|
|
| Home | > | News |
|
News2nd CCTE Conference 2011: Can you hear the drum?
Preparations are well under way for the 2nd CCTE Conference to be held at the University of Winnipeg, May 16-18, 2011 with the theme “Can you hear the drum? Aboriginal spiritualities and theological education”. The conference will build on last year’s successful gathering and brings together theological educators, denominational staff related to theological education and many others with an interest in theological education and in Aboriginal spiritualities. Aboriginal elders will be present throughout the conference and drumming, dance and ceremony will be woven into the program. Keynote speakers for the event are Carmen Lansdowne and Richard Twiss. Workshop leaders are both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal and come from a variety of backgrounds. The conference will also be accompanied by Léo Dufault, Senior Coordinator, Special Events and Activities of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. This conference carries forward CCTE’s focus on “Mission and Power” and seeks to explore how Aboriginal spiritualities can inform and enrich theological education in post-residential school Canada. For more information and to register, please visit the conferencewebsite at www.ccteconference.ca. Register before March 31st in order to avoid late fees. 57th annual Canadian Theological Students’ Conference 2011
In addition to the Faculty of Theology’s role, the conferences will be enriched by the collaboration of the North American Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies (NAIITS) and the Dr. Jessie Saulteaux Centre. There will be simultaneous French/English translation for the plenary sessions and several of the workshops and other activities will be available bilingually. For more information and to register, please visit the conference website at www.ccteconference.ca. Register before March 31 in order to avoid late fees. The Missionary Letters of Vincent Donovan: 1957-1973
Vincent Donovan is best known as the author of the influential best-seller, Christianity Rediscovered (1978). This new book contains the monthly letters he wrote home from Tanzania between 1957 and 1973. These letters give us previously unknown stories—how Donovan met Julius Nyerere, first Prime Minister of Tanzania; how a group of Protestants attempted to kill him; of his early disastrous attempt to hear confession in Swahili; of the relationship between Donovan’s work and Vatican II; and much about the mysterious Sonjo tribe, among whom Donovan spent his last years in Tanzania. They also give insights, from the hilarious to the poignant, into Donovan the man in relationship to his family, his missionary colleagues, and the Maasai. Copies of original photographs are also included. Most significantly, the letters show Donovan’s evolution over the years from a young missionary who is passionate about acquiring land for church buildings, into a mature visionary who is convinced that the only job of the missionary is to preach the Gospel. A concluding essay looks at the legacy of Donovan, thirty-five years later, with contributions from three Spiritan missionaries who continue to live out his legacy in Tanzania and elsewhere today. Finally, the essay looks at Donovan’s continuing influence on contemporary renewal movements, in North America and in Britain. Those who have been inspired by Christianity Rediscovered—missiologists, church renewal leaders, and students of Gospel and culture—will find much here to delight and to challenge. From Logos to Christos: Essays on Christology
Written by recognized North American scholars, the essays explore various aspects of Christology, inviting the reader to probe the meaning and significance of Jesus Christ for today. They address a broad range of issues, including the Christology of the Acts of Thomas, Hooker on divinization, and Christ figures in contemporary Canadian culture. Teachers of theology and religious studies, pastors, and informed general readers will find the essays stimulating and instructive. They present the readers with considered, mature, and current scholarship. These are the questions that engaged Joanne McWilliam throughout her life, and she was happy to know that the critical dialogue would continue in this volume as friends and colleagues wrestled with Christological questions. For her, “In Jesus we come to know the compassion, the power, the wisdom, the love, and the faithfulness of God.” The volume is published by Wilfrid Laurier University Press. 2011 Student Essay Contest
Students in professional or graduate programs in Theology and Religious Studies are invited to consider ways in which ecclesial identity, mutual accountability, and hospitality find shape and give sustenance to efforts for unity among the separate churches. Each contestant’s conclusions should be presented in a scholarly essay of moderate length (20-30 pages, double spaced). It is permissible for essays written for course credit to be submitted as contest entries. The deadline for submission is June 15, 2011. The author of the winning essay will receive an award of $250 and funding to attend the 2011 NAAE conference in Allentown, Pennsylvania September 23-25, where he or she will be invited to present a précis of the essay. The Journal of Ecumenical Studies publishes winning essays of sufficient scholarly merit. Essays can be submitted in English or French. More information and bibliographical resources can be found at www.naae.net. All of the texts are available online. First CCTE Conference 2010 a Great Success
The conference was part of CCTE’s three year focus on “Mission and Power”, particularly on the relation of the churches and Aboriginal People and the implications for theological education in Canada in light of the processes of truth-telling and reconciliation engaging people across the country. It was significant that the conference was accompanied by Commissioner Marie Wilson of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Days began with prayer and reflections by the Rev. Dr. Stan McKay and Rev. Barbara Shoomski who centred the work of the conference in Aboriginal and Christian teachings.
A second keynote address was given by Rev. Terry Leblanc of the North American Institute for Indigenous Theological Studies (NAIITS). A panel including Chief Ovide Mercredi, Dr. Paula Sampson from the Vancouver School of Theology, and Ms. Karen Froman from the University of Winnipeg challenged participants to reflect deeply on the experiences of Aboriginal people who have chosen to leave the church and how their voices might impact theological reflection in Canada. You can find a report on the conference including a list of resource people, those who supported it financially and some of the conference documents in the Projects page of the CCTE Web site. 57th annual Canadian Theological Students’ Conference 2010 Goes to Halifax
This year’s conference was very honoured to have His Excellency, Abuna Elias Chacour, Archbishop of Akka, Haifa, Nazareth and All of Galilee of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church as its keynote speaker.
As in previous years, his presence with us was made possible by the Canadian Churches’ Forum for Global Ministries and was also supported by the Dr. E.H. Johnson Memorial Trust Fund of The Presbyterian Church in Canada. Archbishop Chacour brought a powerful message of the role of the Christian communities of Israel/Palestine in the search for peace in the on-going conflict in that region and his own Mar Elias Education Institutions in Ibillin. In addition to the keynote addresses, the theme was developed in daily worship, in small group discussions, workshops and in informal discussions over meals and free time. A report can be found in the Projects page of the CCTE Web site.
News last updated on: 2011-03-18 4:29PM Older News Items: |
Page last updated: 2011-02-18 17:11 -05:00 Copyright © 2004-2011 The Churches’ Council on Theological Education in Canada Web site design and development by Ravi Weerasinghe |
The Missionary Letters of Vincent Donovan: 1957-1973, recently published by Pickwick Publications, was supported in part by a grant from CCTE. The author, John Bowen, is Associate Professor of Evangelism at Wycliffe College.
From Logos to Christos: Essays on Christology in Honour of Joanne McWilliam is a collection of essays in Christology written by friends and colleagues of Joanne McWilliam and edited by Ellen Leonard and Kate Merriman. Ellen was a longtime member of the Board of CCTE. McWilliam was a pioneer woman in the academic study of theology, specializing in Patristic studies and internationally recognized for her work on Augustine.
