VANCOUVER, BC, May 13, 2021. St. Mark’s College and the Vancouver School of Theology, Theological Colleges affiliated with the University of British Columbia, are pleased to announce their collaboration as the first Canadian theological schools to host a Postdoctoral Fellowship through the Louisville Institute.

Dr. Sarah Kathleen Johnson has been appointed through this program effective July 1, 2021 through June 30, 2023.

About the Louisville Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
The Louisville Institute’s Postdoctoral Fellowship provides fellowships to support two-year, visiting professorship at a North American theological school, college or a university. As part of the Institute’s Vocation of the Theological Educator Initiative, Louisville Postdoctoral Fellows are accompanied by an academic mentor and pastoral mentor. Louisville Fellows also participate in a peer cohort that meets six times over two years.

Louisville Institute is funded by the Religion Division of Lilly Endowment Inc. and based at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary (Louisville, Kentucky). The Louisville Institute’s mission is to bridge Church and academy through awarding grants and fellowships to those who study North American religious institutions, practices, and movements, and thereby promoting scholarship that strengthens Church, academy, society, and contributes to the flourishing of the Church. www.louisville-institute.org

About Dr. Sarah Johnson, Louisville Institute Postdoctoral Fellow
Dr. Sarah Katheen Johnson will be a full-time visiting member of the faculty for the next two years. She will share her time equally between St. Mark’s and VST.

Dr. Johnson is a practical theologian who studies Christian worship in the context of a changing North American religious landscape. Her research at the intersection of sociology of religion and liturgical studies employs qualitative methods that value everyday religious experience. Commitments to interrogating the relationship between liturgy and ethics and engaging ecumenically across Christian traditions ground her research, teaching, and church leadership.

Dr. Johnson holds a PhD in Theology from the University of Notre Dame, an MAR in Liturgical Studies from Yale Divinity School, an MTS from the University of Waterloo/Conrad Grebel University College, and a BA from the University of Waterloo/St. Jerome’s University. She is affiliated with Mennonite Church Canada and has served as a pastor and on the editorial team for the Mennonite hymnal and worship book, Voices Together (2020).

“I am excited to teach and learn as part of an ecumenical community committed to robust dialogue with culture and equipping leaders for practical service in the church and society.”

Dr. Sarah Kathleen Johnson

VST Comments

“What a delight to participate in the Post-Doctoral placement program of the Louisville Institute here in Canada. We look forward to welcoming Dr. Johnson into our midst and to the contributions she will make in forming thoughtful, engaged and generous Christian leaders at VST. To join with our friends at St. Mark’s-Corpus Christi in welcoming Sarah makes this opportunity doubly rewarding.”

The Rev. Dr. Richard R. Topping
Principal and Professor of Studies in the Reformed Tradition, Vancouver School of Theology

St. Mark’s-Corpus Christi Comments

“We warmly welcome Sarah to St. Mark’s and Corpus Christi for this exciting co-share with VST. The ecumenical, public interest, teaching and research opportunities are many, and Sarah will enrich and benefit from all of them. This is a splendid example of the creative outreach and collegial solidarity that continues to mature and expand between the Catholic colleges and VST.”

Dr. Michael W. Higgins
Interim Principal of St. Mark’s College and President of Corpus Christi College

About St. Mark’s College
St. Mark’s College is the Roman Catholic theological college affiliated with the University of British Columbia. Founded in 1956 by the Congregation of St. Basil, St. Mark’s College engages students in the integration of faith and reason, so they can think rigorously, act justly and serve faithfully. The Community of St. Mark’s at UBC – comprised of St. Mark’s College, Corpus Christi College and St. Mark’s Parish – offers undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. In the past 5 years, the Colleges have experienced a 100% growth in enrolment and continue to expand programs that provide teaching excellence and leadership development.

St. Mark’s College has also been entrusted by the Archdiocese of Vancouver to provide the academic component of the Permanent Diaconate program.

About the Vancouver School of Theology
VST’s core mandate is to educate and form thoughtful, engaged and generous Christian leaders for the church in the 21st century. Among theological schools, VST is viewed as a change agent and an innovator for the church. As an affiliated college of the University of British Columbia, VST is now ranked in the top 50 schools globally and in the top 10 of most improved theological schools. In 2020 VST was identified by In Trust Magazine as instituting bold transformative change for the renewal of theological education. VST is accredited by the Government of British Columbia, and in North America by ATS (Association of Theological Schools).

The Vancouver School of Theology welcomes students from many Christian communions, other faith traditions and Indigenous communities, while celebrating its core relationships with the Anglican Church of Canada, Presbyterian Church in Canada, and United Church of Canada. The Indigenous Studies Program at VST is central to the school’s identity and commitments. The Vancouver School of Theology celebrates its 50th Anniversary this year as a leader in theological education.

 

St. Mark’s College and the Vancouver School of Theology acknowledge that the land on which they are located is the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəyəm (Musqueam) People.

 

Contact: Richard Topping
Principal and Professor of Studies in the Reformed Tradition
Vancouver School of Theology
6015 Walter Gage Road, Vancouver, BC Canada, V6T 1Z1
[email protected] • 604-822-9808

Contact: Michael Higgins
Interim Principal, St Mark’s College
Interim President, Corpus Christi College
5935 Iona Drive, Vancouver, BC Canada, V6T 1J7
[email protected] • 604-822-6862, ext. 161

Contact: Dr. Edwin David Aponte or Ms. Pamala Collins
(502) 992-5432
[email protected]

 

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