To be considered as a qualified mentor, an individual is expected to have experience doing theological reflection and feel at ease with the process. The mentor should have at least two years experience in the type of ministry (if not the particular site) they are presently engaged in. An individual’s resume (or profile) should be supplied to the Director when they become a mentor; these are kept on file for students to read.

Mentor relationships evolve in a number of ways: the student may have an established relationship with someone who has served as a mentor in the past; the Director may suggest a site which has an on site supervisor; or a mentor may be recommended who could serve as an off-site mentor.

An important role of the Director and Mentor is to help students clearly focus on and narrow their goals and objectives. The mentor’s role is intimately tied to helping students make these goals specific, measurable, and achievable in their respective field-sites.

Mentors will be asked to meet with their students regularly to discuss their work together, adjust goals, raise issues and concerns, etc.

Mentors will be asked to attend three lunch meetings at the seminary each semester and stay in touch with the Director when questions or issues arise.

At the end of the semester, Mentors provide their own evaluation of student placement work.  Students also complete an evaluation of their experience in the MP placement as a part of their final course requirements.

Skills addressed in Mentored Practice

The following skills are ones that the MP program particularly seeks to cultivate in students, and therefore are appropriately related to the setting of goals in the MP placement. Of course, these skills are cultivated throughout the entire M. Div. degree program and not just Mentored Practice. It is assumed that before graduation each skill area be addressed in the classroom or through Mentored Practice, and that after graduation these skills be enhanced through continuing education.

• the art of preaching the Gospel with clarity, conviction and enthusiasm
• the art of presiding in a liturgical context, specifically how to function as a sacramental artist— one who shapes worship experiences with such creativity and wonder that participants experience themselves as being warmly invited into the deeper mystery of God’s power and presence
• the ability to teach and to encourage the educational process for all ages
• the ability to assess the well-being of the community context in which they minister and promote communal well-being—by embodying sound self-care strategies that lead others to experience well-being for themselves
• to know and implement sound principles of pastoral ethics and pastoral care
• the ability to enact sound principles of administration and conflict management
• to gain knowledge of and expertise in the areas of mission and stewardship
• to embody a spirituality that leads others to encounter divine love in all dimensions of their faith and life. For Christians this means the embodiment of Christ through a ministry of healing love and table-fellowship
• the ability to practice mutuality ( shared power) by relating to their mentor, other colleagues in ministry, and lay ministers with integrity and grace
• the ability to understand the relational aspects of ministry and encourage an active laity in the church, and in the wider community in which they minister.