Seminary Blog
The voice of the Seminary Community, with new articles each Friday written by Students, Faculty, and Friends.
Windows into the Bible
This week we would like to share with you, beautiful artwork by Jurocê Miranda, a Seminary student from Brazil. These wonderful drawings were made in the context of the “Bible Studies” course at the Seminary. They touch on two important topics that we have been covering this Trimester: the theme of Baptism and the story of Elijah the prophet.
“It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God”
In this longer piece, Daniil Kalinov, a student of the Seminary, reflects on the concept of fear in general and the notion of “Fear of God”. This essay is based on the short talk that Daniil gave in the affiliate community in Ottawa in October.
Writings from Image and Word Class
This fall, seminary students in Group II explored a way of looking at nature that prepares one for writing sermons. They looked at the ground, a plant and a candle. First, we observed what one can perceive with the senses, then the verbs, (the activities), then the being-ness of the object, what it might say if it could talk. Finally, in all these approaches, some gentle hints of the moral nature of the creator come to the fore, for the creator lives in the creations.
The Sickness of Sin and its Medicine - a peek into the classroom
Evil and suffering in the world are showing us something about our own evil and suffering, and there are two choices: either we perpetuate it or we try to heal that wound. The brokenness of the world can give meaning to our lives. It can become the invitation to acknowledge it, to name it, to sit with it. It gives an opportunity to come closer to the Christ, to trust and engage in heartfelt, real prayer. Prayer becomes a way to connect to Christ, to go beyond our own emotions and thoughts.
Ordinations in South America
The Christian Community in many regions has developed doorways into the residential seminary trainings in Canada and Germany. Similar to our Distance Learning Program, the Latin American Pro-Seminary began two years ago, meeting at first once a week online, and later three times a week online. South American lenker Telma Dave directed the course, but all of the South American priests taught in it. The four trimesters, spread over two years, culminated last April in a ten-day retreat where the eleven students gathered in-person to help prepare for the ordinations in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Reflecting on this culmination of her time in the Latin American Pro-Seminary, Gloria Connell, current student in the North American Seminary.
The Spiritual Odyssey
In this blog post, Christopher, one of the current Seminary students, shares from his biography and tells of his journey toward Seminary studies.
The Seminary Resumes On-Site
On September 3, the Seminary of the Christian Community in Toronto began another year with nine students, many of whom had waited many years to arrive due to many circumstances, including the recent travel restrictions. Students came from around the world, Peru, Chile, Brazil, the United States, Russia and the UK. The Seminary experience began with a moving Sacrament of Marriage conducted by Rev. Patrick Kennedy. This was a fitting beginning, as the overarching theme for this year's Seminary studies is Christ's redemptive deed on Golgotha and continued redemptive work in the sacraments.
Greek in the Seminary: Impressions
Studying Biblical Greek is an important part of the Seminary curriculum. It allows students to immerse themselves even more into the world of the New Testament and helps them find more tools to work with the Scriptures. In the Fall of 2021, an online introductory Seminary course in the New Testament Greek was attended by both Knowing Christ and Distance Learning students. It was taught by Daniil Kalinov, who has taken over this position from Rev. Matthias Giles.
In this blog post, you can read a few impressions of this course from the students.
The Journey of “Dying” and “Becoming” in a Process of Art
The Journey of “Dying” and “Becoming” in a Process of Art, Article posted by Silke Chatfield
Art classes with Regine Kurek are always very inspiring.
We have worked on individual paintings up until the Easter break, working with only one or two colours at the time. Slowly the third colour was added, exploring the Goethean colour wheel exercises. After the Easter break, Regine had something very different in mind for us. Rather than working on individual pieces, we were led into working on one large piece over a period of 5 weeks. This exercise was based on the “Seven Life Processes”…
The Beloved Community, May 30th to June 3rd, 2022
The Beloved Community 2022 Article posted by Silke Chatfield
The past week saw a very special event in the life of the Seminary. For the past three years there had been a series of talks on the theme of “Beloved Community”. Its tender roots started growing out of the worldwide Covid pandemic, a time when the people could no longer meet in person.
How does Community building happen when people are physically separated?
Ordinations 13th to 15th of May 2022
Ordinations 13th to 15th of May 2022 Article posted by Silke Chatfield
Last week we all came together to celebrate the Ordinations of four new priests.
