Vancouver School of Theology

Vancouver School of Theology
Type Private
Established 1971
Principal Richard R. Topping
Dean Pat Dutcher-Walls
Students approx. 200
Address 6000 Iona Drive, Vancouver, BC V6T 1L4, University Endowment Lands, British Columbia, Canada
Campus University of British Columbia
Colours Burgundy& white
Affiliations ATS
Website www.vst.edu

Coordinates: 49°16′15.79″N 123°15′2.44″W / 49.2710528°N 123.2506778°W / 49.2710528; -123.2506778 Vancouver School of Theology, located on the campus of the University of British Columbia, is a multi-denominational graduate school known for its theological innovations while being rooted in Christian traditions. Accredited by the Association of Theological Schools, and affiliated with UBC, VST is profoundly committed to compassionate interaction, spiritual exploration, and intellectual rigour, and its long-standing partnerships with First Nations. VST is a small, close-knit, inclusive and diverse community; the students come from all parts of the world, and its graduates are employed internationally.

Faculty

History

Union College of British Columbia building in1928

Vancouver School of Theology was established in 1971, as an amalgamation of the Anglican Theological College (ATC) and Union College of British Columbia (UCBC), affiliated with the United Church of Canada. The two colleges had existed side-by-side for a number of years prior to the amalgamation.

ATC was formed in 1920 as a merger of two Anglican seminaries. The evangelical Latimer Hall was founded in 1910, while the more liberal and high church St Mark's Hall followed two years later at a nearby location. The merged ATC moved into the Chancellor Building at UBC in 1927.[1]

Westminster Hall (formerly Presbyterian) was the first formal theological college in Vancouver, and classes started in 1908, first at McGill University Vancouver (1907–1915) Campus, then in their own building at 1600 Barclay Street from the fall of 1908 until 1927, when the first part of UCBC (west wing of the Iona Building at UBC) was ready for use. Ryerson College formerly Methodist, and named after educator Egerton Ryerson, was meeting in Westminster Hall since classes began in 1923. It was an extension of the Columbian College started in New Westminster in 1892. There is little available data on the Congregational College of British Columbia, as according to the United Church of Canada's First General Council's Minutes, in 1925, the College was incorporated, but never held any classes.

The tower section of the Iona Building was completed during the 1930s.

From initial discussions with Anglican and the then separate Methodist and Presbyterian groups in 1922, there has been open discussion on joint studies, and was a reason Ryerson Hall never constructed a separate building. Throughout the 1960s, the two colleges cooperated in offering courses and access to materials, and discussions started regarding the creation of a new theological school to serve the area. The current-day Vancouver School of Theology was formed in 1971.The creation of VST occurred in a climate in which full communion between the Anglican Church of Canada and United Church was under serious consideration, although this union did not take place.

Saint Andrew's Hall, a residence established by the Presbyterian Church in Canada during the 1950s, officially became affiliated with the VST. The school has also been recognized by the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the United Methodist Church, both of the United States, as a training institution for their clergy.[2]

The Institute for stained glass in Canada has documented the stained glass at Vancouver School of Theology.[3]

Degrees Awarded

Vancouver School of Theology currently offers the following degrees and certifications:[4][5]

Continuing Education

Certificate in Theological Studies

Theology building converted to economics

On January 8, 2014 the Vancouver Sun reported that UBC had purchased the 85-year-old Vancouver School of Theology building on Iona Drive for $28 million and will convert it as the new home of the UBC's Vancouver School of Economics (VSE) since the building was too large and costly for the VST's 115 full- and part-time students to maintain.[6] The Christian graduate school will move—in the summer of 2014—to a smaller building "on the north side of the UBC campus, called Somerville House. The school will retain its A-frame Chapel of Epiphany."[7] While the 1927 100,000 square foot Iona building is the longtime home of the Vancouver School of Theology, it needs only about a "quarter of the space and it is finding it difficult to keep up with operating costs."[8] The VST will use a portion of the sale proceeds to relocate their operations to more suitable space in the UBC theological neighbourhood and place the balance of the funds in an endowment to support its educational mission and operations.[9]

History

See also

References

  1. ↑ Burkinshaw, Robert (1995). Pilgrims in Lotus Land: conservative protestantism in British Columbia, 1917-1981. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. p. 29.
  2. ↑ About | Vancouver School of Theology
  3. ↑ stained glass at Vancouver School of Theology http://stainedglasscanada.ca/site.php?site=262
  4. ↑ http://www.ats.edu/member_schools/vancouve.asp
  5. ↑ http://www.vst.edu/programs/programs.php
  6. ↑ Douglas Todd, Theology building converts to economics: School sells elegant home to UBC, Vancouver Sun, January 8, 2014, pp.A1-A2
  7. ↑ Todd, Ibid., p.A1
  8. ↑ Todd, Ibid., p.A2
  9. ↑ Vancouver School of Theology sells Iona building to UBC, January 7, 2014, University of British Columbia Media Release
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