| College: | Knox College |
| Degrees: | ThD (The University of South Africa, Pretoria) |
| Email: | c.fensham@utoronto.ca |
| Phone: | 416-978-4509 |
| Teaching Category: |
Emeritus
|
| Appointment Status: |
Basic Degree
GCTS Emeritus
|
Bio
Charles is interested in the study of the church (ecclesiology) and its intersection with mission studies and ecology with a focus on Public Missiology. He works with graduate students on projects focused on ecclesiology, Missiology, the theologies of David Bosch and Jürgen Moltmann, ecological theology, the theology of Protestant spirituality and the intersection of these themes with contemporary culture. Charles’ most recent research project examined the origins and history of ideas in the evolution of Christian homophobia and the harm that is being done to LGBTQI2 people by non-affirming Christian teaching. Charles’ present project is to contribute to the development of a public missiology with an emphasis on the public witness of Christian churches in North America.
Charles is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in Canada and is Minister in Association with Rosedale Presbyterian Church, Toronto.
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Specializations
- Ecclesiology
- Missiology
- Theologies of David Bosch and Jürgen Moltmann
- Ecological theology
- Theology of Protestant spirituality
- The relationship between Christianity and LGBTQI2 people
- Area of teaching: Systemic Theology and Missiology
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Publications
Books:
- Misguided Love: Christians and the Rupture of LGBTQI2+ People, Decatur: Journal of Pastoral Care Publications. 2019.
- To the Nations for the Earth: A Missional Spirituality, Toronto: Clements Academic, 2013.
- Emerging from the Dark Age Ahead: The Future of the North American Church, Toronto: Clements Academic, 2011. (Previously published, Ottawa: Novalis, St Paul University, 2008)
Chapters in Books:
- "Towards a Faithful Christian Community in Canada: A Missiological Response to Religious Change" in The Decline of Established Christianity in the Western World. Peterson, P.S. (ed.), New York: Routledge, 2017.
- Fensham, C.J. & Travis, S. 2016. "What on Earth is Liturgy (leitourgia)?: Liturgy and Ecology." in The Church in God's Household: Protestant Perspectives on Ecclesiology and Ecology. Ayre, C.W. & Conradie, E.M. (eds.), Pietermaritzburg: Cluster Publications.
- "Imagine a Sacramental Tree Planting Conspiracy" in Living Eco Justice. Ottawa: Citizens for Public Justice, 2013. 69-75.
- Fensham, C.J. “Emerging from the Dark Age Ahead: The Canadian Church in the Third Millennium.” In Mortensen, V & Osterland, A. Walking Humbly with God: Church and Mission Engaging Plurality. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2011. 113-134.
Papers and Articles:
- Fensham, C.J. “The Methodology of Missiology in the Context of Turtle Island.” Missiology: An International Review. 47(3) (Jul) 2019. 300-314.
- Fensham, C.J. “Douglas Hall’s Theology of the Cross as Contextual Theology in the Post Colonial Context,” Toronto Journal of Theology. Spring 2018. 34:1. 111-123
- Fensham, C.J. “The conversation between public theology and missiology: A response to Sebastian Kim.” Missiology. 2017, 45:4, 396-406.
- Fensham, C.J. “The Transformative Vision: Public Witness and the poiesis of Christian Social Transformation.” Missiology: An International Review. 44:2 (April 2016), 155-166.
- Fensham, C.J. “Faith Matters: Towards a Public Missiology in the Midst of the Ecological Crisis.” Toronto Journal of Theology. Supplement 1, 2015, 17-28.