Interns work four days a week at one or two social service organisations around the city then meet at Montreal Dio on Wednesdays for a time of theological reflection with mentors and fellow interns.

Last April, Estelle Ah-Teck was struggling through a period of feeling lost, alone, and unsure of what the future held as she finished up her studies in History at McGill. “It felt like all potential doors were closing right in my face and I was struggling to see God in the middle of the mess.”

When she opened up to a friend about how she was feeling, her friend suggested applying for MMI. “Four months later, I can firmly say that this summer has been one of the most transformative and healing seasons of my life.”

She spent the summer working at Le Pont, a services and temporary housing centre for refugee claimants, accompanying the residents to appointments, organizing community events, tutoring children and much more.

“I have witnessed residents experience a lot of highs and lows. To work amid these extreme moments of joy and sorrow has been emotionally challenging. But I believe God is calling me to hold such tensions.”

Her experiences at Le Pont and the weekly theological reflections at Dio helped her to broaden her understanding of God’s plan for her. “This internship positively challenged the narrow vision I had for my career as I learned more about myself and gained new passions.”

She leaves the program with a deeper sense of trust in God and a new awareness of God’s presence in every moment. “I would absolutely recommend MMI. If you are seeking to learn how to invite God into your everyday moments, big and small, this is the program for you.”

Before coming to Montreal for the summer, Rebecca Mallett had just finished up her first year of ministry studies at International House of Prayer University. She began MMI seeking a clearer direction for her sense of vocation.

“I loved that MMI offered an opportunity to practice discernment while trying new types of ministries, helping me gain more clarity on what I’m called to do.”

Rebecca spent the summer working at Hadley Community, a collection of houses for people at risk of homelessness, and Ministry to Seafarers (M2S).

At M2S, she spent much of her time driving up and down Montreal’s port, chatting and sharing meals with seafarers, and bringing them to the seafarer’s centre to relax.

At Hadley Community, she led and participated in workshops and games, and helped practically, doing dishes and prepping rooms for new residents among other tasks.

“God used my time at my two placements to bring up deep beliefs I had about what it means to be successful, which was really challenging in certain moments,” she reflects. “I grew into a deeper acceptance of who God made me to be and grew to see that ministry has a lot more to do with how you do something than what you do.”

For any future MMI interns she notes, “MMI is a huge investment into the rest of your life. Be willing to have your sense of what you have to contribute to the world challenged.”

For the past three years, Nathan Tsang has been studying Computer Programming at Seneca College in his home city of Toronto. Recently, however, he found himself feeling unhappy in this field of study. “I felt disconnected from people,” he says. “I had a realisation that I want to work in a field where I could affect others in a positive way directly.”

MMI seemed like the perfect opportunity for him to spend time discerning how he might pivot his life in this direction.

Like Estelle, Nathan spent the summer working at Le Pont, supporting refugee claimants as they adjust to life in Quebec. He spent much of his time looking after the residents’ children and worked hard on his own time to improve his French so that he could better communicate with the residents. “I discovered that being available for the residents is a form of work in and of itself.”

One of Nathan’s big takeaways from the program was discovering what a relationship with God could look like for him. “I was born Roman Catholic and have found I have a been very narrow in my view of Christianity,” he explains. “I spent a lot of time talking with the other interns about their view on God and how He affects them in their lives.”

He attended several different churches throughout the summer to experience the different ways people worship. “I can confidently say this internship has made me rediscover my relationship with God in a positive way.”

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Marc was born and raised in Montreal but has lived and worked in about a dozen other places in Canada throughout his career.
His homecoming to Montreal is the first time living in the city since he was 17 years old when he left home to join the Regular Officer Training Plan of the Canadian Armed Forces.

At Dio’s first Wednesday community lunch of the semester, Marc was asked to share a fun fact about himself by way of introduction. He shared that while he has flown in a Canadian Army helicopter many times, he has never landed in one. Instead, as a paratrooper, he was practiced in jumping out of and rappelling out of helicopters. During his military service, he was deployed with the Canadian Airborne Regiment to Somalia, and to Croatia, and Bosnia to prepare the troops to return home at the end of their tour.

When Marc left home to join the military, he had his sight set on becoming an air navigator, but he soon found himself called in another direction. “Early one Friday morning in September, I clearly heard a voice calling me to vocational ministry as a chaplain to the military.” He described feeling an unmistakable presence of warmth and light that he still struggles to put into words. “I kept that event to myself for one full year, unsure if anyone would believe me.”

