School of Religion SPRING 2011

QSReport

www.queensu.ca/religion 1

If Winston Churchill was correct when he said “to improve is to change; to be perfect is tochange often”, then the Queen’s School of Religion is surely on a path to perfection!

Over the last few years, the School has made several significant changes, including:• changing our name from Queen’s Theological College to Queen’s School of Religion;• re-organizing to become one administrative unit, with all faculty and staff as members

of the School of Religion;• shifting Board governance from a representational to a skill-based model; • launching a new website for the School of Religion and adopting new communication

protocols in alignment with those of Queen’s University;• implementing changes to curricula in both Religious Studies and Theology programs;• new signage in Theological Hall;• strengthening on-line teaching capacity in our faculty.In late August (2010) Principal Woolf, Queen’s University (QU), and I, Queen’s School of Religion (QSR), issued a joint-statement, agreeing in principle to enter into discussions to explore the possibility of fully integrating the School back into the Universityin 2012, the centenary of the current affiliation agreement between the then-TheologicalCollege and the University. These discussions are proceeding with a Joint QU/QSRIntegration Task Committee, co-chaired by QSR Board Chair Bruce Hutchinson and QUProvost Bob Silverman. The Committee has adopted a timeline that aims to have aMemorandum of Understanding signed by April 30, 2011, with integration complete by 2012.

Of course, re-integration will require the approval of both the Queen’s University Boardof Trustees and the Board of the Queen’s School of Religion. Both Boards have endorsed integration talks and it is assumed that integration will be cost-neutral. It is anticipatedthat the impact on religious studies and theology students will be minimal. ReligiousStudies programs continue their long-standing relationships with the Faculty of Arts andScience and the School of Graduate Studies. With integration, it is most likely that graduateresearch and professional programs in Theology will be under the graduate Arts Council in the Faculty of Arts and Science and the School of Graduate Studies, with the Bachelor of Theology under the Faculty of Arts and Science.

In a press release to the university community, Queen’s University Principal DanielWoolf – who himself researched much of the history of Queen’s Theological College whenhe was a Queen’s student in the Department of History – stated that he looked forward “togiving leadership to what could be a historic event where the University’s parent is brought back intothe fold.”

So, there you have it. Change in abundance. Oh, yes. There is one more change thatshould be mentioned. An Interim Principal of the Queen’s School of Religion, who will alsoserve as Head of the Department of Religious Studies, has been appointed effective June 1,2011. I extend my congratulations to Dr Pamela Dickey Young and wish her every success.Over the past decade, I am proud that faculty, staff, students, alumni and Board ofManagement have accomplished so much. I have confidence that the School's continuedfocus on scholarly teaching and research excellence will provide a rich learning environ-ment for all of our students in the days to come. It is difficult to imagine waking up on May21st and no longer being Principal of the School, but from afar I will support the 11th per-son in the history of the School to serve as Principal. I know you will too.

Principal Jean Stairs

Head’s Report – Religious Studies

MA in Religion and Modernity isTen Years Old

Spotlight on Religious StudiesStudents

Departmental Awards

Religion and Diversity Project

Queen’s Alumni AchievementAward 2010 Recipient

Goldberg’s Current Research

Development News

Spotlight on Theology Students

Academic Director’s Report –Theology

Faculty News

In Memoriam

Announcement of Interim Principal

INSIDE

2

Head’s ReportReligious Studies

BILL MORROW

When people ask me how things are going in the Department, I am prone to answerthat the only constant at Queen’s University is change. Behind that rather flippant

remark is the perception that a number of processes are in flux. Among them is a newmanagement software system developed by “PeopleSoft,” which will be altering a largenumber of administrative tasks at Queen’s including student advising and mark calcula-tions. Moreover, the entire University is involved in the articulation of a new academicplan that will have implications for both the Faculty of Arts and Science and ReligiousStudies within it. Staffing, of course, is always somewhat in flux as instructors either re-turn from or commence sabbaticals. We welcome back Ellen Goldberg and Herb Basserfrom sabbatical even as we wish Forough Jahanbakhsh the best in her leave for theWinter semester. Finally, this will be my last report as the Head of the Department be-cause my term of office comes to an end in June, 2011. Be that as it may, some thingsare not changing. Interest in undergraduate courses remains high; the MA in Religionand Modernity continues to attract quality students; faculty maintain commitment to sig-nificant research projects (see, e.g., the article by Pamela Dickey Young in this newslet-ter); and the office is skillfully administered by Linda Thomas. Another thing that doesnot change is an abiding interest in our former students. Drop in and say “hello,” ordrop us a line. We’d love to hear from you.

