Grace and Laurier Brantford Campus Partnership
The people of Grace our very enthusiastic supporters of the new Brantford campus of Wilfrid Laurier University. Levels of post secondary education in Brantford are well below provincial averages and the parish strongly supports the university’s goals of making a university education more accessible to local students.
Laurier/Nipissing Chaplain - The Reverend Vickie Edgeworth-Pitcher
Th
e parish has taken a leadership role in developing campus
chaplaincy. We have hired the first ecumenical Christian chaplain to
the new Laurier/Nipissing Brantford campuses, the Reverend Vickie
Edgeworth-Pitcher. This position is part time, for now, and
funded entirely by Grace Brantford through its St. Stephen’s
Trust fund. This Anglican chaplain’s duties include leading
worship, fellowship, music, and Christian Education events and Bible
study targeted at the various sectors of the university community. The
chaplain’s duties also include premarital preparation and student
weddings, crisis counselling, counselling on school workload burnout
issues, relationship, and vocational counselling.
Our chaplain talks about her background in ministry in her own words:
"I am a graduate of McMaster University with a degree in Classical Civilizations and a graduate of Trinity College with my Masters of Divinity. I know that sounds pretty lofty, but it really means that I am very interested in history. I believe that in order to know where we are and where we’re going, we have to know where we’ve been and how we got where we are! (Another sermon yet to come!) Throughout the course of my 20 years of ordained ministry, and my years in Lay-Ministry, I have been very fortunate to discover that I have a calling in the area of pastoral care and spiritual guidance. I enjoy creating and providing leadership in guided meditations, prayer work shops (i.e. prayer beads, teach us to pray). I also have experience with labyrinths, prayer chains and liturgical dance. Having been a parish priest for most of my vocation, I have had a great deal of experience providing pastoral care for survivors of sexual and ritual abuse. As a long term Resource Person for Telecare Burlington, I also have experience responding to crisis situations. I am very excited about this new role and look forward to meeting students, faculty and staff."
With this posting, Grace is pleased to be in a position to support the students, faculty and staff of Laurier and Nipissing, Brantford. This represents a major long-term commitment for the parish. It is our hope to fundraise to make this a full time position very quickly.
The chaplain is available to meet with students, plan special events, and lead worship both on campus and at Grace Church.
St. Stephen's House, Laurier Christian Residence
The parish has converted its Albion Street rectory, St. Stephen’s House, into a Christian student residence. The plan is for the university to market this residence to students as a quiet, Christian residential experience, an alternative to residential life. The people of Grace Church have a major committment to this project. On May 1st, 2007, at a special ribbon cutting and house blessing service, Bishop Bob Bennett and Laurier President Dr. Robert Rosehart officiated at the opening of this new residence. The first tenant had moved in the day before. There are ten student rooms, five renovated large rooms on the second floor and five brand new loft rooms on the third floor in St. Stephen's House.
If you are a student interested in living in a Christian community you can call the church office to see if rooms are available. The number is 519-752-6814, ext. 21 or 23.We continue to look for ways to make a difference in Brantford’s downtown core and broaden our Laurier, Nipissing and Mohawk College partnerships.
