ONLINE

The Women's College and our sister school, Saint James College, are the pioneers in offering a true online seminary option to the adult learner community.

Not only were we the first college / seminary to present students the opportunity to study for ordination online from their homes or offices, our board of trustees consistently strives for us to continue being a world leader in educating ministers, priests, chaplains, and griefworkers.

Ordination FAQs appear just

below on this same page...

True Life-Long Ordination is a legitimate option through our Center for Ministerial Studies seminary

"Thou art a priest forever according to the order of Melchesedec" - Hebrews 7:17
We offer Adult Learners the opportunity to become ordained through a legitimate online process.  Even though there are many internet scams operating, our seminary is an non-denominational service of the fully-chatered Love Church Worldwide. 

Only adult-learners are admitted to this exciting and challenging program.  It is "women-friendly" -- which is important in this age when many churches are banning women from participation in ministry and priesthood.

 regarding The Women's College Ordination Studies Program

"Can you ordain me quickly, legitimately? I am not interested in those online 'diploma mills' that claim they'll ordian you if you send them money...."

Yes, you can complete your studies rather quickly if you have "real life" ministerial experience or theological studies background.  Under the right circumstances, we can help you obtain your ordination rapidly, although not as fast as those “diploma mills” which fax you a diploma as soon as you pay their fee.  Nonetheless, we can help you move quickly by giving you credit for your actual ministerial experiences, service, education you’ve accomplished until now.

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"Well, what is the difference between you and those "diploma mills" you speak of?

We are a totally-legitimate church, fully chartered in the United States. And, our ministerial education programs are owned by The Love Church Worldwide communion. Just as the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, Baptists, The Lutheran Church and so forth own and seminaries, we are the same. Within The Love Church we operate as a department our Center for Ministerial Studies. And, in addition, the denomination owns the small, relatively new Saint James College, which provides legitimate on-line, non-traditional, open university educational degrees. As we  have disclosed, we are ecclesiastically accredited as a seminary college rather than regionally accredited as are schools such as Harvard University, Yale University, UCLA, etc.  Although our degrees are legitimate, credits earned here may not transfer easily to regionally accredited schools.

"Is your distance learning seminary program 'official' as far as the government is concerned?"

Love Church Worldwide is fully registered and government chartered in the United States. The not-for-profit corporation also sponsors The Center for Ministerial Education seminary program and, as we mentioned above, our non traditional distance learning "open universites," Saint James College and The Women’s College, which are seminary programs rather than straight liberal arts colleges or, perhaps medical or dental schools. The Love Church Worldwide is a duly-chartered small, positive-thinking,  interfaith, New Thought Christian denomination.

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"Is any online seminary study really legitimate?"

Yes, all sorts of college and vocational training education is being offered online these days, including psychology study, nursing degrees, teaching degrees, etc. And, while we're not the biggest, we are arguably the pioneer in online seminary education. In this age of the fast food drive-thru, fast marriage / fast divorce, and almost instantaneous online purchases, there is increasing call for online seminary training, and education leading to degrees and certificates.  The Center for Ministerial Education seminary program fills this need. While we are not the leader in online university education, we believe that we are the very first institution to offer legitimate online ordination studies. The Center for Ministerial Education and our St. James College and the independent Women’s College collaborate to operate “T-DEN,” the Theological Distance Education Network. Unlike the traditional campus education, our students are able to learn, right where they live, and when their personal schedules allow.

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"I know that you are a women's college

and

seminary ... but

DO YOU

REALLY

ORDAIN

WOMEN to the 

ministry and

priesthood?

Yes, absolutely!

In the Roman Catholic Church, the following have been cited as reasons to deny women the right to aspire to Holy Orders - the priesthood:

In the New Testament, women were allowed to pray and prophesy (1 Cor. 11:1–16), they were prohibited both from teaching or having any authority over a man (1 Tim. 2:11–14).  Also, women were prevented from publicly challenging or raising questions about the male clergy's teachings  (1 Cor. 14:34–38).  The Catholic Church holds that these were Biblically inspired and thus unassailable facts of Church life and policy.

It is important to understand that women have served in the priesthood, the deaconate, and "Episcopacy" (bishop) since the earliest days of the church.  An important example is Episcopa Theodora,  or, Bishop Theodora, who was the bishop of the Church of St. Praxedis in  820 AD.

To this very day, the icon portraying her likeness appears alongside the Virgin Mary in the Church of St. Praxedis in Rome. 

Yet, the Roman church's Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith stated that “women priests and the bishops who ordain them would be excommunicated latae sententiae.”

