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L o v e W i s d o m U s e

the AustralianNew Church College

Prospectus

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Welcome and thank you for yourinterest in what the AustralianNew Church College has to offer.What follows is some informationregarding our courses, accredita-tion, the method of delivery, fees,and opportunities for ministrywithin the New Church in Austral-ia. If after reading the informationprovided you would like to takethings further then please fill outthe application form either on theback of this prospectus and returnit to the College or go towww.anccollege and complete theonline application form. If you haveany questions you can forwardthese to the College’s Director ofSpiritual Training via email ondst@anccollege.org.

The College offers two formalprogrammes of spiritual education,these being the Certificate in Spir-itual Christianity and the Diplomain Spiritual Christianity. The Cer-tificate course is for anyone whowishes to consolidate their under-standing of the Bible and its deep-er spiritual meaning in the light ofthe spiritual teachings revealed, bythe Lord, through His servantEmanuel Swedenborg (1688

“That which leads to what has auseful purpose is knowing whatgoodness and truth are; and thatwhich has such a purpose is thedesire to realize these in ac-tions.” AC 5293

“Religious knowledge does notcome to be truths residing witha person until that knowledgefinds acceptance in his under-standing, which happens whenhe firmly embraces it; and whatare then truths residing with himare not made his own until helives in conformity with them.For nothing is made a person'sown other than that which ismade part of his life; thus be-cause those truths form his life,his true self is invested in them.”AC 5276

“Life from the Lord flows onlyinto a humble and submissiveheart, since it is fitted to receive.And it is fitted to receive be-cause when a heart is truly hum-ble no self-love or love of theworld stands in the way.”AC 8873

1772). The Diploma course is alsoopen to all but carries a strong fo-cus on supporting the develop-ment of ministry aspirations.

The College views ministry as anexpression of the Lord’s own de-sire for the salvation of the humanrace and recognises that this findsit expression through differentpeople in many different ways butwill always have at its core a genu-ine concern for the spiritual well-being of others. For this reason,regardless of what form of expres-sion a ministry takes, traditional,contemporary, or what is yet toemerge, or what social, cultural,or ethnic factors have a bearing onit, the College seeks to offer pro-grammes that are well structuredyet flexible enough to support adiverse range of ministry initia-tives.

The course design supports stu-dents to flesh out their vision forministry through creating opportu-nities to gain an experiential un-derstanding of spiritual truthsdrawn from the Sacred Scripturesand the Heavenly Doctrine. It isthe College's hope that this expe-

“And He opened their understanding, that theymight comprehend the Scriptures. Then He said tothem... repentance and remission of sins should bepreached in His name to all nations, beginning at Je-rusalem” Lk 24:45-47

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riential focus on working withspiritual truths will support stu-dents to develop a foundation foran ongoing personal spiritual prac-tice in their lives.

An important overarching learningobjective woven into the coursestructure is that students gainspiritual literacy skills through thepersonal practise of self-examina-tion and repentance. It is the viewof the College that if students areto be effective in using truthsfrom the Word in ministering theLord’s love and wisdom thatthey...

a) Come into a personal apprecia-tion of the processes of reforma-tion and regeneration theyexperience in their own lives and

b) Are able to connect this direct-ly to their personal engagementwith the Lord’s Word and

c) Are able to draw on their senseof this in support of others to livea spiritually focused life.

These qualities are consideredfoundational to all expressions ofministry regardless of what formthe ministry takes.

The programmes of study seek tostrike a balance between intellec-tually focused learning and theexperiential learning that comesfrom the application of spiritualtruths to life. The online learningenvironment encourages studentsto acquire knowledge of spiritualprinciples from the Word and

“True worship of the Lord consists in performing useful services; and suchservices during a person's life in the world lie in a proper fulfilment of hisfunction by each person, whatever his own position, that is, in serving hiscountry, its communities, and his neighbour with all his heart. They also lie inhonest dealings with fellow human beings and in the diligent discharge of du-ties, with full regard for each person's character. These useful deeds are theprincipal ways of exercising charity and the principal means of worshippingthe Lord.” AC 7038.

“Behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you:but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are en-dued with power from on high.” Lk 24:49

then work to have these affirmedand illustrated in their personalexperience. To achieve this eachcourse contains objectives setaround three learning domains.

