Course Catalogue 2025-2026

This course introduces students to the spiritual, theological, professional and ethical foundations of Christian mission and ministry. Through a careful consideration of the sources of ministry including Scripture, the teaching of the magisterium, and religious congregational documents, the course invites students to forge and live out a theology of ministry enabling lifelong service in the current ecumenical, interreligious and postmodern context. Key aspects of ministry such as calling, discernment, formation, basic skills/competencies and ethical principles will be addressed. The relationship of ministry to other areas of theology, such as Christology, pneumatology, grace, mission, ecclesiology, and the sacraments, will also be considered.

This course is an introduction to Islamic spirituality with a focus on Sufism, often referred to as the “mystical” tradition of Islam. It offers a historical and topical survey of the tradition’s foundational beliefs, practices, and diverse expressions. The course will examine the rise of Sufi orders, the experiential dimension of Sufism, “theosophical” Sufism, and, finally, the contribution of Sufism to the Islamic arts and literatures.

Apostolic preaching and its development in Gospel writing. A look at the Synoptic Question. Special introduction to first three gospels, with attention to the themes and theology of each tradition. Exegetical study of selected passages in Mark, completed with reference to accounts in Matthew and Luke.

“What is the Church?” This course addresses how Canadian Christians have viewed that fundamental question through the lens of immigration, and how they have framed the problem over the last 150 years. After an exploration of the answers given in several time periods, the course will grapple with the slippery issue of Canadian identity, focusing on the transitional years of 1960–1980 as Canada shed its British identity and considered what it meant to be a multicultural country within a bi-lingual framework. In the second half of the course, the governing question becomes “what will the Church look like twenty years in the future?” Students will explore contemporary modes of ministry that challenge churches and their members to become intercultural by embracing others and actively seeking to be transformed by the diversity of people who arrive from around the world to make their home within our borders.

“What is the Church?” This course addresses how Canadian Christians have viewed that fundamental question through the lens of immigration, and how they have framed the problem over the last 150 years. After an exploration of the answers given in several time periods, the course will grapple with the slippery issue of Canadian identity, focusing on the transitional years of 1960–1980 as Canada shed its British identity and considered what it meant to be a multicultural country within a bi-lingual framework. In the second half of the course, the governing question becomes “what will the Church look like twenty years in the future?” Students will explore contemporary modes of ministry that challenge churches and their members to become intercultural by embracing others and actively seeking to be transformed by the diversity of people who arrive from around the world to make their home within our borders.

Classic Buddhist scriptures have been traditionally classified in three major Categories: Sotra texts that record the teachings of the historical Buddha, Vrnaya texts that narrate disciplinary rules for the Buddhist monastic community, and Sastra texts that function as commentarial treatises on the Buddha's teachings; This course introduces students to classic Buddhist texts in each of these three categories to lielp students become familiar with literary discourse on foundational Buddhist doctrines, ethics, and thought. In this class, students will learn the history of the formation and the reception of a list of carefully selected canonical texts in each category, read English translations of the original text. When available, original editions of these texts in Sanskrit, Pali, Chinese, or Tibetan will also be provided for those who are interested in exploring further.

Built upon the foundations established from the Fundamental Tenets and Practices of Buddhism course, this course provides students with further understanding of how the Buddhist traditions make use of various meditative techniques as the means to help practitioners realize the transcendental experiences explicated in the Buddhist doctrines. Five major Buddhist meditative traditions will be explored, namely, the fundamental meditative techniques found in the Theravada tradition, the two forms of Chan/Zen meditation in China and Japan, the Pure Land tradition in China, the unique system of meditation developed in the Tiantai school in China, and the visualization practices in the Tibetan tantric style of cultivation. Students will develop an in-depth understanding of the Buddha's teachings in association with the principles behind the meditative practices, the modern adaptations of these practices, as well as the relationship with the Buddhist teachings on well-being and spiritual happiness. Students are encouraged to adapt these meditative techniques and integrate the insights on spiritual development of self and others into their psychotherapy practices.

Introductory study of the Anglican communion as a worldwide form of Christianity; its history, key theological issues, worship, schools of thought, approaches to spirituality.

Introductory study of the Anglican communion as a worldwide form of Christianity; its history, key theological issues, worship, schools of thought, approaches to spirituality.

An introduction to the content of a portion of the New Testament: 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Romans, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Peter, Hebrews and Revelation. The guiding question of the course is "Who is Jesus?".

This course examines key issues and themes that underscore and are shaping contemporary discourses in the field of world (global) Christianity. Examples of themes explored are the tectonic shifts that characterize the phenomenon of world Christianity, the translatability of the Christian faith, gospel-culture relations, diasporic forms of Christianity, interaction between the Christian faith and other religious traditions, and ideas of a global Christian theological identity. The course encourages reflection on the role that indigenous Christianity has played in the discourse on world Christianity. Focusing on specific case studies and using primarily theological method of inquiry, the course exposes students to the challenges and values for doing theology and Christian ministry in indigenous and multicultural contexts.

This course examines key issues and themes that underscore and are shaping contemporary discourses in the field of world (global) Christianity. Examples of themes explored are the tectonic shifts that characterize the phenomenon of world Christianity, the translatability of the Christian faith, gospel-culture relations, diasporic forms of Christianity, interaction between the Christian faith and other religious traditions, and ideas of a global Christian theological identity. The course encourages reflection on the role that indigenous Christianity has played in the discourse on world Christianity. Focusing on specific case studies and using primarily theological method of inquiry, the course exposes students to the challenges and values for doing theology and Christian ministry in indigenous and multicultural contexts.