What other courses and events has the Renison Institute of Ministry offered?
Renison Institute of Ministry offers a variety of courses and events each year (see current offerings), but there are other courses, not currently being offered, we want you to know about!
Let us know which ones you'd like to be offered next.
Don't see a course you are looking for? Let us know and we'll see if it is possible!
Course Quick Finder
Course Descriptions and Information for other RIM courses
Great instructor made the course come alive; Eric has a passion for teaching and I learned a tremendous amount of history.
- Past Student
Course description:
-
examines the origins of Anglicanism in pre-Reformation England.
- looks at the Reformation and our protestant heritage.
- considers how the Anglican church has evolved, theologically and structurally, since the Reformation to its present state.
- participants will experience examples of the changing historical practices of the Eucharist.
Recommended texts:
The Study of Anglicanism, Revised Edition, edited by Stephen Sykes, John Booty, and Jonathan Knight, (London: SPCK & Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1998) ISBN 0-8006-3151-X.
If you wish to begin reading prior to the first session, you may read John Jewell's Sermon at St. Paul's Cross, 1560, especially pages 21 to 23.
Additional reading material will be assigned throughout the course.
Instructor: The Rev'd Dr. Eric Griffin
Cost: $250
Completion of the Anglican Church History Course is required for the Certificate in Christian Studies.
It can also be taken for credit for the Licentiate in Theology (LTh) program offered in partnership with Huron University College; an additional $85 fee applies.
Biblical Storytelling (half-course)
Course description:
Learning and telling Biblical stories by heart is an ancient-future art and transformational process for the tellers and for the hearers. This half-course is for everyone who wants to connect with God and others through sacred story - for personal growth, in preaching, in ministry with children, and so much more!
Instructor: The Rev'd Canon Susan Wilson
Cost: $130
About the presenter: The Reverend Canon Susan Wilson has been Incumbent of All Saints Anglican Church in Erin since 2010. She holds a Biblical Storytelling Certificate from the Academy for Biblical Storytelling, and is a sought after workshop and retreat leader.
Completion of the Biblical Storytelling Course can fulfil one-half of the optional course requirement for the Certificate in Christian Studies.
Exploring Ministry Workshop Series
Workshop descriptions:
Journey with others as you explore together ways in which God invites you to serve God and others. You will meet together over three Saturdays to worship, listen, study, reflect, pray and engage with each other. Our goal is to assist those sensing a call to ministry to get a better handle on where God might be leading.
1. Laying the groundwork: Foundational issues in discernment.
- Explore the distinctiveness and interrelationships of the four orders of ministry in the church, and examine some of the spiritual practices of the Church as a servant community of word and sacrament.
2. Called, gifted, sent by the spirit: Discerning your servant role.
- Reflect on your response to how God has called and gifted you for ministry, and become acquainted with tools for discerning call in community
3. Walking in newness of life: Ministry as an expression of the baptismal covenant
- Engage in a panel discussion with a lay person, deacon, and priest about different ways of living out one’s baptismal promises.
The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet. ― Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A theological ABC
Leaders: The Rev'd Dr. Timothy Dobbin and Canon Marilyn Malton
Cost: $130. Individual workshops $30/person or $100 for a congregational group for up to 5 people
Completion of the Exploring Ministry Workshop Series can fulfil half the optional course requirement for the Certificate in Christian Studies.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: An Introduction to his Life and Thought
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) is one of the most prominent and contested modern theologians. His courageous involvement in the German resistance to Hitler and consequent execution, combined with the penetrating insight of his writings have contributed to a widespread and sustained interest in his work. This course will give some attention to Bonhoeffer’s life, including his visits to America, his leadership in the Confessing Church, and his anti-Nazi activities in wartime Germany. The greater part of the course will be devoted to an appreciation of Bonhoeffer’s theology through selective reading of certain primary texts.
Required Text: The Bonhoeffer Reader. Edited by Clifford J. Green and Michael P. DeJonge. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013
Cost: $250
Instructor: The Rev'd Dr. Patrick Patterson
Completion of the Bonhoeffer Course can fulfil the optional course requirement for the Certificate in Christian Studies.
