New Online Evening course via Videoconference:

CLS is offering SYS100 Theological Method, as an online evening course, beginning on Thursday, September 19th. This introductory Systematics class will be available to distant students, regardless of physical location, in addition to residential students.

The course is taught in two components:

•  online structured discussion forums
• weekly 1-1/2 hour seminar that meets via live videoconference every Thursday night from 6:00 to 7:30 pm (MST).

Course Description:

SYS 100 Theological Method is an introduction to doing confessional Lutheran theology, this course covers such topics as theology as habitus, the nature and properties of Scripture and its place in the theological task, and issues surrounding confessional subscription. (3 credits)

Admission Requirements:

Students must have completed a Bachelor's Degree from an accredited school. Any discipline is acceptable.

Students DO NOT NEED to have completed either Biblical Languages to register for this course.

Books Required (students are responsible for purchasing their own books):

·         Bayer, Oswald.  Theology the Lutheran Way.  Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007.

·         Forde, Gerhard O.  On Being a Theologian of the Cross: Reflections on Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation, 1518.  Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997.

·         Kolb, Robert W., and Timothy J. Wengert, eds. The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church.  Minneapolis: Fortress, 2000.

·         Pieper, Francis. Christian Dogmatics.  Vol. 1.  St. Louis: Concordia, 1950.

Equipment needed:

Students need a good quality high speed internet connection, and a good quality computer with webcam, microphone, and headset. If you can watch YouTube videos and use software such as Skype with ease, you should be well equipped to participate in this class. (Slightly more detailed information here: http://www.concordiasem.ab.ca/academics/distance.php)

Cost:

$780 tuition ($300 to audit only)

$50 Comprehensive Student Resource Fee (Part Time)

Application Form:

http://www.concordiasem.ab.ca/enrolment/documents/ApplicationOpenStudies.pdf

FREE CLS FALL QUEST COURSE BEGINS SEPT. 10

Dates: September 10, 17, 24 and October 1 at 7:00 pm (MST)
Topic:  “Christianity and the Movies: A Lutheran Approach to Media Consumption”
Presenter:  Rev. Ted Giese associate pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Regina, Saskatchewan.
 Discernment, or the ability to distinguish and test things, is held up in Scripture as both a gift of the Holy Spirit and a skill the Christian is encouraged to personally develop.  In a culture that is awash in media the need to test what is watched and to discern what is being presented is very important. How might a Lutheran Christian approach this task? What tools would be useful in aiding the task of media consumption?  What practical end would this exercise hope to accomplish? Using the medium of film this Quest course will investigate the medium itself, pietism and personal piety, Christian cultural capital, and media driven apologetics.
This free Quest course, which takes place in the seminary's distance-education classroom, is supported by your donations. If you have a computer with a decent quality internet connection capable of using Skype or watching YouTube videos, you are ready to participate. Join us online here: http://concordia.adobeconnect.com/quest.
Some Bible Study groups have taken advantage of the online classes by gathering where they could project the course on a screen. It is easy to set-up and get connected to the class, contact the seminary to get your group started.
For more information, or to register for the free classes, contact Rhonda Buck at development@concordiasem.ab.ca or 780-474-1468 ext. 225.

Learning Biblical Hebrew

Prof. Jonathan Kraemer will be leading an Online Biblical Hebrew course beginning in September. CLS is offering this full year, distance, non-credit, Hebrew course starting on September 4. The cost is $250 per semester, plus materials. Students will work on their own and meet weekly via videoconference.

The course is intended to bring students to a level of competency in Biblical Hebrew that will prepare them for exegetical studies in the Master of Divinity degree program.

Contact the Registrar, Jeff Nachtigall, to register, or with any questions that you might have.

