The oldest living graduate of the Centre for Christian Studies (United Church Training School at the time of her graduation) has died at the age of 103 years. Born in Centre Napan, New Brunswick, Donalda Jardine became a teacher and principal of New Brunswick Schools until 1936 when she entered the United Church Training School with…
Reflection by Charlotte: It is Monday morning. Coffee in hand, I opened the CCS website this morning to get a piece of information I needed. I was taken aback to see an ad by google on our search results page offering sexual “fun.” This was not what I was looking for! Scott has now discovered…
From this morning’s staff worship at CCS: Hymn: All Creatures of Our God (Voices United #217) All creatures of our God, come sing, with hoof and scale and fur and wing: Hallelujah, hallelujah! Bright burning sun with golden beam, soft shining moon with silver gleam, sing praises, sing praises, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah! Scripture: Enter the…
Last Friday, Patrick Woodbeck of Winnipeg’s Rainbow Ministry, spoke to a group as part of CCS’s regular “Mindful Munchin’” lunchtime lecture series. His topic was the “It Gets Better” campaign and the role of the church in supporting GLBT youth (and others) who experience bullying. The audio podcast of this presentation is now available. Just…
The Centre for Christian Studies is about preparing women and men for ministry. You may be curious where students end up after they graduate. In the last decade over seventy CCS grads have entered into a variety of forms of diaconal ministry. Many serve in rural congregations (34). A number minister in urban teams (16). Some…
Glenda Knoll, CCS’s Community Resource Coordinator, is moving on. She has taken a job with the Mosaic Newcomer Resource Network, working with new Canadians, especially women and children. She will continue working at CCS in the afternoons until February. We will miss her warmth and friendliness, and we know that the folks at Mosaic will…
This Friday, January 21st, Patrick Woodbeck from Rainbow Ministry will be at CCS on January 21st as part of our Mindful Munchin’ series. His topic is the “It Gets Better” campaign and what the church’s role could look like. Bring a lunch and plan to attend from 11:45 – 1:00pm. (Give Glenda a call at…
Today after our staff meeting we all sat down to enjoy a lunch provided by an anonymous donor. This has happened a number of times before around the Christmas season – the folks at Food For Thought (a local catering company) phone us up to tell us that someone has donated a lunch to the…
In early December Charlotte spent the week in Alberta. The Deans and Principals of United Church related schools held their annual meeting with United Church Staff in Edmonton, hosted by St. Stephen’s College. The meeting gave opportunity for hearing news about what is happening at other schools and at the national church. The mood of…
Glenda has been updating you on a regular basis about the fall financial campaign. But today we make an official announcement about a very generous donor who gave a large gift of company shares to CCS. On the day of transfer the shares were valued at $147,000. The donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, heard of…
The third in our series of testimonials about why the Leadership Development Module might be for you: Alice Watson is an Educational Ministry Year student at CCS who attended the LDM in 2009. “The world and the church needs people healed, encouraged, and internally propelled by the experiential, reflective, interactive, and liberating Centre for Christian Studies program….
It is with sadness that the council met on December 15th and accepted the resignation of Principal Megan McKenzie. The resignation is effective September 11, 2011 when Megan’s parental leave ends. Megan has decided to stay at home with Micah and Ridd and take on a supportive role as Jeremy (her partner) returns to school…
There’s something about the smell of warm apple cider that makes a room feel Christmas-y. That and a bunch of friendly people singing carols and hymns, everything from to “It Came upon the Midnight Clear” and “‘Twas In the Moon of Wintertime” to “Come Now, O God of Peace (O-So-So)” and “No Crowded Eastern Street.” …
This story was passed on to us by one of our students, Kimiko Karpoff. It is a re-write of one of her grandmother’s memories from her time in Oyen, Alberta in the early 1940s. Kimiko’s grandmother, Florence Karpoff, was a deaconess, and later a minister’s wife. But, as Kimiko says, “her deaconess-ness never really left her.” Enjoy….
Here are some advent candle prayers I wrote a number of years ago. They won’t be much use for this year but maybe some other time. Advent 1 – Hope Luke 1: 35-38, Matthew 1:20-23, Luke 1: 46-55, Luke 1: 76-79 Advent is a time of waiting. With anticipation, we await the coming birth. With…