It can also be taken for credit for the Licentiate in Theology (LTh) program offered in partnership with Huron University College; an additional $85 fee applies.
Harry Potter and God: Love and Lumos
"This course was a wonderful experience! Very enlightening! Relaxed, good humour, great technology."
- Past Student
Course Description:
Are there connections between the Harry Potter books and movies and God? Come join the conversation. Here are a few questions to get you started!
- What do stories about sorcery and stories from the bible have to say to each other?
- Are Harry's adventures a Christ-like journey?
- What do the Harry Potter stories have to say about:
- the conflict between good and evil?
- the mystery of death?
- the dark night of the soul?
-
your questions?
This course will explore the common ground between the Harry Potter series and the theological foundations of the Christian faith. We will discuss subjects like Platform 9 ¾ and the leap of faith, Dobby’s sock and salvation, free will and the Sorting Hat, Harry Potter as a Christ figure, the universal struggle between good and evil, and the redemptive power of love.
Instructor: The Rev'd Victor Kischak
Cost: $250
Completion of the Harry Potter course can fulfil the optional course requirement for the Certificate in Christian Studies.
Introduction to Christian Ethics
Course description:
How are faith and the moral life related to each other? What does it mean for us to make ethical and moral judgments informed by the Gospel? Are there non-negotiable ethical convictions? What place is there for diversity of opinion and practice in the moral realm? How does the biblical text inform moral judgment and action? What is the status of natural law and conscience for the moral life? How do the practices of the church influence the moral life?
These are just some of the questions which the course will address. Taking into account the history, theology, and practice of Christian ethics, attention will also be given to particular and current moral issues.
Required texts:
Christian Ethics: A Brief History, Michael Banner, Wiley-Blackwell, 2009
New Dictionary of Christian Ethics & Pastoral Theology, editors: David Atkinson, David Field, Arthur Holmes, Oliver O’Donovan, Inter Varsity Press, 1995
Instructor: The Rev'd Dr. Patrick Patterson
Cost: $250, HST included
Completion of the Christian Ethics Course can fulfil the optional course requirement for the Certificate in Christian Studies.
It can also be taken for credit for the Licentiate in Theology (LTh) program offered in partnership with Huron University College; an additional $85 fee applies.
Course description:
How has Jesus been understood through the ages? Both his divinity and humanity and his saving work?
Time travel with representative writers from the New Testament, 4th and 11th centuries, Reformation, and Modern periods.
- Gospel of John (New Testament)
- Athanasius and Anselm (4th and 11th Centuries)
- Luther (Reformation)
- Barth, Sobrino, Reuther (Modern)
Required texts:
- The Holy Bible
Instructor: Mr. Jeremy Frost
Cost: $250
About the instructor: Jeremy Frost is a PhD Candidate at McMaster University. We are delighted to welcome him as an instructor this year with the Renison Institute of Ministry.
Completion of the Jesus through the ages Course can fulfil the optional course requirement for the Certificate in Christian Studies.
It can also be taken for credit for the Licentiate in Theology (LTh) program offered in partnership with Huron University College; an additional $85 fee applies.
Workshop description:
All three workshops emphasize a faith-based model of servant leadership that encourages gift discernment and leadership development of oneself and others. Take a single workshop or two, or enrol in the series.
1. Skills for working with people in groups.
- Increase your understanding of group dynamics and development; develop skills for being a more effective group leader and member; and hone your skills for leading effective meetings.
2. Planning as a discernment process.
- Planning is a way to get from “here to there”. This workshop will help you acquire tools and develop a listening heart to assess where “here” is and to hear “where” God might be calling you or your group to travel. You will also develop skills for the journey such as setting goals, making and implementing action plans, evaluating actions taken, and involving other people in the process.
3. Conflict awareness and resolution.
- Conflict is inevitable, but it doesn't have to escalate. Learn to recognize stages of conflict, how to help avoid unnecessary conflict, and resolve disagreements before they turn into hostile disputes.
Instructors: Marilyn Malton and Rev'd Deacon Karen Kovats
Cost: TBD
Completion of the Leadership Development Workshop Series counts as an optional ½ credit toward a Certificate in Christian Studies.