M.A. in Religion and Modernity is Ten Years OldBILL MORROW

This Fall the Department of ReligiousStudies enrolled its tenth class of

graduate students. Since the first groupentered in September of 2001, 70 candi-dates have been admitted to the MA inReligion and Modernity. Although mosthave been Canadians, we have also wel-comed aspiring scholars from Egypt,England, Ghana, Malaysia, Peru, Serbia,South Africa, and the United States. Todate, all incoming grad students have beenprovided with either a Teaching or ResearchAssistantship: this is one of the features of our program that makes it unique inOntario. In addition, we have a consistentrecord of receiving students who have beengranted fellowships from Queen’s or ex-ternal agencies for academic achievement.One of the figures that University admin-

istrators pay particular attention to is the“completion rate.” That is the percentageof students who actually finish the program.Religious Studies has had an excellentcompletion rate: over 88% of our Masterscandidates have received the degree.Moreover, our graduates have proven that there is life after the MA! Everyonewho has applied to a doctoral programhas been accepted. Others have foundwork or entered further study in a varietyof professions, including library science,public administration, social work, and asreligious professionals. Some have goneon to teach, not only in Canada, but in locales such as Korea, Japan, and Egypt.We are looking forward to another decadeof success for the MA in Religion andModernity at Queen’s.

www.queensu.ca/religion 3

The MA class of 2011 is an eclecticbunch from across Canada, Ghana and

the UK: Eight fearless, intrepid academicsdiscussing everything from politics in Iran,to Yoga in India, same-sex marriage, natureand technology, and post-modernism(and post-post-modernism!) – with some-thing to say on all these topics and more.Our backgrounds in Education, CulturalAnthropology, Classics, Theology, Ethics,Law – in addition to Religious Studies –and our equally valuable lived experiences,are suitably diverse for such a rich andvaried program. Our different outlookshave created debate, shed light on topicswe thought we knew, and enabled us tointeract with the course material in waysthat are meaningful and interesting to us(and hopefully the professors!)

From weekly responses to term papersand presentations, the group has been

Spotlight onReligious StudiesStudents

Kayla Hannan and Ashley Mantifel areboth fourth-year Religious Studies

majors. Enthused to be able to representthe Religious Studies’ student body, bothhave several exciting ideas to bring forthto the students this year. While planning a staff and student social as well as ReligiousStudies clothing they hope to encouragemore students to look into Religious Studiesas an invigorating and challenging educa-tional experience. Kayla and Ashley bothlook forward to interacting with the staffand students this year and would love anycomments or suggestions you may have.Please contact Kayla (kh3@queensu.ca)or Ashley (7amm1@queensu.ca).

hard at work, but we have still taken theopportunity to get to know each otheroutside of class. Whether it has been inthe TA offices watching funny YouTubevideos, to after-class coffee in the loungeand other ‘beverage-based’ extra-curricularactivities, the MA students have found waysto bond. These friendships mean we knowour peers are there for support, encour-agement and fun times when we needthem most. We are also extremely gratefulto the guidance from, and knowledge imparted by, our professors and the oppor-tunity for open, honest discussion. We arelooking forward to 2011 as a chance togrow in our relationships with each otherand in our learning. We recognize it won’tbe easy but we know we will have thesupport of the faculty, staff and friends as we continue our quest.

MA Class 2010-11: T Gallini, I Fanning, C Lyn-Piluso, S Murphy, E Eshun, J Paul, C MontgomeryAbsent: C Anthony

A Mantifel, K Hannan DSC co-chairs

4

Religion and Diversity ProjectPAMELA DICKEY YOUNG

Departmental Awards

My current research is all about diver-sity-religious diversity; sex and

gender diversity. The question of religiousdiversity has become an important andcontentious one in lots of places in theworld, including Canada. I have been veryfortunate this year to have gotten two dif-ferent research grants to work on projectsrelated to Religion and Diversity. The firstis the Religion and Diversity Project, a 7 year Social Sciences and HumanitiesResearch Council (SSHRC) funded MajorCollaborative Research Initiative (MCRI),hosted at the University of Ottawa. Thisproject brings together 36 team membersfrom 24 universities, with Lori G Beaman,University of Ottawa, as the ProjectDirector on this research initiative.(www.religionanddiversity.ca). 

The aim of this project is to address thefollowing question: What are the contours

of religious diversity in Canada and how can

we best respond to the opportunities and

challenges presented by religious diversity

in ways that promote a just and peaceful

society?

My work in this group is to lead asmaller cluster of scholars who are work-ing on why gender and sex are so oftenflashpoints in discussions of religious di-versity. One of the topics we are workingon concerns questions of religious diver-sity and religious violence.

