As someone who has spent several decades in Church-land, I've heard literally thousands of sermons, homilies, and meditations. Too often, I hear preachers representing Jesus as someone who was uncomfortable with Judaism.

During the 1960s, which were a decade of upheaval in western Christianity in general, the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) registered some fundamental changes in its worship, theology, ecumenical outlook, discipline, and cultural inclusiveness.  

I once said in a Wycliffe class that there were two types of people, either/ors and both/ ands, at which point a student interjected, “but Professor, I think I am both a both/and and an either/or,” which proved the point.

How can studying the past help us in our Christian formation?

C. Douglas Jay, the founding director of the Toronto School of Theology, died peacefully on January 1st, at the age of 95.

Students generally expect to learn from their professors, but I can attest that professors also have a great deal to learn from their students. I want to say a bit here about some things I’ve learned from Indigenous students in particular, and how I’ve been changed as a result. 

1. Let your superiors advise you.

Ruth Bartlett is the 2018-2019 Senior Student. She is in the MTSD and the MDiv combined-degree program.  She hopes to be ordained with the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec. 

*****

(Photo credit: Salt & Light TV)