PROGRAM DESCRIPTION & AIMS:
The program in Formation Communities at Candler School of Theology supports students in cultivating intentional communities of discernment and belonging. Each community is animated by distinct charisms that orient a rule of life, or shared practices discerned for common life, which guides corporate rhythms of eating, praying, and celebrating.
The mission of the program in Formation Communities aligns with Candler School of Theology’s wider mission “to educate faithful and creative leaders for the church’s ministries throughout the world.” Through these communities of formation, the program:
1. provides a platform for vocational discernment;
2. forms student capacities for community building and spiritual practice;
3. cultivates communities of belonging where residents can integrate their theological studies, their vocational aspirations, their spiritual practices, and their diverse identities.
Participants in the program graduate from Candler with greater clarity about their respective vocations, spiritual practices that can sustain those vocations for the long haul, and tools for building communities of belonging in and through difference.
For one perspective on life in community see: In Candler's Formation Communities, Students Learn to 'Live Well Together' https://candler.emory.edu/news/releases/2023/02/formation-communities.html
APPLICATION INFORMATION:
More information on each of the communities and the program as a whole is available on our website, where you can also find the program handbook with details on policies, best practices, and roles.
There are four pathways for students who wish to participate in Candler’s Formation Communities: chartered, student organized, non-residential (including neighborhood-based), and extended.
1. CHARTERED COMMUNITIES
Over the last four years, Candler has initiated a number of communities gathered around common charisms. Students in chartered formation communities apply to be a part of one or more communities and are selected based on their fit with existing members of the community and the stated charism of that community. In chartered communities, Candler helps to match students with a student cohort, and match that student cohort with a property owner, property manager, or landlord. All members of chartered communities sign an annual least that runs from August 1 to July 31 the following year.
You are welcome to apply for multiple houses (for example, both the Tubman-Thurman-Tutu House and the L'Arche Friendship House). The application will give you the opportunity to rank your choices.
In addition to existing communities, we are discerning the creation of new communities, depending on interest and housing availability. You will have the opportunity to indicate if any of these appeal to you and we will follow up regarding whether there is sufficient interest to move forward. Those communities include: a Baptist community, a LatinX community, a Methodist Studies community, a Chaplaincy focused community, and non-residential virtual community.
2. STUDENT ORGANIZED COMMUNITIES
Students who have already formed a community of house- or roommates are invited to apply to participate in the Formation Communities curriculum as a cohort (each house member will need to apply individually but the applications will be considered as a group). In this case, students will organize their own housing. This option will make the most sense for students who are already living together, or who are committed to living together and looking for a house or apartment this spring or summer. While Candler does not have the institutional capacity to work out the details of this housing, we can support creating intentional community. Student organized formation communities will participate in the beginning of the year and mid-year retreats, be assigned a house chaplain, host a community building event each semester, and participate in the wider curriculum of formation. Preference will be given to applicant cohorts who display the racial, gender, denominational, and theological diversity of the Candler student body.
3. NON-RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITIES
The program in Formation Communities supports nonresidential and neighborhood based communities that covenant to a rule of life and shared charism. While these communities do not have the gift and challenge of co-living, they do have the opportunity to build a robust shared life. Like residential formation communities, each nonresidential formation community has a house rector and house chaplain and discerns a unique rule of life and charism.
There are two non-residential communities that have formed around a shared state of life. Bonhoeffer House is for "non-traditional" students who have families, jobs, or other commitments beyond Candler. The DMin House is for students who are enrolled in Candler's Doctor of Ministry degree program. Additionally, we plan to form one or two neighborhood-based communities. These communities are for students who plan to live close to campus (such as in Emory Woods, Campus Crossings, or President's Park Apartment complexes) but will not live in the same house. You will have the opportunity to indicate your interest in each of these non-residential options.
4. COMMUNITY COMPANIONS
The program in Formation Communities is piloting a new model of extended community members for the 23-24 academic year. Community Companions will join one of the existing Residential Communities for meals, prayer, and shared celebration on a regular basis (around 3 times a month). While they will not live in the house, they will covenant to participate in the shared life of the community.
You are welcome to apply for any of the four pathways, chartered, student organized, non-residential, or community companions but the application process is different for each. If you wish to apply for multiple pathways you will need to submit an application for each.
For those students who currently are members of a Candler Formation Communities you will select the Renewal Application in section 2. Current participants are granted priority when discerning placements for the coming year.
The application that follows asks for:
1. Basic Information (Contact name, email, age, etc.)
2. Application Selection (New Chartered & Potential Communities, New Student Organized, New Non-Residential, and Renewal)
3. Short Answer / Essay Questions (you can read the prompts for each of the essays here: http://bit.ly/CandlerFormation-Essays)
Preference will be given to applications that reflect the racial, gender, denominational, and theological diversity of Candler's student body.
APPLICATIONS FOR CHARTERED COMMUNITIES AND RENEWAL APPLICATIONS WERE DUE MARCH 15, 2023 AND ARE NOW CLOSED, THOUGH WE WILL CONTINUE TO ACCEPT APPLICATIONS FOR OUR WAITLIST ON A ROLLING BASIS.
APPLICATIONS FOR (MOST) NON-RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITIES WERE DUE JUNE 1, 2023 AND ARE NOW CLOSED. MURRAY HOUSE FOR DMIN STUDENTS IS ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR PARTICIPATION IN SPRING 2024 UNTIL DECEMBER 31, 2023.
APPLICATIONS FOR COMMUNITY COMPANIONS ARE ACCEPTED ON A ROLLING BASIS.
Please contact the Director of Formation Communities Kyle Lambelet, kyle.lambelet@emory.edu, or Bernadette Naro, Program Coordinator, Bernadette.naro@emory.edu with any questions regarding the program or this application.
