pro christ o et ecclesia - Montreal Diocesan Theological College

ADVENT/CHRISTMAS 2013
Montreal Diocesan Theological College Newsletter
PRO CHRISTO ET ECCLESIA
THE MONTREAL DIOCESAN THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE
Principal
Director of Pastoral Studies
Director of Lay Education
Chaplain
Administrator
Development Coordinator
The Rev. Canon Dr. John Simons
The Rev. Dr. Karen Egan
The Rev. Canon Tim Smart
The Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Rowlinson
Beth Reed
Afra Saskia Tucker
Montreal Diocesan Theological College
3475 University
Montreal, QC, Canada, H3A 2A8
Telephone: 514-849-3004
Fax: 514-849-3114
[email protected] | www.dio-mdtc.ca | facebook.com/dio.mdtc
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A New Place; a Renewed Faith
Karen Egan
Towards a Practice of Spiritual
Ecumenism at Dio and
the Montreal School of Theology
La charte des valeurs:
est-ce une charte de la
douleur ou de malheur?
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4
Jhon Steeker Saint-Clair
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Alumni Updates
7
News From The Centre Of Lay Education
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MDTC Welcomes Two New Members Of Staff This Year
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MDTC Has A New Online Look!
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Cover: Stained glass window depicting St. Stephen located outside St. Luke’s Chapel, MDTC.
Inside Cover: winged ox representing St. Luke carved onto MDTC building facade. Photo by Janet Best.
Design and layout: Roland Hui and Afra Saskia Tucker.
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A New Place; a
Renewed Faith
The Rev. Dr. Karen Egan
I'm
so pleased to be asked
to write something at this time
for the college newsletter. First
pleased to be able to report some
of the new things that are
happening here, but truth be told,
equally pleased just to be here, to
be teaching and to be a part of the
life of the college. As most of you
know, I came in August to replace
Paul Jennings as Acting Director
of Pastoral Studies. So far I find
it both challenging and fun. I am
impressed by the thoughtfulness
of the students and their
dedication to the calling which
they have received. I am also
so pleased to be a part of such a
collegial ecumenical team which
oversees the final In Ministry
Year. It's a big change: although a
bit removed from full time parish
ministry, the change comes with
many new and exciting things.
I spend hours preparing to teach,
quiet solitary thinking and prayer,
and all this preparation culminates
in a three hour seminar which is
lively and invigorating. In some
ways that's no different than
preparing to lead worship, but
even when I feel that the class
experience was good, I am often
left wondering if it will lead to real
success, measured, I suppose, by
how well this training holds up
a year from now or even longer,
when most of the students will be
“Look, I’m doing a new thing; now it sprouts up, don’t you recognize it?
I’m making a way in the desert, paths in the wilderness”
(Isaiah 43:19, CEB)
Karen Egan
“Advent reminds us that God
is always and ever at work..”
out into the world, leading
parishes and on the councils of the
church. I also spend time being a
pastoral presence with the first
and second year students, caring
for them and encouraging them
on the way, which in some ways
is very much like parish ministry,
and in other ways, quite different.
All are called into life in the
church by their baptism, not all
are called to be ordained leaders.
There is one thing that feels much
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the same though, and that's the
importance we all feel about the
ongoing worship and fellowship
we share in our daily prayer and
weekly Eucharist. To know God,
to make God known, to share our
faith with each other and to reach
out into our community: these are
all important priorities, for these
things build up the body, not only
here at the college, but in and for
the whole church. It makes me
realize that only by doing it here
first with God's help, can we help
our students exercise their own
vocations in the wider church.
In that way I can observe that
whatever the change in our life and
in the church, fundamental things
never change. Advent reminds
us that God is always and ever at
work building up the church and
renewing the face of the world.
Isaiah proclaimed it using images
from nature, he saw God at work
forming rivers, parting seas,
providing food and healing and
empowering Israel. He reminds us
that in every new era, God gives us
everything we need to worship and
to build up the church, something
I have discovered again and again
in my own life, and now, in the
life of this college. New things are
beginning here, a renewed Spirit
is finding new hearts, and a way
forward is emerging which gives
us great hope. I invite you to read
through this wonderful newsletter,
and discover these new things,
and catch the Spirit of hope which
renews our faith in the future of
this place.
I wish you a fruitful Advent and a
Happy Christmas, and Best
Wishes for a healthy and
prosperous New Year from the
whole Dio staff.
The Rev. Dr. Karen Egan graduated from
MDTC in 2003 and has a D.Min. in
Preaching from the Lutheran School of
Theology in Chicago. Karen served as a
parish priest in the diocese of Montreal for
ten years before accepting the position of
interim Director of Pastoral Studies at the
college in September.
Towards a Practice of Spiritual
Ecumenism at Dio and the Montreal
School of Theology
Archdeacon
Bruce Myers, General Synod’s
Coordinator of Ecumenical
Relations, joined the Tri-college
worship and lunch hosted by
MDTC on October 16, offering a
talk afterwards to students of the
Montreal School of Theology on
the theme of practicing
Ecumenism in our contemporary
setting.
