Current Course Offerings

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to different methods used to interpret texts. Students will learn and develop skills of closely reading texts, analyzing historical and contemporary contexts, and thinking critically through issues. This class will introduce students a wide range of sacred and secular texts. Students will learn to apply rhetorical strategies to construct interpretations that promote inclusivity, social consciousness, social justice, and speak to the current social and political contexts. This is an introductory level course and requires no prerequisite.

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to preaching through various artistic mediums. Students will read and analyze selected biblical texts in their historical, social, and political contexts and use different artistic mediums to construct interpretations of these particular texts. The use of art will help students construct interpretations from different perspectives and different social locations leading to a deeper reflection and addressing ethical and moral issues relevant to our contemporary context. Various artistic forms will be engaged such as movement, drama, poetry, music, song, painting, etc. Preaching using artistic mediums achieves an analogous effect in retelling narratives and bringing to the surface the silent and invisible voices that have often been ignored in our written analysis of the texts. This course will seek to expand the genre of text to include other artistic mediums as texts that attempt to decenter the written word where the rules of interpretation are not predetermined for the audience.

This course introduces students to theories of ethical discernment, behavior, and formation in Christian traditions. The course prioritizes ecological wellbeing as an ethical demand of Christian living and will use case studies about human relationships with our other-than-human kindred to practice the ethical theories studied.

The final component of the CSR program (pre-stackable curriculum), the CSR Final Project is designed by the student with the approval of their CSR advisor/coordinator. Students sign up for CSR 3001 when the semester they are completing this project. The general topic of the project is established when you enter the CSR program and is used to direct your course of study throughout the program. The project should include both research and community application components. Students are recommended to consult with at least two CSR-related faculty (either regular or adjunct) concerning their final projects. [Faculty Consent required]

This course explores the emerging field of queer theology in the Christian tradition. As LGBTQ+ persons gained increased visibility in many facets of public life, a queer epistemology permeated theological discourse and yielded a new form of “God talk” that disrupts and destabilizes traditional Eurocentric systematic theology. This queer theology first emerged as a response to the normative sexual oppression that categorized queer persons and women as “perverse.” However, it later expanded beyond questions of sexual morality and sought to challenge oppressive theological normativity in various components of Christian personal and public life. In this course, we will survey some precursors to queer theology, explore canonical texts in the field, and address contemporary questions about its scope and application to matters of economic, racial, and ecological justice. Some important figures we will discuss include Michel Foucault, Judith Butler, Marcella Althaus Reid, Patrick S. Cheng, Linn Marie Tonstad, Miguel Diaz, José Esteban Muñoz, Craig Ford, and Melissa Wilcox. The overall goal of the class is for students to gain an appreciation for the field of queer theology and the methodological tools to examine, challenge, and dismantle normative theological/religious oppression wherever it can be found.

This course invites students to explore the theological, ethical, and practical dimensions of social justice through an intersectional lens. While students—particularly those in the Doctor of Ministry program—bring focused ministerial
contexts and commitments, the course expands the conversation to examine broader systems of injustice, including those rooted in race, gender, sexuality, class, religion, ability, and environmental degradation.

Engaging theological frameworks, critical theories, and reflective practice, students will analyze how privilege and oppression intersect with their social locations and
vocational callings. The course offers space for deep reflection, collaborative learning, and strategic imagination. Emphasis is placed on integrating lived
experience with theological inquiry and developing actionable strategies for justice centered ministry in education, worship, advocacy, and community life.
* This course is for DMIN students but is open for MDIV and MTS students.
*This can serve as an upper-level theology course.

“PSR DMin students use this course number for registering during terms when they are not registering for coursework. This course indicates continuation in the program and carries a fee per semester. (This number is also used during a term while the student is engaged in coursework away from PSR.) Pass/Fail only.
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Credit hours for preparation of dissertation units.

This seminar is required for PSR DMin students each of the first two years after completing the DMin beginning seminar. This seminar is designed to maintain peer conversation and development of student projects. Before the seminar meets, students will submit a progress report to the instructor. During the seminar students will present on the progress of their projects, and at all times the cohort gathering will engage in furthering reflection and analysis on the development and progress of final projects.

