Stanton Center

New Class Sessions Starting in August

2010-07-08T18:24:00.003-05:00

We're in the process of updating our website (which is why it still says 2009), but we really do have classes beginning August 19, 2010!

Here's a complete list with the time that each class will meet:

Apologetics - Saturday 1 - 4 pm

Anglican History - Sunday 1:30 - 4:30 pm

Book of Common Prayer - Saturday 8 - 11 am

History, Role, and Meaning of the Diaconate - Saturday 1 - 4 pm

Homiletics - Friday 6-9 pm

Moral Theology - Sunday 1:30 - 4:30 pm

New Testament I (the Gospels) - Saturday 4 - 7 pm

Old Testament Survey (fall only) - Saturday 8 - 11 am

Pastoral Care - Sunday 1:30 - 4:30 pm

Sacred Music - Saturday 8-11 am

Sacramental Ministry of Deacons - Saturday 8-11 am

Sacramental Theology (fall only) - Saturday 8-11 am

Spiritual Theology - Friday 6-9 pm

Spiritual Leadership of Groups - Friday 6-9 pm

Systematic Theology - Saturday 4-7 pm

Youth Ministry - Saturday 1-4 pm

The Stanton Center offers small classes, a great faculty, and an opportunity to be part of a group of people who enjoy discussing every aspect of the Christian faith. Want to know more? Email npowers@episcopalcathedral.org or call 214-823-8134 and ask for Deacon Nancy Powers.

Stanton Center Graduates

2010-05-25T10:04:00.005-05:00

Dr. Ashley Classen and Mrs. Debra Jones each received a Diploma in Ministry under the Titus Project guidelines at the Stanton Center graduation ceremony on May 15, 2010. The Rt. Rev. James Stanton, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas, and The Very Rev. Kevin Martin, Dean of the Stanton Center, were on hand to give Ashley and Debra their diplomas. The graduation Eucharist was followed by a luncheon in the Great Hall attended by the graduates, family members, and Stanton Center instructors and students. We congratulate our two graduates and look forward to a summer break before classes begin again in August!

Stanton Center classes are finishing up this weekend

2010-05-12T18:38:00.003-05:00

With the last weekend of classes now in sight, Stanton Center students are busy studying, reflecting, and writing those final papers. I'm sure everyone is looking forward to our break during June and July before we return in August! We will be saying a fond farewell and congratulations to two of our students who have completed their studies - Ashley Classen and Debra Jones. Both are in the process for ordination (God willing) to the transitional diaconate and eventually to the priesthood. Bishop Stanton will be giving them their diplomas on Saturday at 11:15 in the Cathedral. Everyone is welcome to join us as we give thanks to God for another great year of theological study at the Stanton Center and congratulate Ashley and Debra on their achievement.

2010-02-22T16:02:00.003-06:00

February is a busy month at the Stanton Center! We have our Lenten Quiet Day next Saturday, Feb. 27th, at St. Luke's from 9 to 3. We will be exploring various types of prayer and enjoying some great fellowship.

Catalogs for the 2010-2011 school year (which begins in August) are now available. We will begin registration in April. Be sure to check out the new Lay Leader Certification Programs, which are required for licensing by the Diocese in some areas of lay ministry.

We are lookiing forward to our 3rd Annual Vestry Seminar on March 13th! If your church would like to sign up, please contact Deacon Nancy Powers at npowers@episcopalcathedral.org . Last year over 150 people came, and all agreed it was a very informative day.

New classes begin!

2009-08-23T04:44:00.002-05:00

Classes at the Stanton Center began this weekend, August 21st - 23rd. Twenty-eight students have signed up for one or more courses at the Stanton Center this year and are looking forward to participating in this community of people who are committed to learning more about the Christian faith. If you missed the first day, it's still not too late to add a class - just contact Deacon Rosemary Trei, our registrar, at crtrei@sbcglobal.net for information. Stanton Center students, check out our new Facebook site (students only).

Register Now for Fall!

2009-07-10T23:07:00.002-05:00

We are currently registering students for the '09-'10 term at the Stanton Center. Anyone who is interested in learning more about the Christian faith may register for credit (write the papers, get the grade) or audit (read, listen, learn with no written requirements). If you have a desire to go deeper, learn more, and become part of a community of people serious about their faith, contact Deacon Nancy Powers at 214-823-8134, ext. 228 or npowers@episcopalcathedral.org for more information about available classes, scheduling, and tuition costs. Don't wait - classes start in August!

Rosemary Trei Ordained to the Diaconate

2009-06-24T12:44:00.001-05:00

Stanton Center Registrar Rosemary Trei was one of five candidates ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacons on Saturday, June 6th at St. Matthew's Cathedral. The five new deacons (pictured left to right with Bishop Stanton) are: The Rev. Freda Brown, The Rev. Mary Lessmann, The Rev. Thomas Kincaid, The Rev. Michael Cover, and The Rev. Rosemary Trei.

