The Wycliffe Blog - Vestigia Dei

Vestigia Dei  – is a Latin term meaning “traces of God.” As a theological term it is associated with natural theology – that is, the view that there are vestiges of God within creation. We’ve chosen this term as the title of the Wycliffe College blog because our hope is that through these writings, readers might glimpse evidences for God as our writers interact with the wider world. 

Wycliffe College Principal Stephen Andrews

Reflections on General Synod 2019

By Stephen Andrews

The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada (ACC) met in Vancouver for seven days, beginning July 10. This was the 42nd session of a national gathering that happens every three years, and it brought together some 235 delegates from 30 dioceses in the three orders of laity, clergy, and bishops. This was my eighth consecutive General Synod, though this time I was not a member.  

Synods are intense, exhausting...

Fri, July 19, 2019

Walls of Jerusalem

Pilgrim Reflections | Trip to Israel

By Connie Chan

As Wycliffe College organizes another trip to Israel, to take place in February 2020, let's recall some of the unforgettable experiences for all the students and friends of Wycliffe who joined the trip last year. They gained historical and biblical insights, met new friends, and ate lots of good food! In this article, Wycliffe student Connie Chan shares about a memorable moment during her trip. If you’d like to join the...

Thu, July 18, 2019

Photo of a wedding by James Bold on Unsplash

On Christian Marriage

By Catherine Sider-Hamilton

Turning and turning in the
            widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the
            falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre
            cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed
            upon the world.
 

I find myself often thinking of these lines from Yeats’ “Second Coming,” as a kind of anarchy— theological, moral, and ecclesial—engulfs the Anglican Church. The debate about same-sex...

Mon, July 08, 2019

two gold rings on a dictionary page defining the word marriage

On Christian Marriage

By Ephraim Radner

Life is hard for most people. Not just for a moment, or in moments—an illness, a lost job, a death of someone we love. Rather, life is hard in a continuous way, as a kind of passage over time. To get from birth to death is difficult. 

There are joys at the centre of this passage. But to see these joys and grasp them is, for most people, a struggle,...

Thu, June 06, 2019

Online Learning at Wycliffe College

Theological study online—how does that work?

By Thomas Power

In an online course I taught some years ago, I posted a message in the class discussion forum containing the text of a parishioner’s interpretation of something that had been spoken in tongues in his church the previous Sunday. The message elicited a number of student responses, one of which was written by a student who said they had been “cut to the heart” as a result of reading the...

Mon, April 29, 2019

Gospel by Josh Applegate, unsplash

A moment redeemed becomes a vehicle of grace

By Chris Seitz

My wife and I were in the United States over the holidays, to see my mother who is aging, wider family, and just enjoy some warmer weather.

During this time we worshipped in a local parish we know. They have a new assistant and he and the rector take turns preaching and presiding. It is a church where preaching is central. The two ministers have different styles but both work...

Mon, April 22, 2019

Sculpture of Jesus on the cross. Photo by Thuong Do on Unsplash

To be close to Christ’s death: the knowledge of love

By Ann Jervis

Perhaps I shouldn’t admit this publicly, but I don’t understand why Christ died. I am confident that I know the reason for it: sin’s hold on humanity. But, how Christ’s death changed that—about that, I am not so sure. This admission may be especially awkward given that I have spent my adult life studying the New Testament writer whose words have been the foundation for some of the most influential...

Tue, April 16, 2019

Photo of a cross by Stage 7 Photography on Unsplash

Remembering the Dead: Of Christ’s Death and Our Own

By Joseph Mangina

I enjoy visiting old graveyards. I like to wander around, reading the tombstones, taking note of the dates and places of birth, the biblical verses and sentimental poetry.

Last summer my wife and I were walking through an Episcopal churchyard in Cooperstown, New York, where we stumbled on a particular grave from the 1830s. The tombstone gave the woman’s name and her dates, and then the inscription: “She had her...

Mon, April 08, 2019

Little girl wearing future leader t-shirt

Some rules on developing leaders in and for the church

By Peter Robinson

Chris Wright, a biblical scholar and the International Ministries Director of Langham Partnership, has suggested that the great commission in Matthew 28:19, 20 is not so much a mandate to go to the far corners of the earth as it is about making disciples and baptizing wherever we are. Chris is not downplaying an emphasis on missions. In fact, his argument is that we should be involved in mission wherever...

Tue, March 26, 2019

Dorothy Day in 1916. Public domain. Wikimedia Commons

Dorothy Day: “Gloriously different” sainthood

By David Kupp

With World Writers Day having been celebrated earlier this month, and World Book Day (as declared by the United Nations) coming up on April 3, it seems a fitting time to revisit the story of 20th century journalist, author, and social activist Dorothy Day.

 

 “How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been;

how gloriously different are...

Fri, March 22, 2019