Previous Years' Course Catalogues

A study of the documents of the Second Vatican Council (1962)-1965) and their contemporary significance for students of ministry. Emphasis is on the historical context, the central theological content of each of the texts, and their relevance to professional ministry today. The course will consist of: weekly readings, seminar presentation on each of the documents, and focused in-class discussion,. Students will be evaluated on class participation as well as three smaller assignments; a background; an in-depth; and a pastoral, integrative final assignment , all of which are intended to assist students in exploring more deeply their own interest in the Council

A study of the documents of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and their contemporary significance for students of ministry. Emphasis is on the historical context, the central theological content of each of the texts, and their relevance to professional ministry today.

A study of the documents of the Second Vatican Council (1962)-1965) and their contemporary significance for students of ministry. Emphasis is on the historical context, the central theological content of each of the texts, and their relevance to professional ministry today. The course will consist of: weekly readings, seminar presentation on each of the documents, and focused in-class discussion,. Students will be evaluated on class participation as well as three smaller assignments; a background; an in-depth; and a pastoral, integrative final assignment, all of which are intended to assist students in exploring more deeply their own interest in the Council.

A study of the documents of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and their contemporary significance for students of ministry. Emphasis is on the historical context, the central theological content of each of the texts, and their relevance to professional ministry today.

This course will examine how the Bible has been read, interpreted and proclaimed by women beginning with the period of the early church and including the writings of medieval visionaries, renaissance exegetes and continuing into the modern and post-modern periods. Women's interpretations of the Bible will be examined with a view to recovering women's readings and counter readings of biblical texts & raising relevant methodological and hermeneutical questions for modern readers.

This course will examine how the Bible has been read, interpreted and proclaimed by women beginning with the period of the early church and including the writings of medieval visionaries, renaissance exegetes and continuing into the modern and post-modern periods. Women's interpretations of the Bible will be examined with a view to recovering women's readings and counter readings of biblical texts & raising relevant methodological and hermeneutical questions for modern readers.

This course will examine how the Bible has been read, interpreted and proclaimed by women beginning with the period of the early church and including the writings of medieval visionaries, renaissance exegetes and continuing into the modern and post-modern periods. Women's interpretations of the Bible will be examined with a view to recovering women's readings and counter readings of biblical texts & raising relevant methodological and hermeneutical questions for modern readers.

This course will examine how the Bible has been read, interpreted and proclaimed by women beginning with the period of the early church and including the writings of medieval visionaries, renaissance exegetes and continuing into the modern and post-modern periods. Women's interpretations of the Bible will be examined with a view to recovering women's readings and counter readings of biblical texts & raising relevant methodological and hermeneutical questions for modern readers.

This course will examine how the Bible has been read, interpreted and proclaimed by women beginning with the period of the early church and including the writings of medieval visionaries, renaissance exegetes and continuing into the modern and post-modern periods. Women's interpretations of the Bible will be examined with a view to recovering women's readings and counter readings of biblical texts & raising relevant methodological and hermeneutical questions for modern readers. Lectures, student presentations, small group discussions. Evaluation: presentation and final paper.

This course will examine how the Bible has been read, interpreted and proclaimed by women beginning with the period of the early church and including the writings of medieval visionaries, renaissance exegetes and continuing into the modern and post-modern periods. Women's interpretations of the Bible will be examined with a view to recovering women's readings and counter readings of biblical texts & raising relevant methodological and hermeneutical questions for modern readers.

Ecological concerns have begun to permeate our collective consciousness. Rapid species extinction, poisoned air, forest clear-cutting, ozone depletion, global climate change, "climate justice" and the impact of climate "chaos" on vulnerable communities, all weigh heavily on our personal, intellectual, and spiritual lives.
Christian communities are increasingly realizing that their faith and outreach must somehow speak to our present ecological crisis if they are to remain vital, and if they are to remain responsible, faithful, and relevant amidst these profound threats to the flourishing of creation.
This course examines how religious and spiritual concerns interface with contemporary environmental issues. While introducing students to concerns and debates in environmental ethics and ecological theology, the course pays particular attention to the challenges posed within a Canadian post-industrial context such as Hamilton, Ontario. In recent years, a growing social and ecological awareness has been emerging in Hamilton, with A Rocha recently opening a ministry there, urban agriculture groups (e.g. Victory Gardens) sprouting up, and church involvement in the True City movement. This course proposes to interface with such groups, including guest presentations from these organizations as well as site visits.
Through such interaction, as well as readings, films, class discussions, and course assignments, a variety of Christian responses to our present ecological and social challenges will be probed, including biblical andtheological notions of stewardship and creation care. As well Christian approaches to environmental racism, urban and community supported agriculture, and the nexus between the option for the poor and the option for the earth will be addressed.

The United Church of Canada is known as a liberal denomination that merged Methodists, Congregationalists and Presbyterians, whose histories are based in Wesleyan and Calvinist thought and practice. The 18th century Methodist tradition from which it derived became a church in community, ministering through schools, hospitals, prisons, economic cooperatives, and other institutions that served disenfranchised people in 18th century England and Ireland. This course explores how Wesleyan thought might be retrieved as a foundation for the current "church and community" priorities of the United Church of Canada: 1) Healthy and Faithful Congregations; 2) Youth and Young Adult Ministries; 3) Right Relations with First Nations; and 4) Intercultural Congregations. Students from denominations other than the United Church may prepare their work in relation to their own church's emphases. Prerequisite: basic course in theology. Lectures, readings, class participation, discussions, student presentations and final project.