Deacon Rosemary will continue to serve as the Registrar for the Stanton Center (yeah!) and has been assigned to serve at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in her new role as a deacon. We are so proud to have Deacon Rosemary, a Stanton Center graduate, ordained as a deacon in Christ's one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church. May God continue to bless her and her family!

Stanton Center Graduation Day

2009-06-24T12:15:00.006-05:00

We are proud to announce the graduation of three of our outstanding students at the Stanton Center: (left to right in photo) D. R. Marshall, Ron Holmes, and Jan Benitz. Each of these students received a Diploma in Ministry after successfully completing all of the required courses at the Center. On hand to congratulate the students and hand out diplomas were the Stanton Center Dean, The Very Rev. Kevin Martin, The Right Rev. James Stanton, Bishop of the Diocese of Dallas, and Stanton Center Director, the Rev. Canon Nancy Powers. We will miss D. R., Ron, and Jan and hope they will join us for Holy Eucharist and lunch one Saturday next fall!

Diaconal Ordination

2009-06-02T22:32:00.003-05:00

I am pleased to announce that Rosemary Trei, our Stanton Center registrar, will be among a group of five individuals ordained to the diaconate on Saturday, June 6th, at 10 a.m. at St. Matthew's Cathedral. Rosemary graduated from the Stanton Center in 2008. She was "raised up" for the diaconate by St. Paul's in Duncanville and will be serving as a deacon at St. Luke's in Dallas after her ordination. Watch here for pictures after the ordination!

The Seven Capital Sins of Modern Man

2009-05-12T22:37:00.002-05:00

I was intrigued by reading a list of the 7 Capital Sins of Modern Man in a book called 503 Sermon Illustrations by Jose Martinez. The 7 Capital Sins (an update, I would assume, of the 7 Deadly Sins) are attributed to Mahatma Ghandi. Here's the list:

Politics without principles
Wealth without work
Pleasure without conscience
Knowledge without character
Business without morality
Worship without sacrifice
Science without humanity

What do you think? Are these the sins that separate us from God?

Graduation Day

2009-05-12T22:35:00.001-05:00

Saturday, May 16th is graduation day for three Stanton Center students who will be earning a diploma in ministry: Ron Holmes, D. R. Marshall, and Jan Benitz. Please join us for the celebration of Holy Eucharist and graduation ceremony in the Cathedral at 11:15 on Saturday. Congratulations graduates!

Spring Events

2009-03-20T08:08:00.002-05:00

Archdeacon Diana Luck and I are attending a conference of the North American Association for the Diaconate (www.diakonoi.org) this weekend in Jackson, Mississippi. The focus of the conference is Deacon Formation That Works. We're excited about sharing ideas with other Archdeacons and Directors of Deacon Formation across the country - there are people here from as far away as Hawaii!

Meanwhile, the Stanton Center is holding class this weekend in the capable hands of Rosemary Trei. Check in with Rosemary if you want to find out more about our Stanton Center Quiet Day on April 4th or the Evangelism in a Post-Modern Society conference on March 28th.

Registration for next year is beginning soon, so contact the center (npowers@episcopalcathrdral.org) if you are interested in finding out about the classes that begin in August of '09!

May the grace of Christ be with you as you seek his will for this day and for your life!

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T18:04:00.003-06:00

Stanton Center students and faculty are enjoying the Christmas holidays, recovering from mid-term exams and papers that were due in December, and gearing up for the January class weekend!

Plans for the spring include receiving entries from Episcopal seminarians for the Bishop Donis Patterson Award for Excellence in Evangelistic Preaching. The winner of this award will preach at the Stanton Center Eucharist in April. And on March 7th, the Stanton Center will be co-hosting the 2nd Annual Seminar for New Vestry Members. Last year over 100 vestry and clergy from across the Diocese attended this informative seminar.

Plans are already underway for classes that will begin in August of 2009, and 2009 catalogs will be available in March. Meanwhile, current students had such a great time at our fall retreat that they are asking to have another retreat sometime this spring. Anyone interested in helping plan the next retreat should contact Deacon Nancy or Rosemary Trei.

Dr. Wells to speak on Thomas Aquinas

2008-11-12T18:41:00.004-06:00

Thomas Aquinas is considered to be one of the greatest (if not the greatest) theologian in the history of Western Christianity. Dr. Christopher Wells has just completed his Ph.D. at the University of Notre Dame, where he specialized in the history of Christian theology, and Thomas Aquinas in particular. Dr. Wells will speak at St. Matthew's Cathedral on Tuesday, December 9th at 6 p.m. on the intriguing topic Sacraments of the Incarnate Word: Thomas Aquinas on the Passion of Theology. The cost is $20 and a light supper will be served. To register email npowers@episcopalcathedral.org

A new year has begun!

