St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo is partnering with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Orange to offer a new Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry (MAPM) program that prepares students for ministry and pastoral leadership.
The program’s courses will be held at the Christ Cathedral Campus in Garden Grove.
In addition to learning from expert theologians, students enrolled in the program will be taught practical pastoral and ministerial management skills from active clerics.
Most Rev. Kevin Vann, Bishop of Orange, noted that the program’s primary focus is the New Evangelization and forming missionary disciples in the local Church of Orange.
“This is an opportunity to address recent trends within the greater Church which demonstrate that emphasis should be placed on providing the necessary motivation, knowledge and pastoral experience for the New Evangelization,” Bishop Vann wrote in a recent letter to pastors and parochial vicars.
The program’s first course — Theology of the New Evangelization — is modeled to provide parish and diocesan leaders with strategies and other resources to help them better engage with the faithful and those who are in need of renewal.
Applicants to the MAPM program must have already completed a bachelor’s degree before entering. It’s possible, however, that those who are not enrolled in the program will be able to audit individual courses.
Some of the topics covered in the initial course include: The Beatitudes, Christian Brotherhood, Evangelization in the Vatican, New Methods of Evangelization, and Liturgy and Evangelization.
The Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry is a two-year, full-time 42-credit degree program consisting of theological and pastoral ministry competency requirements, as well as a culminating integration paper or project.
The in-classroom schedule for the first course will be Monday evenings, Feb. 4-May 13, from 7-9 p.m., at Christ Cathedral Campus in Garden Grove. The first course is being offered at an introductory price of $1,200.
To learn more about the program, attend an information session on Monday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. in the Cultural Center Atrium at Christ Cathedral.
Visit www.rcbo.org/maevangelization to learn more.