The learning domains that framecourse objectives are as follows;

Conceptual: – involves acquiringa general overview of the struc-ture of New Church teaching as

well as an understanding of thekey principles that underpin aspiritual practise based on this.

Applicational: – encourages theuse of spiritual literacy skills andknowledge to engage with spirit-ual processes in oneself with aview to utilising ones experienceand knowledge to support othersto do the same.

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Devotional: – focuses on raising astudent’s awareness of the waytheir attitudes, experiences, values,interests, and preferences, are di-rectly impacted through their per-sonal engagement with spiritualmaterials.

The Certificate programme is afoundational course in NewChurch/ Swedenborgian thoughtand practise. It is designed to equipstudents for living a spiritual lifethrough providing an overview ofthe Bible and New Church theolog-ical concepts to assist in the applica-tion of principles for thedevelopment of a spiritual practice.In addition to this the programmeoffers an overview of the life ofSwedenborg. All courses are deliv-ered online through the College'sweb portal. The Certificate pro-gramme consists of 5 courses asfollows: ·

1. The Life of Swedenborg

2. Overview of New Church Doc-trine 1

3. Overview of New Church Doc-trine 2

4. Introduction to Correspondences

5. Bible Overview

The Certificate courses alsoserve as prerequisites for entryinto the Diploma course. TheCertificate in Spiritual Christiani-ty is awarded upon the satisfac-tory completion of its 5 courseswhich carry a minimum studycommitment of 30 hours each.

Entry into the Diploma course isgranted once the College is satis-fied that a student has fulfilledthe following entry require-ments…

The prospective student hasshown that they have met thelearning objectives set out in theCertificate programme and candemonstrate to the Director ofSpiritual Training that they pos-sess the necessary attributes tocompetently engage with Diplo-ma level course requirements.This is achieved through either…

a) Having completed the Prereq-uisite courses to the requiredlevel of competency or

b) Can demonstrate that throughprevious study (independent orformal) and/or through experi-ence that they have met the re-quired level of competencyrequired for the awarding of theCertificate in Spiritual Christiani-ty.

“God flows into every humanbeing with all his divine life, thatis with all his divine love anddivine wisdom.” TCR 364

“The Lord withdraws no onefrom their hell unless they seethat they are in hell and wish tobe led out.” DP 251

“Give ear, O heavens and I will speak; And hear, Oearth, the words of my mouth. Let my teaching dropas the rain, my speech distil as the dew.” Deut. 32:1-

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“This book of the law shall not depart from yourmouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night,that you may observe to do according to all that iswritten in it.” Josh. 1:8

A person’s registration and accept-ance into the Diploma course doesnot mean that they automaticallyrecognised as a theological studentor candidate for ordained/non-or-dained ministry nor does it place theNew Church in Australia or any ofits members under any obligationrelated to a student’s current or fu-ture employment. Theological stu-dents are people whose sense of callto ministry has been acknowledgedby the College Council and by theCouncil of Ministers of The NewChurch in Australia (NCIA) whomake up the College Board. Recog-nition as a candidate for ordination isin the hands of the College Boardand can only be applied for whenstudies are well advanced. This willinvolve a screening interview withthe College’s Director of SpiritualTraining and the NCIA President.

Note: An application can be madeto the College for the assessmentand possible cross crediting of previ-ous study and experience. Any crosscrediting of previous work will be atthe discretion of the College Board.

The Diploma programme is madeup of 8 components inclusive of theCertificate courses. These are asfollows… ·

1. Certificate Courses (Total studyload is a minimum of 150 hrs)

2. Core Courses (Total study load isa minimum of 400 hrs)

3. Logopraxis (Text Study 12Months)

4. Dissertation (10,000 words) orCourse Design

5. Practicum (where appropriate:As agreed in consultation with theDST)

6. Optional Courses (Provision forstudents to take additional coursesoffered by the College itself or byother providers in support of theirministry aspirations as agreed inconsultation with the DST)

7. Seminars (Attendance as agreedin consultation with the DST)

8. Residential Intensives (Attend-ance as agreed in consultation withthe DST)

The Core Courses are mandatoryfor all students who have fulfilledthe prerequisite requirements forthe Diploma. There are five CoreCourses, these are:

1. The Lord’s Love

2. Glorification/Incarnation

3. The Divine Human

4. The Nature of Self

5. The Management of States

Each Core Course requires a mini-mum of 80 credit hours to com-plete giving a total minimum of 400hrs of study.