Course description:
This 1/2 course consists of a series of one-day workshops on the topics outlined below. Participation in three workshops/conference will give participants a 1/2 course credit toward a Certificate in Christian Studies.
- Lectors and intercessors
- Music for small congregations
-
You'll sing sing hymns and songs in a variety of forms and styles, and consider how each one contributes something distinctive to the expression and formation of congregational faith. Resources will focus on what is doable in small congregations. A workshop for clergy, musicians, and folks in the pews.
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- Lay eucharistic ministers
- Reflection and practical skill development for those who assist at celebrations of the Eucharist or share the sacrament with members of the congregation who are unable to attend public celebrations due to illness or infirmity.
Required texts:
Handouts from instructors
Instructors:
- TBD
- Dr. Ken Hull, Associate Professor of Music; Chair of Music Departmen; Director, Institute for Worship and the Arts (Conrad Grebel University College).
- The Very Rev'd Peter Wall, Dean of the Diocese of Niagara
Cost: TBD
Liturgy: How and Why We Worship
Course description:
Deepen your understanding of the nature, history, and practice of Christian worship and liturgy, with an emphasis on the Anglican tradition. Learn more about the elements of liturgy and how they can be combined to craft creative and meaningful worship for a variety of contexts and develop some practical skills for leadership or participation in liturgy.
Required and recommended texts:
- The Book of Common Prayer (1962) and The Book of Alternative Services (both can be downloaded as a pdf at anglican.ca)
- Make Preparation: Liturgy Planning Notes by Paul Gibson (available as a pdf at anglican.ca)
- Celebrating the Eucharist: A Practical Ceremonial Guide for Clergy and Other Liturgical Ministers by Patrick Malloy, 2007 (Paperback 2011): Church Pub Inc
- Evangelical Lutheran Worship (optional)
Instructor: The Ven. Tanya Phibbs
Cost: $250
Completion of the Jesus through the ages Course can fulfil the optional course requirement for the Certificate in Christian Studies.
It can also be taken for credit for the Licentiate in Theology (LTh) program offered in partnership with Huron University College; an additional $85 fee applies.
Mysticism: the People, the Experience, the Theology
Course description:
- the people - historical, biographical survey
- the experience - forms of mystical experience (e.g., ecstatic utterance, visions, poetry, song, music, sacraments) and mystical practice (e.g., fasting, solitude, chanting, prayer)
- the theology - the meaning of mystical experience and vision, including what is the relationship between the Church and the mystic
Come explore the challenges mystics and their experiences present to Church practice and community.
This course is a wonderful complement to the Spiritual Practice as Life-giving Pathway course offered in 2017 (you'll meet some of the same historical people but the focus is different). Didn't take the Spiritual Practice course? No problem! The Mysticism course stands on its own.
Instructor: Mr. Jeremy Frost
Cost: $250
About the instructor: Jeremy Frost is a PhD Candidate at McMaster University. We are delighted to welcome him as an instructor this year with the Renison Institute of Ministry.
Completion of the Mysticism Course can fulfil the optional course requirement for the Certificate in Christian Studies.
It can also be taken for credit for the Licentiate in Theology (LTh) program offered in partnership with Huron University College; an additional $85 fee applies.
Course description:
- A recommended, but not required, prerequisite is the Old Testament Course offered by the Renison Institute of Ministry or its equivalent.
- Participants will explore the major genres of Christian Scripture, in particular the Synoptic Gospels, the Gospel of John, the Pauline Letters, and the Revelation to St. John.
- The course will also feature some discussion of the figure of Jesus by theologians D. Crossan, M. Borg, and N.T. Wright.
Required text:
Introducing the New Testament, 3rd edition by John Drane
Fortress Press, 2010. ISBN: 9780800697501
Recommended text:
Oxford Annotated Study Bible (NRSV)
Instructor: The Rev'd Victor Kishak
Cost: $250
Completion of the New Testament Course is required for the Certificate in Christian Studies.
It can also be taken for credit for the Licentiate in Theology (LTh) program offered in partnership with Huron University College; an additional $85 fee applies.
Victor always does an excellent job. Seeing his name as an instructor is a high recommendation for a course.
