Insight Magazine - Summer 2022

Insight SUMMER 2022

Beautiful in its time 03

“NOT RETIRING FROM MY VOCATION”

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“WYCLIFFE — HOME TO...”

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“2022 HONORANDS”

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“A CULTURE OF LOVE AND TRUTH ”

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“TIME TO BE HEARD ”

FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S PEN

By The Rt Rev. Dr Stephen G. W. Andrews Dear Friends,

The pandemic has indeed taught us to look for the grace of God. Hardship, Spring is naturally a season of hope, privation, and distress have this way of marking as it does the end of the compelling us to seek help from outside. dormancy of winter. As spring gives Just when we were learning how much our way to summer, our hope this year is annual income was down because of lost particularly ardent, for it feels as though Residence revenue, we received news of a we are emerging from an extraordinarily generous bequest to the College that will long winter. For over two years now we enable us to proceed with the hiring of have endured the trials and deprivations a Professor of Pastoral Care and Practice brought about by a global pandemic, and next year. And when quarantines made we are eager to return to some sense of us prisoners, the yearning for community normalcy. meant that we had a robust Chapel life this past year, with an average in-person Of course, people regularly ask what attendance of about 15 and another 40normalcy will look like when the 50 picking up the daily livestream. In the final restrictions are lifted. It has been pages of this edition of Insight you will remarkable to me to see how quickly we read stories of those who have looked have fallen into familiar patterns of living. to God for provision and guidance, The airport is crowded, restaurants are sometimes in difficult and confusing noisy, the maskless now outnumber the circumstances. And more often than not, masked in public spaces, and even the the revelation of grace was not so much common cup appears to be making a that God had answered our prayers than return in some churches. While there it was a realisation that God was with us are serious concerns about church in our need. attendance and the impact of technology on Christian worship, people seem to me to be restive, keen to move on, perhaps without reflecting much on the trauma we have experienced and how it may have changed us.

Make no mistake. The past two years have changed us. The toll on the financial, mental, and community life of the College has been considerable, and it will likely take us at least two years to recover from the ordeal.

But I believe the past two years have changed us in more positive ways as well. Professor Radner reminded us of this in a powerfully unscripted moment during Morning Prayer at the end of the Fall term. There he observed that we had learned to hope more fully, pray more deeply, and share love more generously, because we had witnessed the patient, persistent grace of God in his Son and in his Spirit.

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As I look back on the past two years, and as I begin my seventh here at the College, I give thanks for the grace of God, which is always “beautiful in its time.” From the onset of the shutdown in March 2020, when we all were sequestered in our homes (and I beheld the nuances of spring in the life of the garden outside my window), to the current joy in seeing friends and colleagues in three dimensions, I am aware that although I have changed, God has not. As the Psalmist writes, “O give thanks unto the Lord, for he is gracious: / for his mercy endureth for ever” (136.1).

Yours in God’s goodness,

Stephen Andrews Principal

Ann Jervis:

“Not retiring from my vocation”

By Melissa Stratis

This August, Professor of New Testament Rev. Dr Ann Jervis will retire after a journey with Wycliffe College that began when she arrived as a doctoral student in 1980.

As a scholar and teacher, Ann’s work is marked by a commitment to delve deeply into the biblical text.

Dr Bruce Worthington, who served as Ann’s research and teaching assistant, says Ann’s classroom is “a welcoming, inclusive environment that fosters openness and respect among students.

Ann always carries herself with grace and dignity, encouraging students to offer their own personal insight.”

Professor Emeritus Terry Donaldson recalls, “I had been the only Wycliffe doctoral student in New Testament studies, and I remember Professor Longenecker telling me, with considerable enthusiasm, that three or four other students would be arriving. He mentioned Ann in particular, describing her as a very capable scholar—‘very capable’ being a term of high praise in his assessment lexicon.”

Ann grew up in the United Church of Canada but encountered a “whole different take” on Christianity through Intervarsity Christian Fellowship while at university. “I learned about discipleship, the Bible, the centrality of Jesus—I was blown away,” she remembers. “I had gone to university for fine arts but was fascinated by the Bible.” Ann attended Princeton Theological Seminary for one year before completing her Master of Divinity at Queen’s Theological College. After receiving encouragement from Richard Longenecker to apply for doctoral studies, Ann joined the College community and taught her first Wycliffe class—Greek—in 1988.

“I’ve had so many adventures because of Wycliffe,” says Ann, who has been invited to speak in China, Europe, the Caribbean, and the U.S. (including twice at the Center of Theological Inquiry at Princeton) and has led two Wycliffe trips to Israel. “I got to do the thing I love— study the Bible and talk about it with students who believe it matters.”

modelled for me a humility, a willingness to say ‘I don’t know’ to hard questions.

Her example sets a standard for my own teaching.”

“One of the things I love about studying the Bible, and one of the things that is challenging, is being surprised by it,” Ann says. “To go to the Bible and not to think I know what it says. To un-presume the ways this particular text has been interpreted. I longed to give that to my students. That’s the hard work—to enter the text with years of scholarship and say, ‘Let me look at this naively, like a child, and then bring my scholarship in as a second step, as a judgment afterward, rather than letting that crowd my thoughts while reading.’ In this way the Bible is going to stretch our minds in ways we can’t imagine.”

Wycliffe alumnus Dr Rachel Krohn says, “Ann is extremely good at allowing the Bible to be the Bible and not something else. She does not resolve perplexities that are irresolvable; she has a remarkable ability to be faithful to biblical texts. She

Ann expresses gratitude to her colleagues at Wycliffe, who can voice differences without becoming divided—something she refers to as “a rare thing in this world.”

She has deeply valued the opportunity to participate in the Toronto School of Theology (TST) consortium, where she was cross appointed to the Department for the Study of Religion at the University of Toronto and a Senior Fellow at Massey College.

“I have always appreciated Ann’s graciousness and her sense of calm, which, I believe, stems from her deeprooted faith,” says long-time TST colleague Professor Judith Newman.

