“The Clergy Care Centre is becoming a sort of centre without walls, as we're expanding beyond our physical centre to work in the rest of Canada,” says Rev. Dr. Andrew Irvine, Director of the Centre for Clergy Care and Congregational Health housed at Knox College, Toronto.
The centre's popular Starting Well and Making the Most of Retirement programs, designed to aid ministers during the first and last five years of their careers respectively, will be offered by a number of universities across Canada, beginning with Starting Well at the University of Toronto's Emmanuel College in June and the Vancouver School of Theology in July. An agreement with St. Stephen's College at the University of Alberta will bring Making the Most of Retirement to the campus in the future, and the centre is currently seeking a partner on the east coast.
“Studies have shown that there are a number of crucial points in ministers' lives, and we try to be there to support them during those times,” Irvine says. In addition to Starting and Retiring Well, the centre boasts a number of mid-career retreats dealing with conflict, self-care, family, and other concerns common to ministers.
“One thing that makes us somewhat unique is we're constantly engaging in our own research work. We've found that most research that's been done has been in the American church, which is radically different from Canada in terms of acceptance and culture,” he says.
A new study examining the first five years of ministry is currently in its final phases and will be unveiled in the near future.
The ecumenical centre opened in April 2006 as a joint project of University of Toronto's Emmanuel and Knox colleges.
Additional information on the research and programs offered by the Centre for Clergy Care and Congregational Health are available at www.caringforclergy.ca