Nonetheless, we ordain women qualified women in the Apolostic Succession.  If you are ordained to the ministry or priesthood, you will have the authority and responsibility to perform all the rites, ceremonies, and services of the clergy equal to those of your ordained male counterparts.  Your ordination will not be accepted by the Roman Church, however.  You must decide for yourself whether or not you wish to function as a minister or priest without the approval of Rome (or, interestingly, the Southern Baptist Convention, which also prohibits women from serving as pastors).

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"What is your typical online seminarian or ordination student like?"

While we do work with young people just starting their
ministerial careers, we find that a great many of our seminary and degree candidates are older.  Many have successfully raised their children, and a large number are retiring or else are at the point in life where they are ready to begin a second career.  Most have served in myriad forms of ministry for years, and have longed for the “validation” of ordination.

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"So, this is the need you're filling...so that we can study at home or our offices?"

Our online ministerial degrees and online Women's College / Seminary courses can
be completed from your home while, at the same time, receiving the groundwork needed to begin a new ministry, or continue your current one as an ordained minister. While young people just emerging from high school may well be able to commit to several years of on-campus study, the older, more-established ministerial student often finds this impossible. Being able to work online, and talk "live" with a teacher / mentor by telephone serves the needs of this large, and growing, segment of the community.  Whether you are a member of the laity, an unordained Protestant minister, or a nun / sister, you will be welcomed in our seminary's Ordination for Women program!

The Women's College and Seminary program offers world class Women's Ordination studies.  We ordain women priests who successfully complete women's priesthood study  In spite of the discriminatory limitations imposed by other churches, you have the option to become woman priest or become woman minister, which can lead you to become an ordained church pastor. Your ordination will be in Apolostic Succession.  The Women's College's Seminary, The Center for Ministerial Studies, will ordain women ministers (or, you may become a woman priest).   The Episcopal Church ordains women to the priesthood, but others such as Eucharistic Ministers, sisters (we used to call then nuns), CCD teachers, etc., are also welcome to women's ministry here since we are gender, inclusive.  Equality in ministry and in all aspects of living are our goals and our policy.

SPECIAL THANKS: 

Thanks to the BBC for the public domain photo of women priests

Who may benefit from our pioneering Women's Online Ordination seminary studies?

• ARE YOU CALLED TO MINISTER?   People who experience a call to new - or expanded - ministry may be accepted into our ordination program.  You may be a lay person who has reached the point in life where you can dedicate yourself to a pastoral ministry and are ready to take this giant step in service to your sisters and brothers within the human family.  You may be a sister, a music minister, or perhaps a Eucharistic minister and are ready for ordination as a minister or priest (we are in the Apolostic Succession).                                                                             
• MUSIC MINISTER:  Often, music ministers are not ordained.  If your path is to move toward the     ordained ministry or pastorate, we
  will be honored to help. And, if you have sufficient real-life experience or educational background, you can study online through our Fast-Track Distance Learner program.                                                                                   
• YOUTH MINISTER:  It is also frequently the case that people serve as youth ministers, although they are not ordained. Then, the senior pastor leaves or retires and the youth minister needs to quickly enter a program that will lead to ordination.  Our seminary can help!                                                                     
• A NEW DENOMINATION FOR YOU:  Some congregations ordain ministers only for the local church.  If you have left your church community, your ordination with them may have been rescinded.  The Women's College's Apolostic, through its parent, The Love Church Worldwde, ordains for life.  (The Love Church was founded by Catholic Priests, Anglican Priests, and women who had dedicated their lives to ministerial and human service.)                                                                                                                  
• YOU CAN NO LONGER IGNORE THE CALL!  Often, we have been ignoring "God's whisper" for many years, but the time has come to respond.  Perhaps the kids are grown and on their own, perhaps you have retired and went to begin a new career, or sadly, maybe you have been divorced or widowed and you now want to help others in need.  Our seminary was founded specifically to respond to the needs of adult learners like you.    Drop us a note:                    admin@thewomen'scollege.org                                         

       FAQs CONTINUED....

"How long will it take me to be ordained?"

Weeks or a few months, if you have a good background in ministry, theology, chaplaincy, or working in your home church. Or, one year, if you are brand new to ministry/theological study and need to go through our entire undergraduate program. You can move at your own pace, however. We will work with you and assist you according to your needs and your schedule. As we just mentioned, our program is designed to last one year. However, since so many of our students have real-life ministerial experience (often decades)
 for which we give credit, that it is it is typical that three or four months of additional study are required. Some have gone through the program in is little as two weeks, although they were already incredibly well prepared in terms of their backgrounds. (Or, they may have had years of service in social work, psychology, non-ordained ministry, pastoral counseling, etc.  If you believe that you are qualified for entry into our Adult Learner Fast-Track program, please write and ask for particulars and a copy of the typical curriculum.  Email:  admin@thewomenscollege.org)

 

 

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"How will I communicate with you?"

