Bold discipleship in an intercultural United Church – what is that? Join this seminar in-person or online to participate with Korean members of the United Church in exploring what bold discipleship means today for them and others.

Participants will have the opportunity to share three lecture/discussion sessions on discipleship led by Rev. Drs. Don Schweitzer and Ohwang Kwon, workshops led by Rev. Eun-Joo Park on bold discipleship and Rev. Taylor Croissant on building God’s beloved community, and a panel discussion featuring Dr. Becca Whitla, Dr. Lynn Caldwell, and Dr. Bernon Lee, all of St. Andrew’s College, Saskatoon, and Rev. SunDo Hyun, of Meadow Lake. This diverse panel will share their unique reflections on this theme of discipleship - from experiences in ministry, and from teaching and studying ethics, Hebrew Scriptures, decolonial singing and liturgy. There will be translation between Korean and English at this panel.

This seminar will deepen your understanding of discipleship and how it can be lived out in today. There is no charge for online participation.

Attend in-person

This registration form is for those who want to join the conference livestream. If you wish to attend in person, please contact Melanie Schwanbeck at St. Andrew's College. Registration is $120 (accommodation and meals included), and the registration deadline is September 30, 2024.

Schedule

Monday October 21

Tuesday October 22

Wednesday October 23

Leadership

OhWang Kwon is the minister of Stettler, Erskine and Big Valley United Churches. He received his Ph.D. in religion from Claremont Graduate University. Kwon is interested in looking for the relevance of theology to the United Church’s Vision for Becoming an Intercultural Church from a Korean theologian’s perspective.

Don Schweitzer is McDougald Professor of Theology Emert at St. Andrew’s College, Saskatoon. He is an ordained member of The United Church of Canada and a member of the Canadian Theological Society. He holds a Ph.D. in systematic theology from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Rev. Taylor Croissant was raised in Medicine Hat. His faith journey has taken him all the way to Korea where he served as an ordained supply minister with the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea before returning to Canada. After spending some time in Northern Alberta, he was happy to settle at Southminster United Church in Lethbridge in 2020. Taylor is the editor of the recently published confirmation resource, Building God’s Beloved Community.

Rev. Eun-Joo Park was born and raised in Korea until she moved to Canada in 1991. She was ordained in 2001 by The Presbyterian Church in Canada and was admitted to The United Church of Canada in 2011. Eun-Joo now serves as a Pastoral Relations and Communities of Faith Support minister at the Shining Waters Regional Council after being in pastoral ministry over 23 years.

Lynn Caldwell is professor of theological ethics with, and a graduate of, St. Andrew’s College in Saskatoon. She is also closely affiliated with the University of Saskatchewan as a graduate, sessional lecturer, and through collegial connections. Lynn teaches courses in ethics, contexts and difference, qualitative research, feminist research methodologies, anti-oppressive education, and critical anti-racism. Lynn lives and works in the territories of Treaty 6 and the homelands of the Métis, as a non-Indigenous person of British descent.

Born and raised in South Korea, SunDo Hyun (he/him) was ordained as a minister in the Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea in 2008 while working at the denomination’s General Assembly Office. In 2009, he moved to Canada to pursue his MTS at St. Andrew’s College in Saskatoon. He was admitted into the ministry of The United Church of Canada in 2016 and currently serves at Grace United Church in Meadow Lake, SK.

Bernon Lee (he/him) is Professor of Hebrew Scriptures and Educational Coordinator in the Lifelong Learning Pathway at St. Andrew's College, Saskatoon. His interest is in the Hebrew Bible and its reception, with a focus on 19th-century biblical interpretation in colonial contexts.

Becca Whitla (she/her) is the professor of practical ministry and the Dr. Lydia E. Gruchy Chair in Pastoral Theology at St. Andrew’s College in Saskatoon, where she teaches worship and liturgy, preaching, religious education, and practical theology. Her book Liberation, (De)Coloniality, and Liturgical Practices: Flipping the Song Bird (Palgrave McMillan, 2020) examines ways to liberate and decolonize liturgical practices, especially community singing.