Partners

As a hub for learning and scholarly exchange on theological education, the Oliver & Gruchy Learning Centre is a meeting place for minds focused on reckoning with the next wave of generative innovation in theological education. This is an ambitious undertaking requiring the creative input of many creative minds. The Centre’s partners, institutions and individuals, share a commitment to the spirit of justice, inclusion, and exploration that is the very life of the Centre. Many of the Centre’s partners are contributors to the various broadcasts of the Media Hub.

Institutions

Eden Theological Seminary

Located in St. Louis, Missouri, Eden Theological Seminary is a seminary of the United Church of Christ, the United Church of Canada’s full-communion partner in the United States of America. Eden Seminary’s mission is “to strengthen the life of the church by educating leaders with theological imagination and faithful resilience to join God’s loving and liberating work in the world.” St. Andrew’s College shares with Eden Seminary a commitment to the inclusion of diverse perspectives and to hands-on experience in a brand of theological education rooted in a progressive and just Christian vision for the world. St. Andrew’s College is a proud participant in Eden Seminary’s Network Model of Theological Education, a network for sharing courses across partner institutions of similar theological orientation (https://www.eden.edu/2022/09/21/eden-theological-seminary-receives-major-grant-from-lilly-endowment-inc/).

https://www.eden.edu/

Hanshin University

The Graduate School of Theology at Hanshin University (https://www.hs.ac.kr/eng/7305/subview.do) participates actively in raising ministry leaders for the Korean Church. A theological school in the tradition of the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea, the Graduate School of Theology strikes a balance between scholarly rigour and piety in fostering excellence in the areas of biblical theology, theoretical theology, and practical theology. St. Andrew’s College collaborates with the Graduate School of Theology at Hanshin University in teaching, research, and in student and faculty exchanges.

https://www.hs.ac.kr/eng/index.do

Kerala United Theological Seminary
Kerala United Theological Seminary (KUTS) is a theological college of the Church of South India (with membership in the Anglican Communion, the World Methodist Council, and the World Communion of Reformed Churches) in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. KUTS exists to prepare persons for ordained parish ministry in an ecumenical environment with a focus on theological and ministerial formation. Its mission is to equip persons of diverse milieux for ministry and for witnessing for Jesus Christ in both church and world.

With KUTS, St. Andrew’s College participates in faculty and student exchanges for fostering dialogue on theological education for the promotion of justice, peace, and reconciliation in our varied post-colonial contexts.

https://kuts.edu.in

Messy Church logo
Messy Church Canada

Messy Church is ‘church, but not as you know it.’  It’s is a way of being church for everyone—families and others from youngest to oldest. It is based on creativity, hospitality, and celebration; and of course it is Christ-centered and for all ages.  Headquartered at St. Andrew’s College, Messy Church Canada encourages and supports leaders in starting and growing Messy Churches. There are gatherings on ZOOM that link Messy Church leaders from coast to coast to coast, and there are regular mailings that share information.  Messy Church reaches into the community and connects with people helping all to see and know God’s love and care for them and for all of creation.  Messy Churches find their homes in many church denominations.  Messy Church Canada is the Canadian chapter of an international movement, a ministry of Bible Reading Fellowship in the UK (see both https://messychurch.brf.org.uk  and https://messychurch.ca/).

The Messy Church® name and logo are registered trade marks of Bible Reading Fellowship (BRF), a charity (233280) and company limited by guarantee (301324), registered in England and Wales.

People

Roland Legge

Roland Legge grew up in Vancouver, B.C., in a family where social justice was a central topic of conversation and action.

Feeling a call to Diaconal ministry due to its emphasis on social justice and pastoral care, he enrolled at the Center for Christian Studies in Toronto in September 1987.

Roland was commissioned to the B.C. Conference in 1991 and began his ministry in western Canada and northeast Ontario. He engaged in social justice through various community organizations.

For the past fifteen years, Roland has been passionate about coaching and the Enneagram. He feels honored to help clients rediscover their purpose and develop essential skills. Roland’s goal is to help everyone to discover the truth within themselves.

Roland lives with his wife, Jen, in Yorkton, Saskatchewan and can offer coaching and workshops in person and online through Zoom.

