Employment Opportunity at ICS: Advancement Assistant

ICS is hiring! We are looking to add an Advancement Assistant to our staff in the coming months. Reporting to the Director of Advancement, the Advancement Assistant will provide support in all aspects of fund development, with an emphasis on coordinating new and existing events, supporting the development of print and online fundraising materials, maintaining the donor management database, and recruitment and stewardship of new and current donors and students.

This is a part-time position with a start date of the beginning of July. For a full position description, please go to http://www.icscanada.edu/jobs, or email Patricia Webb, Director of Advancement at pwebb@icscanada.edu.

Ron Kuipers to Deliver Jay Newman Lecture at Canadian Theological Society

On June 1, Dr. Ronald A. Kuipers will be delivering the Jay Newman Lecture at this year's Canadian Theological Society virtual Congress of the Social Sciences and Humanities. Ron's lecture is entitled "Kind of Blue: Lamenting the Failures of Settler Christianity in a Twilight Civilization." 

The abstract reads as follows:

Amid the Black Lives Matter Movement and the ongoing struggle for the recognition of Indigenous rights, and in the wake of police murders of racialized minorities and state-sponsored cultural genocide, oppressed and marginalized groups are calling white Christians to reckon with the legacy of settler colonialism that continues to haunt their cherished religious traditions. As a settler Christian, I here share my first halting steps to undertake such a reckoning. It is a story about finally starting to listen, getting unsettled, and staying there. I have also found it to be a lament of sorts— a journey plunging me into a kind of blue that is perhaps different than the blues sung by those who have directly felt the immiseration and violence of colonialism’s oppressive legacy. It is, finally, a lament over the destructive “twilight civilization” (to use Cornel West’s phrase) this legacy has wrought—an unsustainable civilization which in a variety of ways dehumanizes everyone, whether we share the identity of the oppressor, the victim, or a mixture of both. Perhaps lament, then, is the spiritual practice settler Christians must first take up as we strive to work through and work free from our damaged past. That is, perhaps this reckoning calls settler Christians to perform a certain leave-taking before we may truly join our hearts and voices with those who seek to keep faith with all their fellow humans as well as the rest of God’s good Creation.

A full program for the Congress, including other presenters and presentation abstracts, can be found here on the CTS website.

ICS to Host 15th Annual Society for Ricoeur Studies Conference

We are pleased to announce that ICS will be hosting the 15th Annual Society for Ricoeur Studies Conference taking place October 7-9, 2021 on location at ICS in Toronto. If conditions related to the Covid-19 pandemic demand, the conference will take place online instead (an update with regard to the format of the conference will be posted sometime in June).

The conference will feature a keynote presentation by George H. Taylor (School of Law, University of Pittsburgh). It will also consist of presentations and panel discussions on topics related to the thought and influence (both inside and outside the discipline of philosophy) of Paul Ricoeur, potentially including reflections on themes of justice, responsibility, politics, religion, imagination, metaphor and aesthetics, and current events. 

Participation in the conference requires membership in the Society for Ricoeur Studies and payment of the conference fee. For non-presenters who would like to attend the conference but elect not to join the Society, a $10-$25 dollar donation to the Society's ongoing work is requested. Donations can be made online at: http://www.ricoeursociety.org/give-to-the-society/.

King's University Public Lecture Series Featuring ICS Alumni

The King's University will be hosting an online Spring Lecture Series via Zoom on Thursday evenings (7-8:30pm MST) throughout the months of May and June.

The theme for May's lectures is Theological Thoughts: Gratitude, Wisdom, Authenticity, and Followership. The first two lectures will take place on May 6 and 13, and will feature talks by two ICS alumni and King's faculty members Dr. Joshua Harris (PhD 2019) and Dr. Jeffrey Dudiak (PhD 1998). 

On May 6th, Dr. Harris will be presenting on the topic:“In All Things Give Thanks”: Cosmic Gratitude and Natural Theology. On May 13th, Dr. Dudiak will be presenting on the topic All is Vanity: The Wisdom of Ecclesiastes for Today with students from his "Biblical Wisdom in the Age of Science" course. 

You can register for these or any of the other lectures in the series here on King's website: https://www.kingsu.ca/research/public-lectures/events.

