A Proposed Outline for a Catholic Anglican House of Studies

Below is my outline from a January 2021 presentation, in which I was asked by my superiors to consider building an integrated hybrid education and vocation initiative. It was intended to be an in-house solution for Catholic Anglicans, one that did not send candidates away for years, necessitate quitting local jobs, or stress other internal diocesan programs. The way forward, in my opinion, is lower-cost internal credentialing for a diocese, which should roughly translate to a similar pastoral use-case of one graduating with an MDiv, while fulfilling the educational expectations of the canons of the church (in this case, ACNA). If one wanted to become an academic, then that is discerned separately, and MDiv/ThM would be an appropriate alternative path, pursued at one’s own peril.

Some provincially approved options, (eg, TSM) are not expedient for orthodox, Catholic Anglicans.

Regrettably, while the proposal was received well, the project ended up in limbo due to lack of available funding. I would have spent about 6-months designing the program, subject to committee approval.

The model was formed out of a number of years of my own work, and based in part by my own experience with traditional education, hybrid, and mentorship models of formation. An additional month was dedicated to practicalities: for research and consultation with another non-Anglican school of ministry program director, who had successfully built similar from scratch.

---

January 2021

Startup needs

1. House of Studies Organization and Handbook

   1. admissions standards & procedures

   2. educational philosophy

      1. Mentorship model

      2. Formation

      3. Online education

      4. Spiritual Direction

      5. Retreats with practicum intensives

   3. program tracks, matching Provincial & Diocesan canonical standards
      1. As-called, as needed, sequence
      2. Lay licensure
      3. Ordination

      1. Deaconess

      2. Permanent Diaconate

      3. Transitional Diaconate

      4. Priesthood

   4. internal applicant vs external applicant procedures (see 5 below)

   5. teacher guide for delivering electronic courses, curriculum, distributed materials, evaluation, and grading standards

   6. tuition structure and postulancy process

      1. Parish-based

      2. Pastoral Exceptions and formational standards.

2. Website and content

3. Online education platform

4. Social media scaffolding, if desired

5. Compiling resources from other programs, and communication with other dioceses and jurisdictions:
   A. Articulation with continuing, FiFNA, & Anglo-Catholic programs in ACNA, APCK, G4, Anglican Union, &c.
   B. Note: This proposal isn’t concerned with being accepted elsewhere but having procedures for granting pathways from prior learning within our system. This in-house “certificate” licensure, rather than degree-granting.

Ongoing, recurring (with tuition covering operating costs):

1. Parish supervision/mentorship program (including reading list, etc)

2. Per class

   1. Syllabus

   2. Scope & Sequence Curriculum

   3. Teaching time and student supervision

3. Continuing support and communications for the HoS students and supervising pastors.

4. Tech support for prospective lecturers

5. E-Library of research texts in the Anglican and “Broad Catholic” tradition.

6. Develop procedures for integrated canonicals, according to program focus.