Individual Discernment

• Discerner meets with spiritual director, sponsoring priest, and others for initial conversation
  • Rector agrees to form Congregational Discernment Committee (CDC)

Congregational Discernment

• Discerner meets with CDC for approximately one year to discern call for further ministry
  • CDC recommendation to Vestry
• Rector and Vestry nominate aspirant

Interview with Bishop and Retreat with COM

• Discerner meets with the Bishop and Commission on Ministry (COM)
  • COM and Bishop Approval

Diocesan Discernment Year

• Discerner explores ministry opportunities in a new congregation for at least six months; meets with new CDC to refine focus on further ministry direction.
  • New CDC recommendation to COM

Next Steps Conference

• Discerner meets with COM and Bishop.
  • COM recommendation to Bishop
    • Bishop approves postulancy
  • Formal seminary formation begins
  • The Bishop Kemper School For Ministry (BKSM): bishopkemperschool.org
    • For deacon Postulants, BKSM offers a two-year curriculum. Details of the curriculum are on the BKSM website.
    • Postulants for the priesthood may attend one of the listed seminaries, or BKSM. For Postulants who expect to remain in Missouri, Kansas or Nebraska, and who expect their priestly ministries to be either part-time or unpaid, BKSM might make sense as it is designed specifically for students who will remain in the diocese while continuing to work at secular employment. The BKSM curriculum for future priests consists of 30 courses taken over three years. Details of the curriculum are on the BKSM website.
    • Postulants for the priesthood who expect to work full-time for the church should plan to attend one of the listed seminaries and enroll in its Master of Divinity program.
      • Berkley Divinity School at Yale. New Haven, CT.(Residential): berkeleydivinity.yale.edu
      • Bexley-Seabury, Chicago, IL. (Hybrid): bexleyseabury.edu
      • Church Divinity School of the Pacific. Berkley, CA. (hybrid): cdsp.edu
      • Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest. Austin, TX(Residential): ssw.edu
      • The School of Theology, University of the South. Sewanee, TN (Residential): theology.sewanee.edu
      • Virginia Theological Seminary. Alexandria, VA (Residential): www.vts.edu
  • Note that students are expected to have already completed a bachelor’s degree.

Postulancy

• Discerner continues with seminary education and formation.
  • Discerner applies for candidacy
• Discerner continues with seminary education and formation.
  • Discerner applies for candidacy

Candidacy Interview

• Discerner meets with COM and Bishop
  • COM recommendation to Bishop
  • Bishop approves candidacy

Candidacy

Discerner completes seminary and sits for canonical exams

Final Recommendation

• COM recommendation to Bishop
• Standing Committee consent
• Bishop approves recommendation

Ordination

• Diaconal ordination
• For those called to be a priest, priestly ordination at least six months later

Templates and Forms

All the forms can be found in the Ordination Section of the Document Library page.

For More Information

Contact the Vocations Missioner at vocations@diowestmo.org.