OTHER MAY LECTURES

May 20 – Mr. Ray Klassen
Title of Lecture: Hannah Arendt, Charles Taylor, and Christ Jesus: Authenticity in Times of Uncertainty

May 27th. Dr Robert Huizinga
Title: Following in the Footsteps of Jesus


JUNE LECTURES:

June 3: Dr Joanne Moyer
Title: Working for God and Sustainability: Tales from Two Continents

June 10- Dr. Brian Martin
Title: Astronomy and the Muse

Making the most of the time

Be careful then how you live, not as unwise people but as wise,

making the most of the time, because the days are evil.

—Ephesians 5:15-16

As I survey the 2020-21 academic year, I note how it will forever be remembered as the year that ICS—like so many other institutions of higher education—‘went online’, offering the entirety of our programs in distance mode so that we could both protect the health of our students and employees, and help curb the spread of the coronavirus in our community. Yet even as we give thanks for the twin blessings of resilience and creativity that have helped us meet the challenges of the pandemic, we enter its second year and its terrible third wave very much in agreement with Paul: “the days are evil.”

But notice that Paul does not only say that the days are evil. He says much more, even in these two short verses. He begins with the advice to live carefully and wisely, and in doing so, to “make the most of the time,” precisely because the days are evil. This juxtaposition is curious. What relationship does Paul see between our evil days and his advice to seize time through wise and careful living? If “the days” that mark our time are in fact evil, how then can we possibly make the most of them?

The answer to that last question can only be that the days are not irretrievably or irredeemably evil. On the contrary, as the gospel’s joyful message consistently promises and assures us, these evil days can be saved! They can be “made good'' precisely because God originally made them good. Indeed, the Greek word exagorazomenoi, which my NRSV translates as “making the most of,” is perhaps better translated as “redeeming” (buying back, or out of). Unlike the days, the time (kairon) is not simply or only evil, because it also harbours God’s possibility for redemption, for making all things, even evil things, good. As agents of God’s love, God empowers us to buy the time back so that evil will no longer consume our days.

This passage thus asks us to think more deeply about what it means to “make the most of the time.” More than simply asking us how much we managed to pack in or get done, it asks us to “rescue from loss” (another possible translation of exagorazomenoi) the potential for love, joy, and healing waiting to burst forth in every moment, even and especially when the days are evil. Are we shaping our lives with the care and wisdom that will orient us to seek God’s shalom? Do our lives incarnate that possibility right now? These are momentous yet also joyous questions, and we must never stop asking them.

Through your faithful and prayerful support of our work, you have willingly joined ICS students, faculty, and staff in our collective effort to answer these last questions with a resounding ‘Yes!’ Together, then, let’s continue to strive to make the most of the time!

Shalom, friends!

Ron Kuipers

Prayer Letter: May 2021

Monday, May 3 - Friday, May 7

We ask for your continued prayers for the Leadership Team as they work toward finalizing the draft 2021-22 budget for approval at the Board meeting at the end of May. Like last year, this is a complicated process as we try to assess the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on our revenue and expenses. We are grateful for God’s provision throughout last year, and we continue to pray for grace and insight as we endeavour to make the wisest possible stewardship decisions as we plan for the future.

On May 4th, ICS/CPRSE will join the Canadian Interfaith Conversation and the Manitoba Multifaith Council as they host “Free to Believe, Responsible to Act,” the 2021 online version of the biannual Our Whole Society conference. ICS President, Ron Kuipers has actively participated in the Steering Committee for this event. Please pray for the Steering Committee, as well as all those attending this conference, as they sustain and nourish this important dialogue across diverse cultural and religious groups.

Gideon Strauss will be a keynote presenter on May 5 at the Christian Labor Association of Canada (CLAC) annual Staff Council meeting alongside Anne Snyder (editor of Comment magazine) and John Van Sloten (a pastor and writer from Calgary, AB). Gideon’s topic will be The Cultivation of Character. Please pray for all those involved in this event, that their time spent together might be edifying.

On May 6th, ICS will host an Open House via Zoom for the MA-EL program from 4:00-5:00 pm EDT. Please pray for our two second-year students, Sara and Richard, who will help present the two different streams in the program, i.e. the Instructional Leadership Stream and the School Administration Stream. Paul Marcus, the Principal of Knox Christian School, will also share his experiences from the How To Finance A Vision course that was held this winter semester. Pray also for Gideon Strauss, Edith van der Boom and Elizabet Aras as they facilitate this event.

