UDTS Doctor of Ministry Cohort

Renewal for Pastors and Congregations:

Prayer, Liturgy, and Discipleship

A new Doctor of Ministry cohort begins January 2024

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Renewal.

Personal. Communal. Global.

Renewed pastors lead renewed ministries. Renewed communities encourage and support joyful discipleship in Jesus Christ--loving God, neighbor and self--for the life and healing of the world.

For renewal to be lasting and vital, it needs to address both personal and corporate worship life, education in the faith, and practices of discipleship.

This UDTS Doctor of Ministry cohort explores the relationship between renewal, prayer, liturgical formation, and practices of discipleship for the minister & laity; within faith communities; and for the global Church.

Cohort Professor - Rev. Dr. Susan Forshey

Dr. Forshey is the Associate Professor of Discipleship and Christian Formation, and Director of the MA in Ministry, at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. She is also a priest and spiritual director, serving as Associate Pastor at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Dubuque.

Mother Susan received a Master of Divinity at Saint John’s University, Collegeville, a Benedictine abbey, and a PhD in Theological Studies from Boston University, focusing on practical theology and spirituality.

Her experience includes twenty-five years in Christian education, retreat facilitation, worship leadership in congregational and campus contexts, and young adult ministry, and eighteen years in higher education. She has served on the pastoral staff of four churches in three denominations: Presbyterian USA, United Methodist, and the Episcopal Church.

Her areas of research are the influence of social technology on the contemplative life; how the brain learns and prays; the role of deliberate practice in the life of discipleship; and Celtic spirituality.

Her wise cat, Minerva, encourages her to get off the smartphone and enjoy the beauty of non-screen life.

Cohort Professor - Rev. Dr. Kevin Goodrich, O.P.

Fr. Goodrich is a friar in the Anglican Order of Preachers. The Order is also known as the Dominicans after the 13th century saint, St. Dominic. He currently serves as the Pastor of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Dubuque. He holds six earned degrees, including doctoral degrees in Christian Spirituality (DMin) and theology (PhD). He is also a trained spiritual director.

His experience includes twenty-five years in Christian ministry, serving Lutheran and Episcopal congregations in rural, suburban, and urban contexts in the United States and Canada. He has also taught at Catholic and Protestant universities for over fifteen years.

He is the author or editor of several books, including, Cell Phone Spirituality: What your cell phone can teach you about life and God. He is a student of the English Mystical Tradition, which includes Julian of Norwich.

He’s known for his sense of humor, preaching style, and ability to connect Christian faith with everyday life.

Year 1

Personal Discipleship Renewal:

Practices of Prayer

The first year will focus on the Christian minister’s own personal renewal, and the deepening of personal discipleship so as to permeate all of life and practice. A key aspect of this exploration with include the rich tradition of spiritual practices within the Christian tradition; modern cognitive approaches to habit formation; and reflection on the influence of consumerism, addictive social technologies, and cultural formation on the life of prayer.

Year 2

Corporate Discipleship Renewal:

Liturgy and Discipleship

The second year will focus on liturgy and catechesis as essential ways ministers exercise leadership and invite others into discipleship. Corporate liturgical practice will be explored as the central location for Christian education and formation, the locus of renewal. Challenges to corporate renewal will be explored in readings and presentations.

Year 3

Renewal for the Life of the World:

Incarnating the Faith

The third year will focus on the role of a renewed Church in God's redemptive mission for Creation, building upon the readings, discussions, and assignments from the previous years, and supporting students in crafting their own research project/thesis toward personal, pastoral, or parish renewal, for the life of the world. After the third year, students will write a dissertation based on their research.

Sample Semester Reading List

The Little Monk - Harry Farra
The Resilient Practitioner: Burnout and Compassion Fatigue Prevention and Self-Care Strategies for the Helping Professions -Thomas M. Skovholt, Michelle Trotter-Mathison
Theology: The Basics - Alister E. McGrath
Streams of Living Water: Celebrating the Great Traditions of Christian Faith - Richard J. Foster
Exploring the Spirituality of the Gospels - Patrick J. Hartin
Christian Proficiency - Martin Thornton
Liturgy of the Ordinary: Sacred Practices in Everyday Life - Tish Harrison Warren
Try Softer - Aundi Kolber
You Are What You Love - James K. A. Smith
Faith Formation in a Secular Age: Responding to the Church's Obsession with Youthfulness - Andrew Root
Peak – Anders Ericsson
Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology and the Business of Keeping Us Hooked - Adam Alter
The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains - Nicholas Carr
Addiction & Grace - Gerald G. May