THEOLOGICAL EDUCATION AND MINISTRY SUPPORT 3

by Jeff Cook

Laurence DeWolfe

Summer distance program trains ministers

C

olin Snyder was a farm equipment mechanic when he discerned a call to ministry. Being familiar with apprenticeship programs, he applied to the Summer Distance Master of Divinity program at Atlantic School of Theology (AST). AST’s program allowed him to study and still help financially support his family. “It seemed like a good fit for my learning style, my lifestyle, everything,” Snyder says. The program began in 2001 in response to inquiries from Newfoundland and Labrador Conference, which had a number of lay ministers who came from previous careers. “They were asking why they couldn’t be ordained,” says the Rev. Laurence DeWolfe, Director of the Summer Distance program. AST soon discovered that people throughout the church were interested in such a program, he adds. The course extends over five years. During the summer, students come to AST in Halifax for an intensive six-week, three-course residency program. Throughout the rest of the year, they take three courses online. Each year, students also work on a practicum—a project directly related to congregational ministry. For example, they may develop education programs or workshops on stewardship or mission. During the program, students serve in paid accountable ministry in congregational settings. “They are effectively being simultaneously a candidate for ministry and a supply minister,” explains DeWolfe. That combination appealed to Monica Rosborough, a fifthyear student. Before enrolling at AST, she had been a politician’s administrative assistant and had worked for a book co-operative in Alberta. When she discerned a call to ordained ministry she was in her forties, with a family whom she neither wanted to uproot nor be away from while attending school. AST allowed her to stay in Alberta while studying. “Also, it did not hurt that this would get me working in a congregation right away and using my gifts right off the bat,” says Rosborough, who currently serves Athabasca United Church in Alberta. 10

MANDATE | AUGUST 2014

Wendy Noble

Rosborough says the students develop a deep sense of community. During the summer sessions in Halifax, they get to know each other face-to-face. For the rest of the year they support one another through online chat groups. She says that during the summer sessions, students had a collective sense that God was “real and present in our lives.” The Rev. Wendy Noble agrees. “There is a powerful sense of spiritual connection at AST,” says Noble, an AST graduate currently serving the St. Andrews-Westminster and Littlewood United Churches in London, Ontario. “That sense of connection and community carried over into the online interface,” she says. “People opened themselves up to each other. They shared stories of [their] spiritual journeys.” Colin Snyder is now in his fourth year, serving the VarnaGoshen Pastoral Charge in Ontario. “I have an online support network that I can bounce ideas off, that literally goes across the country and in every kind of congregation you can imagine,” he says. While a student, Snyder has guided the amalgamation of two pastoral charges. “Going into that as a student was a bit daunting,” he admits, but says the five- year program will help him feel more confident about his role in the church once he is ordained. Rosborough says the program is “intense” and may not be suitable for everyone. You have to be ready “emotionally, spiritually, and psychologically,” she says. For students who find it a good match, the AST program offers a chance to study, gain experience, earn a salary, and be part of a supportive and creative community. There are currently 24 students enrolled—21 United Church, two Anglican, and one Presbyterian. “This is still the only fully accredited, field-based program in North America,” says DeWolfe. AST receives M&S funding from the United Church. The Rev. Jeff Cook serves with the Rev. Carol Fletcher at Transcona Memorial United Church, Winnipeg. Your gifts for M&S support ministers in training at AST, which received $140,400 in M&S support in 2014. There were 13 United Church grads in 2013 and 146 over the last 10 years.

Rob Fennell, Michael O’Leary

Colin Snyder

Credits, from left: Crystal Snyder,

Long-Distance Learning