- Past Student
Course description:
-
explore the major themes of Hebrew Scripture as reflected in the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings.
- you are encouraged to read selected portions of Scripture between sessions and be prepared to discuss assigned passages.
- combination of lecture and discussion, utilizing the Hebrew concept of Midrash to interpret passages of particular interest.
- further explore the Dead Sea Scrolls and the value of Hebrew Scripture for Christians.
Required text:
Reading the Old Testament by Lawrence Boadt, Paulist Press, 1984, ISBN-13: 978-0-8091-2631-6
Recommended texts:
Berlin, Adele & Marc Zvi Brettler, ed., The Jewish Study Bible, Tanakh Translation (Oxford University Press, 2004) ISBN 0-19-529751-2 or Harper Collins Study Bible (NRSV) ISBN 13 978-0-06-078685-4
Instructor: The Rev'd Victor Kischak
Cost: $250
Completion of the Old Testament Course is required for the Certificate in Christian Studies.
It can also be taken for credit for the Licentiate in Theology (LTh) program offered in partnership with Huron University College; an additional $85 fee applies.
Pastoral Care: Cultivating a Caring Community
Course description:
-
shared learning experience designed for lay people and deacons.
- learn how to practise and develop community pastoral care in a parish setting.
- explore the theological underpinnings of pastoral care, and cultivate the gifts and skills of listening, prayer, using Scripture, reflecting theologically and building a supportive community.
Required text(s):
Pray without Ceasing - Revitalizing Pastoral Care by Deborah van Deusen Hunsinger, Eerdmans, 2006, ISBN-13: 978-0-0828-4759-1
Instructors: The Rev'd Dr. Tim Dobbin and Ms Sandy Jardine
Cost: $250
Completion of the Pastoral Care: Cultivating a Caring Community course can fulfil the optional course requirement for the Certificate in Christian Studies.
It can also be taken for credit for the Licentiate in Theology (LTh) program offered in partnership with Huron University College; an additional $85 fee applies.
Course description:
-
learn principles for interpreting Scripture and communicating its meaning for today.
- each participant will have the opportunity to write and deliver a sermon in a supportive setting.
Required texts:
Carmine Gallo, "Talk Like TED: The 9 public-speaking secrets of the world's top minds." New York: St. Martin's Press, 2014. ISBN: 978-1-250-04112-8 (hardcover) or ISBN: 1-4668-3727-0 (e-book).
Instructor: The Rev'd Victor Kischak
Cost: $130
Completion of the Preaching Course can fulfil one-half the optional course requirement for the Certificate in Christian Studies.
It can also be taken for credit for the Licentiate in Theology (LTh) program offered in partnership with Huron University College; an additional $85 fee applies.
Spiritual Practice as Life-giving Pathway
"Is there life after death?" a disciple once asked a Holy One. And the Holy One answered, "The great spiritual question of life is not 'Is there life after death?' The great spiritual question for the Christian is, 'Is there life before death?'"
Course description:
Explore the life-giving pathways of a variety of Christian spiritual traditions.
Travel through the centuries with spiritual teachers beginning with St. Paul and the desert traditions and consider ideas such as the spirituality of resistance.
As part of their journey with the deep wisdoms of the Christian tradition, participants will have the opportunity to develop a "rule of life", imagining a rhythm of life-giving spiritual practices for their own lives.
Course outline including readings
Instructor: The Rev'd Dr. Wendy Fletcher
Cost: $250
About the instructor: The Reverend Dr. Wendy Fletcher is a theologian and historian currently serving as the President of Renison University College.
Completion of the Spiritual Practice as Life-giving Pathway Course can fulfil the optional course requirement for the Certificate in Christian Studies.
It can also be taken for credit for the Licentiate in Theology (LTh) program offered in partnership with Huron University College; an additional $85 fee applies.
Course description:
You'll address six questions - but they are large ones!
- What is Christian theology?
- By what authority do we do theology?
- Who is God?
- Who is God's covenant partner?
- What has God done for us?
- Who and how is God with us?
This course assumes previous study - either Renison Institute of Ministry's Introduction to Theology or an equivalent.
