Learn about MCC Online Classes…

 

Our goal is to offer each of the three required MCC courses (e.g. Polity, Queer History, and Sexuality Studies) twice per calendar year, via an online format.  Details on this page will be added as they are confirmed, so check back often.  Our attempt is to give you as much information as possible so that you can plan in advance.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: In order to take an online course, you must have a headset, webcam, and high-speed internet connection. Classes generally utilize Adobe Connect for online meetings. You should contact RevCathyAlexander@MCCchurch.net  to run a technical test on Adobe before the class, if this is your first time using it.  Other courses may have additional technical requirements that must be met as a prerequisite for attending the course, as specified below.

Registration will open at least one month prior to each course, and will end two weeks prior to the course start time in order to provide students with time for reading, etc.  Please plan ahead.  (Click here for our refund policy.)  Please contact us if you have any questions.

NOTE: For those who are officially “In-Care” with MCC, limited scholarships are available to cover the costs associated with these required courses.  Please download, complete, and submit the Clergy Development Scholarship Application on the Forms and Manuals section of our website under Incoming Clergy.

MCC Polity

This course will consider the history, structure, and governance of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC) as well as the values, theologies, and cultures that have shaped MCC. This will be explored in the larger context of LGBTQ liberation movements and the global religious context. Facebook is used extensively in this course. Students should obtain and read, prior to the course, the following:

 

Perry, Troy D. with Thomas L.P. Swicegood. Don’t Be Afraid Anymore: The Story of Reverend Troy Perry and the Metropolitan Community Churches. New York: St. Martins Press, 1990. (used copies can be found online)

 

Jim Downs. Stand by Me: The Forgotten History of Gay Liberation. Basic Books (available from online outlets)

 

Conference dates (May 14 to July 9, 2019)

Register by visiting the MCC Polity course page on SSOL

Fall dates (Sept. 19-Nov. 7, 2019)

Register by visiting the MCC Polity course page on SSOL

Course Presenter: Rev. Terri Echelbarger

Polity Independent Study 

Register by visiting the MCC Polity course page on SSOL

Queer History

This course will give an overview of the history of GLBTQ people from the ancient Western world, through pre-industrial and modern cultures, to contemporary global situations. Particular emphasis will be placed on understanding the changing social constructions of sexuality and gender, and on the historic roots of contemporary religious, social, and political realities.

 

The following text books will be needed for the Queer History course:  (Other supplemental texts will be provided).

 

Vicki L.  Eaklor, Queer America (New Press, 2011)

Lillian Faderman, Odd Girls & Twilight Lovers (Penguin, 1992)

Susan Stryker, Transgender History (Seal Press, 2008)

 

Presenter:  Rev. Dr. Tom Bohache

 

First half 2019
Tuesdays 7:00-9:00 PM Eastern time
Mar 5,12,19,26; Apr 2,9

Register by visiting the MCC Queer History course page on SSOL


Second half 2019
Tuesdays 7:00-9:00 PM Eastern time
Oct 1,8,15,22,29; Nov 5

Register by visiting the MCC Queer History course page on SSOL

QUEER HISTORY INDEPENDENT STUDY

Register by visiting the MCC Queer History course page on SSOL

 

Sexuality Studies

This course provides students with basic information about human sexuality and offers an opportunity to become more comfortable talking about a variety of sexual issues.  Students will also have an opportunity to assess the sexual health of oneself, professional ministry, and location of ministry, including preventing misconduct and sexual abuse.  The course includes teachings/texts about sexuality from tradition, as well as denominational and congregational policies.  Students will reflect theologically on the integration of sexuality and spirituality, and examine the impact of race, class, gender, and heterosexism on issues of sexuality in  ministry.

 

Offered by the Religious Institute in Collaboration with the Office of Formation and Leadership Development of Metropolitan Community Churches – this course meets the MCC requirement for Sexuality Studies

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This unique online learning opportunity is self-directed, deeply reflective, and designed to increase knowledge and skills at the intersection of faith and sexuality.
“I have greatly enjoyed this course: the way it took on the subject honestly and openly, the
resources provided, and the emphasis on self-examination and reflection. The course has made me think differently about sexuality, power, sex, communication, and so many more dimensions of working in community.” – student comment
“The introduction to church history in the course will be an invaluable jumping off spot for my further theological reflection and study.” – student comment

The course addresses an urgent need among Christian religious leaders to be well-educated in issues related to sexuality. The primary texts for the course are the Religious Institute’s A Time to Build: Creating Sexually Healthy Faith Communities by Rev. Debra W. Haffner, Professional Sexual Ethics: A Holistic Ministry Approach by Patricia Beattie Jung and Darryl Stephens, and Making Love Just by Marvin Ellison.

Topics include
  • understanding personal values and history
  • components of sexual identity
  • sexual development
  • life behaviors of a sexually healthy adult
  • dealing with attraction and boundaries
  • pastoral care around sexuality issues
  • sexuality education in faith communities
  • church history and sexuality
  • scripture and sexuality
  • preaching/worship
Registration and more information

The course takes approximately 30 hours to complete (plus 1 to 2 hours of reading per week), is a blend of interactive and self-directed learning, and draws on the strengths of peer learning in an online community setting. For optimal learning, students should expect to spend 3 to 5 hours per week (including reading) on the course over the 12 week session.

 

Identity and Difference

This course aims to develop one’s ability to engage in critical analysis, both socially and theologically, with particular attention to structures and systems, ideologies, and lived practices that produce and reinforce imbalances of power vis a vis domination and oppression. During the course we will practice thinking critically about social locations, power and privilege, and their effects on one’s vocational contexts as ordained clergy, and on the communities MCC serves globally.

 

Course Instructor: Jared Vazquez

 

2019 Dates and Time:

7:30-9:00 pm US  Eastern time zone

February 5, 12, 19, 26, March 5, 12

 

Register by visiting the MCC Identity and Difference course page on SSOL