VST Signs Partnership with Philippine Seminary to Continue Expansion of Global Learning
The Vancouver School of Theology has established a new partnership agreement with St. Andrew’s Theological Seminary (Quezon City, Philippines) effective January 1, 2021, for an initial five-year term.
This agreement allows VST to work with St. Andrew’s Theological Seminary (SATS) to provide a robust global and contextual theological education embracing scholarship and a living faith, and to nurture future leaders for churches and adjunct institutions who understand missional and transformative engagement with the culture.
With this partnership between VST and SATS, the schools affirm their common goals of formation of church leaders for specific contexts that is also attentive to the global church (glocal), a robust liturgy and theology for the churches of the Pacific Rim and the integration of theological disciplines for a life of discipleship.
“With this new agreement, we are building on the partnership that the Diocese of New Westminster has with the Episcopal Church of the Philippines. The robust emphasis of SATS on mission, disciplined study and doing liturgy and theology for the South East Asia context in challenge and change is amazing. We look forward to mutual learning and study for the building up of the church on the Pacific Rim.”
Richard Topping, VST Principal
This partnership will be far ranging for each of the institutions, including faculty exchanges, conferences, sabbatical and research opportunities, and student exchanges. These opportunities may take place online. Professors at either institution may be a visitor in a class at the other institution. Online public lectures, workshops, conferences may be shared through Zoom, You Tube or other online technologies. Students may, upon arrangement with the Dean of either institution, take a class at the other where it meets a curricular need of the student. The emphasis of these opportunities is to provide exposure and understanding of the global church.
“Our new partnership with VST, a prestigious theological school in UBC, Canada is a blessing to SATS. We will benefit from this, especially in terms of faculty and student opportunities, whether virtual or face-to-face. We look forward to a fruitful sharing and fellowship.”
Dr. Gloria Mapangdol, President and Dean, SATS
About SATS
Established in 1932, St. Andrew’s Theological Seminary (SATS) is an ecumenical center of theological education, training and formation serving the Episcopal Church in the Philippines, the Iglesia Filipina Independiente, and beyond. Its primary purpose is the formation of an authentic Christian ministry for leadership of the Church in the Philippines and Asia today in accordance with Christ’s command, “… and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). This is to serve the needs of our people in this generation of challenge and change, through disciplined study, spiritual and ministerial formation within the Body of Christ. To carry out its task the Seminary is committed to “doing liturgy” and “doing theology” within the missionary context of Asia, particularly in the Philippines and the region of South East Asia and the Pacific, through its curricula and programs that seek to integrate biblical and historical studies, field education and theological reflections, individual and corporate living out and celebration of the Christian faith.