Although Ann is retiring, she will continue with her doctoral students, her service as an ordained priest, and her ongoing study of time in the thoughtworld of the Apostle Paul as she finishes writing Paul and Time: Life in Jesus Christ (Baker Academic).

“As I retire, I’m certainly not retiring from my vocation,” she says. “I still see my primary vocation as my growing in the likeness of Christ and encouraging and being encouraged by others who are also devoted to the same thing.”

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Wycliffe — home to

“first-of-its-kind institution in Canada”

By Steve Hewko

It has been a goal to establish a Canadian Institute for Empirical Church Research (CIECR), a firstof-its-kind institution in Canada and something that will be of significant benefit to the broader church. It was late last year that we learned Wycliffe had been successful in our application to become the beneficiary of a $1 million USD Lilly Foundation grant towards that end. Now that we have embarked on a search for the Institute’s first director, I’d like to explain the significance of this project, and how it will benefit the Church.

In traditional church research, you start with a question—something broad, say, “Why does a church decline and close?”

You may have a particular church in mind, or your question might arise from a trend you are observing. You really want to understand the situation that the question addresses.

Next, you might devise a method to study the situation. Maybe you gather the leaders of five such churches, conduct surveys and interviews, compile the data, write a report. To give more texture to your results, maybe you try to track down congregation members, survey and interview them.

You begin to develop some theories and ideas around the root causes of the decline, and you reflect upon and report your findings. Two things become quickly apparent: 1) This process was time consuming and 2) you only were able to assess five churches, hardly representative of the 5000 churches that have closed in the last 10 years. To make matters worse, your only comparative data comes from south of the border, and U.S. data does not usually map very well onto the Canadian context.

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Through the CIECR, we will compile an aggregate data set, combining data from a variety of sources to give millions of pieces of information on every church in Canada going back 20 years.

Using advances in technology, such as computer-aided research, we will be able to build models, based on questions like the one on church decline, and provide high-level analysis on geographic context, demography, and trends. In our example, we would analyze—in a short period of time—all 5000 churches that had closed. This process won’t preclude the need for traditional research, but it will provide a stronger, more refined starting point. As more research is completed, more data will be added to our dataset, allowing for highly textured analysis. The other exciting potential is for the discovery of new and unexpected patterns to surface, opening further

avenues for research on the life of the Canadian church.

Analyzing data on this scale doesn’t replace the hard work of theological reflection. While our platform will help analyze trends in the church on a scale that hasn’t been done before, the questions of “Why?” and “How?” these patterns are emerging will still linger. More importantly, however, will be the response that the church takes once armed with this new information.

Ensuring that response is thoughtful and Spirit-led is why this project belongs deeply embedded within a seminary like Wycliffe College, where the opportunity exists to have both theologically informed analysis of the data, and the framework to educate future leaders of the church in what is an increasingly complex ministry landscape.

STUDENT FOCUS:

SLOWLY AND STEADILY

By Kirsty Peddle I spent my early childhood in the United Kingdom and remember church being part of my daily life, because I attended Church of England Schools. At the start of every school year, we received a hymnal and a Book of Common Prayer, which we dutifully carried to chapel services every morning. I didn’t question why this was so. It just was.

When we immigrated to Canada, there were no more hymnals and no BCPs. I didn’t question why this was so. It just was. Faith was there, and then it wasn’t.

I eventually came back to my childhood faith, slowly and cautiously, after careful deliberation and relatively late in life.

Along the way, I’ve come to embrace the essential truth of Augustine’s claim that faith seeks understanding.

STUDENT FOCUS:

Over the last few years, Wycliffe provided me with the opportunity to pursue that understanding. It has also deepened my faith, changed my thinking about things that I had simply received until now, and challenged me at every turn.

Like my journey to faith, my studies at Wycliffe followed a similarly slow and cautious path—I audited a class, then took a course as an occasional student two years later, before deciding in Fall 2019 to commit to a program, the new Conjoint Certificate in Theological Studies, on a part-time basis. Course by course, semester by semester, aided greatly by the flexibility of Wycliffe’s online and asynchronous course offerings, I’ve been able to complete something I never dreamed would be possible for me. Even when it comes slowly and steadily, everything truly is beautiful in its time!

Kirsty Peddle became a part-time student in the Certificate of Theological Studies (CCTS) program in 2019 and graduated in May 2022. She is an active member of St Paul’s Bloor Street in Toronto, where she lives with her family and a small group of tenacious houseplants.

LEARNING TO LOVE GOD FIRST

By Estela Kasaba Once I finished my undergrad, I found myself at a crossroads, needing to decide between going to teacher’s college or to seminary. I knew that becoming a schoolteacher was a steady and secure career path—and so I had applied and was accepted to teacher’s college.

Instead of rejoicing and celebrating, I experienced doubts. Wanting clarity and peace, I began to seek the face of God through prayer and fasting. For weeks, I heard only silence.

Then one morning in July, I woke up to a soft whisper: Go to seminary. Within minutes, I dropped out of teacher’s college, and applied to two seminaries.

I was accepted at both Wycliffe College and the other school. Yet again, I found myself at a crossroads. Where to go?

And again, I sought the face of God.

This time, God spoke through a dream.

In that dream, I was in a room full of intellectuals and theologians all arguing, debating, and mocking me. Suddenly a door opened, a man grabbed me by the arm, and we began to walk towards Wycliffe. When I awoke, I knew exactly where to go!

Blackburn Bursary for BIPOC Students at Wycliffe College.

I believe God led me to Wycliffe for a purpose greater than acquiring biblical and theological knowledge. For I have experienced the once dry soil of my heart regain life as the Spirit plows and waters it. I have learned that loving Christ is what leads to theology. I need to love and have faith in him first, in order to contend for the faith that I have.

