Packer College Update - An Expanding Vision
A letter from Bishop Dan about the expanding vision for our diocesan theological college.
Dear friends,
At Synod this year we shared three important initiatives that multiply leaders and churches for Gospel ministry in our diocesan family: Church planting, apprenticeships (curacies) and theological education. Our church plants need leaders who are well trained and experienced in Gospel ministry through apprenticeship programmes in our local churches. These apprentices/curates in turn need a solid Anglican theological education, in which they are grounded and shaped by the Bible, in the unique setting of Canada and ANiC.
Packer College provides a great opportunity to provide this education and we therefore want to expand its ministry and make it accessible to more students.
This is beginning to be implemented now for those seeking ordination, for interested lay people, and for clergy. If you or someone you know are interested in taking courses at Packer you can find information for the Winter term (which begins in February) here.
As we come to the close of this year, I have asked the Rev. Dr. Ken Deeks, principal of Packer College, to share with us an update on recent developments:
“Starting an orthodox, bible-believing, Anglican seminary from scratch is no small task. But we continue to be committed and excited for the future of Packer College as we work towards training up the next generation of faithful leaders to build biblically faithful, gospel sharing, Anglican churches.
So far, we have seen 187 enrolments in our Lay Institute, Clergy Lifelong Learning, and seminary courses. And now we are expanding the vision of the college to make it even more accessible and more flexible to reach and benefit exponentially more young leaders.
We are doing this in two practical ways. Firstly, we are offering free tuition to ordinands taking the residential program in St. John’s, NL.
Secondly, we are adding an online option on top of our residential program. Online training means Packer can be accessible to students anywhere in the country and potentially around the world. It also means Packer can provide supplemental training for students who have theological training from non-Anglican seminaries but would benefit from training which is Anglican and specifically for the ANiC context.
Finally, we have struck a Task Force that will lay the groundwork for a sustainable governance structure under a board of governors, whose first priority will be to begin the work of securing degree-granting status for Packer College, setting the stage for accreditation with the Association of Theological Schools.”
I am deeply thankful for the Rev. Dr. Ken Deeks, and for lecturers Dr. Gary Graber and the Rev. Dr. David Smith who will be teaching at Packer College this coming term. They along with the board, and the Packer Development Task Force are working hard to establish this initiative that is so important for multiplying Gospel ministry in ANiC. Please pray for this work, and for the students who will take courses this winter term, that God will strengthen His church and mission through Packer College.
Yours in Christ,
The Right Reverend Dan Gifford
Diocesan Bishop of the Anglican Network in Canada