The Vancouver School of Theology has named Jackie Graham and Frances Kitson as the 2020 recipients of the Chancellor’s Scholarship. These scholarships are the most prestigious and generous awards offered to VST students each year.
Jackie Graham is a mother of three children and began studying at the Vancouver School of Theology in the Master of Divinity program in the Fall of 2017 as a distance education student. Located in Vernon, BC., this was a return to academia after being an at home parent for ten years which was preceded by a career in public relations focusing on politics, event planning and media communications. Jackie received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science at the University of Northern British Columbia where she discovered a love for philosophy, civic engagement, and a passion for community. Jackie is a postulant for ordination to the priesthood in the Diocese of Kootenay with the Anglican Church of Canada. Questioning, curiosity, and a passion for the Bible, brought Jackie to VST. In these challenging days of Covid 19, Jackie is reminded of 2 Corinthians 4: 6-10 and hopes that we may continue to live in a time of being perplexed but not in despair. Thanks be to God.
Frances Kitson is a native Vancouverite and was taken by surprise when the call to ministry came after years working in theatre and construction. She has served in candidate supply for United Church congregations in Kelowna, and looks forward to a summer leading online worship for two Okanagan congregations. She is honoured and delighted to receive the Chancellor’s Scholarship, and dedicates its use to the memory of her grandmother, Dr. Margaret Isabel Griffiths, who worked for the ordination of women in the Church of England.
About the Chancellor’s Scholarships
Each year two Chancellor’s scholarships of $7,000 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:
- 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;
- a student with at least a B+ average in courses in which a grade is assigned and;
- a student who shows promise for ministry, in the opinion of faculty and their relevant judiciary.
The awards were assigned by the VST faculty at its May meeting with thanks to Chancellors of VST, under the generous leadership of former Chancellor Dr. Heather F. Clarke.
About VST
The Vancouver School of Theology’s primary mandate is to educate and form thoughtful, engaged and generous Christian leaders for the church in the 21st century. Among theological schools in North America, 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 globally, placing it among the top 10% of all theological schools. VST is also in the top 10 of the most improved theological schools. VST was also recently recognized by InTrust Magazine as one of six theological schools making bold transformative moves to engage the radically changing academic environment.
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, the Presbyterian Church in Canada and the United Church of Canada.
The Vancouver School of Theology acknowledges that the land on which they are located is the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the xwməθkwəyəm (Musqueam) People.