He ended up pursuing a Master of Divinity at Acadia Divinity College in Nova Scotia followed by a Post Graduate Diploma in Prison Chaplaincy. “Looking back, I think that God has had a grip on me from an early age,” he says. “I remember, as a young boy, after my First Communion as a Roman Catholic, pretending to be a priest and celebrating mass.”

During his time at the Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario he had an encounter with Jesus that changed his faith expression, and he became Baptist. “I accepted the fact that Jesus loved me as I was, that my sin did not have to keep me away from being loved by God. That moment began my life’s transformation which continues to this day.”

He is an ordained Baptist minister and was most recently employed as the Pastoral Leaders Development Associate for the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec before joining the faculty at MST. After pursuing his M. Div. in his 20s, he continued to work in the military as a chaplain, and member of the Air Force and Army for nearly 20 years.

He eventually settled down in Nova Scotia to provide stability for his children and began working in congregational ministry where he remained for 18 years. During this time, he went back to Acadia Divinity College for a Doctor of Ministry that focused on the supervision of seminary students in field education. He moved to Toronto in 2018 to begin his job at the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec. “I was not looking for a change,” he says. “I was very settled in my position. It was really by chance that I stumbled upon the position at MST.”

He was in Montreal, helping to look after his grandson, when he happened to skim the newsletter from the Association for Theological Field Education. His curiosity was piqued when he stumbled across an ad for the Director of Field Education job. He was attracted to the prospect of taking leadership in renewing the field education program and helping to shape future ministers, especially given the nature of his D. Min. research.

“The consortium that is MST was also attractive to me,” he notes. “I am ecumenically minded and strongly believe that the unity of the church is necessary to announce the Kingdom of God. As a military chaplain I had the opportunity to work with Anglican, United, Presbyterian, Lutheran and Roman Catholic colleagues. To me, it felt like church at its best.”

We are all eager to witness how Marc transforms the field education program at MST. The wisdom and guidance he will provide to our future ministers will be an asset to the Church. “I do not take my responsibilities lightly,” he says. “I trust that God will lead the way as only the Holy Spirit can.”

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This year’s participants were placed at various organizations around the city including The Nazareth Community, Ministry to Seafarers, and Christian Direction.

“I was drawn to this program as I was looking for a summer opportunity to serve others in simple ways and grow in my abilities to help vulnerable people and try to love them the way God loves them,” said one participant, Katharine Mallet. “I have learned to identify the unique gifts God has given me and the importance of loving people in such a way that they can receive it, among many other things. It has been hard but God has been showing me that He is definitely worth it.”

Tashiana Boodhoo, who travelled all the way from Mauritius to study at the University of PEI last year, was excited by the opportunity to spend the summer in another Canadian city, all while drawing closer to God through service.

“MMI has not only helped me to achieve my dream of experiencing life in another part of Canada while deepening my faith, but it has surprisingly enabled me to live the Montreal city life through a lens of profuse honesty and acceptance of what has been, is and can be,” she says. “I embarked on this journey with an expectation of it being just another job, but what I am ending up receiving is so much more than I could have asked for. At this point, I have learnt not to set expectations and instead be welcoming of what I am meant to experience.”

Program Director Alan Ma is optimistic about the way God worked in the lives of each of the interns over the nine weeks of the program. “From prompting vocational questions to discerning daily actions to personal healing, it has been marvelous witnessing the work of our Lord in and around the MMI participants,” he says. “I am thankful to God for the precious time that we received together as a community – walking alongside one another.”

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Since 2017, I have been a member of what is now known as St. Martha’s Chapel, one of the largest young adult ministries in Canada that is affiliated with the Anglican Church, and one of the fastest growing ministries in the diocese of Montreal.

St. Martha’s is an ecumenical chaplaincy for university students and young professionals that is affiliated with the Anglican and United Churches, and the Disciples of Christ.

Before the pandemic, we regularly had up to 70 people at our evening worship service hosted bi-weekly at Christ Church Cathedral. We now have around 30 as we rebuild, with new people attending each month.

