MASTER OF ARTS IN LEADERSHIP FOR FAMILY MINISTRY AND FAITH DEVELOPMENT:

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DU Home > Academics > School of Leadership and Continuing Studies > Programs > Master of Arts in Leadership for Family Ministry and Faith Development > Year One Courses

Course Descriptions for Year One

Summer I

Faith and Family – Personal Perspectives

This session will begin with an orientation retreat and will include personal reflection, communication skills, and community-building activities. Grounded in the theology of ministry, students will have a unique opportunity to integrate the tradition with experience. A computer workshop to provide skills for online learning is part of the curriculum.  Features of the city of Chicago will also be part of the learning experience.

Fall

Marriage and Family Spirituality

This course will offer a comprehensive presentation of the various strands of Christian spirituality with special attention to their contribution to marriage and family life. The charisms of Benedictine, Dominican and Ignatian spirituality will be explored. The course will also analyze key biblical passages, and the role of spirituality in contemporary marriage and family life.

Spring I

Family Ministry and Family Systems

Ministers who work with families, know the complex and challenging questions asked about faith development within family life. Looking at family systems will provide a deeper understanding for the ways families interact. We will explore the sacred ground of home, and also examine how parishes can respond to needs by promoting catechesis, liturgy and rituals, prayer, justice and service to strengthen today’s families, called by Vatican II to be “Domestic Church." We will also explore ethical and moral issues associated with marriage and family, and look at families in their complexity and diversity.

Spring II

Faith Development and the Lifecycle

This course connects the dynamics of Christian faith with various states in the human lifecycle. Various theories of human development will be reviewed and evaluated over and against the tradition of faith growth. The cultural context for faith will be addressed especially in the life of faith in a secularized, postmodern society. The manner in which Faith is passed on in community, especially in family, will be explored.