Mundelein Seminary to hire actors to help prepare students for parish life
Mundelein Seminary, an institution that has educated priests and other church leaders for more than a century, is rolling out a program where students practice speaking one-on-one with hired actors who are playing the part of parishioners.
The actors study back stories devised by the seminary staff including what the parishioners feel about the church, what issues they have been having and other details.
Leaders believe by interacting with the actors, who could be playing a parishioner dealing with loss, doubts or any other issue, seminarians in training will be more effective leaders once they leave the campus and are in a real-world church environment. And the simulated sessions will be recorded so students and their instructors can go over what went well and what didn't.
The Rev. John Kartje, rector and president of Mundelein Seminary, said he's been impressed by the work done by the actors.
"I've been a priest for 20-plus years, and you couldn't have convinced me they weren't real parishioners," Kartje said.
Kartje said so far just a few seminary students are part of a pilot program. But thanks in part to a $5 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., an Indianapolis-based private philanthropic foundation, the program will be implemented gradually into the curriculum for all seminary and lay ministry students at the Mundelein campus.
The grant also will fund a simulation laboratory on the Mundelein campus to host the sessions between actors and seminarians.
Kartje said he believes Mundelein is the first seminary to implement such a program, which is more common at medical schools. Mundelein Seminary leaders consulted with leading researchers in the simulation learning method at Rosalind Franklin University, Marquette University, and the University of Notre Dame.
Dr. James Carlson, associate professor and vice president for interprofessional education and simulation at Rosalind Franklin University, said providing near-real scenarios gives students a less stressful opportunity learn from mistakes.
"It allows learners to practice those skills, those uncomfortable conversations that maybe they have never had before, in a way that's safe for them to learn," Carlson said.