students admitted to the Certificate in Supervision.

Supervision Capstone Intensive  

SPGR 6920 / CRN: 

Maria Tattu-Bowen
Online 

July 5th - August 2nd, with synchronous meetings on Wednesdays and Fridays from 7:00-9:00 PM Eastern time.

 

The final course in Fordham GRE’s Advanced Certificate in Supervision, the Supervision Capstone Intensive offers participants an opportunity to present original research and a demonstration project on a supervision-related topic of their choice; to engage in collaboration with their peers and instructors; to offer constructive, compassionate feedback to their peers; and to integrate the skills they have honed in their yearlong practice of supervision.

Prerequisite: SPGR 6916.

 

Other Course Offerings

Students must have permission from their faculty mentor to register for Field Placement, Format Review, a Qualifying paper, and Clinical Pastoral Education in writing.

Students who have completed MA coursework and are completing research must register for maintenance of matriculation.

Students in the DMin or Ph.D. programs who have completed coursework must register for DMin or Ph.D. Mentoring Seminar every fall or spring until they graduate.

Maintenance of Matriculation

ZZGR MTNC / CRN:
Patrick Holt