Bishop Darren instrumental in reopening of Arctic seminary
Bishop Darren McCartney, a former rector in the diocese, is a driving force behind the re–opening of an Anglican seminary in the Arctic almost a decade after it closed.
Its re–opening has long been a priority for the Anglican diocese of the Arctic; and with the opening of a replacement cathedral in 2012, at a cost of 11 million Canadian dollars (approximately 8.4 million USD), the new St Jude’s offered a convenient location for the new ATTS – Arthur Turner Training School.
The new location in Iqaluit offers many opportunities to students training for Arctic ministry, such as chaplaincy work at the local hospital, ministry at correctional facilities, and volunteering in the food centre that runs out of the cathedral.
“We’re giving the students the best opportunity that we possibly can to sample different areas of ministry that are important in the north,” Bishop Suffragan of the Arctic, Darren McCartney, chair of the education committee, said.
Iqaluit’s multicultural nature is well suited to the bilingual school, which offers classes in both
Inuktitut and English. Meanwhile, the city’s central location and status as a regional transportation hub allow lay leaders or clergy visiting the city to sit in on lectures.
With ATTS currently accepting applications, its proponents hope that the re–opening in
September will create beneficial effects across the diocese.
“As a bishop, I travelled to the whole of the diocese and visited each of these communities, and that’s a question that we’ve continually been asked – ‘Can we get a minister? Can we get a clergy person? Can we get a priest?’” McCartney said. “So people are asking for it and we’re trying to respond to that need.”
The seminary for the Arctic will be known as the Arthur Turner Training School (ATTS). The
school offers a two–year diploma program in Arctic ministry with a practicum between each
year. Classes include introductions to the Old and New Testaments, Anglicanism, theology,
church history, and worship. The parish model taught by the school, emphasizes that ministry extends beyond those who attend church to the community as a whole.
The school was obliged to shut down operations in 2007 as its rapidly ageing buildings proved unsuitable to host classes. The closure of the school followed the 2005 fire that destroyed the original St Jude’s Cathedral.
Source: CNI