Informational note: If you sense God may be calling you to become a Commissioned Ruling Elder, you should also be in touch with your local pastor/Session and the presbytery committee that oversees the process of being commissioned.  The Academy is an educational opportunity, and we are not ordinarily involved in decisions or processes about being commissioned.  Your presbytery will determine if you need to take all 11 of our classes or if you can be excused from one or more due to previous educational experiences. They may have other requirements of you as well.

The Academy is a unique, cohort-based learning community for church leaders who wish to grow in their faith, knowledge, and leadership to better serve God as needed in their communities and councils.  At the heart of successful community is agreement about how we will live and learn together.  Therefore, participants in the Academy are asked to join in a covenant for the well-being and safety of the whole community.  

As a part of the Academy learning community, I commit myself to: 

• Help establish an environment of safety, hospitality, and curiosity.
• Do the necessary work prior to class, bring my questions, and be prepared to fully participate in the discussions and exercises.
• Listen actively – seeking to understand and contribute to the conversations at hand, learning from each other and paying attention to the questions that arise for me.
• Bring my authentic self to this community, speaking for myself, not sharing stories that are not mine to share, and taking risks to share that I may continue to grow as a follower of Jesus.
• Those who are on a potential Commissioned Ruling Elder track, also commit to engaging and completing the assignments with integrity by the deadline. Failure to submit assignments may result in needing to retake the class.