Estela Kasaba has just completed her first year of the Master of Theological Studies program. She hopes to graduate in 2023. Estela is the 2022 recipient of The

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STUDENT FOCUS:

STUDENT FOCUS:

TO EVERYTHING A SEASON

NO PLAN TO BE A MINISTER

By Natania Friesen

By Roland Choo

As I write this, my fingers are itching to dig into the newly thawed and just barely workable soil at our community garden plot. After a long winter, hope and enthusiasm run high in the spring.

I came to Wycliffe at the challenge of a mentor while I was enrolled in the C.S. Lewis Fellows Program.

I felt that if I wanted to serve in a formal role in established churches, I would need proper theological credentials. I picked Wycliffe because it is close to my downtown work office should I need to attend in-person classes or socialize with peers.

Built into the practice of gardening is a cycle of planting, tending, harvesting, and rest, each step necessary to the next and each with a beauty of its own. As I reflect on my journey towards study at Wycliffe, there seems to be an inbuilt seasonality to the stages of life that have led me here as well.

After my husband and I got married, I pursued graduate studies in English Literature and had the opportunity to teach at the post-secondary level. I loved this time of close attention to the text, of learning, and of passing along that learning to others.

When our eldest child was born, I chose to stay at home and found the rhythms of parenting to be rewarding. There was an opportunity to slow down and attend to what Kathleen Norris calls “the quotidian mysteries.” There was room to invest time in community and church and to reflect on where God might be leading me.

The decision to come to Wycliffe grew out of a period of discernment alongside our congregation at All Saints’ Kingsway, with a call to ministry as a Vocational Deacon.

Returning to school has offered the opportunity to interrogate this calling. Alongside excellent instruction and a wealth of formational opportunities, there is a richness of community at Wycliffe that is both nourishing and sustaining. I am so grateful to be here, amongst supportive professors and colleagues, as God refines, convicts, and clarifies in preparation for what lies ahead.

Natania Friesen is a part-time MDiv Student. She is actively involved in the Discipleship, Pastoral Care, and Out of the Cold ministries at All Saints’ Kingsway. She also oversees the community garden there and can occasionally be found employing plant metaphors when she is invited to preach.

Natania lives in Toronto with her husband Michael, their three children (all of whom are far too tall to properly fit that description), and a spunky Goldendoodle named Sadie.

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I have no plan to be a minister; but I do get exasperated when there are critical gaps in my understanding of theological issues that go beyond the typical learning possible through sermons, Christian education classes, or small group discussions. Thus, seminary education seemed like a logical choice—especially when there is a distinguished and relatively affordable one so close by.

As a part-time student, I’m still taking the core courses, which have been worthwhile and disturbing. Worthwhile because they open my mind to biblical scholarship and I now have a reading shortlist. This shortlist is actually very helpful because someone did the research and produced the list for me rather than my searching haphazardly. Disturbing because of the way my learning sometimes challenges me. For example, while I believe Scripture’s original manuscripts or verbal traditions are inerrant, transmission issues challenge the extant copies of Scripture. Further, as a lay Christian for over four decades, I had not heard of First Isaiah and Second Isaiah (or even a Third Isaiah) until Professor Marion Taylor’s Old Testament class.

Still, God is sovereign and will ensure that we have what we need for His kingdom, else, He cannot be God—at which point none of this would matter.

Roland T.C. Choo, BASc (Toronto), MASc (Toronto), ScD (MIT), PEng, PMP, CBCP is an MTS student in his second year. He earned a doctorate in Materials Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Hailing from Johor Bahru, Malaysia, Roland, his wife, their three children and spouses live in Richmond Hill and Markham, Ontario.

Graduating Class of 2022

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CONGRATULATIONS Wycliffe congratulates the following men and women who fulfilled all requirements to receive their degrees and certificates this academic year.

THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY University of St. Michael’s College Conferred November 2021 Jonathan Clemens Leonard Finn Caleb Gundlach Suneal Pal Thomas Andrew Smith Rachel Tulloch THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY Melodie Lynn Bissell Chui Fan Yip

THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF THEOLOGY Joyce-ann Lynn Spinney Chandra Wim

THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Ryan Ball Lyndon Micah Jost Jeehoon Kim Bruce Worthington Janelle Louise Zeeb THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF THEOLOGY James Samuel Beck 8

Kakda Chan Adam Chebahtah Darrell Samuel Winger

THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS Zvi Belzer Dae-Eun Kim David Paxton Ross

THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF DIVINITY, HONOURS Helena Adriana Schuurman-Drenth

THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF DIVINITY Brody Albers Jessica Ruth Bartlett David Leo Beadle Darnnell Norman Chambers Laura Lynn Cook Emma Louise Hart Meredith Ann Marguerite Hawkins Catherine Mary Hazlitt Josiah James Henderson Graham David Hynds Gavin Edward McAdam Mathew Alexander McPhee Joseph Jae Hyeon Park David Hosung Ryu Nicholas Joel Saulnier Naomi Blythe Sundara Abraham Rohan Thomas

Nathan John Webb

THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES IN URBAN & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Kylah Leanne Lohnes Abigail Min Jung Shin Earnest John Tupe

THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF THEOLOGICAL STUDIES Sarah Meaghan Burk Anna Marie Byrne Christina F Kim Thomas C.H. Kwok Pistis Chi-Kai Lau Arabelle Aurelia Lopez Michael Douglas MacKenzie Allison Joy Moore David Leonard Jacob Pearo Iain Lawrence Ross Paul Michael Stoia

CONJOINT CERTIFICATE IN THEOLOGICAL STUDIES Kirsty Joanne Peddle Cristina Debora Schoechli Giancarlo Marques Zeni CERTIFICATE IN ANGLICAN STUDIES Daniel McCarley

2022 Honorands

Pictured from left to right, The Rt Rev. Dr Robert Todd Townshend, Dr. Katharine Hayhoe, Mr. Robert Hamilton.

Honorary degrees are ceremonial degrees approved by the Board of Trustees to formally honour people who have made significant contributions to the life of the Church or to the academic and community life and programs at Wycliffe College. The College also awards honorary degrees to alumni who are elected to the ecclesial office of bishop in the Anglican church.