Please continue to pray for all those involved in the 2021 summer online learning program taking place May through August. Please pray for Gideon Strauss as he leads the academic program, for the staff involved in its administration and promotion, and for the faculty and students who will be teaching and taking the courses.

Monday, May 10 - Friday, May 14

Please pray this month for our Junior Members as they wrap up their course papers, with some also working on their theses. It is an intensive period, with diligence and focus required especially for those who are graduating. May God grant them clarity of mind and inspiration as they develop their insights in their writing projects. As May 28th is the submission deadline for outstanding coursework from the Winter 2021 semester, your prayers for our Junior Members would be most appreciated.

On May 12th, the Critical Faith team will record the last installment of the podcast series “The Wake of 2020.” This will be the last of six episodes dedicated to exploring the possibility of political judgment after 2020. We pray in thanksgiving for the production team and, especially, for the openness and insight of our invited guests, Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jonathan Hamilton-Diabo and Cheri DiNovo, who offered their time and reflections generously to our community.

We ask for prayer for our Academic Registrar, Elizabet Aras, who is currently on partial bed rest to recover from the persistent pain caused by physical fatigue that has haunted her for over a month now. She is slowly beginning to heal and hopes to be back on her feet soon but let’s pray that God, in his grace and mercy, will lay his healing hand on Elizabet, bless her with an extra measure of strength and patience and give wisdom to the doctors who are treating her. 

Monday, May 17 - Friday, May 21

On Monday, May 17th, the ICS Senate will convene for an all-day meeting via Zoom. This year’s meeting will have the special feature of a lunch segment where board members will join the senate members in a time of fellowship and getting to know one another. Please pray for wisdom and clarity of mind for the Chair and ICS Chancellor, Dr. Aron Reppmann, as he leads the sessions, and for all the external and internal senators as they consider the range of issues on the agenda concerning ICS’s academic programs. We also want to pray for both Gideon Strauss and Elizabet Aras, as there is a lot to oversee during the meeting, that all will go smoothly to ensure the meeting is as productive as possible.

From May 17 to 20, Citizens for Public Justice will host the “Seeking Justice Together” conference, an online gathering of justice-minded Canadian Christians. ICS/CPRSE is one of the event’s supporters, sponsoring a workshop on decolonization processes within faith communities, under the leadership of Decolonizing Christianity Canada and Kenosis. Please pray that this event may be an opportunity for growth and transformation of all participants. 

Please pray this week and next for all the preparations that need to be made by the staff, Leadership Team, and Board members for the upcoming Board meeting at the end of the month.

Monday, May 24 - Friday, May 28

On Wednesday, our online learning program will continue with Fashion Theology, taught by Robert Covolo. This is a two-week intensive course running every weekday, 1-3pm EDT from May 26 to June 8. This seminar is for anyone who has wondered how Christianity relates to fashion or has suspected there is more behind fashion than meets the eye. Participants will, among other things, serve as fellow pioneers in the emerging field of fashion theology—that is, the fascinating ways theology intersects with fashion’s social, aesthetic, linguistic, performative, narrative, ethical, etc., elements. Robert has just published a book and been interviewed many times on this topic, to which you can find links here: http://faculty.icscanada.edu/robert-covolo. For more information on this course, and the ones to come, go to: www.icscanadaedu/summer-courses. Please pray for wisdom and insight for the students participating in this course and for Robert as he teaches.

On Thursday evening, May 27th, and Friday, May 28th, the Board of Trustees will meet virtually with the Leadership Team. Please pray for grace and wisdom for our Chair, John Joosse, and all Board and Leadership Team members as they deliberate together on the various matters before them during these still uncertain times. We ask again for ease of use of the virtual meeting technology so that the times together go smoothly with little or no disruption.

Thursday, May 27th is the final class of the course The Soul of Soulless Conditions taught by our PhD candidate, Dean Dettlof. We give thanks for the students who participated in the course, and for Dean as he facilitated the discussions around the readings for this course. 

Monday, May 31

As we come to the last day of May, we want to express our gratitude to our supporters for all the ways you have supported us during this past year. We have been blessed by your encouraging notes and inspired by the way you have stood by us during a very difficult and unsettling year. May you experience Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians (ch. 3:16-21(NIV) in abundance: 

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.