Newsletter July 2012

Greetings from Belize!
We are writing this month's newsletter from Belize, the site of one of our on-line educational ministries. Our current update:

Meeting with Prospective Students in Belize: July 7, 2012

Belize: Over the past week, Julie and I have been meeting in Belize with Bp. Philip, the Commission on Ministry, and prospective students. We have been talking about our online program with several parishes and groups of people. People are excited about this. We are planning to begin teaching in September.

We are under the umbrella of the Diocese of Belize's Anglican Theological Institute, and we are the main provider of their theological education. I am Director of their online program. At Bp. Philip's request, I may need to visit the Diocese of Belize again during their October diocesan synod, to continue talks about interactions with other dioceses in the Church in the Province of the West Indies (CPWI).

In the Diocese of Belize, our courses are going to be available to: lay people, people in the ordination process, current clergy, and those training to become Lay Ministers. Our lay courses are intergenerational (families and friends can work together), and the youngest prospective student is age 12. We plan to be developing an Anglican Track and a Spanish speaking Track.

Educational Software: our Moodle 2.3 test site is up and going. Bill Schrull, our IT expert and a Faith Alive Board Member, plans to switch over to the live version sometime soon.
Website: we will be using a Moodle website, but also a combination of learning tools. To see see some of our updates, go to the Online Anglican Theological College (OATC) website: https://sites.google.com/site/onlineanglicancampus/

Tanzania: Bill Schrull advises us that things are going ahead, and he will be making the final hardware modifications around the turn of the year when he visits Kasulu Bible College (KBC). Our online plans are to complement the traditional courses offered at KBC.
Diocese of Albany: the Diocese of Albany benefits from all the other work being done. Contributions to SAMS on our behalf not only helps the programs in Belize and Tanzania, but also enables us to offer online courses for deacons who are planning to become priests and for any interested lay person, in the Diocese of Albany.

Our upcoming visits.

August 5: St. Matthew's, Latham.
August 12: Calvary Church, Burnt Hills.
August 19: Couples Cursillo team, SLC.
August 26: Lydia, Christ Church, Schenectady.

Ways to support us:
Your prayers and financial support make the online educational ministry happen. Thank you.
Please make checks out to: "SAMS", and put "Mudge" in the memo space. The mailing address is: SAMS, P. O. Box 399, Ambridge, PA 15003-0399.

God bless you,
Shaw+ and Julie+
Missionaries of SAMS and Albany.
Clergy from Belize