The Rt Rev. Dr Robert Todd Townshend graduated from Wycliffe in 2007 earning a Doctor of Theology and has spent over 20 years teaching preaching and other pastoral subjects in both seminary and in church. He was Dean of the Faculty of Theology at Huron University College from 2012 to 2019 when he was elected as Bishop of Huron.

Dr. Katharine Hayhoe is an accomplished atmospheric scientist who studies climate change. She is a Paul W. Horn Distinguished Professor and the Political Science Endowed Professor in Public Policy and Public Law at Texas Tech University. A remarkable communicator, she has received many awards in her field.

Mr. Robert Hamilton is a retired senior vice-president with TD Bank. Mr. Hamilton has a strong interest in missions and theology and is a member of St. Paul’s (Anglican Church) Bloor Street. He served on the Wycliffe College Board of Trustees for 12 years, including three as Chair.

The Most Rev. and Rt Hon. Justin Welby (Doctor of Divinity honoris causa) became the Archbishop of Canterbury in 2013. He has three main priorities for his ministry—Evangelism and Witness; Prayer and the Renewal of Religious life; and Reconciliation. He is a member of the High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation for the United Nations.

The Most Rev. and Rt Hon. Justin Welby 9

A culture of love and truth

By Tom Smith

To live in the truth, despite its barbs and edges, is better than to live with soft deceptions. My time at Wycliffe College helped to shape this conviction in me.

For me Wycliffe is a place that aimed for the truth, not cold and removed or fuzzy and meaningless, but maintaining the difficult balance between providing a supportive environment and being academically demanding. I believe that Wycliffe’s approach—both supporting and demanding—is needed now more than ever in family life and in the church.

It is an approach that is evident in Psalm 95, recited daily in the Canadian Book of Common Prayer, and highlighted by the writer of Hebrews. Our God is a kind Creator who, even still, has His own divine limits.

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Wycliffe is rare: it is the type of institution all colleges and universities ought to be but too often are not. It is a place where students are challenged and encouraged, criticized and built up.

Many institutions of higher education fail to hold that tension. This most surely comes partly from acknowledging both God’s goodness and His wrath (which is important for many reasons, not least because it is simply true).

I recall the experience of working with Dr Ephraim Radner and Dr Marion Taylor on my dissertation. When I was wrong, they would tell me so. And while

I was grateful for their counsel, it wasn’t always easy to hear. Anyone who has done serious work on a paper only to hear that a particular line of reasoning is flawed will recall the sting.

At dinner the other day I said to my kids, “It’s good to get called out sometimes.

Maybe even yelled at.”

“What do you mean?” they asked.

“Why would you want that?”

“If you’re around good people,” I told them, “you want them to call you out so that you don’t do dumb stuff. Because left

to ourselves, we do dumb stuff. So, learn to enjoy the occasional beatdown because you don’t want to be dumb. Do you?”

COME …

AND BE HEALED The value of learning to appreciate criticism is embedded in the Old Testament. Paul picks up the theme when he writes hard things to the Corinthians, “These things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did” (1 Cor 10:6).

I often remind the church where I serve as priest, “Never look at the Old Testament and think, ‘Wow, Israel was so stupid.’

Rather, look at them and see how brave they were. How brutally honest. They didn’t need to record their failures in bold, underlined, and highlighted (Lord knows we don’t record ours like that!). But they did. And we can learn from them.” As the 1662 Prayer Book says in the invitation to confession, we should not “dissemble nor cloak” our sins before Almighty God. No more hiding in the trees as Adam and Eve did. Come forth. Own your dumb stuff.

And be healed.

I learned that at Wycliffe, where there is a demanding culture of excellence and precision, born out of great love for students and the church.

My wife, Kate has experienced the same culture at the College, only her experience took place over two distinct periods of time, years apart, punctuated by calamity and heartbreak.

While working on his Master of Theological Studies at Wycliffe, Kate’s late husband, Rob, served for a time in Guatemala. In preparing to visit him, Kate was required to take some very harsh malaria medication, so harsh it made her pass out in the Wycliffe Refectory. Dr Marion Taylor took her to the ER and held a bucket for her while she was sick.

Later Kate and Rob would travel to do mission work in Zambia. Tragically, Rob passed away in a construction accident while they were there. By then they had three children. Kate and the kids flew back to Canada to live with her parents in Mississauga. Looking for direction and purpose, she returned to Wycliffe in 2011, later completing a Master of Theological Studies in Development.

distracted student struggling to steer his first church with a new family.

I was also at Wycliffe in 2011, starting work on a PhD in Old Testament. Prior to arriving in Toronto to begin my studies, I knew nothing about the Anglican Church (I hadn’t known one Episcopalian growing up in Irish Roman Catholic South Buffalo) and I did not know that this little school was punching way above its weight class in worldwide Anglicanism. I soon found out that Wycliffe is a scrappyred-bricked-academic-powerhouse.

Thank you, Wycliffe. Kate and I would not be who we are without you.

It is not just that the Professors at Wycliffe are academically demanding while also being nice people. Rather, they’ve been living in the Scriptures and the Prayer Book for a long time, which has created a culture filled with love, but one that will not hide from the truth.

My exposure to Anglicanism and meeting Kate turned out to be life-changing for me. By the end of my first year, Kate and I were engaged, and I was thinking about ordination. After asking thenPrincipal Dr. George Sumner about the possibility of pursuing my calling to the priesthood, he directed me to the Diocese of Albany where I was later ordained to the diaconate. When the soon-to-be Bishop Sumner left Wycliffe for Texas, he asked me and Kate if we would be interested in serving there. After visiting Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church in Prosper, Texas for one weekend, our answer was an unqualified “Yes!”

HAPPY ENDINGS, JOYFUL BEGINNINGS Ten years after starting, I have finished my PhD and Kate was recently ordained to the diaconate by Bishop Sumner and to the priesthood in May. It is difficult to estimate the impact of people like Bishop Sumner, Dr Radner, and Dr Taylor.

