01
Mar 2019
This workshop will cover four main areas of leadership: Session One: Creating the Future or Receiving it? Re-thinking Change We often talk about building the kingdom of God or advancing the kingdom of God or extending it. But Jesus talked about inheriting the kingdom or receiving it. Is there a difference? This session will review a process of change called Theory U by Otto Sharmer and will help us to think through how deep change takes place in our lives and in our congregations. Session Two: When Leaders Hit the Wall We......
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17
Oct 2018
Transforming Church Conflict This highly interactive workshop invites participants to consider the building blocks that create conflict and those that assist or inhibit conflict resolution. This workshop includes reflection, conversation, and exercises to help those involved in ministry to address conflict in healthy and productive ways. Practical tools and skill building will be part of this foundational workshop. The workshop sessions will be oriented toward: deep knowledge of congregational health, conflict management, and leadership in churches; a spirit of “unconditional positive regard”—we engage others with a profound sense of respect and in......
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17
Oct 2018
Congregational Leadership Most congregations expect their minister to preach, lead in worship and provide pastoral care. But what are the expectations of the minister when it comes to leadership? Whose job is it and what skills are required? This course is designed to engage in key questions around congregational leadership. What is the role of the minister in relation to congregational leadership? How is the function of leadership integrated into the identity of pastoral ministry? How is pastoral leadership related to the role of lay leaders? What knowledge base and skill set......
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16
Oct 2018
An introduction to a wide variety of ways in which Christians think about justice and mercy in reference to current social issues. What is justice? What is mercy? How do Christians make sense of the social and political problems of the day? This course explores these questions through a survey of major theories of justice from both philosophical and theological perspectives. Topics include liberal, libertarian, communitarian, feminist, and liberationist theories in conversation with Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Protestant approaches as well as theologies of restorative justice, including indigenous and womanist approaches. Current......
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22
Jun 2018
Christian Mission Churches across Canada recognize that mission is central to their response to the good news of Jesus Christ. But just what mission means and what it looks like is not always clear. This course looks at the historical and theological roots of mission, while also introducing students to a variety of approaches to congregational mission, including community analysis, new monasticism, new church development, Eucharistic missiology, and much else. Students will leave with a renewed understanding of the meaning and significance of mission and practical ideas for thinking about mission in......
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22
Jun 2018
An overview of the stories, hymns, poems, sayings, and songs that form the Christian Old Testament Over many hundreds of years oral and written stories, hymns, poems, sayings and songs were brought together to form the Hebrew Bible, sometimes referred to as the Old Testament. This book has become a central text of not only Western civilization, but the backbone of the three monotheistic faiths: Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. The course will offer a critical overview of the content, periods in history, geography, socio-political, and theological approaches to the Hebrew Bible. While......
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09
Jun 2018
Turning the Text: Midrashic Biblical Imagination for Preachers and Congregations How might we approach the biblical texts used in preaching and worship with a holy, open, even playful imagination that can inspire courageous, engaged and faithful living in a North American religious climate in which the Bible has often been weaponized, idolized, or even abandoned? One approach is with a midrashic biblical imagination, which has its roots within the Bible itself, and among its earliest Jewish rabbinic interpreters. Midrashic imagination “turns and turns the text” (Pirkei Avot 5:22) with an openness to the polyvalence of biblical......
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23
Apr 2018
Meet with Cuban youth, leaders, health workers, artists and others who are transforming their communities. Visit churches and social change organizations and see, first-hand, the vibrant hope and spiritually of the Cuban people! Discover the rich fabric of Cuban culture through jazz, concerts, the ballet, museum visits, lectures, and free time in Havana and Varadero. Reflect on your experiences and share insights with your fellow travelers. And return home inspired to act on what you learn. The tour will be accompanied by Roland De Vries, Director of Studies, Presbyterian College and Alyson......
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28
Jul 2017
Meet with Cuban youth, leaders, health workers, artists and others who are transforming their communities. Visit churches and social change organizations and see, first-hand, the vibrant hope and spiritually of the Cuban people! Discover the rich fabric of Cuban culture through jazz, concerts, the ballet, museum visits, lectures, and free time in Havana and Varadero. Reflect on your experiences and share insights with your fellow travelers. And return home inspired to act on what you learn. The tour will be accompanied by Roland De Vries, Director of Studies, Presbyterian College and Alyson......
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28
Jul 2017
This course offers a sustained examination of several ancient Christian Gospels. FREDERICK S. TAPPENDEN This course will examine the implications of theology for the sciences, which have cultivated new experiences and expressions of life and death in our late modern age. Students will be invited to consider also the theological implications of the sciences and scientific practices as we wrestle to understand both God and humanity. To do this well, students will explore the history and philosophy of science and constructive theological loci so that a mature understanding of both theology and......
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