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Regis College Receives Grant from the Scarboro Foreign Mission Society for Academic Chair and Centre for Practical Theology

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Toronto September 11 , 2017 – Regis College, the Jesuit Faculty of Theology in the Toronto School of Theology at the University of Toronto, is pleased to announce receipt of an extraordinary grant from the Scarboro Foreign Mission Society.

The grant will be used to endow a Chair in Interreligious Dialogue and the Msgr. John Mary Fraser Centre for Practical Theology. This decision by Scarboro Missions was based on Regis College’s interfaith work for more than four decades, and Scarboro Missions’ confidence in Regis College and the International Jesuit network.

The Scarboro Missions Interfaith Department has been instrumental in exerting vital local-to-global interfaith advocacy through education, workshops, interfaith networking, theological reflection, internet video and print resources and its multi-faith Golden Rule poster. “We pledge to continue the legacy of Scarboro Missions in the area of interreligious dialogue and understanding,” said Dean Scott Lewis, SJ. “The focus of theological teaching at Regis College has always been to put faith into action and to encourage dialogue between Christianity and other world religions.” Regis College hosts an annual lecture during Holocaust Education Week as part of its ongoing interfaith programming. The Msgr. John Mary Fraser Centre for Practical Theology, named in honour of the founder of Scarboro Missions, will focus on issues relevant to today. Programing will include lectures, workshops and other initiatives that promote the Centre’s mission of interfaith dialogue and hands-on learning for students.

Regis College’s new president (effective August 1, 2017) Rev. Thomas Worcester, SJ, reflects on the importance of a centre where students can gain real-world experience: “Two of our most significant degrees at Regis, the Master in Divinity (MDiv.) and the Master of Arts in Ministry and Spirituality (MAMS) involve a practicum, or work placement component. The Msgr. John Mary Fraser Centre for Practical Theology will help prepare students to serve the world with compassion and justice. The Centre will also provide an excellent resource for community-based continuous learning.”