Text Study: This consists of inten-sive work with a specified text of

� “The heavenly person is such

that he does not base his

actions on his own desires

but on what pleases the

Lord; this is his desire. In this

way he enjoys inward peace

and happiness.” AC 85

� “A person's knowing much

counts for nothing if he does

not live in accordance with

what he knows.” AC 1100

Page 4the Heavenly Doctrines in a smallgroup setting using an approachcalled Logopraxis. The specific texta student will work with will belargely determined by the textsbeing use by the groups in the Col-lege’s Logopraxis programme atthe time.

Logopraxis is designed to pull to-gether all the skills students expe-rience in the 3 learning domains(Conceptual, Application and De-votional) through working withothers in a small group context.Participation in a Logopraxis LifeGroup can either be in a face toface or online depending on a stu-dent’s circumstances. The Collegeis constantly running Logopraxisgroups for anyone interested.Where students have participatedin a Life Group prior to undertak-

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ing study towards the Diplomaand their participation was for atleast 12 months then they canapply to the College’s Director ofSpiritual Training to have this rec-ognised thus fulfilling this require-ment of the Diploma course. TheText Study component of the Di-ploma can be undertaken at anytime before, after or during thestudy of other courses towardsthe Diploma.

Practicum: This component is forthose students who are requiredengage in practical areas of usedirectly related to their ministryaspirations as determined in con-sultation with the College’s Di-rector of Spiritual Training.

Dissertation/Course Design: Toround out their study studentsare given the option of writing a10,000 word Dissertation thatexplores some area of appliedNew Church theological thoughtthat is specifically related to theirvision for ministry. Alternativelythey can opt to design and write acourse for use with the Collegeunder the supervision of the Di-rector of Spiritual Training. Inboth cases students will be re-quired to submit a proposal tothe College Board for approval.

Optional Courses: This coursecategory enables students to takecourses offered by other learninginstitutions that the Collegedoesn’t offer but can be shown tosupport a student’s study or min-

istry objectives. The final decisionin regarding optional courses un-dertaken will be agreed in consul-tation with the College’s Directorof Spiritual Training.

Seminars: These are open to allpeople in the wider NewChurch/Swedenborgian commu-nities. Attendance by Studentsstudying towards the Diploma isstrongly urged. Candidates seek-ing to enter into ministry (or-dained or non-ordained) underthe auspices of the New Churchin Australia need to be preparedto attended a set number of Sem-inars over the course of theirstudies. The number and timingof Seminar attendance for thosewith ministry aspirations will beset through discussions with theCollege Director of SpiritualTraining. Seminars have provedto be an invaluable component insupporting the growth and devel-opment of student’s abilities andskills in a number of areas. Theyalso provide opportunities forface to face contact between stu-dents and tutors. The main focusfor doctrinal study is on the Arca-na Coelestia with this being sup-plemented with various othertopics and presentations of inter-est.

Residential Intensives: Studentswho hold ministry aspirations andwho have been accepted by theCouncil of Ministers and theNCIA Board as Candidates andwho are looking to carry out their

“In the beginning was the Word and the Word waswith God and God was the Word... In Him was life,and the life was the light of men... And the Wordbecame flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld Hisglory...” John 1:1,4,14

ministry under the auspices of theNCIA in an ordained or non-or-dained capacity will be required toattend a number of ResidentialIntensives. The number and fre-quency of Residential Intensiveswill be determined on an ongoingbasis in consultation with the Col-lege’s Director of Spiritual Train-ing.

