Exciting Times in the Church
With the changes in the fabric of our society, financial pressures and decreasing membership in the Anglican Church of Canada, over the last twenty years, there has come a time to be creative, instituting new forms of preparation for Christian ministry. There are fewer people, given their life situations, able to take three years of full-time study and then apply somewhere in the wide and diverse context of the Anglican Church of Canada for a full-time and paid ministry position. This was the setting when the Western Educational Collaborative Anglican Network, affectionately known as “WECAN,” came into being. WECAN is an august network of Anglican Ministry Developers in Western and Northern Canada. In dialogue with Emmanuel and St. Chad College, this new way of preparing for ministry is now being accredited as a Licentiate in Theology a.k.a. L.Th. We are blessed in the Canadian north and west to see this special action of the Holy Spirit coming to fruition!
Mentor Role
The Mentor role referred to here is for someone to mentor, coach and support a student registered within the Licentiate in Theology to be granted through Emmanuel and St. Chad College. The organization of the teaching work is the responsibility of the local Western and Northern Canadian Anglican Ministry School Coordinators. Ideally, the mentor would be someone with good people skills and balance in life who can encourage and give a local context to the student as they move through the L.Th. program.
Instructor Role
The instructor role referred to here is for someone who has the needed skills to present on one of the areas of learning as found in the L.Th. Handbook, teach and facilitate conversation between L.Th. students in their course. The ESC-WECAN L.Th. Implementation / Program Steering group has outlined specific ministry learning goals to optimize a person’s preparation for ministry within their local context.
To these ends, the ESC-WECAN group is hosting a two-day Mentor and Instructor Orientation programme so that those supporting students, Mentors, and those teaching students, Instructors, are thoroughly aware of the dimensions and expectations of their work. The Instructors are being asked to attend the Orientation Day on Tuesday, May 30. The Mentors have an additional Day of Orientation on Tuesday, June 13 as listed on the Schedule accompanying this explanation.