Required texts:
Cambridge Companion to Christian Doctrine, ed., Colin Gunton, Cambridge University Press, 1997
Dogmatics in Outline, Karl Barth, Harper Torchbooks, 1959
Instructor: The Rev'd Dr. Patrick Patterson
Cost: $250
Completion of the Theology 2 Course can fulfil the optional course requirement for the Certificate in Christian Studies.
It can also be taken for credit for the Licentiate in Theology (LTh) program offered in partnership with Huron University College; an additional $85 fee applies.
Course description:
"It is truth which we must look for in God's Word not cleverness. All Scripture ought to be read in the spirit in which it was written. from The Imitation of Christ.
A theological course about:
- what the Bible is
- the justification of calling it “the Word of God”
- how “authority,” “inspiration” and “infallibility” are understood
- the theology implied by the Canon of Scripture and in different lectionaries
- how Christians have used the Bible in the past 20 centuries
This is different from Scripture studies (see the Old Testament and New Testament courses) which examine the content of the Bible, what’s in it, how we got it, and how it has been interpreted.
You'll have a chance to make a brief presentation along with a brief written report but don't worry - this work won't be marked and the instructor will help by recommending readings, etc. Themes could include historical/critical method, inspiration, proof-texting, hermeneutics, infallibility, translations, or another topic you would like to learn more about.
Required texts:
The Bible Tells Me So: Why Defending Scripture Has Made Us Unable to Read It by Peter Enns. (New York: HarperCollins), 2014. Available as a hardcover, paperback, or ebook, (ISBN: 9780062272027, ISBN 10: 0062272020).
Recommended texts:
Opening the Bible by Thomas Merton, ISBN-13: 9780814604083 or ISBN: 0814604080
Instructor: The Rev'd Dr. Eric Griffin
Cost: $250
Completion of this course can fulfill the optional course requirement for the Certificate in Christian Studies.
It can also be taken for credit for the Licentiate in Theology (LTh) program offered in partnership with Huron University College; an additional $85 fee applies.
"A friendly study of the world's religions is a sacred duty." - Mahatma Gandhi
Course Description:
Learn more about the similarities and differences in the ways humans understand and express religious worldviews.
You’ll do this by becoming more familiar with several world religions and how they developed in their historical and cultural contexts, as well as some recently emerging religions. Readings will be taken from a number of primary and secondary sources, including selections from sacred texts.
You’ll also discover ways we have historically studied religion, how that might be different from a theological approach, and some new trends in the academic approach to the subject.
Required and recommended texts:
Willoughby Deming, Understanding the Religions of the World: An Introduction, 2013.
Instructor: Jeremy Frost
Cost: $250
Completion of the World Religions Course can fulfil the optional course requirement for the Certificate in Christian Studies.
It can also be taken for credit for the Licentiate in Theology (LTh) program offered in partnership with Huron University College; an additional $85 fee applies.
Past Events Quick Finder
Past event descriptions
Following Jesus Together as Anglicans and Mennonites: Kimchi Workshop
Imagine the church as a jar of kimchi (some Canadians think of kimchi as a Korean sauerkraut). What if we spend a day as a group of Anglicans and Mennonites making kimchi, and exploring what it means to live as Christians who are as different from one another as cabbage is to garlic? This workshop involves making kimchi (no experience required) interspersed with prayer, learning activities, and discussions about how to understand and embrace diversity. How can we follow Jesus when we follow His teachings with such variety? How can Christians live in unity even while they worship and believe in many different ways? At the national level, Anglican and Mennonite theologians are engaged in an ongoing dialogue. Meanwhile, at the local level, this workshop will bring participants together in two churches across the street from each other – starting in one church and finishing in the other. A day for kimchi-making and community-making!
Leader: Pastor Pablo Hyung Jin Kim Sun
Locations: Church of the Holy Saviour (33 Allen St. E., Waterloo) and Waterloo-Kitchener United Mennonite Church (15 George St., Waterloo)
Cost: $10
Offered in partnership with Anabaptist Learning Workshop.
Mary the Mother of Jesus Workshop
"A fantastic workshop. The time passed in a blink of an eye because of the engaging, knowledgeable and passionate leadership of The Rev’d Dr. Eric Griffin."
