News from CCS and the CCS community
by Marcie Gibson As staff at CCS, I am often on the lookout for events, especially close to home, that offer deeper thought, new networking, and fresh content for our programming. Last Friday and Saturday, I attended the ReImagine Conference, in Hamilton, ON, organized by the Parish Collective, in partnership with the UCC EDGE network, among…
The Ministry as Storytelling learning circle wraps up today. It has been an intensive week of of sharing biblical stories, personal stories, community stories, and reflecting on the power of story to make meaning, build bridges, and bring healing.
by Kimiko Karpoff It’s Friday evening. An eclectic group of people gathers at Silver Spire United Church. They are preparing to spend the next several hours together roaming the streets of St. Catharines. This is not a parade, not a street party. This is Bear Clan Patrol. Karen Orlandi is both a minister with Silver…
Women in the Hebrew Scriptures Along with the core program at CCS, students are required to take 8 external courses at an accredited theological school. These include courses in both Hebrew scriptures and Christian scriptures, theology, and Christian ethics, and Christian history. This past summer CCS diaconal students made up a majority of the class…
By Kim McNaughton I attended the DOTAC (Diakonia of the Americas and Caribbean) 2019 Conference in Vancouver for the first two days out of six days. Entering into my last year of the diaconal programme at CCS, I felt a need and a desire to be present, to see “how I fit,” to feel if…
A peek at the 2019/2020 Integration Year circle, gathered in Winnipeg September 16 – 21. “In integration year, all the pieces are coming together in a supportive way that allows me to let go of the ideas and thoughts I used to cling to desperately and rest in an incredible lightness of being. ” ~Karen…
A reflection for CCS Sunday, November 3, 2019 When I imagine the Cloud of Witnesses, I often think of it in terms of those who went before me and are spiritually keeping watch on us now. This can be both comforting and disconcerting. It’s the disconcert that I feel more often, as if I’m being…
We are sad to announce that our Communications Coordinator Kimiko Karpoff will be leaving her staff position at the Centre for Christian Studies this fall. Kimiko is a graduate of CCS, and while we are sorry to lose her as a colleague and staff member, she will continue to be a cherished part of our community. Kimiko has…
by Kimiko Karpoff Sometimes ministry takes us to places we don’t expect. Those places can be both literal in a geographic sense and to moments or situations that are unanticipated, even if not surprising. Against all evidence to the contrary, we often hold the notion that congregations are places set apart, little tastes of God’s…
by Michelle Owens When I was at the DOTAC gathering in Vancouver this week (Diakonia of the Americas and Caribbean), we celebrated communion together. With one of the Deaconesses of the Wesleyan Methodist Order presiding, we celebrated with gluten free bread and grape juice – the familiar ritual intentionally opening space so that the divine…
by Debra Kigar As member (and later Chair) of the Permanent Committee – Ministry and Employment Policies and Services (PC-MEPS) for the past several years, I have been intimately involved in the work that lead to this policy change. It seems to me that it would be helpful for all diaconal ministers to understand how…
Board of the Association of Anglican Deacons in Canada The ordinal states: “as deacons in the Church, you are to make Christ and his redemptive love known, by your word and example, to those among whom you live and work and worship. You are to interpret to the Church the needs, concerns, and hopes of…
by Tracy Robertson So far, my rudimentary research project into the Spirituality of Fandom in preparation for my Sabbatical in January has gone very well. I’ve been able to visit and participate in seven events since the start of 2019. Two Comic Expos, Otafest, Two Furry Conventions, and a Superhero and Religion seminar through the…
Regional meetings traditionally include celebrations of ministry. Five CCS graduates were commissioned this year in the United Church of Canada. Congratulations to Lynn McGrath, Marion Martin, Keith Hall, Tammy Bleue, and Terrie Chedore. DUCCs flocked together at Regional meetings. And a gathering of intrepid students in a truly cross country class.