Jeff Nachtigall
Registrar
(780) 474-1468
registrar@concordiasem.ab.ca

The following is the complete invitation to register for this course:

***
An invitation to Biblical Hebrew

Whether you are a pre-seminary student needing your language requirement, a pastor brushing up, or an interested layperson, you are invited to join an upcoming non-credit Biblical Hebrew Course at Concordia Lutheran Seminary. There are no pre-requisites for the course, just an interest in reading the Old Testament in its original language and a willingness to work at it on a regular basis.
The approach to this course is probably quite different than many others you have experienced. Using distance delivery, it is a combination of independent work and face-to-face online interaction. The course’s core content is provided by Drs. Gary Pratico, and Miles Van Pelt co-authors of the best-selling Basics of Biblical Hebrew curriculum. Their print materials (textbook and workbook) are accompanied by recorded lectures, available on DVD. Together, these resources present the bulk of the teaching of each week’s lesson. Accompanying Drs. Pratico and Van Pelt is Professor Jonathan Kraemer, CLS’ professor of Old Testament. He is the co-ordinator, tutor, and “live” resource person for the course. He will conduct one scheduled, live session per week with the whole class via the Internet, and hold regular online “office hours” for individual or group assistance.
To help everyone succeed, each week’s lesson has seven segments. Ideally students will complete one of these each day in sequence, acquiring the language in frequent small doses. (However, the first four segments of each week's work can be grouped into two or three batches, if this is more convenient.)

(1)    Read the chapter in the textbook. This should be just a cursory first reading of the chapter. Do not worry about memorizing anything (yet!). Time: 1.0 hour.
(2)    View Dr. Van Pelt’s DVD lecture, teaching this material in depth. Time: 30 minutes.
(3)    Return to the chapter and read it again, studying it in more detail. Time: 1-1.5 hrs.
(4)    Complete the exercises in the Basics of Biblical Hebrew Workbook. Check your work against the answer key on the CD accompanying the textbook. Note any questions which you would like to discuss in class. Time: 1.0- 1.5 hours.
(5)    Attend Prof. Kraemer’s online class (Monday evening, 7:00 - 8:30 pm MST), reviewing and discussing the week’s material.
(6)    Take a practice quiz available online. Time: 20 minutes?
(7)    Discuss any lingering questions or problems with Prof. Kraemer during his weekly online “office hours” session for individual help and instruction (Wednesday evening, 7:00 - 8:30 MST).
(8)    Take the final quiz. Time: 20 minutes? 

Duration: Full-year course (35 weeks), but separate registration for each semester

Fall semester: week of Sept 4 through week of Dec 18 (16 weeks)

Spring semester: week of Jan 6 through week of May 28, except week of Mar 17 (= spring break) (19 weeks)

Cost: $250 per semester

Textbooks:

Old Testament Hebrew Vocabulary Cards. Zondervan, 2004.  or  Old Testament Hebrew Vocabulary Cards by iCode, Inc. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/old-testament-hebrew-vocabulary/id568110384?mt=8  (optional)


Pratico, Gary Davis, and Miles V Van Pelt. Basics of Biblical Hebrew. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2007.

———. Basics of Biblical Hebrew Workbook. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2007

———. Basics of Biblical Hebrew Vocabulary. Read by Jonathan T. Pennington. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2006

Van Pelt, Miles V. Basics of Biblical Hebrew Video Lectures: A Complete Course for the Beginner. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2012.

***All of the above, except the app, may be purchased as a package called: “Learn Biblical Hebrew Pack”   ISBN: 0310513952  (note that amazon.ca says it has not been released yet and cannot be ordered. Indigo-chapters, however, does have it available.)

A mandatory orientation session takes place in CLS' online classroom on Weds 4 Sept at 7:00 - 8:30 pm MST. Students should begin their course-work within a day or two of this session. The first online class meeting is on Mon 9 Sept, 7:00 - 8:30 pm MST.

To apply, email jnachtigall@concordiasem.ab.ca.

Opening Service for the 30th Academic Year - Sept. 8th

The Opening Service will be held at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church, Leduc on Sunday, September 8th at 3:00 pm .
We are delighted that Rev. Rudy Pastucha, 3rd VP LCC, Board of Regents member and pastor of Faith Lutheran Church, Saskatoon, SK is our guest preacher.
We invite everyone to celebrate with us the beginning of another academic year.