For Hybrid Contextual Education I Sites & Site Mentors

The site mentor must meet the following requirements to be approved for the Hybrid Contextual Education I program:

  • Be an organizational leader, typically a full-time employee of the organization where the student is working.
  • Be an ordained pastor or person with comparable ministry experience and a graduate of an accredited seminary or possessing comparable professional education.
  • Be willing to meet with student in an intentional mentoring relationship for approximately 1.5 hours each month.
  • Be prepared for the student to work four hours per week for 26 weeks during the 28-week academic year, engaging in the full life of the site. (Note: Students are not required to be on-site during school breaks.)
  • Be able to accommodate your student’s learning goals, discussed before the internship begins and over the course of the year.
  • Be open, both as a mentor and an organization, to undertake an educational and mentoring role, understanding that this is an educational partnership between Candler and the site.

Expectations

The following are general guidelines about what is expected of site mentors. A Site Mentor should:

  • Review the description of the Hybrid Contextual Education I program to confirm that you and your site are appropriate for Contextual Education I.
  • Attend one of the Hybrid Con Ed I Site Mentor Training sessions offered by the Office of Contextual Education.
  • Work with the student to identify learning goals and strategies for meeting them.
  • Delegate on-site supervision, when appropriate, to other key staff and volunteers.
  • Support the student as they get to know the site and as they complete coursework assignments related to their site work and context.
  • Orient the student to important policies and procedures of your organization.
  • Complete evaluations at the end of each semester.
  • Retain confidentiality of mentoring conversations with your student, except in situations of urgent need.
  • Offer positive and professional role models for ministry and community leadership, time to reflect theologically with the student, feedback to grow in relational and leadership skills, continuing formative evaluation and feedback, and aid in forming future leaders for the church and community settings.
  • Extend hospitality to the student.
  • Maintain a mechanism to verify weekly time and schedule (e.g., a time sheet or work log).

Hybrid Contextual Education I students select a thematic cohort that engages their interests, and then identify a community-based, social ministry, or clinical setting in their local area that allows them to explore the themes of the cohort more deeply. Students undertake this process in conversation with the Office of Contextual Education.

Hybrid Con Ed I Sites are communities, organizations, and ministry settings that allow students to explore the themes of one of the four cohorts:

(1) Justice, Advocacy & Movement Building — Students in this cohort work with non-profits and community organizations on a range of social justice projects and issues, including racial justice, disability, LGBTQ+ issues, incarceration, domestic violence, food security, and community development.

(2) Food, Land, and Creation Justice — Students in this cohort work with non-profits, ministries, and advocacy organizations, including food banks, food pantries, a food service training program, community and church-based urban farms/gardens, and organizations focused on racial justice, environmental justice, and sustainability.

(3) Refugee and Immigrant Communities — Students in this cohort work with a wide range of programs that center the needs of immigrant and refugee communities, including non-profit organizations, after-school tutoring and enrichment programs, legal assistance clinics, and refugee resettlement organizations.

(4) Care in Community — Students in this group work with programs and organizations serving people who are vulnerable or in crisis, including shelters and transitional housing programs, a school-based childcare program, and prison, hospice and hospital settings.

(5) Health, Wellness, and Spiritual Care — Students in this group work with programs and organizations serving people who are in need of chaplaincy including health crises, medical, hospice and hospital settings.

You can find complete information about these Cohorts, the Cohort Supervisors, and the types of settings in which students are working on the Contextual Education I page.

Organizations interested in becoming a Hybrid Contextual Education I site should contact the Office of Contextual Education at candlerconed@emory.edu or (404) 727-4178.