- Past Participant
Many Christians, often at Christmastime, become uncomfortable when thinking about Mary the Mother of Jesus. Non Catholics or non-Orthodox especially are often left puzzled by those who have great devotion to her. Whether one calls her Our Lady, Mother of God, Queen of Heaven, Blessed Mary Ever Virgin or Ever Blessed Virgin Mary, her reply to the Angel “I am the servant of the Lord, let it be to me according to what you have said” is nevertheless the pattern for all Christian life and discipleship.
This workshop will present the Scriptural witness to Mary, the theological significance of how she is presented, and in what ways the “virgin birth” is an article of faith. We will discuss how the teaching of the Church developed and diverged over the centuries, and examine topics such as:
- the Immaculate Conception
- the Virginal Conception of Christ
- Mary’s Perpetual Virginity
- and titles such as “Theotokos,” Mediatrix of all Graces, and Co-Redemptrix.
Questions, discussion, devotion and scepticism are all welcome.
Participants may prepare by:
- learning the second verse of the hymn “Ye Watchers and Ye Holy Ones”
- reading up on the Council of Ephesus, 431 c.e.;
- and reading about the devotion known as “The Angelus.” (hint: it is evangelical).
Leader: The Rev’d Dr. Eric Griffin
Cost: $30
Solitude, Social Media and the Church
Explore and reflect upon the impact that technology and smartphones are having on the church.
Morning session
- examine the current reality of our society, including the impact of being connected 24/7, the rise of anxiety and the interest in mindfulness, and explore ancient practices the church might draw on in response.
Afternoon session
- explore creative and practical examples of approaches churches can take in using the technology and social media.
Choose:
- the morning session
- the afternoon session
- or both! Bring your lunch or purchase one in our cafeteria
Leader: The Rev'd Canon Megan Collings Moore
Cost: $15/morning or afternoon session or $25 for the day: $75/parish team up to 5 people; $15/additional team member.
The Trinity in Plain English: A Workshop on the Doctrine of the Trinity
The most distinctive Christian doctrine is that of the Holy Trinity, that we believe in One God in Three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We may feel conflict between knowing the doctrine of the Trinity is important and anxiety that it might be too hard or abstract for the average person to understand or explain.
The doctrine of the Holy Trinity as it is set forth in the Nicene Creed is not so much a confession of faith as it is a map around a minefield, pointing out hazardous places when thinking about the relationship between God and Christ. You are invited to be part of the exploration.
The workshop will include some:
- historical theology
- taming of scary words
-
examination about why the doctrine of the Holy Trinity is important
-
exploration of how the Trinity has been explained (some of considerable humour!).
There will be a lot of room for questions and answers, discussion, and a specific exploration of the concept of "spiritual mystery" which is not (as Mr. Dawkins has said) simply a cheap escape from clarity of thought.
Bonus: For those who are interested here is a response by theologian Alistair E. McGrath to Richard Dawkin's criticisms of religion.
Leader: The Rev'd Dr. Eric Griffin
Cost: $30
Waiting is a Wondrous Gift: An Advent Quiet Day
In the midst of all the rush and stress that the ‘holiday season’ seems to bring, you are invited to receive the gift of retreat. Take a day to yourself for yourself. Through contemplative prayer, we will rest in the hope that lingers in our waiting, uncovering the gifts of grace that come to us when we are waiting for something else to happen.
Canon Susan Wilson will lead a quiet day of prayer, music and creative contemplation. Canon Susan is a priest in the Diocese of Niagara who enjoys learning scripture by heart and teaching others how to engage with this profound spiritual practise. She will use insights gained through this practise as a basis for this quiet day.
Leader: The Rev'd Canon Susan Wilson
Cost: $30
When Skywoman Fell: Cosmology and Theology in the Haudenosaunee Tradition
Creation stories tell about the origins of the moon, the sun, the stars and human beings. What else do they tell us of our human condition? We will look at the Genesis and Haudenosaunee (people of the longhouse) creation accounts and explore the different understandings of separation from God.
Leader: The Rev'd Rosalyn Elm
Cost: $30