These are major thinkers and influencers in global Anglicanism, but they have been consistently available to this often-

Tom Smith has been rector of Saint Paul’s Episcopal Church in Prosper, Texas since 2016. He completed his PhD in Old Testament researching the interpretation of the Old Testament in the Southern States during the Civil War. Kate Smith is a deacon at Saint Paul’s and was ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church in May. She has worked in a variety of fields (high school teacher, hospital chaplain, director of a college ministry, among others). They have been married since 2012 and are raising Kathryn 17, Simeon 14, and Cameron 13.

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Accessible, affordable Wycliffe Studies in Gospel, Church, and Culture series

By Alex Newman

What started as a way to repurpose sermons preached at Morning Prayer turned into the 10-book Wycliffe Studies in Gospel, Church, and Culture series (all published by Wipf and Stock).

Dr. Thomas Power, who recently retired as adjunct history professor, began the publishing project in 2017 because he felt that the sermons that faculty preached every week were put away after Morning Prayer and essentially forgotten.

It seemed like such a waste—of faculty time and effort, and of a valuable resource crafted by well-known scholars. And since Power was graduate studies coordinator at the time, he had a ready supply of graduate students he could hire to edit the sermons and write introductions for the various collections, providing students with invaluable experience and publishing credits.

The series covers a variety of topics from The Word is Near You, which explores the Reformation up close, to Come Let Us Sing to the Lord, which examines several

songs found in Scripture to show how each has a story to tell about God and God’s people.

There were also more exegetical topics, such as The Lord’s Prayer, which offers line-by-line excavation to plumb its forgotten or hidden meanings, and Hard Words for Desperate Times, a provocative modern look at Ezekiel. A more recent addition, Strange Land, examines life under pandemic and how to turn our fear to joy.

Each booklet incorporates questions at the end of every chapter, rendering the collections handy as study guides.

“These pieces were meant to be meditations, so it made sense to have questions to help with that meditating,” Power says.

“We thought the series might have some usefulness as adult education, for those interested in the Book of Ezekiel, say, or the Psalms. Although I wouldn’t start off discipling someone new to the faith with these reflections, they’d be good resources for group study or to complement a sermon series. There’s a lot there to help people nurture their faith in an accessible way.”

At around 100 pages, and priced at $12, the books are indeed both accessible and affordable.

Now a sessional lecturer in the history of Christianity, Power has left behind the role of general editor of the series, in the hope that someone else might pick up the torch.

Books are available to order from the Wipf and Stock website

https://wipfandstock.com/search-results/?series=wycliffe-studies-in-gospel-church-and-culture.

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Alumni news Dear Friends, Thank you for taking a moment to update us on what has been happening in your life and God’s ministry. It’s truly amazing how so much can change within a year. I pray that you might find rest in the unchanging love and mercy of our blessed Lord.

Grace and peace, The Rev’d Jonathan Turtle (MDiv, 2012) Alumni Association Executive Committee President

From the 1970s Chris Beldan (W77) - In 2013, Chris retired from Lancaster Theological Seminary (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) and returned to Canada after 16 years as Associate Librarian and IT Director. He and his wife have settled in Pickering, ON, close to family and where he grew up. Currently they attend All Saints, Whitby.

William Kibblewhite (W72) - Canon Bill and Linda Kibblewhite will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary on July 15, 2022. This spring marked Canon Bill’s 50th anniversary of his graduation from Wycliffe, as well as the 50th anniversary of the beginning of his curacy and the 50th anniversary of his Ordination to the Diaconate (in that order). Bill’s third and final retirement, this time as an Honorary Assistant at St. Peter’s, Erindale, took place on June 30, 2021. Bill and Linda remain active in various aspects of parish ministry at St. Peter’s.

From the 1980s Chris Barrigar (W88 & W89) - Chris continues to pastor at The Church of St Mark & St Peter, Montreal.

Chris has recently been inducted as a Fellow of the American Scientific Affiliation and serves as a book review editor for the ASA journal.

He is working on his next book, Cohabitation Versus Marriage: A Case Study in Libertarian,

Communitarian, and Christian Ethics. Chris has also recently written an article “Individual Cups in the Anglican Eucharist Following COVID-19” (arguing in favour), available at https://bit.ly/3lc1Yxa.

From the 2000s Brian Cooper (W01 & W07) – Dr Cooper celebrated 10 years on the faculty of MB Biblical Seminary in Langley, BC in August 2021, and recently published a chapter entitled “Religious Tolerance and Freedom of Conscience” as part of the T&T Clark Handbook of Anabaptism. As a family, they celebrated their daughter’s graduation from university.

Christopher Holmes (W00 & W06) – The Holmes family is doing well in Dunedin, New Zealand. Christopher was recently promoted to a full Professorship in Systematic Theology at the University of Otago, and is looking forward to the release of his sixth book.

The book is titled Hearing and Doing: The Speeches in Acts and the Essence of Christianity. It will appear in November with Baylor University Press.

Vanessa Rottner (W05) – Vanessa’s pastoral ministry has deepened as has her spiritual devotion. She’s been communicating

with daily telephone calls, sending out cards, electronic cards, emails and following up with the Rector. In order to ground herself, she participated in daily offices of both morning prayer (as lector), a healing service via Zoom, and supportive prayer for others.

She’s been active in an adult forum studying The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. She says, “All has been very fulfilling,” and she looks forward to opportunities, as God provides, in service to Him.

From the 2010s Cole Hartin (W17) - The Rev. Dr Cole Hartin is in the process of finishing a book under contract with Brill that is tentatively titled, NineteenthCentury Anglican Biblical Interpretation: A Critical Evaluation. Some of the fruit of this research was published in the last edition of Horizons in Biblical Studies, in an article about nineteenth-century interpretations of the Parable of the Good Samaritan. He also has written an essay on Christina Rossetti and the virtue of hope coming out in the fall with the Bulletin of Ecclesial Theology. He’s also published a variety of essays, journalistic articles, reviews, and poetry over the last year. He is a fellow at the Center for Pastor Theologians, which had its first in-person meeting in Chicago this spring.