The second grant extends the work of the first. I have received a SSHRCWorkshop grant to bring 15 exceptionalscholars from all over the globe to discuss“Sexual Diversity and Religious Diversity.”This Workshop, which will begin with apublic lecture on March 31, 2011, exploresquestions of sexuality in relation to reli-gion. This workshop will result in a bookfrom the papers presented.

Ali Velshi is currently the ChiefBusiness Correspondent for CNN.

He began his career in the media as a pro-ducer at Canada AM and from there hebecame a business anchor for Cable Pulse24 and sister station CITY TV in Toronto.Ali then moved to CFTO-TV where hewas a reporter. When Canada’s first primetime business news hour Report onBusiness launched, Ali hosted “TheBusiness News”. He joined CNNfn in NewYork in 2001 where he hosted various in-teractive shows, including Your Money,Business Unusual, Insights, Street Sweepand The Money Gang.

Currently, as one of the hosts of theweekly show CNN Newsroom, Ali con-nects news through finance, global issues,contemporary governance, education andbig ideas. On Saturday and Sunday he co-hosts the business program Your Money.

He also hosts the “Ali V” podcast.In January 2009 Ali’s first book Gimme

My Money Back: Your Guide to Beating the Financial Crisis was released. He also authored Get Rich, Sleep Well: MakingMoney in Good Times and Keeping it in Bad.His new book, Gimme My Future Back: The College Graduate’s Guide to Investing and Creating Wealth on Your First Day ofWork will be out soon.

In 2010 Velshi was honoured with aNational Headliner Award for Business & Consumer Reporting for his in-depthreporting for CNN’s “How The WheelsCame Off”. He also anchored CNN’sbreaking news coverage of the attemptedterror attack on a flight into Detroit, deliv-ering CNN’s worldwide newsgathering for which the network was nominated for a 2010 Emmy.

Joseph Gagliano was awarded the SMacLean Gilmour Prize and Departmental

Medal in Religious Studies as the topmostgraduating concentrator in ReligiousStudies for the academic year 2009-10.Joseph was also awarded the John Cook BookPrize for spring 2010. The recipient of thisaward is based on student participation/contribution to the RELS-353 class and isawarded based on student choice. Josephcompleted his four year degree in threeyears, was on the Dean’s list throughout hisstudies and graduated with Distinction. Heis now studying at the Yale Divinity School. Alumni Achievement Award 2010 Recipient

Ali Velshi, Artsci’94 (RELS)

Principal Daniel Woolf, Ali Velshi,QUAA President Heather Black

Stephen Wild

www.queensu.ca/religion 5

ELLEN GOLDBERG’SSABBATICAL LEAVE 2009-2010

Goldberg’s Current Research

Istarted my sabbatical by writing twopapers for the American Academy of

Religion (AAR) meeting in Montreal. Bothwere exceptionally well received by mycolleagues. “What Can Tantra Tell UsAbout Cognitive Science” (forthcoming,Indian Journal of Philosophy and Religion)applies Merlin Donald’s (Queen’s)research on “intermediate-term awareness”and David Lewis-Williams and DavidPearce’s understanding of the Neolithicmind as a starting point for dialoguebetween two disparate tradition’s viewson the nature of human consciousness. In “Swami K.rpalvānanda: The ManBehind Kripalu™ Yoga” (forthcoming,Religions of South Asia 4:1) I argue thatK.rpalvānanda’s semi-autobiographicalcommentary on the 15th centuryHa.thayogapradīpikā provides what MarkSingleton refers to as “the circularconstruction of authority” for aninternational community of monastic and lay practitioners of modern yoga.

Given my expertise in the field, I wasgranted a rare interview withK.rpalvānanda’s lay disciple Yogi AmritDesai (1932-) at his aśram in Florida for achapter I contributed to Lola Williamsonand Ann Gleig’s book titled HomegrownGurus: From Hinduism in America toAmerican Hinduism (forthcoming, SUNY). I apply Weber’s theory of charisma as aheuristic tool for understanding thedynamics of institution building that wesee operating in the life and work ofDesai. Although Desai has not receivedscholarly attention, he has arguably beenone of the most influential and soughtafter figures in the development ofha.thayoga in America in the last fortyyears. By all accounts, Desai’s KripaluCenter became the largest and mostwidely respected residential yoga center of its kind in America with 2008 revenuesestimated over 28 million dollars.

