Course Catalogue 2026-2027

This course is designed to help students understand the "backstory" to the Bible - the history, geography, culture and practices that made up the normal everyday world of the ancient Israelites and their neighbours, but which are utterly foreign to us. Through this course, students will develop a better understanding of the physical and conceptual context of the Old and New Testaments that will help offer a foundation for understanding and interpreting the Bible.

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.

The course provides an exploration of how Christianity has understood the relationship among God, creation, humanity and spirituality, and how that understanding has contributed to the ecological challenges we currently face as well as how it can contribute to a helpful response. The course begins with an overview of our understanding of spirituality and creation during the patristic, medieval and reformation periods, then shifts to contemporary understandings drawing from current discussions of Christology, creation-centred spirituality, eco-feminism, deep ecology, and the healing of nature and of self.

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.

This course will examine how the Psalms have been read, interpreted, and proclaimed from the time of their composition through to today by well-known, forgotten, and emerging voices, including the majority world and women's voices . Attention will also be given to traditional and contemporary approaches to the study of the Psalms, including literary forms, canonical shaping, trauma and moral injury studies, biblical theological reflection, and exegesis of representative Psalms.

This course will examine how the Psalms have been read, interpreted, and proclaimed from the time of their composition through to today by well-known, forgotten, and emerging voices, including the majority world and women's voices . Attention will also be given to traditional and contemporary approaches to the study of the Psalms, including literary forms, canonical shaping, trauma and moral injury studies, biblical theological reflection, and exegesis of representative Psalms.

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.

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.

Through analysis of doctrinal statements of The United Church of Canada, their historical origins and contemporary theology, this course will enable students to become acquainted with United Church theology and the processes by which it has been developed, and to articulate their own faith in relation to their own experience, the faith of the church, and the practice of ministry in the context of challenges of today. Students will participate in the process by which "Christians of each new generation are called to state [the faith of the church] afresh in terms of the thought of their own age and with the emphasis their age needs" (Preamble, A Statement of Faith, 1940). Doctrinal statements on which the course will focus include the Doctrine section of the Basis of Union (1925), A Statement of Faith I1940), and A Song of Faith (2006); theological statements from other United Church documents will also be considered. Course methods include readings, discussions, and papers, and will incorporate students' reflections on their experience and integration of theory and practice into discussions and papers.

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.

This course is a historical, systematic, and pastoral study of the sacraments of initiation (baptism, confirmation, Eucharist), healing (reconciliation, sacrament of the sick), and vocation (marriage and orders) in Roman Catholic theology and practice. The purpose of this course is to 1) explore the meaning of ritual and symbol in human experience and religious practice, 2) trace the historical development of sacraments in the Christian tradition and 3) identify key issues and challenges in a contemporary sacramental theology.