Archdeacon Myers pointed out
that over the past half century,
churches have progressed in
settling disputes of faith and order
at official levels, producing
volumes of beautiful ecumenical
agreed statements; yet these
documents have not been received,
that is, they have not been widely
studied and appropriated by the
church at the local level.
“A failure of reception means
an agreement will have formal
adoption and the signatures of
hierarchs, but will do little more
than collect dust on the shelves
of people like me. A chasm exists
between the impressive degree of
official agreement between and
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among churches and actual lived
experiences of our churches,”
stated Myers.
Success and failure of reception
often depend on non-theological
factors: geographic, cultural,
linguistic, or political differences:
“The more time our churches have
been separated from each other,
and developing in isolation from
each other, the more time we have
had to nourish prejudices and
create caricatures of each other.”
It is clear that it is not enough if
church authorities bless agreed
statements. Ecumenical agreement
in theology needs to be
accompanied by a spiritual
ecumenism.
A good example of spiritual
ecumenism in our midst is the
Montreal School of Theology
(MST), the tri-college consortium
of which MDTC is a founding
partner and of which Myers
himself is a graduate. A century
ago, the leaders of the colleges
affiliated with McGill decided to
work together, encouraging
ecumenical collaboration in
theological education, and they
did so decades before this became
normative in the rest of Canada.
As a student at MST, Myers was
able to cultivate a keen awareness
of how Christian division
compromises the church’s witness.
In addition to a common
curriculum, Myers believes there
are other ways in which the unity
we share in Christ can be
expressed, for example, in tricollege gatherings of common
worship and fellowship. “It’s
significant that when Jesus
expressed his desire for the unity
of his followers, he did so not in a
teaching, not in a parable, not in a
sermon, but in prayer: “That they
may all be one.” [John 17: 21]
The relationships students build
across denominational lines at
MST are important and Myers
advised that students be
intentional about continuing to
build those relationships after
ordination with the other clergy in
their communities.
“The more time our churches have been separated
from each other, and developing in isolation from
each other, the more time we have had to nourish
prejudices and create caricatures of each other.”
“Before deciding to embark on any
project or engage in any form of
mission, outreach, teaching,
evangelism, peacemaking,
advocacy, public witness—even a
building project—it should
become second nature for us to
ask: with what other church (or
churches), with which other
ecumenical partners, can we do
this with? If you as ordained or
commissioned leaders model this
kind of collaborative behavior with
ecumenical colleagues, then the
people you serve will be more
likely to follow your example.”
Myers also suggests that
ecumenical engagement should
not be understood as another
project or program, but rather as
the framework for how ministry
is carried out in congregations: “as
a way of being rather than some
kind of add-on.”
Bruce Myers
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Finally, it should be recognized
that ecumenism is not an end
unto itself, for Jesus prayed for his
disciples’ unity not for unity’s sake,
but “so that the world may believe”
[John 17: 21]. Therefore, disciples
of Jesus and future leaders of the
church will need to reckon with
this gospel imperative as they are
led by the Holy Spirit to make
more visible the unity of the
church in whatever part of the
church they are called to serve.
Archdeacon Bruce Myers graduated from
MDTC in 2004, and is now the General
Synod’s Coordinator for Ecumenical and
Interfaith Relations.
La charte des valeurs:
est-ce une charte de la douleur ou de malheur?
Jhon Steeker Saint-Clair
Le
Québec, terre d’accueil,
constitue une mosaique de
cultures. Les nouveaux immgrants,
et spécialement ceux des minorités
visibles, font face à ce pluralisme
culturel et religieux à leur arrivée
et cela provoque un choc culturel
et même des frustrations selon les
façons positives ou négatives de se
comporter à ces différents groupes
sociaux. Le projet ou le texte de
la Charte des valeurs québécoises
n’est pas adapté à notre contexte:
elle est un prétexte pour faire la
promotion de la souveraineté du
Québec, barrer la route aux ethnies ou aux groupes de minorité
visibles et à ceux et celles qui
participent à cette démocratie
participative. On cherche à avoir le
plein contrôle sur les croyances des
gens car les québécois purs laines
se sentent menacés et craignent de
voir disparaître leur cultures.
Une telle chartre ne provoque elle
pas des frustrations chez toutes les
professions de foi religieuses au
point de blesser les gens dans leur
état d’âme? Ne serait-il pas mieux
d’informer les futurs immigrants
dans leurs pays avant leur arrivée
sur le sol canadien au lieu de
chambarder leurs cultures lors
de leur établissement ou de leur
processus d’intégration? L’accueil
ne serait-il pas réduit à un piège, à
une persécution et à une insulte au
droit portant atteinte à la liberté de
certaines personnes qui
apportent soucieusement des
ressources diverses pour faire
progresser et enrichir la société
québécoise, anémique et allergique
à certaines valeurs religieuses? Ce
...pourquoi ne pas
demander d’enlever
la croix au Parlement
et sur Mont Royal?
n’est pas aux signes religieux qu’on
devrait attaquer mais plutôt aux
valeurs immorales et amorales qui
nuisent et qui perturbent les gens
et qui entrainent parfois des actes
de délinquance, le manque de
respect, la rébellion, l’impolitesse,
l’abus de confiance et l’indifférence
religieuse? S’il en est ainsi,
pourquoi ne pas demander
d’enlever la croix au Parlement et
sur Mont Royal?