St. Martha’s also has a weekly Bible study, annual retreats, and provides free pastoral care to young people regardless of their faith or participation in our group. St. Martha’s as it now exists represents a confluence of previous ministries from decades ago, including St. Martha’s of the Basement at Montreal Dio, and the McGill Ecumenical Chaplaincy, as well as century-old student ministries at both Christ Church Cathedral and St. James United.

The current form, under the name St. Martha’s Chapel, began in 2020, is deliberately bilingual and open to all young adults regardless of university affiliation. The Rev. Jean-Daniel O’Donncada has been chaplain since 2014, and before him The Rev. Gwenda Wells was chaplain for over twenty years.

While those of us in our 20s and early 30s are coming of age in an era of declining religious affiliation and increasing cynicism toward institutionalized power, we are still drawn to community and the truth of God’s forgiveness and eternal love. The heart of the Christian faith is alive and well in many young people, but there is a desire to re-imagine how that faith gets expressed. St. Martha’s is a malleable space that allows us to explore how we might bring about the kind of transformation that will keep the Gospel message alive as the institution of the church as we know it continues to decline. There is an openness to the structure of St. Martha’s that makes it an easy access point for young people who are curious about the Christian faith.

As a community, we prioritize education, often explaining why we engage in certain rituals during our services and drawing on our collective knowledge for rich debate and conversation during Bible study. Every week I am met with new perspectives that expose God’s presence in unexpected places.

As a ministry that caters largely to university students, many of whom are not from Montreal and will go on to other places once they graduate, one of St. Martha’s key strengths is building discipleship for the wider church. The fruits of discipleship begin in Montreal. Many members are actively involved in other parishes, often leading children’s ministry, music, volunteering to help at coffee hour or to serve at the altar. Some even go on to seminary, discerning a call to ministry during there time at St. Martha’s.

I have also witnessed how this ministry builds discipleship through affirming LGBTQ+ people and celebrating their identities. Young people, spiritually and emotionally damaged by their treatment in previous Christian communities give St. Martha’s a chance and find that there is a place for them in God’s Church. If this is the experience people are having of Church and of God’s presence in their lives while they are in Montreal for a time, no doubt, they will go out into the world prepared to spread that light to others and plant the seeds of God’s kingdom.

There will always be people looking for spaces and communities that ask the big questions. When young people are reaching into the unknowable, toward God, and they stumble across St. Martha’s, they have found a community that embodies God’s purest love. It is a place that gives people the tools to grow, to think outside the box, and to spread God’s love deeper and wider than we can ask or imagine.

St. Martha’s is currently in a time of transition as we continue to build back our ministry post-pandemic. In addition, The Rev. Jean-Daniel is beginning a new full-time ministry position so, we are preparing to search for a new director.

We ask for your prayers and financial contributions as you are able. You can donate at the following link by selecting “St. Martha’s Chapel” in the dropdown: https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/the-anglican-diocese-of-montreal/

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On May 8th, Montreal Dio & United Church Studies at Dio had its first convocation as an ecumenical college. It was a joyful celebration of unity and the accomplishments of the college’s graduates.

Along with several cash prizes awarded to students for their various academic and pastoral accomplishments over the year, two honours were extended to people outside the college whose ministries have positively impacted the wider church.

The Rev. Patricia Lisson received the honorary Doctorate of Divinity in recognition of her decades-long social-justice informed ministry. Currently the chair-person for the Canadian chapter of the International Coalition for Human Rights in the Philippines, and recently retired Executive Director of St. Columba House in Montreal, Patricia’s ministry has consistently gone beyond the church walls and into the communities in which she ministers.

The Craig Chaplin Award, formerly of the United Theological College, was awarded to Ken DeLisle, a recently retired United Church minister. This award recognizes the life’s work of an LGBTQ+ minister and celebrates their courage and commitment to social justice. The college was delighted to celebrate Ken as the first openly gay person to complete diaconal ministry training for the United Church of Canada back in 1994, and an outstanding advocate for LGBTQ+ justice within and beyond the church.

Bishop Ogé Beauvoir, retired Suffragan Bishop of Haiti, gave the convocation address. He stressed the value of ecumenical formation for ministry in an ever-diversifying church and society and ended by encouraging graduates to seek not to be successful, but to be faithful.

The college community thanks all who attended for their enthusiasm and support.

