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“Summertime, and the livin’ is easy..." — or so one might think. While our residential students are away for the summer, VTS is still buzzing with programs that welcome other lifelong learners to campus.
Last week, approximately 50 people were on campus for Deep Calls to Deep, a preaching renewal program for individuals who desire to re-invigorate their preaching in a community of trust and accountability. This week, the Doctoral Programs at VTS welcomed about 45 doctoral students and faculty to study, share fellowship, and worship together. These students are pursuing Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) or Doctor of Educational Ministry (D.Ed.Min.) degrees. These low-residency programs allow students to continue their full-time ministry work while seeking their degree.
 Meanwhile, the Continuing Education team is busy planning exciting programs for the next academic year! More to come soon.
May this summer season offer you a change in your rhythms and a chance for rest and renewal.
— Diane M. Wright, Senior Associate for Lifelong Learning and Director, Continuing Education
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The Reinecker Lecture: The Institutional Church in a Post-Institutional Age
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 "Easier to Bleed than Sweat": The Institutional Church in a Post-Institutional Age
with The Rt. Rev. Sean Rowe, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania and the Bishop Provisional of Western New York
Tuesday, June 25, 2019, 7 to 8:30 p.m.
Free; Click here to register
Q&A reception to follow
The landscape of the church has shifted dramatically in recent decades. As the church continues to adapt, powerful rhetoric has emerged that separates the ideas of mission and institution, claiming that 'mission is important and the institution is not.’ Unfortunately, this separation can weaken institutions, causing them to lose the capacity to practice the values they embrace. This lecture will explore the ways that strong institutions with deep capacity are essential to fulfilling God’s mission in the world and sustaining the hard work this will require.
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Learn Community Organizing with VOICE
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 Learn Community Organizing with VOICE
(Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement)
Friday, June 28, 2019, 2 to 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 29, 2019, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
$100*; Click here to register
Effective community organizing is built on a foundation of knowing the people you stand shoulder to shoulder with. Move beyond seeking justice and social change for people; instead learn to work with them!
At this two-day workshop, leaders from VOICE (Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement) will teach principles of effective community organizing. Together, we can build homes, raise wages, reduce crime, improve our schools, and rebuild communities.
Participants are encouraged to read the book Christianity in Contemporary Politics by Luke Bretherton before the workshop.
*A limited number of scholarships are available for lay and clergy leaders. Please contact LifelongLearning@vts.edu to learn more.
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“We do not have a declining church, we have a lack-of-depth church, a lack-of-depth crisis. I have come to believe that the greatest threat to Christianity in America in the 21st century is not atheism, pluralism, politicization, “nones”, “dones”, or even sex abuse scandals and hypocrisy, although they are devastating. The greatest existential threat to Christianity is superficiality…”
— Lisa Kimball, Ph.D., the Associate Dean of Lifelong Learning and
the James Maxwell Professor of Lifelong Christian Formation
In the video below, Dr. Kimball shares research-based insights on the good news (the gospel) of formation for the Church in an engaging and informative lecture for the Deep Calls to Deep preaching program. Click to watch or listen to her inspiring talk (90 minutes) on the importance of going deeper in our formation in order to strengthen our faith and our Church.
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Audit a Class at VTS This Fall
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 For lifelong learners interested in auditing masters-level courses this fall, auditor applications are due by August 15, 2019. Courses include:
Evening Classes
- Introduction to New Testament
- The Bible, Myth and Superheroes
- Teaching Faith
Daytime Classes
- Jesus in His Community
- Old Testament
- Biblical Greek
- Biblical Hebrew
- Gospel of Matthew
- Epistle to the Romans
- History of the Episcopal Church
- Historical Church Witness
- Christian Formation of Youth in Varied Contexts
- Family Systems Theory
- Music, Icons and Contemplative Life
For additional information about the classes and the application process, please click here.
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VTS Connections in Presiding Bishop's New Podcast
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 The Way of Love with Bishop Michael Curry is a new, weekly podcast, which launched on Pentecost, with new episodes added each Tuesday through June 30. The podcast features Bishop Curry in conversation with former VTS Lifelong Learning Digital Missioner Kyle Oliver and his co-host, Sandy Milien, and others, as they explore living a life committed to living the way of God’s unconditional, self-sacrificing, redemptive love.
In each episode, Bishop Curry introduces one of the seven Way of Love Practices for a Jesus-Centered Life. Listeners are invited into deeper engagement with each practice: Turn, Learn, Pray, Worship, Bless, Go, and Rest Each podcast also provides questions for individual reflection or small group discussions at your church.
The Way of Love with Bishop Michael Curry is available on all podcast apps and at episcopalchurch.org. Visit the Way of Love podcast webpage to subscribe and to sign up for notifications of new seasons.
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Developing Cultural Competencies
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SAVE THE DATE: Developing Cultural Competencies Workshop
Wednesday and Thursday, August 28 and 29, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Registration opens July 17, 2019
Whatever your work, you can count on interacting with people from different backgrounds or with different understandings of the world. Join the new members of the VTS community in this two day workshop. Meet presenters with insights on various aspects of intercultural competence. Listen, reflect, engage in meaningful dialogue and encounter other histories, practices and personal narratives. Mark your calendar today and look for additional details and a registration link in next month's newsletter.
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Do you ride the DASH bus to the VTS campus?
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 Alexandria DASH is revising their service schedule which would likely reduce or eliminate the AT2. Do you use DASH to come to VTS in the evenings or like to be kept updated on what the Seminary is doing to work with the City? Email Liz Kane at liz.m.kane@gmail.com.
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