Three-Month
Continuing Education / Spiritual Renewal

Our expectations: - your personal background

Tantur welcomes participants for the Continuing Education course who are experienced in pastoral and teaching work. Tantur's international, intercultural community of study and prayer is not designed for those who have retired from active ministry.

Participants should already have some ecumenical or interreligious experiences, and wish to enlarge their vision and deepen their commitment through lectures and seminars.

We are not equipped to accommodate those in the midst of serious vocational crises, of deep psychological problems, or of chemical dependencies (alcohol or drugs).

- and your participation   (top of page)

For pedagogical and community-building reasons, one should begin at the beginning for the week of orientations and stay for at least seven weeks (this will include the five-day Galilee field trip). We give strong preference to those who enroll for the entire session.

We expect full-time participation in the study program. Tantur is not a "base of operations" for people who wish to conduct their own sightseeing and travels around the country or region.

If you wish to use more time than the six-day break during the session to make extended trips (e.g., to Jordan or Egypt), you should allow time either before or after the session for this travel. It is also possible to stay longer at Tantur for special study interests and reflective spiritual renewal (depending, of course, on room availability).

Course description   (top of page)

What characterizes this program of continuing education and spiritual renewal is the context of the Holy Land, "the fifth gospel." To read the story of Jesus and the first Christians in the context of this "fifth gospel" shapes not only our understanding of the Scriptures and their history of salvation, but also of how our Christian faith is embodied in concrete, complex reality. While we do many guided excursions (among them, a five-day trip to Galilee) to get to know the land where this faith originated, we focus not only on the stones of archeological remains, but also on the "living stones," the local Christian communities. We study Eastern and Western churches in their difficult situation as minorities in the Holy Land. They share land and life with the Jewish and Muslim communities, whose faith and spirituality are also part of our study.

The Continuing Education program does not aim at "updating" participants in what is new in the entire range of theological, biblical, and pastoral disciplines.

The program starts with an introductory week, where some of the historical, cultural and religious realities of the Holy Land are presented as a frame to understand the Core courses which extend through the three months. At present they are (year 2008 and 2009):

  • Biblical Geography (Paul Wright, and Mr. Allan Rabinowitz)
    concentrates on the guided field trips, prepared by lectures, with maps and diagrams. Starting with Jerusalem and Bethlehem and their environs, we visit also the Negev and the Judean Deserts and the Dead Sea area. We also devote detailed attention to the Jerusalem of Jesus, as well as a five-day trip to the Galilee of the gospels (about six weeks into the course). The study combines geography and archaeology with the biblical texts, aiming at a deeper understanding of their message.
  • Judaism (Debbie Weissman)
    presents the fundamental tenets of Jewish faith and Jewish living, its Covenant, Torah, Talmud; family and gender relations; prayer life, the role of the great festivals, the Land; Jewish-Christian dialogue.
  • Scripture
    "Jesus in his Cultural Milieu," reviews the concrete realities of family life, honor-and-shame culture and other dimensions of Jewish life and Middle Eastern culture at the time of Jesus. Dr. Edward Breuer presents a Jewish reading of the Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures, both Torah and Prophets.
  • Islam (Dr. Mustafa Abu Sway, Sr. Bridget Tighe, FMDM)
    offers the faith and history of Islam, its encounters with the West, its social organization (family, gender relations), how it faces modernity and change.

The program also offers shorter session: E.g., "Palestinian Liberation Theology" (Rev. Dr. Naim Ateek, Anglican priest and Director of the Sabeel Center) and "Jewish Identity, Nationhood and State" (Mr. Daniel Rossing, Jewish educator, director of the Jerusalem Center for Jewish-Christian Relations). A number of lectures open to the wider public are complemented by others only for the Tantur community, where invited guests give more informal presentations of their personal experiences and perspectives.

The course is an ecumenical experience in itself. During the three months, the participants create and form a learning community, not only in the classroom, but also by common life and conversations, traveling together, and praying together. The community meets every evening for worship prepared by an ecumenically blended group of residents. A willingness both to stand for and present one's own spiritual tradition and to be open to learning from others' is important for the common growth.

Costs   (top of page)

  1. Application Fee
    $100 (non-refundable) must be sent with Application form.
      
  2. Each three-month session costs $8400 (in 2011, $9950) which includes:
    - Private room (with  bathroom shared between two rooms)
    - Full board
    - Tuition for all classes and special lectures
    - 24-hour use of library
    - Field trips (transport, guide, entrance fees), with five days in Galilee
      
  3. Prices are negotiated according to length of stay. (Example: The first two months, including Galilee tour: $5800 (in 2011, $6870.)
      
  4. With spouse in double room and private bath: $5800 (in 2011, $6870.) if both want full program. Lower cost for spouse not in full program.
      
  5. Free room-and-board for those who arrive a recommended two days before scheduled opening. For those who arrive earlier than that and depart after the session ends: $95 per day.

Dates   (top of page)

Principal Dates in 2010:

8 September — 3 December

Principal Dates in 2011:

7 September — 1 December

Note: Because many airlines have special fares for 90-day tickets, Tantur's sessions are less than 90 days. This allows a longer stay for special study interests and reflective spiritual renewal, or for self-organized trips to Jordan or Egypt.

Applying to the course   (top of page)

Download the application form for Three-Month Continuing Education Course
Maybe you prefer to have it sent to you by regular mail.