Course Catalogue 2024-2025

Prophetic and ethical approaches to preaching assume that there is a need for positive social change in communities. This course explores how the preaching of the church contributes to social change within the church and beyond. Through an emphasis on contextualization of the word, and critical engagement with a variety of homiletic proposals, this course seeks to build a robust understanding of the gospel in context and the ways that good news is heard and received in various locations. Topics include decolonial preaching, Eco theology, liberation preaching, black preaching, feminist preaching. The goal is to craft and deliver sermons that engage deeply with the biblical text and can respond to social phenomenon and crises in contextual and gospel-centered ways.

This course is aimed at clergy and congregational administrators who deal with matters concerning buildings and property. Offering anthropological, theological, and legal/canonical/policy frameworks, participants will reflect on the properties for which they are responsible, exploring foundational issues in the management of these resources, and considering what is required to maintain them. How can buildings and property, including those ancillary to the congregation’s primary worshipping space, become more effective places of mission, imagination and hope for both those who administer them and all those who populate them or see them as neighbourhood places? What are the practicalities involved? We will draw on the work of Richard Giles, Sam Wells, Lindsay Jones and others, as well as the experiences of judicatory administrators and seasoned parish clergy. While the focus will be on Anglican polity and processes, much of the course material (e.g legal requirements, theological and anthropological frames) would be transferable to situations in other denominations. We will consider how contexts such as urban and rural affect the administration of buildings and property.

This course is aimed at clergy and congregational administrators who deal with matters concerning buildings and property. Offering anthropological, theological, and legal/canonical/policy frameworks, participants will reflect on the properties for which they are responsible, exploring foundational issues in the management of these resources, and considering what is required to maintain them. How can buildings and property, including those ancillary to the congregation’s primary worshipping space, become more effective places of mission, imagination and hope for both those who administer them and all those who populate them or see them as neighbourhood places? What are the practicalities involved? We will draw on the work of Richard Giles, Sam Wells, Lindsay Jones and others, as well as the experiences of judicatory administrators and seasoned parish clergy. While the focus will be on Anglican polity and processes, much of the course material (e.g legal requirements, theological and anthropological frames) would be transferable to situations in other denominations. We will consider how contexts such as urban and rural affect the administration of buildings and property.

What does it mean to pray the words, “Thy Kingdom Come” in the Lord’s Prayer? How does one exercise power in leadership? In an era of at-times abusive, and often failed leadership, this course opens an Old Testament theology of divine and human kingship and power. Focused on the Old Testament in its ancient and literary contexts and with attention to a New Testament telos, it explores several loci in which God’s kingship is expressed. These may include creation, covenant, worship, warfare, the monarchy, and Israel’s history. Extending God’s sovereign rule, the office of human king is explored in its various stages including inception, development, and failure. The consideration of key biblical texts works toward forming a biblical theology of God’s kingship within the Old Testament, and its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

What does it mean to pray the words, “Thy Kingdom Come” in the Lord’s Prayer? How does one exercise power in leadership? In an era of at-times abusive, and often failed leadership, this course opens an Old Testament theology of divine and human kingship and power. Focused on the Old Testament in its ancient and literary contexts and with attention to a New Testament telos, it explores several loci in which God’s kingship is expressed. These may include creation, covenant, worship, warfare, the monarchy, and Israel’s history. Extending God’s sovereign rule, the office of human king is explored in its various stages including inception, development, and failure. The consideration of key biblical texts works toward forming a biblical theology of God’s kingship within the Old Testament, and its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

The Roman Catholic Church is in the midst of a Synodal process, one which Pope Francis has declared to be the ongoing manner of proceeding for the Church. "The Synod is not a parliament or an opinion poll; the Synod is an ecclesial event and its protagonist is the Holy Spirit." This course will trace the theological origins from Vatican II (Lumen Gentium and the particular focus on the People of God) and key characteristics of the process (listening, spiritual conversation, discernment, all of which have a significant theological foundation). The responses already received from the universal church will be considered including concern for: the ecumenical and inter-faith engagements that have occurred; the importance of co-responsibility; the participation of women and young people; and a universal concern for minority groups; the ongoing need for formation. The course will also consider the challenges that the process faces as it continues.

This course will provide an introduction to the theology of the Church and the Church's understanding of itself as a principal mediator of the mystery and grace of God in the world. The approach of the course will be threefold: 1) a study of the historical development of ecclesial structures with special emphasis on understanding the ecclesiology of the second Vatican Council. This will include, a discussion of some pertinent issues arising from the Council such as the magisterium, collegiality, and ministry; 2) an understanding of the diverse theologies of Church through some of the primary images and models in which it understands itself; and 3) an attempt to understand the ecumenical emphasis of Vatican II that has given rise to a renewed interest in interdenominational interreligious dialogue, mission and inculturation, and the emergence of contextual approaches such as the feminist and liberationist methodologies.

Catholic education, catechesis, and schooling are rooted in a centuries-long tradition of educating in faith as articulated in a variety of schools of spirituality. These schools of spirituality influence not only what is taught, but the educational approaches and practices that are used. This course will explore the foundational texts from major schools of spirituality and explore the ways that these have led to a variety of pedagogical practices in the formation of faith. Particular attention will be given to how these spiritual traditions inform the life of Catholic schools and universities, but application to other congregational and other ministerial contexts will also be explored.

Examines the theology and sacramental foundations of the priesthood of the baptized and the ministerial priesthood and their interrelationship within the church envisioned as an ordered community.

This course is an examination of contemporary theories of human growth and development, and the contribution that such theories offer to the understanding of religious development and the praxis of religious education.

The formulation of an Old Testament theology is a summative and integrative task within Old Testament studies, yet no consensus exists on how an Old Testament theology should be conducted. In this course students will begin to develop their own understanding of, and approach to, Old Testament theology in its task, structure, scope, sources, uses, subject matter, and hermeneutical method. Students will engage both the discipline’s history and its critical questions. The course aims to help students shape an Old Testament theology that attends to the historical, literary, and thematic realities of Old Testament texts and how the message of those texts articulates with other canonical texts.

The formulation of an Old Testament theology is a summative and integrative task within Old Testament studies, yet no consensus exists on how an Old Testament theology should be conducted. In this course students will begin to develop their own understanding of, and approach to, Old Testament theology in its task, structure, scope, sources, uses, subject matter, and hermeneutical method. Students will engage both the discipline’s history and its critical questions. The course aims to help students shape an Old Testament theology that attends to the historical, literary, and thematic realities of Old Testament texts and how the message of those texts articulates with other canonical texts.