Theological Field Education

Course Description

The Master of Divinity Program offers theological and professional preparation for ministry.  As a core component in this process, theological field education strives to integrate the activities of thinking and acting theologically.  It is based on the assumption that not only should theology inform pastoral practice, but that the lived practice should inform theology.

Supervised ministry placements are central to the curriculum at Regis College because they are the interesection in theological education between academic study and the practices of ministry.  A supervised ministry placement provides divinity students with an opportunity to:

• gain professional competence
• build a framework for raising practical theological issues
• acquire a comprehensive and realistic view of the church and its ministries
• develop a ministerial identity

Theological Field Education is based on some clear educational assumptions.  The educational methodology is adult-centred and experiential.  It assumes that individuals are responsible for their own learning.  It acknowledges that each person brings to the learning process his or her own particular history and experience.   Participants are invited to discover and celebrate their own gifts and to respond to supervisory feedback intended to enhance leadership in ministry.

Course Objectives

In light of the above, theological field education aims to:

1. recognize and affirm prior ministerial experiences and gifts of each participant.

2. enable participants to discover their personal strengths and weaknesses for ministry through actual experiences of supervised ministry in the broader community.

3. enable participants to gain personal confidence and to develop a sense of pastoral identity, authority and mission.

4. foster the practice of theological reflection on ministerial experiences which can be incorporated as an aspect of a ministerial life style.

5. facilitate the process of ongoing discernment of a call to ministry.

6. encourage the discovery and life-long cultivation of competencies for ministry in a variety of settings.

7. encourage participants to become intentional learners as well as life long learners.

8. ongoing development of a theology of ministry.

9. broaden the bases of learning and to encourage participants to benefit from critical reflection on the experience of their ministry and its context through a praxis model of reflection/action and social analysis.

10. assist participants in developing the ability to access the tradition, making appropriate use of Sacred Scripture, Church Doctrine (both historical and ongoing development of Doctrine), Christian heritage, Theological themes, e.g. creation, grace, sin, redemption, conversion, Mystery, incarnation, etc., and to articulate its implications for the lived experience of ministry.

11. give participants the benefit of competent supervision, which will support personal and spiritual formation, critical reflection, shared ministry, and professional competence.

12. develop within participants the ability to engage in an on-going self-assessment process, utilizing self-perceptions and feedback from others for the purpose of growth.

Course Schedule

A detailed course schedule is available for download.