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.
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Preaching Jesus Christ TodayBy Wycliffe College Preaching Jesus Christ Today: Six Questions for Moving from Scripture to Sermon (Baker Academic, April 2018) is the newest book from Wycliffe College Chaplain and Professor of Pastoral Theology Annette Brownlee. The book approaches preaching as both a theological practice and a spiritual discipline. Stanley Hauerwas says, "I cannot imagine a better book for teaching seminarians not only the ‘what’ but also the ‘how’ of preaching." Annette (AB) responds to... |
Mon, May 07, 2018 |
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Alumni Spotlight - The Rev Earl GerberBy The Rev. Earl Gerber The Rev. Earl Gerber (Wycliffe '53) shares with us his joy and sorrow, and God's abiding grace since graduating from Wycliffe College. It was sixty-five years ago next month that I graduated from Wycliffe (April 30, 1953.) The College will always have a special spot in my memory and affection. Although officially "retired" in June 1994 I am still active in St. Andrew here in Alliston. I preach once a... |
Tue, May 01, 2018 |
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Struggling to make sense of the senselessBy Wycliffe College Blog In the wake of the mass killing in Toronto yesterday, journalists are - like all of us - struggling to make sense of the senseless. Most Canadians reacted to the news of yesterday’s tragic events with shock, disbelief, horror. A sinking sense of "not again, not here." At some level, this has to be because we deeply value human life, and we recognize the injustice when innocent life is snatched... |
Tue, April 24, 2018 |
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"God we hurt": Unpacking Sean Brandow's lamentBy Wycliffe College Blog It began with self-deprecation but quickly moved to raw anguish. Humboldt Broncos team pastor Sean Brandow shook his head, “I don’t want to be here,” he said shortly after taking the platform at Sunday’s vigil for the victims of last week’s devastating crash, when the hockey team's bus collided with a truck, killing 15 and injuring 14 others. “I really don’t want to be here. But it’s good that we are,”... |
Tue, April 10, 2018 |
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On being a shepherdThe following blog originated as part of a sermon preached by Wycliffe’s Professor of Pastoral Theology Marilyn Draper during an ordination service. We hear a lot about “shepherd leadership” in the church these days. As we approach the end of the semester – a time when many students are looking ahead to leaving their seminary studies behind in order to head into full-time ministry, it seems a good... |
Tue, April 03, 2018 |
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Contending with the past to build a better future: Q&A with Principal Stephen AndrewsBy Stephen Andrews As Canadians continue to grapple with the legacy of the residential schools, denominations, churches and seminaries across the country are considering what it means to live into the Calls to Action coming out of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). Many of those Calls will have implications for ministry and mission now and in the coming generations, with some specifically referencing seminaries. On Friday, March 9, 2018, Wycliffe Principal Stephen... |
Thu, March 15, 2018 |
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Billy GrahamBy John Bowen We knew it would happen one day, that a headline would appear announcing “The Death of Billy Graham.” But the fact that we knew it would come makes the event no less sad. It is the end of an era. Billy Graham defined evangelism, and indeed much of evangelicalism, for the second half of the twentieth century. His preaching was heard by more people than... |
Wed, February 28, 2018 |
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On Chinese New YearChandra Wim (“Wim”) is a Chinese Indonesian student in his sixth year of study at Wycliffe. He started in the Master of Theology program in 2012 and is now working on the dissertation for his Doctor of Theology. His research focuses on Asian biblical interpretation and explores how Asian theologians and preachers interpret Scripture. He hopes to graduate in 2019. On the eve of Chinese New Year, Wim took a few... |
Thu, February 15, 2018 |
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Sex and SinBy Ann Jervis Sex and Sin have a long history together. Being a scholar of the apostle Paul, I have purposely capitalized the word Sin. Paul understands Sin as both a power greater than our individual sins and as the reason for our individual sins. In Paul’s thought constellation, Sin targets everything good about God’s creation, including sexuality. Sin’s project is the destruction of God’s good gifts in order to divide people from... |
Tue, February 06, 2018 |
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Reflections of Noh Bo Academy, Thailand, Summer 2017Joan Morris is a third-year MDiv student at Wycliffe College. She retired after a lengthy career in the financial services industry, and says she is now “realizing her calling to the service of God.” As part of her program’s internship requirements, she applied for an international summer placement and travelled to a remote area of Thailand (in the summer of 2017) to teach English and the Bible at a small... |
Tue, January 30, 2018 |