I also traveled to India during themonsoon (temperatures reached 43+) toconduct new research on Ardhanārīśvarafor a chapter in Jeanine Diller’s book titledModels of God (forthcoming, Springer).Besides museums and libraries, I spentthree days with Dr RamachandranNagaswamy who, at age 84, is consideredone of the greatest Indologists living inIndia today. Nagaswamy pointed me to anexplicit link in the Kri.s.na-Yajur Veda of theTaittirīya Sam

.hitā (c. 6th century BCE) that

identifies Agni, the god of fire, as both“the power that burns” as well as “thepower that gives life and illumination.” Inother words, Agni is portrayed as havingtwo bodies—a life giving body identifiedas feminine and creative and a destructivebody portrayed as masculine. Thus, the

.rsis’s representation of Agni as both maleand female provides an early textualaccount of the ardhanāri form well beforeiconographical images appear in theKusana period (c. 1st century CE). Whilein Delhi I was invited to present myresearch on Ardhanārīśvara at a scholarlyforum at the prestigious Habitat Center. Ialso submitted an article on Ardhanārīśvarafor the inaugural publication of “LiteraryDiscourses” (International Journal of Art andLiterature 2010 1:1, Indira Kala SangitVishwavidyalaya, Khairagarh, India).

Most importantly, I initiated a researchproject with Mark Singleton (University ofSanta Fe) called Gurus of Modern Yoga thatI am very excited about. Mark is a brilliantscholar who recently published The YogaBody: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice(Oxford UP, 2010). We are editing avolume by some of the most noted scholarsin the field including Joseph S. Alter,Gwilym Beckerlegge, Christopher Chapple,Meera Nanda, Frederick M. Smith, andLola Williamson, to mention only a few.The manuscript should be ready to go toOxford UP by the end of 2011.

6

Development News

Since our last official correspondence to you through our March 2010 Newsletter,many changes have come about for Queen’s School of Religion (QSR). As outlined

in full detail in our front page story, we are entering a very exciting time as we continue exploring a re-integration of the School of Religion into Queen’s University.

At the close of the fiscal year 2009-2010, QSR was overwhelming blessed by yourgenerous giving, and we experienced our most successful year of fundraising ever, receiving $630K in Annual Campaign and Designated gifts! Your generosity inspiredand motivated our fundraising team immensely. We are deeply grateful to you!

On May 7, 2010 we lost a significant “friend” of QSR, Dr Gordon C. Shaw. Dr Shaw, aformer professor of business at York University, and alumni of Queen’s University hadbeen a very faithful donor and active member of the School’s Board of Management formany years. Upon his passing he continued his commitment to us by leaving the School$175K. We miss Dr Shaw dearly, but his legacy gift has boosted our annual giving in ayear when we most need it.

With less than two months to go before our fiscal year end (April 30th), Queen’s

School of Religion is once again depending on you “our friends and donors” to reachour annual operation fundraising goal of $225K, with hopes that our total giving to QSR will at least match and hopefully exceed our 2009-2010 target of $630K. Your giftsare critical during this time, and will help launch us into an exciting future withinQueen’s University.

Outright gifts directed to our annual operational fundraising campaign are most important to our present day budget and future planning. QSR can receive donationsthrough cash, cheques, credit cards, and monthly bank debit plans. QSR is also able to accept gifts of publicly-traded securities by electronic transfer processing, thanks to our partnership with CIBC Wood Gundy and Queen’s University.

And we continue to encourage our alumni and friends to consider a charitablelegacy bequest to QSR by putting us in your will; purchasing a Charitable Gift annuity;or gifting QSR through a life insurance policy – all valuable donations that benefit QSR in the long-term, but are of little or no cost to you at the present time.

I would be thrilled to discuss all gift planning opportunities with you at any time.Please contact me at heather.cooke@queensu.ca or 613-533-2108, if you have any questions about Queen’s School of Religion and our development activities.

We are deeply grateful for all your gifts, as they continue to ensure a valuable futurefor Queen’s School of Religion, and our proud Queen’s Tradition. Your generosity to usdoes make a significant difference!

We are so grateful for all the gifts that have flowed into the School already this fiscalyear. Our total gifting to date is $462,767! With your support we hope to go well beyondthis amount before year end. We encourage you to remember to keep us on your list ofcharities that you support faithfully. Quality education in religious studies and theologyis very important in these times of change and we need your gifts, to continue to offer thevery finest education to our future leaders.

Please contact me anytime if you have any questions about Queen’s School of Religionand our development activities at heather.cooke@queensu.ca or 613.533.2108. I wouldbe so pleased to speak with you.

FROM THE DESK OFHEATHER COOKE

Executive Director (Advancement,

Finance, Operations)

www.queensu.ca/religion 7

Planned Giving provides a unique opportunity to arrangeyour future support for Queen’s School of Religion now bydesignating a future gift to the School through a variety oftax-deductible provisions available to you.

THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO MAKE A PLANNED GIFT. THE MOST COMMON METHODS ARE:

• a bequest by means of your Will

• a Charitable Gift Annuity

• a Gift through your Life Insurance policy

• a Charitable Trust

• a gift through your Retirement Fund, including proceedsfrom Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) orRegistered Retirement Income Funds (RRIFs)

• a Gift of Real Estate

Planned Giving

The unique aspect about PlannedGiving is that it does not create animmediate financial obligation orburden to you, but allows you toidentify the causes and institutionsthat are important now, so that youcan arrange to support them later byleaving a future lasting legacy withvirtually no cost to you during yourlifetime.

Alleslev, Jane

Ambury, Stephen

Andriesky, Wilda

Armagh L. Softon Charitable Foundation

Ascough, Richard

Atkinson, Wayne

Bailey, Clair

Baker, Allan

Bakker, Henry

Bannister, John

Bater, Robert

Bay of Quinte Conference

Bay of Quinte Conference UCW

Bayoumi, Mohamed

Beck, Helen

Beer, Mary

Bell, Claude

Bodkin, Ronald

Bodnaryk, Sharron

Boivin, Karen

Boone, Mary-Margaret

Broughton, Dawn

Brown, Cecil

DONORS MAY 1, 2009 – APRIL 30, 2010

(Annual Campaign and Designated Gifts Totaled $630,000)

Brown, John H.

Brown, Wilbert

Bryans, Alex & Elaine

Buchanan, Charles

Bulloch, Wendy

Bullock, Jerry

Burnside, Robert & Doris

Burton, Larry

Butler, George

Butler, Melvin

Buttars, John

“C” Links

Cable, Philip

The Calgary Foundation

Campling, Laura

Carter, Kenneth

Centenary United Church, Sharbot Lake

Chisholm, Helen

Clarke, Dawn

Cluett, Helen

Cook, David

Cook, Geoffrey

Cooke, Heather

Cooper, Don & Ann

Copeland, Brian

Crichton, Doug & Violet

Cronk, Bruce

Crouch, Tim

Crowston, Kathleen

Dawes, Peter

Deep River Community United Church

Den Haan, Joel

Dickey Young, Pam

Dillenbeck, Grant

Dillman, Paul

Dow Chemical Canada Inc.

