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Fr Bowling teaching Forum in 2008
 

All conferees who will be in grades 9, 10, and 11 in the fall register for JUNIOR courses.

All conferees who will be in grade 12 or above in the fall register for SENIOR courses.

2010

First Period Courses

FORUM
Father James, Father Robinson, and Michael Zadig
(Required course for all FIRST year conferees.)
A study of basic aspects of the Christian life including the Bible, the Eucharist, Penance, and Prayer.

THE SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION
Mrs. Engels, Father O'Brien, and Chris Wood
(Required course for all SECOND year conferees.)
This course is about getting right with God through self-examination, repentance, confession, and forgiveness - then trying to do better.

THE HOLY EUCHARIST
Sister Sarah Masterson, Deacon Carlson, and Nathan Davis
(Required course for all THIRD year conferees.)
A study of the central act of worship, devotion, and Sacramental life of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

DOGMA
Father McKinnon and Karyn Davis
(Required course for all FOURTH year conferees.)
"Something is happening to us today... We are waging a war of religion... a life-and-death struggle between Christian and pagan.  It is a war of dogma.  The word dogma is unpopular and that is why I have used it... It is a lie that dogma does not matter; it matters enormously.  It is fatal to let people suppose that Christianity's only a mode of feeling... It is on the contrary a hard, tough, exacting and complex doctrine steeped in a drastic and uncompromising realism."  From Creed or Chaos by Dorothy L. Sayers..

THE HOLY GOSPEL ACCORDING TO JOHN
Father Stambaugh, Molly Cramer, and Daniel Montgomery
(Required course for all conferees attending the Conference for the FIFTH or more years.)
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have Everlasting life.
(John 3:16)  In Saint John's Gospel, we learn the truth about God and about making the choice to acknowledge Jesus as Lord.


Second Period Elective Courses for Juniors

THE CHRISTIAN IN THE 21st CENTRUY
Betsy James, Karyn Davis, and Daniel Montgomery
Christian, the world is waiting for you like a lion, to tear you apart and strip you of your faith.  While it is easy to be a Christian at St. Michael's Conference, it is another matter in the "outside world", in the common routines of work, school, sports, parties, dating, and family.  How can you "keep the Faith" there?

SINS OF OMISSION
Father Robinson, Beth Harrison, and Rob Thomason
Whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
 (James 4:17)  Can procrastination be a sin?  What about indifference to someone else's discomfort?  If I ignore an unpopular classmate, is that something I should confess?  It is all too easy to overlook or conveniently forget those things which we should have done.

THE BOOK OF JOB
Deacon Carlson, Father Cheney, and Taylor Watts
I know that my Redeemer lives.  (Job 19:25)  The story of one man's suffering, how he wrestled with God's justice, and his incredible faith.  Through this great book we learn about God's mercy, grace, and omnipotence.

Second Period Elective Courses for Seniors

DANTE'S PURGATORIO
Michael Zadig, Helen Henry, Emma Melo, and Becky Harper
Having identified sin in the Inferno, the journey continues in the second part of the Divine Comedy, with the ascent up Mount Purgatorio and the experience of penance.  (It is not necessary to have read the Inferno or taken the course offered last year.)

RELATIONSHIPS
Chris Wood, Jesse Shedden, and Judy Brown
Love, lust, dating, engagement and marriage.  How do we achieve sexual and moral maturity as Christians?  Knowing what is right and wrong sexually is not enough.  We need to know how to do the good (what God wants for our intimate relationships) and avoid the evil.

THE SUBTLETIES OF SATAN
Father McKinnon and Sister Sarah
Be sober, be vigilant; for your adversary the devil walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.  (I Peter 5:8)  Satan works under the cover of darkness, patiently stalking his prey.  How do we stay clear of his traps and avoid falling prey to his temptations?


Third Period Elective Courses for Both Juniors and Seniors

CHOIR:
Mark Dwyer, Mrs. Engels, and Becky Harper
(This course may be taken by BOTH Junior AND Senior Conferees)
A choir rehearsal in which anthems will be learned for Mass and Evensong.

Third Period Elective Course for Juniors

THE LIFE AND TRAVELS OF SAINT PAUL
Father O'Brien, Nathan Davis, and Molly Cramer
The most famous conversion in the history of Christianity took place on the road to Damascus. Saul, the persecutor of Christians, became Paul, the Apostle, who traveled the ancient world spreading the Word of God.

A COMPARISON OF CHRISTIANITY WITH JUDAISM, BUDDHISM, ISLAM, AND HINDUISM
Father Stambaugh and Michael Zadig
The politically correct tell us we must not proclaim Jesus as the Incarnate Son of God because to do so offends people of other religions, such as Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. Is one religion just as good as the next?  What are the differences between them?

IS GOD GREEN?
Father Cheney, Jesse Shedden, and Judy Brown
There is a new religion in our midst, and it is a false religion - a heresy and a cult.  Like any religion, there are gods (and goddesses), sins, virtues, dietary rules, sacraments, a priesthood, sacred texts, and commandments. For Jews and Christians, there is the strong, Biblically based doctrine of stewardship of the earth.  This is far from the heresies and dangers of the "Green Religion."

Third Period Elective Course for Seniors

BROKENESS
Helen Henry, Betsy James, and Rob Thomason
How can bad things happen to good people?  Does God care about human suffering? We will look to the writings of Peter Kreeft and others to understand the meaning of suffering.

A BIBLICAL DRAMA CLASS
Emma Melo, Taylor Watts, and Beth Harrison
From the mystery plays of the Middle Ages to Jesus Christ Superstar, this class will explore the development of Christian drama and its frequent theme: redemption through Jesus Christ. A play will be learned and acted out for the end of the week.