VST Summer School
July 6th to 17th, 2020
Early-Bird Registration until May 15th.
Register Now
Vancouver School of Theology is pleased to announce its plans for July summer school programming. Almost all courses will continue as planned, with several re-scheduled into the 2021 Summer School program. In light of global solidarity efforts to eliminate the threat of Covid-19, all courses will be taught in virtual classrooms using Zoom, which allows for easy face-to-face interactions with teachers and classmates.
Vancouver School of Theology has been using Zoom with great success with it’s growing number of distance students, and is pleased to extend this opportunity to its summer school participants.
Public Lectures
Jesus Today
Speaker: Katherine Sonderegger
Tuesday, July 7th, 7pm
Lecture available via Zoom. Link TBA.
Free Admission
Courses
Encountering Other Religions:
A Jewish Perspective
Instructor
Alan Brill
Week 1: Morning (9am – 12pm)
July 6th – 10th, 2020
Link: https://vst.edu/courses/encountering-other-religions-a-jewish-perspective/
Practicing Communal Discernment
Instructor
Roger Owens
Week 1: Morning (9am – 12pm)
July 6th – 10th, 2020
Link: https://vst.edu/courses/practicing-communal-discernment/
Process Theology and Human Existence: Following Christ
into an Open Future
Instructor
Donna Bowman
Week 1: Morning (9am – 12pm)
July 6th – 10th, 2020
The Art of the Commonplace: Being a Pastor in Uncommon Times
Instructor
Kyle Childress
Week 1: Afternoon (2 – 5pm)
July 6th – 10th, 2020
Link: https://vst.edu/courses/the-art-of-the-commonplace-being-a-pastor-in-uncommon-times/
The Church’s Christology
and difficult Biblical texts
Instructor
Katherine Sonderegger
Week 1: Afternoon (2 – 5pm)
July 6th – 10th, 2020
Link: https://vst.edu/courses/the-churchs-christology-difficult-biblical-texts/
The Gospel according to Musical Theatre
Instructors
Peter Elliott & Nathan LeRud
Week 1: Afternoon (2 – 5pm)
July 6th – 10th, 2020
Henri Nouwen:
A Spirituality of Integration
and Imperfection
Instructor
Wil Hernandez
Week 2: Morning (9am – 12pm)
July 13th – 17th, 2020
Link: https://vst.edu/courses/henri-nouwen-a-spirituality-of-integration-imperfection/
How Doctrine Matters
in Real Life
Instructor
Cynthia Rigby
Week 2: Morning (9am – 12pm)
July 13th – 17th, 2020
Link: https://vst.edu/courses/how-doctrine-matters-in-real-life/
Interpreting Joshua:
Canaanite Destruction
and Welcoming the Stranger
Instructor
Mark Glanville
Week 2: Morning (9am – 12pm)
July 13th – 17th, 2020
Link: https://vst.edu/courses/interpreting-joshua-canaanite-destruction-and-welcoming-the-stranger/
I Come to the Garden Alone? Church Planting in Post-Christendom
Instructor
Ross Lockhart
Week 2: Afternoon (2 – 5pm)
July 13th – 17th, 2020
Link: https://vst.edu/courses/i-come-to-the-garden-alone-church-planting-in-post-christendom/
Theologies of the InBetween: Race, Mixed-Race, and Reimagining Discipleship
Instructor
Brian Bantum
Week 2: Afternoon (2 – 5pm)
July 13th – 17th, 2020
Pilgrims Together: Forging an Intergenerational Ecclesiology
Instructor
Holly Catterton Allen
Week 2: Afternoon (2 – 5pm)
July 13th – 17th, 2020
Link: https://vst.edu/courses/pilgrims-together-forging-an-intergenerational-ecclesiology/
Tuition
Audit & Certificate Tuition
VST keeps the cost of its summer courses as low as possible so that they are accessible to all. The Early Bird rate to audit a course is $255 (until May 15th). After May 15th, the regular tuition fee to audit a course is $270.
For Continuing Education Certificate credit, tuition is an additional $75/course.
Degree Tuition
Degree tuition follows the regular tuition rates set for the 2019-2020 academic year. Each 15-hour class earns 1.5 degree credit hours. Do not register online if you need degree credit.
Please contact the VST Registrar to register for degree credit.
Summer School Information
Course Expectations
- Summer courses are open to all interested participants. There are no prerequisites or theological training needed to audit a course. Auditors attend and participate in the course but are not required to submit any assignments for grading. It is our hope that all summer school students will be able to participate in real-time in the virtual classrooms, although an asynchronous option for auditors is available if necessary. All degree and certificate students are required to be synchronous.
Equipment Requirements for Synchronous Distance Learning
- A relatively recent laptop, desktop, or mobile device (smartphone or tablet)
- If using a desktop computer, an external webcam will most likely be required.
- A headset with built-in microphone, or a pair of headphones and your device’s built-in microphone (i.e. laptop mic). Headphones are required for the best audio experience.
Continuing Education Certificate Credit
If reading and writing help you engage more deeply with course material, you may want to consider taking a class for Continuing Education Certificate credit. Work expectations include preparation and reading before the start of the course with a graded reflection paper following.
Degree Credit
Most Summer School courses are also available for 1.5 credits of either basic or advanced graduate degree credit. If you are interested in taking a course for degree credit towards your VST degree program, or to transfer into a comparable theological degrees elsewhere, please email registrar@vst.edu. (Do not register online.)
Course Outlines & Required Readings
Course outlines and required reading texts will be posted online as they arrive (likely by end of April). Please refer to each individual course above to find course outlines and required reading.
Textbooks
Please make your own arrangements for acquisition of the Required Texts for your course through your local bookstores. Online bookstores such as Indigo.ca or Amazon.ca have competitive prices with fast shipping to your neighbourhood.
Financial Aid
The H.R. MacMillan Fund for Clergy Continuing Education provides funding for Clergy continuing education in British Columbia, or for any clergy person taking courses at Vancouver School of Theology.
Course Cancellation
In the event of low registrations, some courses may be cancelled. Please register early to avoid disappointment. Information on course cancellation will be available on our website in early June. If VST has to cancel a course, you will be given a full refund.
Withdrawal Policy
If you withdraw from a course, notification must be received in writing to the Registrar by the dates below, in all cases $25/course will be non-refundable. Of the remaining fees, the following are refunded depending on the date of withdrawal:
• 100% refunded if notification received 7 days prior to the 1st day of classes;
• 80% refunded if notification received between 7 days and the 1st day of classes;
• 40% refunded if notification received by the 2nd day of classes;
• After the 2nd day of classes, no refund can be given