“This course provides a cohort pedagogy for DMin students to participate regularly throughout the term in a continuous online platform where they share what they are learning and experiencing in their other coursework and in their research, and where they engage the learning journeys and evolving projects of their doctoral colleagues. Regular interactions every month are guided by the rubric provided for the course.
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Class includes weekly synchronous sessions and 15 hours per week on-site field internship. Weekly sessions include full-group plenary sessions and small-group cohort discussion. Completion of fall (FE-1005) and spring (FE-1006) Concurrent Field Education courses in the same academic year are REQUIRED to receive a grade. Completion of both fall and spring semester meets PSR MDiv Congregational Track field education requirement.

Ministry to persons in pastoral care setting, participation in weekly individual and group reflection upon that ministry with supervisor, study of theoretical material from theology, behavioral sciences, and pastoral care. Integrates theological understanding and knowledge of behavioral science into pastoral functioning. Programs must provide at least one unit of CPE in order to receive any academic credit. CPE programs can be 4 months, 9 months, full-time summer intensives, or one-year full-time residential.

United Methodist History, Doctrine, and Polity I is the first of two courses intended to provide a broad overview of the theology, history, and governance structures of The United Methodist Church and its predecessor bodies. This course, in particular, focuses on the theological per-spectives of John Wesley and the 18th century Methodist Movement, which later came to be embodied in the Articles of Religion and the doctrinal standards of a global denomination. This course is required for M.Div. students seeking ordination in The United Methodist Church.

NOTE: All UMC Students MUST take this course in person on the PSR campus

For many faith communities, worship forms the heart of communal life. It is a place where participants learn the behaviors, rhythms, and patterns of discipleship that they hope to embody as faith-filled people of the world. Worship also marks times of transition in the life of individuals and communities. From birth to death, communities ritualized these liminal spaces that are rife with meaning and sacredness. In this course, we will examine the ways in which pastoral liturgies (e.g. dedications, weddings, healing rites, funerals, etc.) and sacraments both shape and are shaped by culture, history, theology, language, and practice. Students will integrate their learning by practicing leading these rituals that make up a worship-full life.

This course asks key questions about the work of spiritual care and caring—what is care and what does it means for leaders to care for individuals and organizations. We will explore the character of care, models of caring, and strategies and skills for offering care in particular contexts. This course presumes that effective leaders and flourishing mission-oriented organizations require tangible skills for providing care. Students will be invited to trace the unique needs embedded in particular dynamics and patterns of contemporary cultures through different contexts of care: personal, communal, systemic, and cosmic. This course is suitable for those who are preparing for congregational leadership and those in private, public, and not-for-profit service.

One of the foundational education commitments that undergirds this course is the assertion that all knowledge is contextual. In the various settings of ministry and social transformation, context plays an important role in shaping our work, our approaches to that work, our understandings of our own role in that work, and the meaning we make of it. At its core, this course seeks to ground our theological explorations in a deeper understanding of our own social contexts, as we develop facility in translating from one context to another and engaging across difference. Focusing in particular on the case of race, this course is designed as a path for exploring and understanding the ways that race in all of its intersections operates as a social fiction and lived experience in ourselves and in the communities we serve. Making use of historical, theoretical and theological lenses, we will engage in selfexploration, deep formation, readings, dialogue, and experiences with artists and activists as we build our capacity to address issues of prejudice, power, and privilege while cultivating cultural humility and cross-cultural competency.

This course offers an opportunity to deepen spiritual life in personal, interpersonal, communal, and cosmic dimensions. It will focus on engaging contemplative practices from across the inter-spiritual tradition as well as study the teachings of mystics, privileging those who lived engaged in the pursuit of collective justice. Participants will have a chance to explore the nature of spiritual formation while discerning which practices, resources, and attitudes are appropriate for sustaining vitality, rootedness, and creativity in their personal life, faith, leadership, academic, and social justice work.