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Alumni news Ronald Nikkel (W12) - Ronald Nikkel (2012 Hon) was ordained as transitional deacon by Bishop Sandra Fyfe in the Anglican Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island in November. The preacher for the ordination was Rev. Dr Paul Friesen formerly of the Wycliffe Community and currently Rector of Saint Paul’s Anglican Church in Halifax.

Ron is serving as deacon/pastoral associate in the Anglican Parish of Neils Harbour with Ingonish in Cape Breton Island Nova Scotia.

Ron has just published a book, Hope in the Ruins, based on his experiences with prisons and prisoners around the world.

Connie Phillipson (W12) - On May 8, 2022, Rev. Phillipson was awarded the Doctor of Ministry Degree from Acadia University (Acadia Divinity College). The title of her thesis is “The Legitimate Value and Use of Rhetoric in Preaching the Resurrection: An Analytic Study of the Easter Sermons (20102019) of The Reverend Dr. Andrew Stirling.”

She is currently discerning next steps in ministry.

Andrew Stuart (W15) - After Andrew’s time at Wycliffe, they moved to Scarborough where they’ve been ever since.

The Stuarts have come

to love their little pocket of the city and have experienced the joy of putting roots down somewhere and getting to know and be known by a community. Andrew just completed seven years of pastoral ministry at First Alliance Church and is now stepping into a new role at The Peoples Church as Discipleship Pastor. Maria works as the Director for Safe Families Toronto as she finishes her counselling degree at Tyndale University.

Marina Hofman Willard (W15) - Women in the Bible: Small Group Bible Study by Wycliffe Alumni Marina Hofman (PhD) was awarded 2021 Best Book Finalist by American Book Fest. In an era where women are barraged by negative influences and impossible standards, Marina affirms women with positive role models from the Bible that encourage us to courageously face today’s challenges and find affirmation in God alone. Marina has brought this inspiring message across North America in over 150 media interviews. Wycliffe College’s Professor Marion Taylor endorsed this book.

From 2020s Gary Gannon (W20) - The Rev. Dr Gary Gannon graduated from Wycliffe College in 2020 with a Diploma in Christian Studies.

He was ordained at All Saints’ Anglican Church, in Whitby, ON, in July 2021 as a vocational deacon. Deacon Gary oversees outreach/advocacy programming at All Saints’ and is the Coordinator of its Deacon’s Cupboard Food Bank, which served over 7,000 adults and children in 2021.

Ruth Bartlett (W20 & W22) - In October 2021 Ruth Bartlett (MTSD 2019, MDiv 2022) was hired as the part-time permanent pastor of Calvary Baptist Church on Main Street in the east end of Toronto where she continues to serve. On March 6th, Ruth was ordained with the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec (CBOQ), with many Wycliffe students, staff, faculty, and alumni present online and in-person for the celebration.

Calling all Wycliffe Graduates!

The Wycliffe College Alumni Association has its own group on Facebook! To access, “Like” the Wycliffe College Facebook page, and then click “Groups” under “More.” Request to join the “Wycliffe College Alumni Association” group by pressing “Join Group” on the right and you will be approved by one our page administrators. We encourage you to invite your fellow graduates, engage with one another there, and post any interesting updates, articles, ministry openings, and news that you think would be of interest to your fellow alumni.

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In Memoriam

We remember those in the Wycliffe Community who were called home in 2021-22 Mrs. Irija Cook Friend of Wycliffe The Rt Rev. Douglas Blackwell Class of 1964, 1968, Honorary Degree Recipient 1990 The Rt Rev. Thomas A. Corston Class of 1975, Honorary Degree Recipient 2011 Recipient, Archdeacon Harry Hilchey Award The Rt Rev. George Lemmon Class of 1962, 1965, Honorary Degree Recipient 1991

The Rev. Canon Phyllis Lock Class of 1972 The Rev. Dr Marwood F. Patterson Class of 1956, 1965, Honorary Degree Recipient 1988 Recipient, Archdeacon Harry Hilchey Award Mrs. Marie Pryce Friend of Wycliffe The Rev. Jonathan Springthorpe Class of 2012

Be a lifelong learner

Student/Alumni Mentoring

Are you interested in further study at Wycliffe? Alumni are entitled to 50 percent off any audited course, so contact us at alumni@wycliffe.utoronto.ca and we can send you the upcoming course calendar.

Are you interested in sharing your ministry experience with our students? We are developing a mentoring program to connect students with alumni and would love to have your participation. If you are interested in being involved and would like more information, please contact alumni@wycliffe.utoronto.ca.

Alumni Awards Congratulations to Canon Clare Burns (pictured at left) who has been named this year’s Honorary Alumnus and to Kay Wilkinson (pictured at right), recipient of this year’s Archdeacon Harry St. Clair Hilchey Award. These awards are presented by the Alumni Association in recognition of distinguished service to Wycliffe College and/or the Church.

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DONOR PROFILE: MARNIE BEAUBIEN

Mature student donates in support of Wycliffe’s mission

By Juliana Konrad something she’s been doing almost every year since she enrolled.

For many people, retirement means taking every opportunity to relax, and running away from work like it’s one of the plagues of Egypt—unless you’re Marnie Beaubien, that is.

In addition, Beaubien has donated to UBC’s Regent College and InterVarsity Fellowship in the past. “All three of them do an awful lot to try to encourage young people to study God’s word”—the area she wants to focus her donations on—“but with Wycliffe I perhaps was a bit more generous.”

After retiring from her career as an electrical engineer in 2016, Beaubien decided to spend her free time doing what she loves—learning about scripture, growing in her faith, and, conveniently, getting a degree at the same time.

Beaubien enrolled at Wycliffe in September 2016, and after doing one or two courses each year (many completed remotely from her home in Ottawa due to the pandemic) she is now one credit away from graduating with a Master of Theological Studies in 2023.

