Dr. Gideon Strauss Named New ICS Academic Dean

Effective September 1, 2018, Dr. Gideon Strauss will assume the role of ICS Academic Dean, replacing Dr. Robert Sweetman, who served ICS ably and faithfully in this role for the past three years. Happy to have served ICS' academic administrative needs in this way, Bob is now also happy to bequeath this responsibility to Gideon, so that he can focus more intently on several research projects he has in development, including a book-length manuscript on Thomas Aquinas.

For, his part, Gideon is looking forward to serving ICS in this important leadership role, saying: “I am grateful for this opportunity to serve my colleagues at the Institute for Christian Studies, as together we seek to nourish the love of God, of wisdom, and of the craft of scholarship.”

To ensure a smooth transition, Bob will serve as Chair of ICS’ Academic Council for one more year, thus allowing ICS to maintain uninterrupted development of existing and new academic programs while Gideon gets up to speed on these files and forges relationships with our academic partners at The Toronto School of Theology, Knox College, and The King's University in Edmonton.

The ICS community expresses its gratitude and appreciation to Bob for his years of effective and selfless service in this role, and welcomes Gideon to ICS' Leadership Team. We are looking forward to the contributions that Gideon will make at this fecund moment in the life of ICS.

Register for Fall 2018 ICS Courses Today!

The course timetable for the 2018-2019 academic year is now available. Click here for more information on how to register for ICS courses!

New Book Featured at SPEP

Emeritus Senior Member Lambert Zuidervaart’s recent book on twentieth-century German philosophy will be featured in a book session at the next meeting of the Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy (SPEP), the largest society for continental philosophy in North America. Lambert wrote most of the book and discussed it in graduate seminars when he was teaching at ICS and the University of Toronto. Titled Truth in Husserl, Heidegger, and the Frankfurt School: Critical Retrieval (MIT Press, 2017), his innovative study engages with major figures in German philosophy to propose a new and transformative concept of truth. The book session will take place at 12:30 – 3:00 pm on October 18 as part of SPEP’s annual conference at The Pennsylvania State University. Two scholars—Professors Kathy Kiloh (OCAD University) and Marcia Morgan (Muhlenberg College)— will present papers about the book, and Lambert will respond to their papers and address questions from the audience.

Prayer Letter: August 2018

Wednesday, August 1 - Friday, August 3

Please pray this month for the renovations taking place at Knox College for ICS’ new home. Pray that all will go smoothly with the contractors so that the necessary work will be completed before we need to move in at the end of the month.

We ask for your prayers for Harley Dekker as he prepares for the auditors and the preparation of the year-end statements this month. Pray for strength and clarity for Harley as he prepares in the midst of the many other aspects of administration surrounding the move to Knox.

Monday, August 6 - Friday, August 10

We pray for Junior Member Grace Carhart as she and her fiancé, Schuyler Palls, prepare for their upcoming wedding. We pray for safe travels for them, their families, and guests; and that the Lord will bring them joy as they start their lives together in Toronto.

Please pray for our upcoming online auction in which we hope to be able to sell all the office furniture we will not be needing at Knox. We are using a company called MaxSold and they will be coming to photograph the items for sale on August 9. We ask for your prayers that the preparations and the auction itself will go well.

CPRSE continues to build on the “Currents in Reformational Thought” series, featuring the contributions of our current and emeriti faculty to our scholarly tradition. Currently, the CPRSE team is working on the final editing stages of a forthcoming festschrift on the work of Emeritus Senior Member, Lambert Zuidervaart. Please pray for those involved in editing, producing, and publishing this important series.

Monday, August 13 - Friday, August 17

We pray for Junior Members as they strive to balance the challenging demands of work, school, and life. We pray that they will find their work life-sustaining and life-giving, allowing them to flourish and to contribute to their communities of faith.

Currently, CPRSE is exploring new partnership possibilities with community organizations that share the spirit of inquiry and openness of ICS. Please pray that CPRSE is able to continue its history of partnership through collaborations that are fruitful and life-giving in the new academic year.

We pray for the various projects on which our Junior Members are working: theses, proposals, reading lists, dissertations, independent research, presentations, and coursework. We pray that the summer season be the opportunity for them to follow through on these projects and and that it brings renewed inspiration and vigour for the upcoming school year.
Monday, August 20 - Friday, August 24

Please pray this week for our Registrar, Elizabet Aras, as she prepares for registration and orientation, as well as the student retreat coming up in a few weeks. There are a myriad of details to take care of so we ask God for clarity and discernment in the planning and implementation of these important events at the start of our school year.

We ask for your prayers this week for our faculty and administrative staff as they prepare for the beginning of the school year in a couple of weeks. Pray that they will be encouraged, even in the midst of a lot of changes, by the work that they do. We ask for God’s grace and wisdom as they work together, and for keen discernment in meeting the opportunities and challenges facing ICS at this time. And give thanks to God for sending them to serve the Institute’s mission with commitment and dedication.

This week is our course registration deadline when students are supposed to have registered (and paid) for the courses they plan to take in the fall semester. Pray for our Registrar, Elizabet Aras, as she follows up the many loose ends that often emerge, so that the registration process will be a smooth one for our students.

Monday, August 27 - Friday, August 31

Please pray this week for our expected move to our new home at Knox College. We are looking forward to making our new space an enjoyable and productive environment to work and study. Pray for strength and wisdom to deal with the inevitable hiccups that will come our way as we take on this intensive undertaking.

As the fall season approaches, CPRSE is developing another year of programming, including existing research projects, institutional collaborations, and community outreach initiatives. We pray in thanksgiving for the contribution of CPRSE to the life of ICS community.

Next week we welcome our Junior Members, both returning and new. Please pray for all of them as they wrap up their summer projects, academic and otherwise, and settle back into the coming year’s routine. It is a joyous time, as we all start afresh as the ICS community, gathered here in Toronto.