Q: What do you mean by crisis-shaped world?

A: My point of departure in this book is the world “polycrisis.” This is a term that has come into use relatively recently and refers to the idea that as a human society we face not just one crisis, but many—climate change, economic inequality, human migration, mental health, housing, racial discrimination, and the list could just keep going. This is the context in which we as Christians are called to witness to the good news of Jesus Christ.

At the same time, we are also aware that the church is facing challenges of its own. We know about declining attendance and predictions of the end of the Anglican Church of Canada. So this is a book written from within a church in a crisis that tries to offer guidance and ideas to energize our witness to a world in crisis.

Q: So what’s the answer? How do we find our way to this witness?

A: I begin the book in a place that some people may find unusual or surprising, with the importance of what I call apocalyptic clarity. I don’t mean by that that I think the world is ending tomorrow. Instead, to think and act and imagine apocalyptically is to be aware of the powers that are active in this world and are obstructing the kingdom of God and the fullness of life God offers to God’s people. People haven’t stopped coming to churches because we’ve messed up or done the wrong thing. People aren’t coming to churches because there are other powers in this world that are drawing their attention, energy, focus, and, indeed, their worship. In the book, I focus in particular on how the economic structures we inhabit are a particular power that obstructs the kingdom of God.

Q: How does an apocalyptic clarity help shape our witness as Christians?

A: For one thing, I think we need to be clear-eyed about the world we live in. Let’s honestly acknowledge that there are powers in this world and they are not working towards the kingdom of God. All of us in the church, just as much as people outside the church, are shaped and effected by these powers. For much of the book I draw out the implications of this apocalyptic perspective and if I were to summarize it in one word it is this: resist. Christians are called to form communities that resist the powers and principalities and offer to the world a different way of life that is ultimately more, well, faithful, creative, and hopeful than much of what we find around us. Much of the book is about me identifying the outlines of that resistant living, even as I also understand that the particular shape of that living will vary depending on a community’s context.

Q: The subtitle of this book is “Fifteen Theses for a Crisis-Shaped World.” You’ve already spoken about the crisis-shaped part. What do you mean by theses? And why fifteen?

A: A thesis is a declarative statement. So for instance the first thesis of the book is this: “A crisis-shaped world requires apocalyptic clarity.” I found that the thesis was a helpful structuring device in that it allowed me to introduce and write about a range of topics and do so in a way that I hope is accessible for all people in the church. For several of these theses, I could have written a whole book! As for fifteen, well, I originally wrote several more but between the publisher insisting on a word limit and the reality that not all of those theses were quite ready for public consumption, I settled on fifteen.

My other hope in using the thesis is that it generates conversation. I hope that when people read the book they don’t agree with all of them! I’m looking forward to hearing back from readers and I’d love to read someone else and their theses on what Christian witness can look like at this time.

Q: Who do you hope reads this book?

A: Every time I write a book I try to keep an audience in mind. The audience I had very clearly in my mind is a community of faithful Christians who are struggling to make sense of the change that is going on around them, not only in their church but also in the world, and wondering what their faith has to say to this moment. So while this is a work of theology, it is not esoteric and out of reach. I use a lot of stories to make this material accessible to lay people. I hope that congregational book groups will find that it provides helpful fuel for their own Christian reflection and ministry.

Q: Where can we buy the book?

A: Wherever books are sold! Find your favourite bookseller, online or in person, and let them know you’d like a copy. If you’re having trouble, drop me a line at jessezink@montrealdio.ca and I can help you out.

Faithful, Creative, Hopeful: Fifteen Theses for Christians in a Crisis-Shaped World (ISBN: 9781640657380) is published by Church Publishing, Incorporated. Its official release date is December 3, 2024.

The post Christianity in a Crisis-Shaped World New Book from Dio Principal, Jesse Zink appeared first on Montreal Anglican.

These last two years have also made clear the scope of the challenges that we face as a society. Climate change. Homelessness. Reconciliation. Racial justice. Food security. Migration. This is the world that young people are coming of age in and the one they will inherit.

Our sense is that young people emerging into adulthood at this moment are both driven by a desire to build a just society but also searching for ways to make meaningful change that aligns with their vision and values.

There are many young people who have inchoate sense of what the church would call vocation but lack opportunity to develop this call in the context of a supportive community of peers.

This is why Montreal Dio and our ecumenical partners in the Montreal School of Theology are relaunching the Montreal Mission Internship in the summer of 2022.

Last offered in 2015, the Mission Internship is a program geared specifically to young people (generally understood as 18 to 25 years old) that will enable participants to put their faith into action and discern their Christian vocation in our changing world.

This program takes what we know about theological reflection and discernment and extends and adapts it for young people who are not necessarily considering Christian ministry but have a strong sense of service in the world.

By providing opportunities for participants to engage in meaningful work in relation to an area of deep concern for them and do so within a community of peers, we believe that we can help participants begin to express Christian vocation at a crucial time in their lives.

Each participant in MMI will be placed in a social service placement for nine weeks during the summer. There are many faith-based service organizations in the city and we are looking forward to working with them.

Every week, the participants will meet as a group for learning, reflection, and community support, facilitated by the program’s director, MST faculty, and other guests. We’ll also work to connect these participants with church communities and encourage them to develop leadership skills in the church.