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“People in whom this loveis present love the Lordwholeheartedly. Yet theyrealize, say, and perceivethat all love, thus all life,which belongs exclusivelyto love, and so all happi-ness, come from the Lordand nowhere else, and thatthey derive not one traceof love, life, and happinessfrom themselves.”AC 32

“Everybody is withheldfrom evils by the Lord, andthis is done with a mightierpower than what a personcan possibly believe.”AC 2406.2

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The Australian New Church CollegeP.O. Box 349 | Park Holme 5043 | SA |AustraliaPhone: (08) 8277 8633dst@anccollege.org

The College recognises that study towards its Diplo-ma in Spiritual Christianity constitutes a major com-mitment on the part of those who undertake it. Italso recognises that people who come into the pro-gramme do so for many different reasons. For somepeople there is a desire to build a greater awarenessof what the Word and the Heavenly Doctrines teachwith a view to being more informed and able to usethem in their personal lives and interactions withothers. Others may enter the programme with astrong sense of call to some form of ministry. Whatform this will take may or may not be clear for them,or it could be that they feel called to serve in the or-ganised New Church as an ordained minister in oneof its Churches. Others may seek to pursue a visionof ministry that includes ordination but is focusedoutside of what is typically the established form ofministry within a congregational church context. Orit could be that a person’s sense of call is such thatthey don’t feel that ordination is something neces-sary for fulfilling their vision for ministry.

The training the College offers is able to cater for allthis variety because its emphasis is not on trainingpeople for a particular model of ministry but is ongiving people the tools needed to personally engagewith Word and the Heavenly Doctrines as the basisfor their own work of regeneration. A person’s will-ingness to engage in their own inner work of self-ex-amination and repentance is viewed by the Collegeas the only real basis for effective ministry regardlessof what form that ministry may take. The churchesaffiliated with The New Church in Australia (NCIA)are independent locally run incorporated societies.Traditionally these communities have looked to se-curing a full time minister whose primary responsibil-ities have included pastoral care, teaching ofdoctrine, leading Sunday services and preaching,

amongst other locally focused initiatives.

The training offered towards the Diploma is wellable to prepare suitable candidates to work in thearea of church based pastoral ministries. To enterthis area of ministry students will have completed theDiploma in Spiritual Christianity or equivalent, havecompleted the necessary agreed practicum require-ments and have received New Church ordination.Churches affiliated to the NCIA are independent en-tities and as such reserve the right to accept or de-cline an expression of interest from a minister toserve in them. Prospective students of the Collegeshould be aware that ordination is not a guarantee ofemployment within a local Church or the wider bodyof the NCIA.

In cases where a person’s vision for ministry falls out-side the Societal framework and where there exists adesire to have that ministry formally recognised andpractised under the auspices of the NCIA a personcan seek ordination, or recognition as a nonord-ained minister, once their vision for ministry hasgained formal endorsement from the Council of Min-isters and the approval of the NCIA Board.

All formal recognition of a ministry vision to be per-formed under the auspices of the NCIA must havethe approval of the COM and NCIA Board. TheCOM and Board reserves the right to decline anyapplication for ordination or non-ordination endorse-ment. All those who serve in New Church ministry,where that ministry is formally recognised by theNCIA, whether ordained or non-ordained, em-ployed or serving in a voluntary capacity, are re-quired to sign a license agreement.

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No Enrolmentterminated

Elective/Optional/Text studycomponent

Thesis or CourseDesign &Practicum

Desire tohave

ministryendorsed?

Yes

Ordained/Non-Ordained

Ministry formallyEndorsed

Diploma inSpiritual

ChristianityAwarded

Thesis/CD/Prac.

completed?

Elec/Opt/Txt

completed

Yes

No

No

Yes

Potentialcandidacyaffirmed?

Continue withstudies/candidacyto be reassessedin 12 months at

discretion ofPresident and

DST

NoA studentmay apply/be invited tobecome acandidate forministry andhave thisformallyrecognisedby the COM& NCIA afterat least 12months ofstudy in theDiplomaCourse.

No

NoDesires tocontinue?

Send applicationform to student

DST receivescompleted

application withvision statement

DST arrangesface to face

interview* withstudent

Enrolmentaccepted?

Yes

Study ofCertificate

courses

Yes

Cert.courses

completed?

No

Yes

Award Certificatein SpiritualChristianity

Student wishesto continue

towardDiploma

Study of CoreCourses

Yes

No

Corecompleted

No

Yes

Face to faceinterview with

NCIA Presidentand DST

Board and COMadvised ofoutcome ofinterview

Yes

Face to faceInterview* withDST to revisit/

clarify vision andgoals for study

RelevantInformation sent to

enquirer

Expression of in-terest received by

the College

*Note: Where a face to face interview in person isnot possible then an interview will be conductedonline e.g. Skype.