2008-08-29T11:43:00.002-05:00

Classes at the Stanton Center got off to a great start last weekend. We are pleased to have more students enrolled this year, particularly some who are part of the new Titus Project for training clergy for rural churches.

We are also pleased to welcome our new instructors this year - Bishop Suffragan Paul Lambert, who is teaching a class in Moral Theology, and Canon Neal Michell, who is teaching Anglican History. If you are interested in signing up for one of these or any of our other classes, the deadline for adding a class is September 20th.

Call Deacon Nancy Powers at 214-823-8134, ext. 228 to register.

Bishop Suffragan ordained

2008-07-12T20:43:00.002-05:00

In a beautiful service at St. Michael and All Angels today, Paul Lambert was ordained as Bishop Suffragan in the Diocese of Dallas. Paul has been serving as the Canon to the Ordinary for many years, so he is a familiar face to most of us, but we are looking forward to seeing him in his new hat! (OK, new mitre.) We are also looking forward to seeing him at the Stanton Center starting in August - he has agreed to join the Stanton Center faculty! Keep an eye on this blog for more details!

Sacred Music

2008-06-14T11:32:00.005-05:00

Do the hymns we sing on Sunday have any theological meaning, or are they just "window dressing" for our worship service? What's the difference between Anglican chant and Gregorian chant? What's "plainsong"? Find out the answers to these questions and everything else you always wanted to know about church music in "Sacred Music", a course being offered at the Stanton Center beginning in August. For more information, email npowers@episcopalcathedral.org .

New Testament Greek Class Starting Today

2008-06-02T07:29:00.002-05:00

It's not too late to join our summer class in New Testament Greek. The class begins this evening at 6:30 in Garrett Hall at St. Matthew's Cathedral and will run for eight weeks. This class is being offered on a pass/fail basis (no worries!)
and will be taught by Andrew Van Kirk. Please email npowers@episcopalcathedral.org for more information
or just show up at 6:30 today.

Stanton Center Graduation Day

2008-05-17T21:22:00.010-05:00

Bishop Stanton conferred a Diploma in Ministry upon graduate Rosemary Trei today. Rosemary has completed her theological studies, which included fifteen courses, each one representing thirty hours of class time and many hours of study and writing. Rosemary is a postulant for ordination to the diaconate in the Diocese of Dallas and will be completing a unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Parkland this summer. Congratulations, Rosemary, on this outstanding achievement!

Bishop Patterson Award

2008-05-12T18:17:00.008-05:00

Congratulations to Nate Bostian, the winner of this year's Bishop Donis Patterson Award for Excellence in Evangelistic Preaching. The award was sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas and the Stanton Center for Ministry Formation. Nate preached his sermon for the students and faculty of the Stanton Center at the Eucharist on April 19th, after which Bishop Stanton presented the $1000 award to Nate and his wife Kim. Nate is the chaplain at SMU's Canterbury House and will be receiving a Master of Divinity degree from Perkins School of Theology next week.

New classes start in August

2008-03-24T21:49:00.005-05:00

Looking for a way to grow spiritually? Want to really understand the Bible? Consider making the Stanton Center a part of your personal growth plan. New classes start in August and it's not too soon to start thinking about signing up for one. Stanton Center classes meet one weekend a month from August through January. Course offerings include: New Testament, Old Testament, Spiritual Theology, Youth Ministry, Pastoral Care, Systematic Theology, Anglican History, Historical Theology.....Not sure what all of those names even mean? Contact me at and I'll be happy to help you find the course that meets your needs.

2008-03-12T22:23:00.004-05:00

Join us for a multi-cultural Eucharist on Saturday at 11:15 in the Cathedral. Fr. Tony Munoz will conduct our service in Spanish. He will be assisted by Deacon Phyllis Doty. Even if you don't know any Spanish, this service will give you a sense of the universality of our liturgy. See you there!

Go Greek this summer!

2008-03-12T07:50:00.003-05:00

The Stanton Center will be offering an eight week summer course in New Testament Greek. After completing this course, you will be able to use resources for reading the New Testament in the original Greek. The course will meet two evenings a week beginning in June, Monday and Thursday from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuition is $195. Contact Nancy Powers at for more info or to register for the class.

Welcome!

2008-03-11T22:30:00.004-05:00

Hello and welcome to the new blog for the Stanton Center! Here you'll find news, photos, and discussion from The Right Reverend James M. Stanton Center for Ministry Formation at St. Matthew's Cathedral. Content by the Rev. Canon Nancy Powers. Blog design by Stephanie Powers.