Friday, February 1:
Please pray today for Bob Sweetman as he gives a paper titled "Languishing in the Wild Spaces of Love: Plato's Alcibiades, Mechthild von Magdeburg and the Spectre of Amatory Risk" for the conference Medieval Women II sponsored by the Pontifical Institute for Mediaeval Studies and the University of St. Michael's College.
Monday, February 4 - Friday, February 8:
Please pray this week for our Educational Policy Committee and Academic Council as they meet this month to identify and articulate, with input from a wide range of stakeholders, a clear academic strategy for ICS,
As you know, February is tax receipt month! Please pray particularly for Harley Dekker and Vidya Williams as they lead the process of preparing the receipts for our donors and students. This is quite a time-consuming task and needs to be finished within the next two weeks. We ask for God’s sustaining grace for all involved.
The next module of Continuing Ed/ge, our continuing education program, begins this Thursday, February 7 at 6:45 in the ICS classroom at our new home in Knox College. Pray for Nik Ansell as he teaches this exciting new material.
CPRSE continues to explore 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 partnership through fruitful, innovative, and life-giving collaborations in 2019.
We are grateful for the success of the first stage of experimentation towards a radically affordable all-online MWS program: 19 students enrolled in our Biblical Foundations and 58 students enrolled in our Organized Religion course for Winter 2019. Please continue to pray for all those involved in the recruitment and admission of our new students.
Monday, February 11 - Friday, February 15:
Please pray this week and next for our Senior Members as they work to finish the grading of their students’ assignments from the Fall 18 courses by February 15. We ask God to bless them in this important work of mentoring and give them the space and energy to finish the task well. Please also pray for the successful recruitment of a large enough second cohort of students in this program to secure the sustainability of the program.
February is the month in which faculty evaluate applications of prospective students and make decisions about who will be accepted to study at ICS. We have received many more applications this year, for which we praise God, and we pray for wisdom for the faculty in their deliberations. Pray too for Elizabet, our Registrar, as she processes the applications and prepares the students’ admission files. This year we already have five MA applicants (three from King's) and two MWS applicants, and are expecting at least one PhD applicant.
Please give thanks for the pioneer cohort of students in ICS's new MA (Phil) in Educational Leadership program. Pray for these students and those who will be teaching the courses that it will be a fruitful and engaging learning experience for all.
Monday, February 18 - Friday, February 22:
Reading Week commences on Monday of this week. This is a welcome opportunity for Junior and Senior Members alike to bury their heads in their books, or digital equivalents, and to concentrate on their current research. May they find joy and creativity in their studies.
ICS/CPRSE is an active member of the Canadian Interfaith Conversation (CIC), Canada’s premier inter-religious dialogue network. In the context of this partnership, CPRSE has been actively involved in the planning of the 2019 Our Whole Society Conference, bringing together scholars, practitioners, and religious leaders. Please pray for the continued success of this important collaboration.
Please pray this week for Gideon Strauss as he prepares for and facilitates an ICS Your Next Five Years vocational discernment weekend retreat at ClearView Christian Reformed Church of Oakville, Ontario.
Monday, February 25 - Thursday, February 28:
Two of our PhD students, Samir Gassanov and Meg Giordano, have had their thesis proposals approved by ICS and VU supervisors alike and will be moving on this month to begin preparing for the Prethesis Exam which they both hope to take in late Spring or early Summer (June-ish). Samir proposes to write a thesis tentatively titled "Doing Justice to Property: What Augustinian Christians Can Learn from Medieval Mendicants and Modern Jurists.” Meg proposes to write a thesis tentatively titled "Crimes Against Personhood: A Thomistic Account of Personal Violence".
Recruitment for our third Undergraduate Workshop, titled “God and Politics: Religion and Public Life in the 21st Century,” is underway. Please pray for the workshop’s planning team as they continue to promote the event among prospective participants and supporters.
