Contextual Education at Candler

Contextual Education is the heart of Candler’s Master of Divinity curriculum, integrating theological education with opportunities for formation in ministry and leadership in churches, social service agencies, hospitals, nonprofits, campus ministries, and other clinical and ecclesial settings. Our unique approach blends classroom learning, hands-on experience, and mentor-led critical reflection for the best possible preparation for ministry and transformational leadership.

Con Ed I and II

A four-semester sequence, Contextual Education I and Contextual Education II are required of all MDiv students, and are typically completed in the first two years of the MDiv program. Through Con Ed, you’ll gain hands-on ministry experience and connect it to your classroom learning—the combination of the practical and the academic yields a truly comprehensive education for ministry. Learn more about Contextual Education I and Contextual Education II.

Teaching Parish

MDiv students can also fulfill their Contextual Education requirement through the Teaching Parish program, where students serve as pastors-in-charge of local churches or as assistant pastors of larger churches. You’ll gain ministerial experience and participate in a reflection group led by a seasoned pastor. The program is open to United Methodists appointed to student pastorates as well as students serving pastorates in other denominations and in non-denominational churches.

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Episcopal and Anglican Studies

Contextual Education for students in the Episcopal and Anglican Studies Program is designed to enhance priestly formation and is centered on real-life ministry that takes place in carefully supervised placements in Episcopal churches. If you’re seeking an EAS certificate, you’ll serve for 3 years; those not seeking a certificate complete 2 years, with the first year in a social or clinical setting and the second year in a parish.

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Clinical Pastoral Education

CPE is a nationally certified program that provides supervised training in pastoral care and counseling. Typical placements are in hospitals, clinics, and community agencies. Candler students may receive academic credit for intensive pastoral care and counseling training completed through programs accredited by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE).

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Internships

MDiv, MTS, MRL, and MRPL students can enrich their studies and earn academic credit—and sometimes a stipend—through an internship at a church, an agency, or an existing internship program. Tailor your internship to specific learning goals, gain more experience in a particular aspect of ministry, and be exposed to a broad range of professional opportunities.

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Who’s Who in Con Ed

Meet the faculty, staff, and site supervisors who bring Contextual Education to life for so many Candler students.

Meet the Team

Candler School of Theology Contextual Education Who's Who

Candler Firsthand

Hear what these students and recent alumni have to say about their Con Ed experience.

“By pushing you to reflect, explore, and investigate the intersection between vocation and your passions, skills, and gifts, Con Ed will transform and refine you so that when you leave this place, you are wiser, stronger, and kinder than you were when you entered. Thanks to my Con Ed experience, I am a more confident, good, and faithful servant with a clearer direction and a greater sense of what God has put me on this earth to do.”

Gabby Wilkinson

MDiv '24

“By pushing you to reflect, explore, and investigate the intersection between vocation and your passions, skills, and gifts, Con Ed will transform and refine you so that when you leave this place, you are wiser, stronger, and kinder than you were when you entered. Thanks to my Con Ed experience, I am a more confident, good, and faithful servant with a clearer direction and a greater sense of what God has put me on this earth to do.”

Gabby Wilkinson

MDiv '24

“Glenn Memorial UMC gives me a space to take chances, make mistakes, and learn what it means to be in congregational ministry. My work in Family Ministries gives me a chance to gain hands-on experience in taking big theological concepts from the classroom and turning them into things that our 3rd graders can understand. Doing this work has given me a loving church community that seeks to learn from me as much I seek to learn from them.”

Chase McKoon

MDiv '23

“I was profoundly changed by my experience in Con Ed I, where I served as a mentor at a refugee resettlement agency. I was paired with two Burmese teenage refugees as their after-school tutor, but this quickly grew into what I hope will be a lifelong relationship. Their impact on my worldview and vocational trajectory is immeasurable…I count myself lucky to be a part of their lives and to watch them grow into incredible, resilient young women.”

Gaby Guerrero

MDiv '24

“Candler’s ConEd program is both spiritually nourishing and deeply rewarding...It’s a carefully crafted way to not just imagine yourself in various ministry contexts, but to actually inhabit those spaces and learn what it is truly like...Con Ed is like the perfect dressing room in a clothing store: You get to try on your favorite outfit to make sure it’s the right fit before you walk out the door.”

Co’Relous Bryant

MDiv '22

“I am extremely grateful for my Con Ed experience. It was life-changing and not something I could have accomplished on my own. Teaching Parish has allowed me to test out ministry in a capacity that I could not have done without Candler.”

Jodi Christensen

MDiv '24

Candler graduates, are you looking for the Release of Evaluations?

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Contextual Education at Candler

Contextual Education Components

Who’s Who in Con Ed

Candler Firsthand

“I am extremely grateful for my Con Ed experience. It was life-changing and not something I could have accomplished on my own. Teaching Parish has allowed me to test out ministry in a capacity that I could not have done without Candler.”

Candler graduates, are you looking for the Release of Evaluations?