You’ll communicate with us online, and through telephone conversations. Because we have offices in multiple time zones, we find that communication works best using email.  This also permits us to easily send communications to the appropriate office.  Our approach to ordination is innovative, contemporary, and flexibly matches your lifestyle and work schedule.

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"Are you limited to certain denominations, or is anyone welcome?"

Our students range from members of the “liturgical” churches such as Roman Catholic seminarians, Episcopalian / Anglican, and Lutheran, to “mainline” churches such as United Methodist, Congregationalist, Presbyterian, etc., to New Thought Churches such as Unity and Science of The Mind, to fundamentalist churches such as Nazarene, Assemblies of God, and Baptist. Jews, Hindus, and Buddhists have participated in our programs. We welcome individuals who feel called to ministerial service from all walks of life.

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"Do you ordain women to the ministry / priesthood?"

Absolutely. We do not discriminate because of gender. Christ didn’t and, even though St. Paul wrote epistles relegating women to positions of “obedience” to men, we do not. Christ said that to love is greater than anything else, and it is his word that we honor on this point.  You shouldn't expect anything less from America's premiere Women's College ... women...and only women.

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"Must I subscribe to a certain creed or dogma, or may I maintain my own beliefs?"

We believe that each candidate for the ministry has her or his own reason for pursuing this career path. For some, it is a culmination of a lifetime of service in their local church, for others it is seeking fulfillment in ordination after serving in overseas missions. We also honor the needs of specific groups to be ordained, say ex-nuns or, perhaps disenfranchised Southern Baptist women who are no longer permitted to serve as pastors in their own denominations. Our approach to Christianity is based largely on Biblical teachings, we nonetheless honor the traditions and beliefs of other religions. Our primary mission is to assist individuals realize their connection to God and to enhance communication with God, as well as a personal experience of God. If God wants you to adhere to a particular dogma in your ministry, that is to be according to your personal calling…not something we mortals impose upon you as a pre-condition to being ordained. If you can be comfortable with the love and forgiveness and service teachings of Christ, you can be eligible for ordination in The Love Church Worldwide communion.

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"Once I am ordained, can I be employed in another denomination, or work in yours? Or, can I start my own church?"

Any of the above, actually. Firstly, other denominations do hire ministers ordained in non-denominational or New Thought ministerial study programs. This is especially true of the non-liturgical churches, that is, churches other than Roman Catholic, Episcopalian, and Lutheran. Secondly, you can register as an affiliate of The Love Church Worldwide denomination for a very small annual license fee. And, finally, you can start your own church, certainly, if you feel called to do so. We will happily assist you.

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"Please tell me a bit more about your Degree Program"

As with many seminary programs, ours is not accredited in the same way a college or university would be. We are ecclesiastically accredited instead of regionally accredited.  We grant Bachelors of Theology, Bachelor of Divinity, Master of Divinity, and doctorate degrees and they are totally legitimate in that we are chartered by our Secretary of State to conduct educational seminary programs and to grant degrees. But, you could not use any unaccredited degree from any institution to, say, enter a graduate program at UCLA, or to claim to be qualified to teach in the public education system. Our degrees honor your life experience and new theological education, and affirm your ministerial /priestly status to your religious community.

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"How can I obtain a masters or a doctorate degree from The Center for Ministerial Education?"

We offer advanced degrees through our newly-formed Saint James College, including Masters of Theology, Masters of Divinity, Masters of Spiritual Counseling, Doctorate of Theology, and Doctorate of Divinity. These progams are in addition to our ordination program. Please inquire for details regarding these advanced studies.

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"Is your ordination program available only in the U.S.?"

Our distance learning seminary program and ordination classes are available in every nation on earth. All you need is an internet connection (although telephone service to the United States is helpful). While virtually every country accepts Christian ordinations, you should check with your particular government to see if any particular requirements must be met in home country. We will be glad to assist you, where possible, with documentation that may required in your home nation, or the nation in which you wish to practice your ministry.

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"How expensive is this online ordination study program?"

Our Entry-Level Ordination program is offered very inexpensively. The tuition cost is $250.00.  This program is designed for the person who is called upon to fill in for the regular pastor now and then or, perhaps, to perform the occasional marriage ceremony. 

Our Professional-Level Ordination program costs only $750, which covers everything -- there are none of the "hidden" charges that are often assessed by other schools. We will maintain your records in our offices so that if, in the future, anyone in your local community questions your qualifications and ministerial standing we can, at no charge to you, answer inquiries attesting to the validity of your ordination.