Drew, Carol

Duncan, Gordon

Edith Rankin Memorial United Church

Edmondson, Frederick

Eric Baker Family Foundation

Faris, Peter

Fazio, Amanda

Finlay, Malcolm

Foster, Elizabeth

Fraikin, Dan continued on page 8

8

Francis, Maurice

Freeman, Mac

Frid, James

Frye, Christine

Fulcher, Victoria

Galway, Helen

Giesbrecht, Caroline

Gilbert, Susan

Glenburnie United Church

Goodwin, Barry

Goodwin, Margaret

Graber, William

Graham, Barbara

Grant, Judith

Gross, Christine

Gross, Gordon & Elizabeth

Hare, Frances

Harrison, Andrea

Hastings-Roseneath Pastoral Charge

Hawley, Morley

Hay, Eldon

Heo, Jeong

Hilliker, Wayne

Holmes, Pamela

Hospital, Cliff

Hutchinson, Bruce & Linda

The Incorporated Synod of the Diocese of Huron

The Incorporated Synod of the Diocese of Toronto

Ivany, Susan

Jackson, Robert

James, William

Johnson, Kathryn

Kenny, Audrey

Keyes, Ken

Kobes, Janeta

Lander, David

Lavery, George

Leary, James

Lemon, Elizabeth

Leslie, W. Donald

Linney, Grant

Lipsett, Camille

Little, Robert

Love, Fred

Lussier, Norman

Lutz, Theodore

MacDermaid, Anne

MacDonald, Iain & Lois Miller

Maclaren, Douglas

Maclean, Donald

MacLean, Jean

MacMartin, Marjory

Mainse, Linda

Mathers, Helen

Matheson, John

Maynooth-Madawaska Pastoral Charge

McAvoy, Hubert

McClure, Heather

McDonald, Ruth

McDowell, William

McGillivray, Jane

McKellar, Peter

McKinnon, Gayle

McKitrick, Sheila

McLay, David

McLenaghan, Paul

McLeod, Maurice

McRae, Rachel

McWilliams, Bob & Myra

Megginson, Marylil

Micklethwaite, Kenneth

Micklethwaite, Robert

Miller, James

Milliken, Peter

Mittler, Walter

Moon, Sharon

Morrow, William

Mumford, Coleen

Mundle, Garth

Murray, Ken

Ng, Wenh-In

Nicholls, Robert

Norman, Daniel

Onuch, Irene

Order of St. Lazarus

O’Shea, Cheryl

Parker, Jane

Parkin, Paul

Parrott, Barbara

Parsons, Donald

Paterson, Murray

Patterson, John & Thea

Paul, Gerald

Pelley, Yvonne

Perry, Douglas

Perry, William

Pickle, Bob & Pam

Podhy, Michelle

Pond, Robert

Potter, James

Powell, Kathryn

Presbytery of Hamilton

Presbytery of Waterloo

Preston, Denise

Pullman, Barbara

QTC Class of 2009

Quinn, Harold

Queen Street United Church

Queen’s Theological Student Society

Radway, Ruth

Reid, David

Richardson, Grant

Robinson, Jane

Ross, Bruce

Ross, Douglas

Sage, Kathy

Sanford, Heather

Schamerhorn, Edward

Schenell, Janet

Schubert, Cedric

Scott-Thomas, Elaine

Shantz, Eleanor

Shaw, Gordon

Shepherd, David

Shorten, Lloyd

Shorten, Robert

Sisters of Providence of St. Vincent de Paul

DONORS MAY 1, 2009 – APRIL 30, 2010

www.queensu.ca/religion 9

Spotlight on New TheologyStudents BARBARA EROCHINA is a recent transplant toKingston from Toronto. After finishing her BA(Hon) in Creative Writing and Philosophy atYork University, Barbara spent a year living ina L’Arche community before coming to Queen’s

School of Religion to pursue a Master ofDivinity. She now shares life with her belovedand their dog, and hopes to pursue non-tradi-tional forms of ministry, as well as possible ordination upon completing her studies.

JANA PARKS hails from New Brunswick whereshe completed an undergraduate degree inEnvironmental Studies, and Religious Studiesat Mount Allison University. After taking ayear off to travel and reflect on things (whileliving in British Columbia), she moved toKingston to attend Queen’s School of Religionwhere she is taking the 2 year Master ofDivinity. She feels called to ministry, butwhere in ministry, and ordained or not, shehas not discerned thus far.

ANITA JANSMAN says, “I am so fortunate to beenrolled in the MTS program on a part-timebasis and at the same time maintain a part-time position at Queen’s University. It’s a greatarrangement, offering me the best of bothworlds – intellectual stimulation and paid employment. I have a life-long interest in earlyChristianity and wish to explore my personaltheology. I hope to combine the knowledge I gain at Queen’s School of Religion with mybackground in communications. I can’t saywhere this will lead, but I have a feeling thatwherever I end up, it will be interesting andexciting!”

RYAN ROBINSON is originally from Minden,Ontario, and he just completed an undergrad-uate degree at Queen’s University in Computing(Cognitive Science specialization) in April 2010so he had already been living in Kingston forfour years before beginning the 24-monthMaster of Divinity program at Queen’s Schoolof Religion in September 2010. His future goalis some form of technological role within ministry, such as a Communications Pastor.

119TH ANNUAL THEOLOGY CONFERENCE

THE FUTURE OF MINISTRY IN THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA

17-18 October 2011

Queen’s School of ReligionQueen’s University at Kingston

Sponsored by the Theology andInterChurch InterFaith RelationsCommittee of The United Church of Canada in cooperation with Queen’s School of Religion

Registration Fee: $150

On-line information and registrationwill be available after 31 May 2011 at www.queensu.ca/religion or formore information contact ArlyceSchiebout, rvrls@hotmail.com