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(If you need more space for your answers, please continue with them on a separate sheet)

SURNAME: ____________________________________

GIVEN NAMES: ____________________________________

KNOWN AS: ____________________________________

D.O.B. ___/___/________

ADDRESS: _________________________________________

_________________________________________

_________________________________________

__________________________________________

PHONE: _______________________ (HM) _______________________ (MOB)

EMAIL: _________________________________

Please indicate by ticking the appropriate option that describes your intention behind studying with the Col-lege

…

Applicants who tick b above will be approached by the College to arrange an interview with the College’s Director of SpiritualTraining. It is preferable that this be a face to face interview, however where this is not possible an alternative to a face to faceinterview will be arranged. Those who tick c will be required to attend a face to face interview with the College’s Director ofSpiritual Training.

If you prefer you can print out theforms complete them and then scanthem as a pdf before returning them asan email attachment to....dst@anccollege.org

“You are created so that you canbe more and more closely unitedto the Lord. You are united not byknowledge alone, nor byintelligence alone, nor even bywisdom alone, but by livingaccording to these. The moreclosely you are united to the Lord,the wiser and happier youbecome.” DP 32, 34, 37

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ENGLISH: (circle) 1st language 2nd language

FIRST LANGUAGE (where Eng is considered 2nd language): ____________________________

Applicants for the Diploma in Spiritual Christianity are required to attend a face to face interview with theDirector of Spiritual Training. Please indicate below suitable dates for when you would be available to at-tend an interview. Travel costs to the interview are to be met by the applicant.

Preferred interview dates: 1. ___/___/_____ am pm (circle)

2. ___/___/_____ am pm (circle)

3. ___/___/_____ am pm (circle)

You will be contacted by the Director of Spiritual Training to finalise details for the interview date andtime

Do you have access to a computer? Yes NoDo you have access to the Internet? Yes NoIndicate you level of keyboard skills 60+ 50 40 30 20 (words/minute)What operating system do you use? Windows Mac OtherHave you ever done any online study using a computer before? Yes No

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· What is your sense of the Lord?· Describe your sense of the New Church· Where do you see the place of the Word/Heavenly Doctrines in your life?· What does it mean for you to live a spiritual life?· What do you hope to achieve through studying with the College?

Course fees are reviewed periodically and the current fees can be found on the next page of the prospectusor on the College's website at www.anccollege.org Costs to attend seminars (Seminar fees, travel, accom-modation) are to be met by students. Course fees and Seminars are heavily subsidised by the College al-ready however, should a student find they are struggling to meet the costs of their studies they canapproach the Director of Spiritual Training to have their fees waived in full or in part. The DST will then puttheir case to the College Board for consideration. Fee waiver in full or in part remains at the discretion ofthe College Board.

Thanks for taking the time to explore what the Australian New Church College has to offer through its pro-grammes. It is our hope that this might be the start of an exciting journey on the way to developing a deep-er understanding of the Word so that you might be better equipped to live life more consciously in the lightof the spiritual principles found in the Bible and expounded in the Heavenly Doctrine.

May the Lord bless you and keep you…

If you have any questions you can contact the Director of Spiritual Training on

dst@anccollege.org

"Lift up your eyes, and behold the fields for they are white ready for harvest, and he that reaps receives reward andgathers fruit for eternal life, that he that sows and he that reaps may rejoice together" (John 4:35, 36).

These things are said of a new church from the Lord. That it is at hand is signified by the fields being white readyfor harvest; those of that church who are in the spiritual affection for truth, and thus in heaven, are meant by, hethat reaps receives reward, and gathers fruit for eternal life; and the Lord Himself, from whom the affection fortruth, and heaven are derived, is meant by he that sows may rejoice together [with him that reaps.] AE 694

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Course Name Type Fee

Administration Fee 150

Life of Swedenborg Certificate 300

Heavenly Doctrine I Certificate 300

Heavenly Doctrine II Certificate 300

Intro to Correspondences Certificate 300

Overview of the Bible Certificate 300

The Lord’s Love Diploma 500

Incarnation/Glorification Diploma 500

The Divine Human Diploma 500

The Nature of Self Diploma 500

The Management of States Diploma 500

Optionals (offered in-house) Diploma 400

Dissertation/Course Design Diploma 700