A new online course from Montreal Dio aims to deepen a culture of discipleship in churches and prepare students for the new liturgical year.
“Disciples of Jesus: Learning from Matthew” is a non-credit online course that begins on October 15. Over five Tuesday evenings, the course will introduce students to the Gospel of Matthew, the centerpiece of the Revised Common Lectionary in the coming year. Among the many subjects covered in the course, students will learn more about Matthew’s depiction of Jesus, the relationship between Matthew and the Jewish tradition, and Matthew’s use of lengthy discourses, including the Sermon on the Mount, to bring to life Jesus’ teaching. The course is taught by the Rev. Dr. Hilary Bogert-Winkler, the college’s new Director of Pastoral Studies.
“Regular and deep engagement with Scripture is one of the best ways to build a culture of discipleship in Christian communities,” said college principal Jesse Zink. “This course is part of our ongoing commitment to make the resources of theological education as broadly available as possible in the church. We hope it will give students the tools to engage in new ways with the Bible and Sunday readings in the coming year.”
“Disciples of Jesus” follows the college’s popular course last fall on the Gospel of Luke. In that course, over 80 participants from eight dioceses in four time zones in the U.S. and Canada learned more about the gospel at the heart of this year’s lectionary readings. In the Luke course, many congregations choose to join online as groups and engage in their own group discussion after each session.
As a non-credit course, “Disciples of Jesus” has no required assignments and no required reading (aside from the gospel itself). It’s a course designed for those who will hear sermons in the coming year, and those who will preach; for lay people and for ordained; for those who have read Matthew before and those who are new to the Bible. All participants need is an open mind and a willingness to listen, learn, and engage. The course meets from 7pm to 8.30pm (Montreal time) on five consecutive Tuesday evenings, beginning October 15, 2019.
The cost of the course is $80 for all five sessions and the cost is the same whether one person joins or whole groups do. The cost for members of the college’s Corporation is $60. Membership in the Corporation is open to any interested member or group and costs $30 per year. Membership includes discounts on other course offerings from the college. People may join the Corporation on the college website.
More information about the course is available on the college website. Interested students may register by expressing their interest in an e-mail to [email protected].