Skoutajan, Hanns

Sloan, Christine

Smith, Elaine

Smith, Mary

Smith, Paul

Smith-Merkley, Rodney

Smith-Young, Greg

Soble, Norma

Southee, Kathy

Sparling, William

Spencer, Cleon

Squire, Anne

Stairs, Jean

Stairs, Karl & Madeline

Stam, Keith

Staples, John

Stienburg, Malcolm

Strong, Whitman

Stroud, Miriam

St.-Andrew’s-by-the-Lake United Church

St. John’s United Church Foundation

St. Margaret’s United Church

St. Mark’s United Church, Corbyville

Swan, Peter

Sword, Ruth & David

Tabernacle UCW

Taylor, Gordon

Taylor, Robert

Teskey, George

Thompson, Tony

Thrasher, Brien

Tierney, Lee

Toller, George & Ruth

Tomlinson, Linda

Tompkins, Wayne

Tose, Stanley

Trafford, John

Trapnell, Margaret

Trothen, Tracy

Tucker, Elizabeth

Tudor, Betty

The United Church of Canada

United Way Ottawa

Ursuline Religious

Van Die, Marguerite

Vannest, Margaret

Vermette, Stephane

Vipond, Dorothy

von Boetticher, Walter

Vowles, Bruce

Watson, Lynn

Webster, Michael

Widdowson, Earith

Wilson, Jean

Wilson, Mervin

Winsor, David

Winton, Linda

Wright, Ruth

Wrightly, Norma

Wushke, Ralph

Young, John

Yourkevich, Daniel

Zion United Church, Apple Hill

10

TRACY TROTHEN

Greetings! It has been an exciting yearso far in Theology at Queen’s. We

have launched our new curriculum andare enjoying a wonderful group of enteringand returning students. It is alwaysinvigorating to witness the strength anddepth of a variety of vocational calls;God’s spirit enlivens us!

Amongst our theology community arethe first students to embark on the new24-month MDiv/BTh program. Facultydesigned this new method to deliver theMDiv/BTh programs motivated by concernfor both the church and students trainingfor ministry; the amount of time, disruption,and financial costs incurred by peoplereturning for a three-year postgraduatedegree plus a one year internship are oftentoo great. We wanted to provide anotheroption. With the United Church supportingus by working with our 24-month studentsto place an “internship experience” at theend of the degree, we have succeeded increating a degree program that can becompleted in two years by offering coursesthroughout the 12 month year. A strongbenefit of this model is that our studentswho are in other programs, including theMTS and regular part-time or full-timeMDiv/BTh also have the option of choosingfrom several courses offered between Mayand August.

Our 24-month program students expressenthusiasm and appreciation for this newdesign. Kevin celebrates the sense ofcommunity and the cost savings: “I initiallysigned up for financial reasons: one thegenerous bursary, and two a quicker reentryinto the workforce. … I think the thingthat has surprised me is the openness ofstudents to sharing their life experiences.…I would highly recommend Queen’s to

anyone contemplating ministry or anyreligious studies.” Jana points to churchrhythm and the generous bursaryassistance: “I chose the 24-month programfor several reasons. Mainly because itmade sense to me, because as a ministerone does not get to take a whole summeroff, so not having the summers off duringuniversity in preparation for that seemedlike it would be an important experience.The program being 24 months also workedwell with where my partner and I were at,and finally, having the program bursarymade it more realistic for me to be part ofthe program. … I am enjoying it a lot.”Ryan underscores the academic strengthsand, again, the significant financial support:“After picking Queen’s because of thestrong academics… as well as the automaticbursary… I chose the 24-month programlargely for financial as well as time reasons.” 

Our students in all of our theologyprograms – the MTS, the MTS in SpiritualCare, the MDiv and BTh, and ourCertificates — as well as those who cometo take a single course, create a broadcommunity of inquiry. Critical thinkingand a sound knowledge base are wellhoned in these halls and classrooms.

We benefit from the variety of peopleand their attendant diverse vocationalpaths in our theology programs. Thesepaths have included: further academicadvanced degree work, teaching, ministry,spiritual healthcare, a search for ways toweave a critically aware spiritualitythrough another vocation, spiritual carein the military, spiritual care in corrections,or a deepening of one’s sense of beingspiritually and in the world. Our diversityis rich and invites us continually into newworlds.

AcademicDirector’s Report Theology

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FOROUGH JAHANBAKHSH is on sabbatical leave from January-June 2011. After editing,The Expansion of Prophetic Experience: Essays on Historicity, Contingency and Plurality inReligion in 2009, she is now working on a new research project on the Theology ofIslamic Reform. Professor Jahanbakhsh was awarded an ATS Lilly Faculty Fellowship for2010-2011 valued at $ 30,000 (USD), and she will participate in the 2011 LillyConference on Theological Research in Pittsburgh in February 2011 to discuss hertheological research.

PAMELA DICKEY YOUNG’s latest publications include Women and Religious Traditions.2nd edition (edited with Leona Anderson). Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2010;“Taking Account of Religion in Canada: the Debates over Gay and Lesbian Marriage,”Studies in Religion /Sciences Religieuses39/3 (2010): 333-361; and “Neither Male norFemale: Christology beyond Dimorphism,” in From Logos to Christos: Essay in Christologyin Honour of Joanne McWilliam, eds Ellen Leonard and Kate Merriman. Waterloo: WilfridLaurier University Press, 2010, 181-196.

Professor Pamela Dickey Young was invited to give the lecture “Same-Sex Marriageand Religion in Canada: Beyond ‘Pelvic Orthodoxy’?” at Saint Thomas University,Fredericton, NB, October 19, 2010, and has received SSHRC funding including a SSHRC

Major Collaborative Research Initiative Grant. The Religion and Diversity Project (Co-applicant and executive member with Lori Beaman PI), April 2010-2017; $2,500,000.),and SSHRC Aid to Research Workshops and Conferences. Sexual Diversity and ReligiousDiversity, July 15, 2010-July 14, 2011; $18,977.

