With the support of the Lilly Endowment’s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative, the Faculty of Divinity at Trinity College has established this ‘living tradition’ project focusing on preparing creative pastoral leaders to meet the complex needs of the contemporary church and rapidly changing society.
Information on the project including its four main initiatives and related news and events will soon be integrated into the Trinity College website. In the meantime, here is a brief overview of the project.
Models and Mentors for Creative Mission
Focused on Training in Missional Ministry, Church Planting, Community Organizing
This initiative will:
- Provide students with opportunities of field education in missional church contexts (missional ‘labs’) in which experienced mentors will travel alongside the students, facilitating ongoing evaluation of these experiments while ensuring that creative visioning remains ongoing
- Make available to current clergy as well as students workshops on innovative ministry by the mentors
- Establish ‘teaching settings’ where innovative ministry is ongoing in which to base field placements and short-term apprenticeships
- Provide a scholarship for a PhD student whose research will focus on one of the four initiatives of the project which will generate new Canadian-based analysis of contemporary missional-ministry
Spiritual Direction for Flexible Ministry
Spiritual Directors to Support Students Undertaking Flexible Ministry
This initiative will:
- Identify credentialled spiritual directors who understand the challenges of the contemporary churches
- Require all MDiv students preparing for church leadership to have a spiritual advisor to help them navigate the challenges of innovative ministry
- Provide funding to cover the standard fee of such spiritual direction
Advisors and Partners for a Diverse Body
Establishing Indigenous, African Canadian, and Chinese Canadian advisors on campus
Under this initiative, these advisors will function as ‘mentors in residence’ to:
- Support minority students
- Lead worship in the chapel on occasion
- Offer one annual workshop and lead one annual retreat
- Attend Divinity Council meeting to offer advice and critique of our programmes and processes
Expansive Formation for a Welcoming Church
Developing a new intentional “introduction to Christianity” curriculum
This initiative will:
- Support students who arrive without significant church background/familiarity
- Provide a developed pre-seminary reading list with guided questions for all new students
- Facilitate the development of new or revised introductory courses on the basics of Christianity (‘Christianity 101’), delivered ecumenically, but with attention to some denominational basics (Anglican and Orthodox)
This project is being funded through Lilly Endowment’s Pathways for Tomorrow Initiative, a three-phase initiative designed to help theological schools across the United States and Canada as they prioritise and respond to the most pressing challenges they face as they prepare pastoral leaders for Christian congregations both now and into the future.
Project Director: Geoffrey Ready
- Larkin Building, Office 317
- (647) 567-8955
- geoffrey.ready@utoronto.ca