As she explains her plans for the future, she says, “My hope is that because of this study I’ll have a bigger understanding

of what different issues are at play to [better] explain my faith.”

She cites the excellence of the program and the “top-notch” professors as some of the reasons she is motivated to support the College financially,

Since Wycliffe is at the centre of the University of Toronto (UofT) and witnesses to the broader campus, she feels her donations are supporting the College’s mission to share a message of faith with the broader UofT community. “[Wycliffe] has a mission to their immediate students but they have a mission on campus as well,” Beaubien says, which is exactly the kind of mission she hopes her donations will continue to support and encourage.

Provision at the right time At the end of the 2021-22 academic year, Wycliffe College said good-bye to Rob Henderson, who left his position as Executive Director to take on the role of Senior Campaign Director at the University Health Network Foundation in Toronto. Rob first joined the College as Director of Development in 2006. During his final weeks, we asked Rob how his faith reassures him during times of personal transition, and how it gives him confidence as he looks ahead to the future for Wycliffe.

“In my 15 years at Wycliffe and in my personal life, there have been many happy events and there have been great challenges and crises to be sure also. Yet through it all, there has always been provision. That’s been my mindset and an extension of faith. Similarly, I am confident in the team that I am leaving to bring fresh thought to the College’s next chapter. That too I believe is a provision at the right time.”

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INSTITUTE OF EVANGELISM UPDATE For over thirty years, the Institute of Evangelism has served churches across Canada and the United States, providing them with training and resources for evangelism and congregational renewal. What has the Institute of Evangelism been up to during the pandemic? The short answer is “Plenty”!

As March 2020 began, we never imagined the toll the global pandemic would take, how long it would last, the ways it would affect all our lives,

and the lessons it would teach us.

The Institute of Evangelism had to quickly pivot. Planned in-person conferences and workshops became webinars and preaching engagements moved online. Nevertheless, we grew in our ability to offer online events and, as a result, have connected with more churches and church leaders than ever before. Here is a brief look at what kept Institute Director, Judy Paulsen, busy between the spring of 2020 and the spring of 2022.

ONLINE CONFERENCES / WORKSHOPS / WEBINARS: • “Helping Our Churches Grasp Their Apostolic Calling” for 92 church leaders in the Diocese of Niagara.

May 21, 2020 • “Responding to the Good News” for church leaders serving across northern Ontario in the Dioceses of Algoma and Moosonee. September 26, 2020 • “Sharing Your Faith Today” The Gathering—a Christian student group at Queen’s University, Kingston, ON. November 8, 2020 • “Proclaiming Christ to a Disinterested World?” at the annual conference of Cruxifusion, a group of 80 church leaders within the United Church of Canada. April 20, 2021

• “The Challenges of Evangelism: How do we invite people?” three presentations for the Diocesan Synod of the Diocese of Montreal. May 14–15, 2021

• St. Andrew’s Hall, Vancouver School of Theology, a presentation on Institute of Evangelism resources and evangelistic preaching. March 24, 2022

• “Evangelism: Taking Root and Flourishing” Evangelism cohort of the Presbyterian Church in Canada Evangelism Network. May 19, 2021

• “The Curious Lessons in Biblical Conversion Stories” at St. Bride’s Anglican Church, Mississauga, ON. April 20, 2022

• “Evangelism: The Work of All the People of God” two presentations for the Laurentian Regional Ministry, Diocese of Montreal. June 14 and 21, 2021

• “Hope, Curiosity, and Experiments: Leading in a Time of Adaptive Challenge” Diocese of Toronto’s post-ordination training program, St. James Cathedral Centre. May 19, 2022.

• “Just Imagine: An Interactive Series on Furthering the Family of Christ” a webinar series offered to the Diocese of Athabasca from March through November 2022

Despite all the challenges of the pandemic we’re grateful to God for His continued blessings, as He equips His Church to share the gospel.

Making community life possible Celebrating this year’s graduating class, at our first in-person Convocation since the pandemic started allowed us to be together again after a long season of distance. This return to gathering reminds us of the great gift God has provided Wycliffe in this beautiful and historic building. And just as we are charged with the responsibility to steward the gifts He has placed in our care, our building is no exception. As

we look to the Fall, there are significant repairs and preventative measures that must be taken to care for this great hub that makes community life possible.

Would you consider joining us as we invest in and care for this resource the Lord has given? If you feel so led, please make a simple and secure donation at www.wycliffecollege.ca. Your prayers and financial support are greatly needed and so appreciated. Thank you.

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Time to be heard Wycliffe’s Professor of Old Testament, Marion Taylor, together with Joy A. Schroeder recently celebrated the launch of their latest book, Voices Long Silenced: Women Biblical Interpreters Through the Centuries (Westminster John Knox, 2022). Professor of Systematic Theology Justin Stratis (JS below) interviewed Marion (MT) about some of the book’s key points, and how we might apply them today.

JS: Marion, first, I want to thank you and Joy Schroeder for recovering such a vital thread of the church’s history.

One of the recurrent themes of the book is how women had to employ certain “strategies” to be heard. Could you talk about some of these?

speak, and declare it to one another because of the defamers of truth? Ah, it would be too bold to try to stop them, and it would be too foolish for us to hide the talent that God has given us[;] God will give us the grace to persevere to the end. Amen.”

hymns, written sermons, addresses, lectures, children’s Bibles and stories, and novels. For instance, Marguerite de Navarre (1492–1549) published her theologically sophisticated poetic commentary on Romans 7–8 alongside her Mirror of the Sinful Soul in 1531.

MT: Women often felt compelled to hide the fact that they were challenging long-standing tradition prohibiting women from teaching and preaching. To this end, many disguised their ideas as the teachings of great men. For instance, when male clergy came to Marcella (ca.327–410) for rulings on the meaning of challenging biblical texts, she credited her own exegetical insights to her colleague Jerome.