Earlier last year JAMES MILLER was invited to join a research group called CreativeResponses to Sustainability (www.ceres21.org) funded by the Norwegian government.As part of his research for them, Professor Miller travelled to China with MA studentJennifer Lemche to conduct fieldwork at two Daoist sites associated with the environ-mental movement. Professor Miller gave a report on this at a meeting of the researchgroup that was held at Stanford in late May 2010, and in June 2010 Jennifer Lemche andProfessor Miller travelled to Los Angeles to attend an international conference onDaoist studies, at which Professor Miller had organized a panel on Daoism and ecology.

In the fall of 2010 Professor Miller gave two invited lectures in the USA regarding hiswork on religion and ecology in China. One was the keynote lecture of the SouthernAtlantic States Association for Asian and African Studies, held at Furman University inGreenville, SC. The other was at global studies program of Appalachian State Universityin Boone, NC.

Later in the fall of 2010 Professor Miller travelled to Beijing to participate in two con-ferences, one on the topic of Traditional Chinese Culture and Ecological Civilization,the other on the topic of Spiritual Ecology, at Beijing Foreign Studies University. Whilein China, he also gave a lecture at Beijing Forestry University (in Chinese) about hiswork, and was invited to join a delegation of American scholars who gave presentationson Ecological Civilzation at the Tianjin Communist Party school, where the top leadersof the Tianjin municipal government are trained, and also the Bureau for Compilationand Translation, which is a high level think tank for the PRC Communist Party inBeijing.

On October 14, 2010, Professor Miller was elected a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society.

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KEEP IN TOUCH

We want to know where you areand what you are doing. If youwould like to receive yourNewsletter by email in future,please contact us at:

Queen’s School of ReligionTheological HallQueen’s UniversityKingston ON K7L 3N6

Tel: 613.533.2110Fax: 613.533.6879

qsr.office@queensu.ca

www.queensu.ca/religion

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JEAN STAIRS’ latest publication – a contribution to a book – is “Attending to the SacredDance: The Trinity in Ministry Leadership”, published in Three Ways of Grace: DrawingCloser to the Trinity, eds. Rob Fennell and Ross Lockhart, Toronto: UCPH, 2010.

IN MEMORIAMIt was with great sadness that the faculty and students of the Queen’s School of Religionand staff and volunteers with Correctional Services Canada said farewell to Rev. RODCARTER, who passed away in his sleep in May. In a moving service held at ChalmersUnited Church on June 18th, 2010, the diversity and wide impact of Rod’s relationshipsand professional experiences were recalled through stories, readings and songs Whilewe shall greatly miss Rod’s presence at QSR, his legacy will continue in the RestorativeJustice Program that was both his vision and his passion.

Rod’s very life was a testament to the ability of a person to change. Over the years hislife transformed from being an inmate at the Kingston Penitentiary to a respected leaderin the field of restorative justice education. Rod’s personal experiences, his ministryamong the First Nations, and his years as a Correctional Chaplain made him the idealperson to lead our internationally acclaimed restorative justice program. In 2009 Rodreceived the Alumni Achievement Award from the Queen’s School of Religion.

Rod’s personal touch had a great impact on those that he taught and knew. Kate Johnson,a Correctional Services Canada Chaplain, states: “Rod was a very important influence inmy life and vocation. Most recently I have been remembering his line ‘I find a little timeoff for bad behaviour very restorative.’ Since I can’t call him to ask a question any more,I have his picture in my office and, in addition to asking God what he wants of me, I occasionally ask myself what would Rod do?” It is clear that Rod’s influence will continuethrough the people who knew him.

Appointment of Interim Principal of Queen’sSchool of Religion

Queen’s School of Religion’s Board of Management is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Pamela Dickey Young as the Interim Principal/ Head of the

School of Religion for the period 1 June 2011 to 31 May 2012. During the period from17 January to 31 May 2011, Dr Pamela Dickey Young will hold the title of Principal/Head Elect so that she can participate in the Queen’s School of Religion’s integrationdiscussions with Queen’s University. This is important to facilitate a seamless transitioninto her position and to ensure that she has a full understanding of the integration dis-cussions.

On behalf of the Board of Management, I look forward to working with Dr DickeyYoung during this interim period and am confident that we will all benefit from her wisdom and administrative leadership.

Bruce Hutchinson,Chair, Board of Management

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