If Roland’s work is of interest to you, have a look at his The Paths to Self-Awareness Series, a broadcast series of the Oliver & Gruchy Learning Center for helping people become the best versions of themselves by gaining a greater self-understanding through the Enneagram’s nine paths to self-awareness: https://standrews.ca/media-hub-details/?videoid=3679

Sita Rebizant

Sita grew up in a Hindu/Christian family in Winnipeg, Canada. Her parents were both born and raised Hindu in Trinidad and Tobago, but at some point in his early adult life, her father converted to Christianity. Sita attended church services as well as temple prayers throughout her childhood. She learned yoga and meditation at a young age, and recalls having pictures of Indian gurus along with those of Jesus in her home.

Sita began studying languages at the University of Winnipeg and completed her B.A. in French and German overseas. She lived in Germany for 15 years and France for two, teaching English. Her final few years there were spent in a divorce and custody battle, during which she turned inward through meditation for guidance and strength. Sita documented the journey to inner and outer freedom in her self-help book, Safe, Loved and Free, which she published in 2021.

Moved back to Winnipeg after the divorce, in 2004, and after a year of soul-searching, Sita began teaching yoga to children and meditation to adults. This expanded into many different workshops and a growing clientele over the span of her eight years there. During this time, Sita also created two meditation CDs (called Everyone can meditate and Everything is possible), which are currently available through iTunes and on other social media platforms. She also trained in the ancient Japanese healing practice of Reiki, which enabled her to help hundreds of people with a wide variety of health problems as well as training others to become Reiki practitioners themselves.

As all this was happening, Sita also felt the call to the path of ministry with the United Church, the same one she had grown up in. After much deliberation, she began to take courses at the University of Winnipeg and the Center for Christian Studies in Winnipeg. In addition to this, Sita served as the interim minister at Oak Table Community Ministry from 2007, volunteering and serving on the board when she was not needed as a replacement for the minister at the time. In 2010, the position became vacant and Sita stepped into the role of director, until she felt prompted to move to British Columbia in the summer of 2012.

Sita currently resides in a small town in the interior of BC and sees clients online, coaching them through the various stages of trauma healing and spiritual awakening.

With Bernon Lee, Sita is a host of The Reclaiming Wisdom as Faith Matures Series, a broadcast of the Oliver & Gruchy Learning Center dedicated to healing the wounds of intergenerational trauma by reclaiming one’s cultural roots, rituals, and identities lost through colonial suppression: https://standrews.ca/media-hub-details/?videoid=3680

Shawn Sanford Beck

Shawn Sanford Beck is the founder of GreenSpirit Chaplaincy nested at Grosvenor Park United Church (Treaty Six, Saskatoon) and is also a Spiritual Exploration guide at St. Andrew’s College. He has been involved with eco-spirituality and green theology for the past two decades. From urban full moon ceremonies, to off-grid earthen prayer, to extensive work with druidic and other creation-centric traditions, Shawn has sown the seeds of eco-spiritual practice wherever he goes!

Shawn is also the host of The Blended Chalice, a podcast series of the Oliver & Gruchy Centre dedicated to understanding the theological alchemy and creative syncretism that results when Christianity embraces alternative spiritual traditions long considered taboo.

Jenn Swanson

Jenn Swanson grew up in Montreal, Winnipeg, Toronto and Vancouver. Before being called into ministry, she worked and taught in healthcare for 25 years, earning her BC Provincial Instructor’s Diploma, teaching in three different post-secondary institutions, and mentoring and supervising students in hospitals all over the Lower Mainland. During this time, she trained as a coach with the Justice Institute of BC and Erickson International, started a podcast and a YouTube channel (Careers by Jenn) to help people like her students get the job, love their work and advance their careers. In 2009, Jenn began taking courses at the Vancouver School of Theology and graduated with a Master of Arts in Public and Pastoral Leadership in 2014.

That same year, Jenn was ordained in the United Church of Canada as a Minister of Word, Sacrament and Pastoral Care. Jenn currently works in full-time congregational ministry, has a small coaching practice and still makes videos to help people step into their success.

Jenn and her partner Scott and their hairy beast Charlie live near Vancouver and enjoy spending downtime with their four adult children and two wee grand-children!

Jenn is the creator of the video series The Wholehearted Work: Living Your Faith in the Modern Workplace, a broadcast of the Oliver & Gruchy Learning Center geared for those seeking to integrate their spiritual values with their professional lives:

Jenn’s ‘more….