The Diocese of Fargo's Education for Parish Service Program, or EPS, offers lay Catholics a 2 year adult formation program of excellent courses in scripture and theology, together with practical instruction for communicating the faith and serving others. Simply put, the program equips lay women and men to teach the faith, serve apostolic works within their parish, and serve the community. Click here for a brochure.

Four courses are taught in Rugby and Valley City from September through May each year, two per semester. There will be 10 monthly classes with 12 hours of instruction per weekend, five weekends in the fall and five weekends in the spring.  Each semester consists of two courses. There will be 10 monthly classes with 12 hours of instruction per weekend. Five weekends in the fall and five weekends in the spring each constitute a semester. Classes begin Friday evening at 7 p.m. and conclude at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday.

In Fargo and Grand Forks, two courses are taught September through March each year. There are 12 weekly classes per semester. Each class is 2 1/2 hours long and held at the Diocesan Pastoral Center in Fargo and at Holy Family Parish in Grand Forks.

Eligibility

One does not need a degree to apply, but the candidates should be able to profit by high-level instruction and have a high school education. For those needing or wanting undergraduate or graduate college credits, they are available through a working arrangement with University of Mary, Bismarck.

Cost

The cost of each course at Rugby and Valley City is $250. The cost of each course in Fargo and Grand Forks is $150. Scholarships and payment plans are available upon a demonstration of need. No one should hesitate to enroll in the EPS program because of financial difficulty. Individual parishes are not charged for attending parishioners, but some parishes contribute to the expenses of the program voluntarily, according to their means.

For a listing of classes and their locations, click here.

For more information on our program, please contact:

For more information about EPS in general, try this helpful website.