United Church and affiliated schools to reimagine theological education
A resource grant from the prestigious In Trust Center for Theological Schools will enable The United Church of Canada, in partnership with its seven affiliated theological schools, to reimagine theological education.
A seed grant for innovation, the USD$15,000 from In Trust Center will be matched by the United Church, along with contributions by the United Church-affiliated theological schools. As an expansion of the launch phase, it is hoped the initiative will also include active support for future sustainability, growth, and execution.
“The work of reimagining theological education is vital to the church we are becoming, as we look ahead to the next 100 years of The United Church of Canada. Our theological schools are important partners in the formation of ministry leaders, both ordered and lay,” says the Rev. Michael Blair, General Secretary. “This seed grant offers the church and the schools an important opportunity to reimagine theological education together.”
“At the In Trust Center, we take great pleasure in supporting our members as they seek to reimagine the work of theological education and better prepare students for the work of ministry,” says Amy L. Kardash, President. “The resource grants have helped incubate innovation and created ways to strengthen the field and, as a result, the church. We’re excited to see what is to come!”
Reimagining theological education involves a thoughtful, professional, and expert-facilitated process that includes all United Church-affiliated theological schools, as well as consultation with groups of ministers and lay leaders from the church’s 2,000 congregations. Consultation may extend beyond the United Church network within Canada and globally.
“I’m delighted that the church and schools have received this seed grant from In Trust, which will enable us to do more to respond to the changing ministry needs of the church now and into the future,” says Jennifer Janzen Ball, Executive Minister, Theology and Ministry Leadership. “Receiving this grant is a recognition of the collaborative work the schools and church have committed to and is a foundational step towards reimagining theological education.”
The United Church recognizes the challenges of its local churches and the need for strong, innovative, entrepreneurial ministry leadership; affiliated theological schools located across Canada are charged with the training and formation of these leaders.
“This grant is timely as we are celebrating The United Church of Canada’s Centennial, and acknowledging that the landscape of theological education is changing to meet the needs of this complex world. Through this grant, we will be able to dream together with our students about where and how to cast out their nets,” says HyeRan Kim-Cragg, Principal of Emmanuel College, adding, “This grant will support our schools in working together, ultimately to equip our students to cultivate strong relationships so that different communities and different people can learn to co-dwell and thrive together and share the abundance of life in creation which belongs to God.”
“I have great excitement about working together with the affiliated schools to explore their respective charisms through this collaborative effort,” says Richard Topping, President of Vancouver School of Theology.
A working committee will guide a process to enable schools and the church to reimagine theological education and collaborate around the ministry needs of the future as a response to the United Church’s strategic plan; the focus includes a leading priority of growth with a view to renew, create and invite, and to the supporting priority of invigorating leadership.
The scope of this work includes programs and courses, pedagogy, use of technology, language and cultural factors (including the full spectrum of diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and justice, or DEIAJ), shared faculty for teaching and research purposes, possibly administrative and operational areas of collaboration, and the ensuing structures and resources that will be needed to achieve this reimagining work.
The United Church of Canada and each of the affiliated theological schools gratefully acknowledge the generous willingness of the Vancouver School of Theology to be the portal through which the In Trust Center Resource Grant application was made and secured.
About the In Trust Center for Theological Schools
The In Trust Center, which dates back more than 30 years, serves to strengthen theological schools in North America by connecting their leaders to essential resources for mission vitality. The work focuses on senior leaders, governing boards, and advisors, helping and resourcing them in their work. As a mission-driven, values-focused non-profit organization, the Center serves institutions that educate more than 70,000 students, representing a significant portion of future religious leaders in North America.