Each summer, a small group of students from across Canada joins the Montreal Mission Internship (MMI) at the Montreal School of Theology, immersing themselves in a program that brings together theological reflection, community service, and spiritual formation.
For Jôsi, Amani, and Nicolas, this summer’s experience is more than a co-op or volunteer placement, it has been a journey of faith, self-discovery, and purposeful service.
For Jôsi Pretto Simmons, a political science and international development student at McGill, MMI offered a rare chance to bring together her deep concern for social justice with her Christian faith. “I came into the program wanting to connect my heart for social justice with my faith because I felt like there wasn’t really any opportunity to do so,” she explains. Having heard about the program from a friend and campus ministry staff, Jôsi saw MMI as a unique opportunity for growth.
Amani Ciccarelli, a student at the University of Waterloo studying Environment, Resources, and Sustainability, applied after her grandfather forwarded her the opportunity. What started as a practical search for a co-op placement became something more.
“I hoped it might help me develop my faith,” she reflects. Having recently been confirmed in the Anglican Church, Amani was eager to keep the promises she had made in that spiritual commitment, and MMI helped her do just that.
Nicolas Shone, a Concordia University student in Human Relations with a minor in Theological Studies, was raised in Quebec City and heard about MMI through an Anglican priest mentor. Now rooted in Orthodox Christian tradition, he came to the program with a strong spiritual foundation but found himself stretched in new and unexpected ways. “It’s been a wonderful summer, getting to know myself better, getting to know the other interns, and really understanding what it means to serve God in our modern world,” he says.
Serving on the Ground
Each intern was placed with one or more community organisations across the city, gaining first-hand experience of ministry in action.
Jôsi split her time between Disarm the Dark, an anti-trafficking organisation, and St. Columba House, a mission-focused ministry in Montreal’s Point St. Charles neighbourhood. Her days were filled with a mix of research, policy work, and hands-on community service, helping with lunch preparation, youth programming, and political discussion groups. “It’s been a really great opportunity to be hands-on in the community,” she says.
At St. Philip’s Church in Montreal West, Amani tended gardens filled with vegetables, herbs, fruit trees, and berry bushes. “My day-to-day changed with the season,” she says, describing moments spent harvesting Saskatoon berries, making jam for a church bazaar, and battling beetle infestations. The garden, she says, was a place of abundance and mystery: “It’s amazing how well the plants grow there. Even though I help in the garden, I still don’t fully understand how everything thrives so much!”
Nicolas’s placement with the Ministry to Seafarers took him beyond the church walls and into one of the city’s lesser-known outreach efforts. His time was often unpredictable: “Some days, were quiet while other days we were visiting ships, picking up seafarers, talking with them, listening to their joys and sorrows.” As someone who prefers structure, he found the lack of routine surprisingly life-giving: “I was totally fine being thrown out of my comfort zone. Every day was the same, yet so different, and that’s what I loved the most.”
Encounters with God
All three interns spoke about moments when God’s presence was unmistakable. For Jôsi, it was often in the unexpected: her nervous first day that began in a cat café, or quiet times of connection with staff and community members. “I could see how God was really calling me to just be present,” she says.
She also highlights a moment from the program’s early days, climbing Mont Royal with fellow interns and choosing together to take the harder path. “We were panting and tired, but we all took that path together. At the top, we set our goals. It was an impactful moment.”
Amani found spiritual insight through the program’s reflective workshops, especially one on Ignatian discernment using stones and crystals. “It was really cool,” she recalls. “It helped us reflect on how much we rely on one sense. like sight and what it means to engage the world through others.”
These experiences helped her reconnect with a childhood faith that once felt lost: “As a child, I had a strong faith and felt like I could hear God. I still struggle with that, but I think I’m getting closer or at least more committed to working toward that.”
Nicolas, grounded in spiritual discipline, found that MMI expanded his understanding of ministry. “It made me realise that ministry isn’t all about preaching or big actions or beautiful vestments,” he says. “It’s about the quiet moments, the still, small voice of God in dark places where you wouldn’t expect to hear Him.”
Through his work with seafarers, he also came to a deeper understanding of grace: “Maybe this is where God comes in learning that God accepts us as we are, as the people He made us to be.”
Looking Ahead
The impact of the Montreal Mission Internship isn’t limited to one summer. Interns spoke about how the program has influenced their sense of vocation and faith going forward.
Jôsi is heading into her final year at McGill with a renewed sense of purpose. She and another intern plan to continue working with one of their host organisations. “It doesn’t stop here,” she says.
For Amani, MMI provided guidance in a time of uncertainty. As she looks ahead to graduation, she values the space the program gave her to ask hard questions and grow in commitment, even without having all the answers.
And for Nicolas, the experience was transformative. “MMI has been a place where I could be vulnerable. A place where I could be myself. And a place where God is glorified,” he says. “It shows you how the Gospel can be lived out, right here in Montreal.”
The Montreal Mission Internship is open to ages 18-25. Applications for 2026 open in February; montrealmission.ca.