What a truly inspiring event it was!
People from far and near gave their willing hands and time to prepare for this weekend, from sorting out accommodation to setting up tables and chairs. It was community building in action! Much was helped by the warm sunshine, the leaves and flowers that suddenly burst forth with vigour.
Make them holy—consecrated—with the truth: Christ’s Priestly Prayer
Links to the Seminary’s The Light in Every Thing Podcasts on Chapter 17 of John’s Gospel in the spirit of the Ordinations held May 14 - 15th, 2022
Episode 1 asks the following question: “What does it mean to be a Community of Christians within the wider world today?” Then, Episode 2 asks: “Who are we to be in this world as Christians?” Finally, Episode 3 asks the question: “How do we find true protection in this world?”
Ordinations May 14-15, 2022 Toronto, Canada
Preparations are under way for the Ordinations, May 14 - 15th, 2022
The altar and Sunday point to the central Christian Sacrament, the Communion. This sacrament, as all inner striving and endeavours in this spirit, contains the continuing mystery of Christ and the Sun, working into the future; that is how it seeks entry to the inner being of Christians.
Rudolf Frieling
from The Hope of the World, Floris Books
The Priesthood of the I: An Interview with Rev. Jonah Evans
Article offered by Janna de Vries of an interview with Rev. Jonah Evans preceded by an introduction by Daniil Kalinov
Could you share something about this imagination; what does the North American Seminary strive for in the development of a priest-to-be?
Our main impulse for the seminary is to help cultivate in the students a conscious, free, heartfelt, prayer-filled relationship with Christ Jesus. This being is the god of the human ‘I’, he carries our true I in himself, and when he comes close, he speaks: “I am your true I and I bestow it on you when we have a relationship.” We work with questions like, “How can I begin to find my truest self in him?” And then, “How can I start to find that at the altar?” and then, from the altar, “How can I turn and try to find that in you?” We need human beings that can be priests in the priesthood of the I, the new mystery.
Notes from the Seminary: Chapel Anniversary, Holy Week, Good Friday Workshop on Jonah’s Sign
Article by Marc Delannoy
On Palm Sunday, April 10th, 2022, the 20th Anniversary of the Chapel of the Congregation of the Christian Community in Toronto was celebrated. I am sad not to have been present but am very pleased to see the photos displayed in the foyer and the book produced for the occasion.
Interestingly, I see in many photos my home congregation’s priest, Rev. Susan Locey. Year after year, month after month, she has been so steadfastly coming to my home congregation in Ottawa by making the five-hour drive from Toronto to offer my tiny affiliate community the Act of Consecration. What wonder to see how Susan was so instrumental in bringing about the building of the Toronto chapel for the local congregation!
On War, Hate and Violence
Article written by Daniil Kalinov
There are many works of art that can be called “anti-war”. It seems that every major conflict in the 20th century brought together with it a host of films, books, poems and musical pieces that would like to help digest such a traumatic experience. Their goal is to understand why such a terrible event could happen, how could we make meaning of it, and what can be done so that it doesn’t repeat itself. And, as the current events show, we still have a long way to go before we can reach satisfactory answers to such questions. So, in this essay, I would like to share my thoughts on these topics, starting with one particular “anti-war” film. This film is “Come and See” by Elem Klimov. It depicts, in an almost hyperrealistic style, the atrocities that have happened to the civilians in Belarus under Nazi occupation. And at first it can seem that this is what the film aims to do: to simply confront the viewer with the reality of these events. However, what reveals the true genius of the director is the final scene which goes far beyond recreating the events in a documentary fashion. And this scene is what I would like to zero in on.
“What does love look like on Zoom?”
Article written by Claudia Pfiffner
What does love look like in our thinking, feeling, and willing?
This question came up at the end of Rev. Patrick Kennedy's presentation on the Trinity Epistle during a "Living with Christ" class.
I reflected upon this question and what came to mind is the current situation of considering whether to move from online back to in-person meetings.
Zoom meetings have become so familiar to us…
Chronos and Kairos
by Claire Jerram
As a Waldorf teacher in the early grades, I often wished for more time to prepare for the many hours with the students. My colleagues in the middle school complained of the opposite problem: enough time to prepare, but too little time with the students. Yet even they had two hours a day. Compared with a teacher, a priest may not spend two hours with a congregant in the space of several weeks.