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Previous General Ordination Examination: 2009
Previous General Ordination Examination: 2008
Previous General Ordination Examination: 2007
Previous General Ordination Examination: 2006
Previous General Ordination Examination: 2005

GENERAL ORDINATION EXAMINATION 2010

Set 1: Holy Scripture

Monday, January 4, 2010, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

LIMITED RESOURCES: A non-annotated, non-electronic, one volume Bible (N.B.
the Oxford Annotated Bible and the HarperCollins Study
Bible are not acceptable), and the 1979 Book of Common
Prayer.

In the face of the tragedy and seeming randomness found in disease, people have often turned to the Bible to find a reason for their misfortune. In a three-page essay, explain your own exegetically informed understanding of the interrelationship of sin, disease, and healing in at least the following biblical passages:

• Deuteronomy 28:1-8, 15-29
• John 9:1-33

You may use passages in addition to the two above if you wish to do so.

Set 2: Contemporary Society

Monday, January 4, 2010, 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

LIMITED RESOURCES: A one-volume non-electronic annotated Bible and the 1979 Book of Common Prayer

One of the most daunting issues in contemporary society is the unprecedented complexity of global economic forces, with the potential for crisis in an interdependent world. The Episcopal Church should be able to speak credibly about the systemic and societal dimensions of such a crisis, in addition to addressing the pastoral concerns it might raise for individuals.

Understanding that there are no simple solutions to the problems that such complexity raises, respond in a three-page essay to the following question:

What can the Christian tradition usefully bring to the public discussion of an economic crisis that economists, politicians and business leaders, as such, might not bring in dealing with the underlying economic issues facing contemporary society?

Set 3: Christian Theology and Missiology

Tuesday, January 5, 2010, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

LIMITED RESOURCES: A one-volume non-electronic annotated Bible and the 1979 Book of Common Prayer

In the Book of Common Prayer the Exsultet states that "earth and heaven are joined and man is reconciled to God" (287). Atonement accomplishes this reconciliation. There are different theologies of atonement. For example, in the BCP:

1. The Examination of a person about to be ordained as a bishop states that the bishop's joy will be to serve him "who came, not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many" (517).

2. Eucharistic Prayer I, Rite I, affirms that Jesus Christ offered "a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world" (334).

3. The Collect for Palm Sunday states that God sent "Our Savior Jesus Christ to take upon him our nature, and to suffer death upon the cross, giving us the example of his great humility" (272).

In an essay of three pages:

A. Describe the theology of atonement represented by each numbered quotation above and distinguish one from another.

B. How does this variety of theologies reflect the Anglican theological tradition? In what ways is this dimension of our tradition important and useful today?

Set 4: Liturgy and Church Music

Tuesday, January 5, 2010, 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

LIMITED RESOURCES: The 1979 Book of Common Prayer

You are vicar of a small congregation. On one of the designated baptismal Sundays your parish will celebrate Holy Baptism. The church building includes a stationary altar at the front and a stationary font on the central axis inside the main door at the opposite end of the space. The seating consists of movable chairs.

In a three-page essay:

A. Articulate the baptismal theology and ecclesiology of the Book of Common Prayer as revealed in the Baptismal Covenant and the Blessing of the Water, and
B. Describe how you would design the enactment of the baptismal service so that this baptismal theology and ecclesiology are expressed
1) by the movement of the participants within the space, especially between the font and the altar, and
2) by the arrangement of the people within the space during key moments.

Set 5: Christian Ethics and Moral Theology

Thursday, January 7, 2010, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

LIMITED RESOURCES: A one-volume non-electronic annotated Bible, and the 1979 Book of Common Prayer.

The education committee of the parish where you are rector has asked you to give an adult forum presentation on the ethical practice of medicine in the context of Christian moral theology.

Taking as a given the presumption that moral principles derived from scripture and theology should inform all areas of human activity, in a three-page essay:

• identify and describe at least three moral principles from the Christian tradition that you will use in your presentation, and
• show how they can be applied to the practice of medicine.

N.B. No detailed knowledge of medicine is required for your presentation.

Set 6: Theory and Practice of Ministry

Thursday, January 7, 2010, 1:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

NO EXTERNAL RESOURCES

You are rector of a parish that houses on site a popular, low-cost, non-profit, accredited preschool each day of the week. You serve on the board of this affiliated program. It is, in effect, subsidized by the parish, through its daily use of parish facilities (heat, space, etc.), without charge and with no acknowledgment in the parish budget. As the school has grown in success and popularity, its free use of church facilities has become a contentious issue between the leadership of the school and some members of the congregation.

Sunday School teachers increasingly complain about the preschool equipment and materials that are not stowed away, leaving a chaotic environment on Sundays. Moreover, parents; and teachers' cars fill the church parking area during the week, leaving no room for the needs of those attending church meetings or programs held on weekdays. You also hear claims that although many new families are moving into the area and signing their children up for the preschool, they are not interested in joining the congregation. The vestry's hope in originally supporting the school was that it would help spur growth in the parish; that has not occurred.

Some members of the vestry now want to charge fair market rent to the preschool or even to eliminate the program. Other vestry members want to continue to support the preschool as the parish's ministry to families who pay the below-cost rate for the program, citing the importance of preschool programs for all children.

In a three-page essay, describe your leadership in this difficult though not uncommon parish situation, identifying at least three challenges for ministry, and explaining how you would respond to each of them.

Set 7: Church History

Friday, January 8, 2010, 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

LIMITED RESOURCES: A one-volume non-electronic annotated Bible and The Hymnal 1982

The following hymns appear in the The Hymnal 1982:

• "A mighty fortress is our God" (687, 688)
• "The spacious firmament on high" (409)
• "God of grace and God of glory" (594, 595)

In an integrated three-page essay, relate each of these hymns to the development of Protestant Christianity by:

• Elucidating the major themes of each hymn, giving careful attention to its language and content; and

• Setting each hymn text briefly in its historical context, showing how each expresses religious themes distinctive to its era.