Nineteenth-century African American preacher Jarena Lee similarly cited Scripture to defend her preaching vocation. She opened her autobiography with an epigraph from Joel 2:28, italicizing the word daughters, and defended her preaching by appealing to Mary Magdalene: “Did not Mary first preach the risen Saviour, and is not the doctrine of the resurrection the very climax of Christianity—hangs not all our hope on this, as argued by St. Paul?

Then did not Mary, a woman, preach the gospel?”

Women also used the arts and music to interpret Scripture. One of my favourite examples is a colourful appliquéd and stitched quilt made

by African American Harriet Powers (1837–1910). More recently, Russian composer Sofia Gubaidulina’s (1937–) concerto for two violas and orchestra, Two Paths (A Dedication to Mary and Martha), interprets Scripture directly, with the two solo instruments embodying the different ways Martha and Mary expressed their love for Jesus.

JS: One of the things I loved about the book was the way you and Dr. Schroeder broadened the scope of what “counts” as biblical interpretation.

Why do you think this was so important to do?

JS: There’s a great line in the book that reads: “Prior to the 1400s, almost every woman who wrote a book believed she was the first woman to do so.” I get the sense that that feeling persisted well beyond the 15th century—perhaps even to today.

Many medieval mystics and female prophets likewise claimed that their words were not their own but rather Spirit-given, citing Joel’s prophecy that the Spirit would fall on daughters as well as sons (Joel 2:28–29; Acts 2:17–18).

As the numbers of women with access to the Bible grew, however, they increasingly used biblical texts to justify their teaching. Like many women, Protestant reformer Marie Dentière used Jesus’ parable of the talents (Matt.

25:18) to defend women’s ministries: “Therefore, if God has given grace to some good women, revealing to them by his holy scriptures something holy and good, should they hesitate to write, 18

MT: One of the first questions we had to answer was “What is biblical interpretation?” If we defined it too narrowly, many women interpreters would be excluded, especially illiterate women. Before the nineteenth century, most embedded their biblical interpretation in letters, dramas, poetry,

MT: You are correct. Many women who trained to be biblical scholars in the 1980s and 90s thought that they were among the first women to teach in the seminary or university. But that’s not true.

In the conclusion to Voices Long Silenced, we tell the story of a group of students who were overheard discussing the gender of New Testament scholar Karen Jobes, whose commentary on 1 Peter was being read in class. At one point, a female seminarian said, in all sincerity, “It can’t be a woman. It’s a biblical commentary!”

I don’t want to hear more stories about seminary students assuming that Karen is a man’s name. I want all our students to know about their foremothers who were biblical scholars, theologians, historians, preachers, evangelists, teachers, and social justice advocates.

I want students to connect with these foremothers whose stories of courage and persistence inspire us and whose silencing saddens us. I don’t want their voices to be silenced again.

In her farewell address to those who opposed her prophetic preaching in 1833, African American Maria Stewart courageously defended herself with examples of biblical women: “What if I am a woman; is not the God of ancient times the God of these modern days?

Did he not raise up Deborah to be a mother, and a judge in Israel [Judg.4–5]?

Did not queen Esther save the lives of the Jews [Esth. 4:1–8:17]? And Mary Magdalene first declare the resurrection of Christ from the dead [Matt. 28:1]?

Come, said the woman of Samaria, and see a man that hath told me all the things that I ever did, is not this the Christ [John 4:29]?”

Stewart’s arguments for women in ministry were not new. Students today need to know this long history of diverse women’s engagement with Scripture

and theology. If you can see it, you can believe it.

JS: Now that you’ve uncovered all of this incredible material, how can Christian teachers and preachers include historic women’s voices in their teaching and sermons going forward?

MT: That’s a great question. I believe we all need to take time to learn about historic women’s voices. More and more of women’s interpretations of the Bible and women’s theological writings are being translated and published. Now we need to do the hard work of integrating women’s writings into our accounts of church history, the history of preaching, and the history of evangelism. I try to model inclusion in my teaching and writing and I hope others will do the same.

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Share This Magazine Would you help our family grow? We are always looking to expand the reach of the College and to share with others the exciting things that God is doing through Wycliffe College with others. If you would like additional copies of this magazine to pass along to friends who are unfamiliar with Wycliffe College, please email us at alumni@wycliffe.utoronto.ca and we will be happy to send them. Thank you.

An e-Newsletter For Alumni Plans are underway to create an alumni e-newsletter. Please ensure that we have your current email address by sending a quick email to alumni@wycliffe.utoronto.ca

Insight EDITORIAL BOARD

Connie Chan Rob Henderson

The Wycliffe College Newsletter for Alumni and Friends July 2022, No. 92

ISSN 1192-2761 (Print) ISSN 2563-2892 (Online)

INSIGHT is published twice yearly by Wycliffe College Communications

Connect with us:

Jeffrey Hocking Shelley McLagan

Patricia Paddey Marion Taylor

Justin Stratis

CONTRIBUTORS

Stephen Andrews Roland Choo Sharon Dewey-Hetke Natania Friesen Steve Hewko Estela Kasaba

Juliana Konrad Shelley McLagan Alex Newman Patricia Paddey Judy Paulsen Kirsty Peddle

Karen Selvaraj Tom Smith Justin Stratis Melissa Stratis

COMMENTS/QUESTIONS: Patricia Paddey Communications Director Wycliffe College 5 Hoskin Avenue, Toronto, ON M5S 1H7

patricia.paddey@wycliffe.utoronto.ca 416-946-3535 X 3548 www.wycliffecollege.ca

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Wycliffe College Development Office

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FRONT COVER IMAGE:

The piper-led procession to Wycliffe’s May 9 convocation.

The College’s first in-person convocation since the pandemic began took place in Sheraton Hall. It was a time to celebrate the Class of ’22, and Principal Stephen Andrews described the event as a “historic occasion in many respects.” It was, he said, the College’s “first— and hopefully only—COVID class.” The gathering marked the first time that some of the graduates had ever met some of their classmates and professors face-to-face.