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In a recent article Kristof writes about a kid from the slums in Kenya; Kennedy Odede ran away from home, taught himself to read, saved 20c and bought a soccer ball, and, with this humble start, he encouraged the inhabitants of his slum to play soccer. He then organised a group, SHOFCO, (Shining Hope for Communities) helping underprivileged communities to work together to improve their future. Kennedy’s philosophy is ‘Any solution is always more successful when there is a feeling of ownership in the community.’

This philosophy of Kennedy’s underlies the PWRDF Indigenous Responsive program grants. PWRDF is establishing a bank of money to which indigenous communities can apply for a grant to fund a project determined by themselves.

The Montreal Unit of PWRDF has chosen this project to support in 2022- 2023 and is actively raising money for this bank to which Indigenous Communities may apply. Our local project is being called Decolonizing Fundraising to emphasise that this approach puts the ownership firmly on the local community. Colonials tend to see programs of aid as their own programs, even if they have local input.

In the days when religious affiliations were more common there used to be a saying ‘The family who prays together stays together’. Today this might be replaced by ‘The community that works together grows together.’ Your Montreal PWRDF team hopes that we in our communities and congregations can work together to raise funds to donate to PWRDF’s Indigenous Responsive Program Grants.

Material for the project has been distributed.

You can support this program by making a designated gift through your church or directly to PWRDF at pwrdf.org/Indigenousgrants, or indicate Indigenous Grant on your cheque and mail it to: PWRDF, 80 Hayden St., 3rd Floor, Toronto, ON, M4Y 3G2.

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As fewer and fewer people turn toward the church, the church must turn toward the people. As is so often the case in Montreal, this process begins with language. “Being functional in French is an essential condition to sharing life and the Christian journey with the community in and outside of the church in the context of Quebec,” says Clara Maranzano, Coordinator of French and Bilingual Ministry at Montreal Diocesan Theological College (Dio).

Situated in the heart of Montreal, Dio is confronted daily with the complex linguistic reality of the city. The future of the Church may in many ways be uncertain, but one thing is clear: it is not unilingual. Dio’s Certificate in Bilingual Ministry program is helping to address the need for more linguistic diversity amongst church leadership.

The program is designed to improve students’ linguistic and cultural competence in French or bilingual ministry and spiritual care settings. Students enrolled in the college’s degree programs may take it as part of their program, but it is also available as a continuing education opportunity for those already working in ministry in any capacity, be it church administration, ordained ministry, or chaplaincy.

In the spring, Clara will be leading a one-week French for Ministry Intensive for those enrolled in the certificate program, or any other interested individuals participating in the intensive as a stand-alone course.

While language is a major focus of the intensive, the material will also attend to the unique cultural challenges of doing ministry in the context of Quebec. “We should not forget that the Roman Catholic Church has had a huge impact on Quebec’s history and culture that led to a radical mistrust of any Christian institution, and sometimes to a rampant atheism,” says Clara. “However, the spiritual needs remain, so Christian Churches other than the Roman Catholic Church face a tremendous challenge and opportunity at the same time.”

During the intensive, students will gain a more profound understanding of how the history of Christianity in Quebec continues to impact the spiritual needs and desires of Quebec’s population in the present. By contextualizing the landscape of fear, hesitation, grief, and anger that often surrounds discussions of Christianity in Quebec, students will be better prepared to meet people where they stand and to be a guiding light rather than a source of anxiety and animosity.

“I want students to be able to share Christ’s message with deep compassion and respect for the particular history and present situation of others, showing at the same time their own vulnerability and need to be understood in a language other than their own. This is always a beautiful challenge, or as we say in French, ‘un beau défi’.”

The community of students at Montreal Dio has grown evermore diverse culturally, linguistically, and ecumenically (especially as Dio has incorporated United Church Studies into its list of programs). With each year, it becomes more evident that a key role of seminaries like Dio is to nurture dialogue across difference, and to expose future ministers not just to their denominational traditions but to the possibilities for transformation brought forth when they look beyond these traditions, toward the traditions of others, and toward the reality of their own cultural context.

Dio’s Acting Principal, Pastor Eric Dyck, spent over thirty-five years ministering in Montreal at St. John’s Lutheran Church. Since beginning his work at Dio in January he has been pleased to see the increasing diversity of the college reflecting his experience in active ministry. “A diverse denominational and linguistic seminary community provides context to what will be in a parish, and if not there, then the context in which the parish ministers,” he says. “The church benefits when its ordained leaders can dialogue with understanding and compassion; the college can provide an experience of this greater reality.”