Existe-t-il réellement un état
neutre ou une valeur
spécifiquement Québécoise? L’état
Jhon Steeker Saint-Clair et sa conjointe Immacula
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qui nous représente, a-t-il la
capacité et les vertus nécessaires
pour combler la profondeur et le
vide absolu des individus de la
cité? Vive le «vivre ensemble». Vive
la liberté de religion qui définit
déjà clairement la neutralité de
l’état et qui demeure inviolable. Un
jour pour le chasseur, un jour pour
le gibier. On ne peut pas détâcher
quelqu’un de sa culture et de sa
croyance pourvu que cela ne cause
aucun tort à la société. Au moment
où le mouvement œcuménique
essaie de rallier toutes les religions
en prônant le pluralisme religieux,
le projet de la charte des valeurs
québécoises, en étant
discriminatoire, ne constitue–t-il
pas un handicap en créant une
tension sociale pouvant susciter
l’islamophobie et la théophobie?
Jhon Steeker St-Clair a completé son
baccalauréat en théologie à la Faculté de
Théologie Évangélique à Montréal affiliée à
l’Université Acadia. Jhon est maintenant en
train de compléter son diplôme de maîtrise
en divinité(M.Div.) à MDTC.
ALUmNI UPDATES
CONGRATULATIONS!
This Fall, the College was pleased to learn that three
of its graduates were part of a project that was
recognized by the Anglican Church of Canada in its
‘Marks of Mission Champions’ awards. Karen Egan,
Jen Bourque and Nick Pang developed and cowrote the ‘Montreal Marks of Mission Bible Study’.
Their work was featured in this past summer’s Joint
Assembly of the Anglican Church and Evangelical
Lutheran Church in Canada, and is still available for
use online. Check it out:
http://montrealmarksofmission.wordpress.com/
CALLING ALL MDTC ALUMNI! Where are you now?
We would love to hear from you! Please send us your
stories, news, and photos by email: [email protected] or
snail mail: 3475 University, MTL, H3A 2A8.
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IN THE NEWS: Dio alumnus Ronald Cutler was
elected Coadjutor Bishop of the Diocese of Nova
Scotia and Prince Edward Island on November 22,
2013. Our congratulations go out to the diocese and
to the Rt. Rev. Ronald Cutler!
News from the
Centre of Lay
Education
Education for Ministry (EFM)
Mentor Training workshop on
February 6-8, 2014. Thursday
afternoon to Saturday at noon at
MDTC. Contact Tim Smart for
details: [email protected]
Radically re-imagine Christianity
in the heart of urban society!
Faith on Tap continue their
monthly discussions at
McKibbin’s Pub, 1426 Bishop
Street in Montreal. Every 3rd
Thursday of the month beginning
at 5 pm. Everyone is welcome to
join the conversation on faith,
politics and religion over a nice
pint o’ brew. Hosted by the Rev.
Jim McDermott.
MDTC Spring Evening Course:
Documenting Faith through Film
A discussion and exploration of
different voices and narratives as
they come to us through the
medium of modern film
documentaries.
MDTC welcomes two new
members of staff this year
Beth Reed now serves as College
Administrator and Mark
McDonald has joined the college
as Chapel Organist. Beth has a
background in economics and
survey research. Brought up in the
Episcopal Church, she now
permanently resides in Montreal,
with husband Marc and daughter
Josephine, and is an active
member of the Church of St. John
the Evangelist and the Anglican
Diocese of Montreal.
Mark is a doctoral student at
the Schulich School of Music
of McGill University where he
studies organ and harpsichord
performance and teaches classes
in musicianship. Originally from
Burlington, Ontario, he moved to
Montreal in 2009 to complete his
Master of Music and Artist
Diploma at McGill. He has held
appointments as Assistant
Organist at the Church of Saint
James the Apostle and Christ
Church Cathedral in Montreal and
recently returned from a year in
Germany where he was a visiting
scholar at the University of the
Arts Bremen.
Beth Reed
Mark McDonald
Solemn Sung Eucharist
6:30 pm, every Sunday, in MDTC
chapel. Solemn sung eucharist;
plainsong propers, peace, and silence.
MDTC has a new online
look!
Please check out the college’s
refurbished website at:
www.dio-mdtc.ca and be sure
to like our facebook page at:
facebook.com/dio.mdtc
With Elizabeth Rowlinson,
Ellen Aitken, Christopher Hossfeld,
Meagan Zantingh. All are welcome.
For more information, see
facebook.com/SolemnSungEucharist
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