To make this program as accessible as possible to students from as many backgrounds as possible, this will be a paid internship position, with a stipend of up to $5000 for the nine-week program. We don’t want financial constraints to be an obstacle to participation.

We’re able to relaunch MMI this summer thanks to the recent grant we received from the Lilly Endowment, as well as additional funding from the Anglican Foundation of Canada’s Say Yes to Kids Initiative.

While this isn’t the goal of the program, some past participants have gone on to pursue ordained ministry. The Rev. Ben Stuchbery, a 2015 MMI participant and now curate in the Parish of Vaudreuil in this diocese, told us that MMI was transformative for his call to ministry: “The internship served as an invaluable period of discernment, coming as it did at a crucial moment in my young adulthood when the search for meaning and direction in my life was felt most keenly.”

You can learn more about the program on its dedicated website: www.montrealmission.ca. We also have printed publicity material to advertise the program or share with young people you think might be looking for a program like this. Just be in touch and we’ll send it your way.

If you have suggestions or ideas about this program, we would love to hear from you. You can reach me at jessezink@montrealdio.ca. The best advertising of all is word-of-mouth so please do spread the word about this program.

We’re excited to be relaunching this program and provide this opportunity for more young adults to find their calling as they emerge into adulthood.

The post The Montreal Mission Internship appeared first on Montreal Anglican.

At its annual Convocation on Monday, May 3—held online due to the pandemic—Montreal Diocesan Theological College conferred an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree on Elizabeth May, O.C., MP and graduated eight students from its degree, diploma, and certificate programs.
Ms. May is a Member of Parliament for Sannitch-Gulf Islands and former leader (and current parliamentary leader) of the Green Party of Canada. She has had a long career as a lawyer and environmental activist. She is also an Anglican who has, in the past, considered studying for the priesthood. In the degree citation, the college recognized Ms. May’s “consistent, patient, and forthright living of her baptismal calling to proclaim the Christian gospel” in her public and political career.
In her Convocation address, Ms. May said that her Christian faith sustains her in her work in Parliament: “Here we are in a time of plague and fire and famine and drought and insect infestation—it’s a tremendous challenge on the science to whether we can save ourselves. It’s for that that I am so grateful to faith for believing that we can do the impossible, that we have a chance, that we have a prayer.”
She pointed to the diversity of religious leaders who have made climate action a significant focus of their leadership. She recalled being inspired by an address then-Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Revd Rowan Williams, at the 2009 Copenhagen Conference in which he argued that Christians have a “preferential option for the earth” that is the same as the “preferential option for the poor.”
Ms. May quoted from the work of the economist E.F. Schumacher, who is best known for his 1973 book Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered. She read from his later book, A Guide for the Perplexed. Schumacher wrote: “Modern industry by producing comfort on a scale unheard of in human history, yet almost destroying the real educational function of daily work quite clearly sets the most difficult examination task: how not to lose sight of the spiritual in the face of these overwhelming temptations.” Later he wrote, “This does not mean that we can wash our hands of this worldly failure for only those can triumph who never cease for a moment, no matter what the odds are against them, to fight evil and try to restore order.”
Words like those, Ms. May said, offered her the drive and determination to carry on her work: “You have to keep trying, don’t you, you have to keep fighting, you have to know that the task set is for the individual souls of each and every one of us, for the well-being, yes, for the saving of this miraculous, miraculous planet.”
Ms. May concluded by quoting a passage of Scripture that she says she recalls on a daily basis: “Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20).
During the Convocation service, the college conferred degrees, diplomas and certificates on eight graduates:

• Master of Divinity: Jon Jameson, Tevfik Karatop, Linda Moore (with distinction), Fresia Saborio
• Diploma in Ministry: Ben Stuchbery (with distinction)
• Certificate in Theology: Willis Noble, George Ryder, Gail Turnbull

In addition, student achievements during the year were recognized with a range of prizes and awards. The Gault Award for the graduating student who in the opinion of the faculty has the most readiness for ministry went to Linda Moore of the Diocese of Vermont. The Bancroft Prize, for the strongest essay, was presented to Tevfik Karatop of the Eastern Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada. The Robert Reford Prize for the leading of worship and the Alys L.G. Slater Memorial Bequest for excellence in Anglican Studies were awarded to Ben Stuchbery of the Diocese of Montreal. The Bishop Russel Brown Award is voted on by the students and present to the student who has made a significant contribution to community life. It was awarded to Alex Griffin. The Rev. Canon Dr. Lettie James Prize, awarded for an essay in feminist or pastoral theology, went to Sarah Wicks for an essay she wrote on feminist eschatology.
It was, Principal Jesse Zink noted in his opening remarks, a year unlike any other in the 150-year history of the college but one in which the integrity of the community and its worship life remained in place and students were able to continue to learn and grow as Christian leaders for the church and world.
It was the second year the college held its Convocation ceremony via Zoom. This year, there were even more participants (nearly 150 Zoom connections) from an even larger number of locations in Canada, U.S. and internationally. Guests quickly got the hang of applauding via hand gestures and extending congratulations to parents, children, siblings, classmates and friends via the chat feature. There was also the opportunity to “visit” with each of the graduates in a personal breakout room after the ceremony.

The post Dio Convocation “Grateful to faith” appeared first on Montreal Anglican.