About EPS

• Mission Statement

• Position Openings New President is Appointed!

• Board of Trustees and Staff

Locations

• Archdiocese of
  Washington, DC
• Diocese of
  Arlington, VA
• Diocese of
  Bridgeport, CT
• Archdiocese of
  New York
• Federation
  Programs

Application
for Admission

Faculty

Financial Policies
and Ways of Giving

From the Vineyard
Stories of the EPS Family

Harvest Newsletter

Lights Along The Way
(Upcoming Events)

Links

News Around the Network

Prayer Ministry

Questions & Answers

Raffle
(Win $5000 and select
your own renewal
experience!)

Retreats

Special Events

Standing on the Shoulders of Giants
A Series Exploring
the Second Vatican Council and the Church Today

Theological
Reflection

Workshops
(Theology in Practice)

Mission

EPS's mission is to build on the firm foundation of the Church and its teaching to provide lay Catholics with a solid intellectual and spiritual grounding for their faith, so they can understand, live and share it in their homes, parishes, community and workplaces. Read the Mission Statement.

Certificate Program

The EPS Foundation manages a network of four certificate programs in three sites:

• Washington, DC: day and evening programs
• Norwalk, Connecticut: evening certificate program and day Forum program
• Arlington, Virginia: day program

EPS Forum

EPS offers a non-certificate short-term program, The EPS Forum, Theology in Practice, which explores topics important to the Church and maintains EPS's high standards for academics and faculty

• EPS Forum: Norwalk, Connecticut
• EPS Westchester Forum: Scarsdale, New York

A non-certificate program, the Vincent Pallotti Institute at the Lay Centre, is also available in Rome, Italy.

The Foundation network is affiliated with four other programs which it helped establish in Fargo (ND); Madison (WI); London (England); and East Orange (NJ). These programs are responsible for their own funding and management.

Special Programs

Special lectures, mini-courses, retreats and pilgrimages serve EPS graduates and the larger Catholic community.

Curriculum

EPS creates a dynamic adult-learning experience through inter-disciplinary courses that encourage students to examine the faith through the study of Scripture, church history, theology and spirituality, and apply this understanding to living the faith in the home, workplace and community.  All courses include theological reflection exercises, prayer and retreat opportunities.

EPS courses span five areas of study: Scripture, theology, Church history, spirituality, and pastoral theology. Classes are designed in four-, six-, and eight-week courses, with most integrating Scripture, history, and application, highlighting the continuity of the Catholic faith through the ages.

Occasional lectures take up questions of concern in the Church or prepare students for a richer experience of the liturgical season.

Faculty

One of the hallmarks of EPS is its superb faculty. Faculty include theologians from Catholic universities and seminaries, as well as pastors and professionals in pastoral ministry.

Students

We have enrolled about about 400 students in each of the past two years.  Every effort is made to recruit a student body diverse in its racial, ethnic, gender, and socio-economic make-up.

Graduates

Our network has graduated 2,644 men and women. They are putting their EPS education to work in a variety of ways. E.g.:

• Many are spreading the faith as volunteer catechists, RCIA team members, adult-education coordinators, or RENEW 2000 volunteers. Some work with couples approaching marriage, or help parents prepare for their children's reception of the sacraments.
• Others serve in Eucharistic Ministry and support to homebound people and patients in hospitals and nursing homes. Nurses, hospice workers, doctors and social workers who have taken our program tell us that they are approaching their professional duties with a new sense of participation in the healing ministry of Christ.
• A good number are involved in social outreach programs of various kinds - for homeless people, new immigrants, families in crisis.
• EPS graduates work on behalf of life in a variety of ways - sidewalk counseling, clinics for pregnant women, political action.
• They are organizing support programs for young mothers, developing bereavement ministries in their parishes, serving as pastoral volunteers in prisons.  The list goes on and on.

Finances

Our financial policies are based on Christian stewardship.

Because we want our programs to be available to men and women from diverse backgrounds (regardless of income) we rely on generous voluntary contributions from students, graduates, friends, parishes and dioceses rather than charging tuition. 

• For 29 years, EPS has generated enough annual income to cover a constantly expanding program.
• Voluntary contributions of our own students, graduates and friends are our major source (about 78% of total income last year).
• We also receive contributions from parishes, dioceses and religious communities (about 13%).
• Foundation support makes up the rest of our income (about 9% last year.
• We are planning an endowment effort with an initial goal of $2M, with a view to endowing the annual cost of our theological faculty on a permanent basis.

What Others Say about EPS

Study by CARA (Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate)

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