The Certificate in Bilingual Ministry program is one important step Dio is taking to shift theological education in a direction that more accurately addresses the realities of contemporary life, in Montreal in particular.

At Dio, students are being faced daily with one of the most important challenges of the Christian faith, that is, how to find unity in diversity while celebrating difference. By providing opportunities for growth in knowledge of the other, Dio is preparing future ministers for the church who are equipped to spread the gospel with love and sensitivity, and to listen at least as much as they preach.

The French for Ministry Intensive takes place May 8th to May 12th of this year. Any interested individual may visit www.montrealdio.ca/french-for-ministry, or e-mail Clara at claramaranzano@montrealdio.ca for more information.

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Fr. Linus is studying for a Bachelor of Theology degree at McGill University and participating in the general life of the college and diocese to gain knowledge and resources that he can bring back to St. Cyprian’s Theological College and Junior Seminary in Rondo, Tanzania where he works as the director.

“I am like a seed planted in the middle of these two dioceses so that each community can benefit from the same tree,” he says. “Whatever resources I get here, it benefits the community of the Diocese of Masasi. I am learning the way you work, the way you develop programs, the way you engage with different cultures. And I am here to see if there is any possibility of linking together these two institutions.” 

Fr. Linus grew up in a farming family in Lumesule, a remote village near the border of Mozambique. His father, grandfather, and grandmother were all Anglican priests. However, it was not his original intention to follow in their footsteps. After secondary school he moved to Dodoma, the capital city of Tanzania, to study for a degree in Development Studies.

Throughout his time at university, the bishop encouraged him to pursue ordination, but it was not until his final year that Linus felt ordination was the right path for him. “The bishop called me in the middle of the night and said ‘if you say no, I will stop asking. But I am thinking it is a good idea for you to be a priest.’ And from that day my heart was in it. I said, ‘Okay bishop, give me maybe three or four days and then I’ll get back to you.’ 

But it did not take three days, it only took until the morning when I woke up. I called the bishop to say okay and he said ‘Your ordination is the 15th of February’ which was only a month away. This was not normal.” 

Fr. Linus had expected to finish his degree then go to school for theology the following June before being ordained, but the bishop had another plan in mind. “He said, ‘We have discussed, we have assessed you, we know you, we understand your capacity. The first and most important thing for us is to ordain you to the diaconate and other things will come’.”  

He recounts the somewhat miraculous story of his

ordination weekend. The date of his ordination conflicted with his final examinations for university, and it was past the deadline to request a different exam time. Linus had to decide: “Miss the ordination or go to the ordination and be disqualified from my program.”  So, he called a friend for advice. “He said ‘Go to the ordination, if God calls you for that purpose, he knows how things will be.’ So, I went to the ordination and while traveling back to University my friend called me to say the timetable for the exams has been changed – instead of starting Monday, I would start on Wednesday… I will never forget that.” 

Fr. Linus is approaching the tenth anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. For the last several years, he has been the director of St. Cyprian’s where he is in charge of training and overseeing the programming for ordinands, and teaching teenage students in the Junior Seminary.

He is passionate about ensuring the work of the college has a positive impact on the wider community as well as on those who are studying. Since 2015 he has been working on a tree-planting initiative to address deforestation in the Rondo area. “In 2015 we planted about 10,000 trees in Rondo and in 2022 we planted about 30,000 trees of various varieties. The main plan has been implemented by students from the Junior Seminary. We are focused on encouraging them to be champions for environmental protection and conservation as advocated by the Sustainable Millennium Goals.” 

Linus is adapting more each day to life in Montreal. Though he misses his family back in Tanzania, he already feels at home in the community at Dio. “I am meeting new people, but we are living as if we have been together for five or ten years. We come from different cultures, but we all respect each other. The college adopts and accommodates everyone in this place.” 

He speaks with gratitude of the beauty of Montreal and of the support he feels from the faculty and staff at Dio. “Montreal is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. As for Dio, the college has extraordinary staff who can help you get anywhere. They invite people from different cultures. English is my third language, which can be very challenging, but the staff … give me instructions on how I can adapt, and I see myself improving day after day.”  

The Partnerships Committee is committed to supporting Fr. Linus for the two years of his Bachelor of Theology degree at McGill University. During this time, it is hoped Fr. Linus can be introduced to many aspects of life in the Diocese of Montreal.

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