The Vancouver School of Theology has named Rebecca Yeo and Keith Murray as the 2023 recipients of the Chancellor’s Scholarships. These scholarships are the most prestigious and generous awards offered to VST students each year.
Rebecca Yeo
Rebecca Yeo (they/them) has just finished their third year at Vancouver School of Theology, where they are pursuing both a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Indigenous and Interreligious Studies. They are a candidate for ordination in the Anglican Church of Canada, discerning a call to priesthood and parish ministry. Currently, Rebecca lives on unceded W̱SÁNEĆ territory (the Saanich Peninsula) and is poet-in-residence at the AbbeyChurch in downtown Victoria. In their spare time, Rebecca plays tabletop roleplaying games, dabbles in voice-acting, and pets dogs.
I love learning at VST! I am honoured to have been selected as a Chancellor’s Scholar in the community that has affirmed and challenged me as I discern my call to parish priesthood.
Keith Murray
Keith Murray (they/them) is an artist called to ministry, or a minister called to creativity. A descendant of settlers along the convergence of the Bow and Elbow River in Treaty 7, Keith has spent a life dedicated to community transformation at the confluence of spirituality, social justice, and the arts. Keith believes we were made in the image of the creator, created to co-create. Keith has worked across mediums in the visual and performing arts, engaging in societal healing through the imagination. Keith’s creative projects have been recognized and exhibited internationally (including MoMA NYC, and Witte de With, NL), and they were the first artist-in-residence at Union Theological Seminary, NYC. An advocate, and spiritual care provider Keith specializes in supporting gender and sexually diverse, and marginalized communities across turtle island, and abroad.
Through an immersive study of our sacred traditions at VST, my conviction has crystalized, that it is the stories we tell which make the difference between heaven and hell on Earth.
About the Chancellor’s Scholarships
Each year two Chancellor’s scholarships of $7,000.00 dollars will be awarded to students entering their final year of studies at Vancouver School of Theology, as an encouragement to fuller-time engagement in their studies. The award is intended to support the costs associated with the recipient’s tuition and related personal investment in theological education.
To qualify to receive a Chancellor’s Scholarship, the recipient needs to be: (1) a student who is in a degree program that aims at congregational ministry and who will be entering their final year of study in the fall; (2) a student with at least a B+ average in courses in which a grade is assigned and; (3) a student who shows promise for ministry, in the opinion of faculty and their relevant judiciary.
The Chancellor’s Scholars are celebrated at the annual VST Chancellor’s Dinner scheduled for Thursday, September 28, 2023 at the UBC Golf and Country Club. This event provides support for VST Students and the Indigenous Studies Program at VST. The evening is hosted by VST Chancellor, Catherine Evans. In addition to honouring the Chancellor’s Scholars, the evening will feature keynote speaker Joanna Chiu, an internationally recognized authority on China, award-winning journalist for the Toronto Star and author of China Unbound. Please contact VST for tickets at 604.822.6315 or jvanderpol@vst.edu.