April 26, 2007

For Immeduate Release

Atlantic School of Theology Announces 2007 Convocation

(Halifax) - The Board of Governors, Senate, and the President of Atlantic School of Theology (AST), are pleased to announce AST’s 36th Annual Convocation to be held Saturday, May 5, 2007 at 2:00 PM at the Cathedral Church of All Saints, 1340 Tower Road, Halifax. This year, AST will be graduating twenty students in the Master of Divinity degree program (MDiv) and three in the Adult Education Certificate program. “As we celebrate the end of our 35th year of serving the churches and the communities of Atlantic Canada, we acknowledge the wonderful accomplishments of our graduates as they are awarded their degrees and certificates,” says President Eric Beresford.

Honorary Doctorate Awarded
This year, the Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa) is awarded to Colonel Lawrence David MacIsaac, BA, MDiv, CD, OSL. A graduate of Atlantic School of Theology (M.Div, AST 1983), and a resident of Inverness, Nova Scotia, Colonel MacIsaac was appointed the first Chief Instructor at the newly-created Canadian Forces Chaplain School and Centre in 1993. He is currently Director of Chaplain Policy and Principal Chaplain Roman Catholic and is being honored for his extraordinary contributions to the ecumenical and interfaith character of today’s chaplaincy services in the Canadian Forces. AST reserves the Doctor of Divinity (honoris causa) for individuals who make a significant contribution to ecumenical cooperation in Atlantic Canada and beyond.

AST Associates
The Rev. Randy Townsend (Dip.Theol., AST 1995; M.Div, AST 2000) and Mr. Alan MacLean (M.Div, AST 1972) will be made Associates of Atlantic School of Theology in recognition of their significant contribution to the life of the school. Mr. Townsend is currently Rector of St. John’s Anglican Church in Halifax. He has been involved in many aspects of the life of the school and currently is president of the AST Alumni Association. Mr. MacLean is a lawyer with the Truro office of Patterson Law. He is a former Chair of the Board of Atlantic School of Theology, and is currently chair of the AST Self-Study Committee which is guiding the school in its preparations for its periodic accreditation visit from the Association of Theological Schools.

2007 Convocation Speaker
The convocation speaker will be The Rt. Rev. Susan Moxley, (MDiv, AST 1984) Suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island (Anglican). Bishop Moxley is active in the Province of Canada House of Bishops and Provincial Council. For the Anglican Church of Canada, she serves as the diocesan member of the Council of General Synod, and as a member of the EcoJustice Committee. Bishop Moxley is the Anglican Church of Canada’s episcopal representative from the Anglican Church of Canada to the Anglican Consultative Council which gathers Anglicans from around the world.

Background

Atlantic School of Theology was founded in 1971 with the union of three distinct schools of theology: the University of King’s College Faculty of Divinity (Anglican), Holy Heart Theological Institute (Roman Catholic) and Pine Hill Divinity Hall (United Church of Canada). There are over one thousand AST graduates serving the churches and the communities of Atlantic Canada and beyond. In 2002, AST became affiliated with Saint Mary’s University of Halifax, an association which leaves both universities independent while cooperating to achieve operational economies. One of the products of this affiliation is the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Public Affairs which provides an arena for critical thinking, public discussion and research into current ethical challenges in our society.

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For further information, contact:
Katharine Berrington
Public Relations & Development Officer
Atlantic School of Theology
( 902) 496-7943