Horizon College and Seminary in Saskatoon is a prime example of the time-honoured claim that nothing stays the same.

Originally established in Star City, Sask., in 1935 by the Pentecostal denomination as Bethel Bible Institute, the Bible school relocated to Avenue A in Saskatoon in 1937. Following a move to Jackson Avenue in the 1960s, it was renamed Central Pentecostal College. In 2007 it became Horizon College and Seminary.

In 2016, Horizon launched Horizon 8.0 and became a Canadian pioneer in adopting a system of competency-based Christian education.

Horizon president Jeromey Martini explains competency-based education (CBE) as one that bases its teaching curriculum on actual roles in society and then assesses students on their ability to perform those roles.
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Starting preparations for a Global Ecumenical Theological Institute (GETI) in the context of the 2018 World Mission Conference in Africa was a tangible result of a meeting of 20 ecumenical educators from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. They met from 22-24 May in Halle (Germany) at the invitation of the World Council of Churches project on Ecumenical Theological Education (WCC-ETE).

Together they discussed ways of networking to enhance ecumenical theological education, which include curriculum development, sharing of learning models and new forms of partnerships between theological institutions and churches.

The meeting was motivated by the need to strengthen ecumenical education so theological institutions do not become more inward-oriented. To make the cooperation concrete, the group agreed to start the process for the formation of a network of ecumenical educators by contributing to preparations for GETI, planned for March 2018 in close collaboration with the Commission on World Mission and Evangelism (CWME) and the Mission and Evangelism team of the World Council of Churches (WCC).
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A new Master of Divinity program at Trinity College is helping to prepare students for ordained or lay ministry in the Orthodox Church.

The post-graduate degree – the only one of its kind in Canada – is often a requirement for those seeking ordination in the Orthodox Church. Previously, students who wanted the degree had to travel to seminaries in the United States, usually a prohibitively expensive undertaking.

“It was really quite a barrier, so the opportunity we’ve been given here at Trinity College is amazing,” says the Rev. Fr. Geoffrey Ready, an Orthodox priest and director of the program. “It’s a great benefit to the Orthodox Church across Canada.”

Trinity College’s faculty of divinity has been offering courses in Orthodox Christianity for the past 10 years and the new degree, established last year, is an extension of that, says Fr. Ready. “We decided to take it to the next level,” he says.

Three students were enrolled in the program in its first year and Fr. Ready is hoping for up to 12 when the next school year begins in September. The degree includes courses in Biblical studies from an Orthodox perspective, liturgics and pastoral ministry.

The Rev. Canon David Neelands, dean of divinity, says the enhanced Orthodox curriculum and the new students it will attract will benefit the college. “I think it’s a great development,” he says. “It will benefit us and a new population.”
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The centenary celebration Sept. 24 of what is now known as the Montreal School of Theology will probably pass almost unnoticed, at a time when religion is often a topic of strife. But in its quiet way, the anniversary is also a reminder that religious strife and debate in Montreal, Quebec and the rest of Canada have been around for a while. The three theological seminaries on the McGill University campus — Presbyterian, United Church and Anglican — will be celebrating 100 years of what is now known as ecumenism, a word hardly anyone used in that sense a century ago. The celebration will be a modest affair. Presbyterian College, the (United Church) United Theological College and the (Anglican) Montreal Diocesan Theological College will have open house at their respective quarters on University St. between 3:15 and 4:15 p.m. And there will be worship at 4:30 down the street in the Heritage Chapel of what was known until 1972 as Divinity Hall, but is now McGill’s Birks Building. On Friday, a select group will ponder the future of theological education in Montreal.
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The Prairie Centre for Ecumenism’s Fall Workshop for Ecumenical Contacts will be held on Saturday, October 21, 2006 at St. Francis RC Church, Saskatoon (Willow St. & Melrose Ave.) from 9:00 a.m. – noon. Our theme is “After you say hello: going deeper in inter-church dialogue.”
Lots of people can generate some enthusiasm for ‘surface’ ecumenism (occasional potlucks, an annual joint service, etc.), but how do you move yourself and your church from polite greetings to meaningful, lasting engagement? This can be particularly challenging for lay people who operate at varying distances from the centres of power in their churches. Sharing enthusiasm and tested ideas with us will be the Rev. Dr. Jim Halmarson, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, who is serving with the Anglican parish of Christ Church, Saskatoon, and who also teaches at the Lutheran Theological Seminary.
The workshop forms part of the ongoing training and development of Ecumenical Contacts – people in parishes and congregations who accept the call to work for Christian unity and reconciliation – but it is open to anyone who is interested in the subject. Registration is from 8:30 am. There is no charge for the workshop (donations welcome). For further information call the PCE at 306-653-1633 or email pce [at] ecumenism [dot] net.
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The College of Emmanuel and St. Chad has signed a lease agreement with the Lutheran Theological Seminary (LTS) that will lead to sharing the LTS building for the next three years. Emmanuel-St. Chad is the Anglican college in the Saskatoon Theological Union (STU), in partnership with LTS and St. Andrew’s, the United Church college. For
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As Christian leaders in Saskatoon we are hearing with deep concern the report of the impending closure of the College of Emmanuel and St. Chad, the Anglican theological college in Saskatoon. Theological education on the University of Saskatchewan campus has been a beacon of hope for prairie communities through the cooperation of Anglican, Lutheran and
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