UPCOMING EVENTS

The Centre for Christian Engagement comes to your neighbourhood or online

Hockey Priest and the Story of Father David Bauer

The conversation between Dr. Matthew Hoven and Clay Imoo about how Fr. David Bauer brought...
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PAST EVENTS

Listen to the Keynote speakers here

The conference was held and hosted at St. Mark’s College at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada from May 4 through May 6, 2023.

Pope Francis’ election in 2013 marked a new stage of post-conciliar reflection on the nature of the church and its mediation of God’s love for the world. Informed by his programmatic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), Francis has set in motion a reform that challenges Catholics to rethink what it means to be the Church in the 21st century…

THE END OF HUMANITY?: AI and Human Identity

“The End of Humanity?: AI and Human Identity” is a collaborative event sponsored by Vancouver...
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ABOUT

The Centre for Christian Engagement

THE WHY

More than fifty years after the close of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Francis is leading a renewal of the Church that is deeply embedded within the Catholic Intellectual tradition, which emphasizes that learning means discovering and growing in the truth. It builds on his formation in the Argentinian “Theology of the People”, which understands “the honest and sincere love of God practiced by people at the local level might inform the theological understanding and religious behaviour of the global church.” Released shortly after his election, Francis’ first Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium (2013) represents his blueprint for this renewal. It calls for the creation of a “culture of encounter”, and for the Church to become “a place of mercy freely given, where everyone can feel welcome, loved, forgiven and encouraged to live the good life of the Gospel.” 

FOR WHOM, WHAT, WHERE

Established with founding donations from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver, Peter Bull, Angus Reid, and Andy Szocs in 2019, St. Mark’s College at UBC launched the Centre for Christian Engagement to  

  • build a culture of encounter and dialogue for Christians and the Catholic Church locally and globally 
  • bridge and create engagement between the Academy with the wider society and those interested in faith 
  • create relevant resources to encourage faith journeys 
  • provide forums via public lectures, retreats, panel discussions, podcasts, debates, conferences, and online material to address the issues and challenges that have led to disengagement and to build and encourage Christian engagement in culture 
  • encourage “prophetic voices of the age” to bring the message of Jesus to the Church and the world 
  • highlight the unique and important experiences, voices, and narratives of those who have been marginalized in the Church or the world which includes women, those who are disabled, First Nations/Indigenous peoples, migrants, refugees, and those living in poverty 
  • Speak to the degradation of the environmental and spiritual environment to which Pope Francis spoke in his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’ 
  • provide safe learning spaces for ecumenical and interfaith dialogue 
THE TEAM

John W. Martens

Director
The Centre for Christian Engagement

Fang Fang Chandra

Administrative Assistant
The Centre for Christian Engagement

Nuri Lee

Summer Intern
The Centre for Christian Engagement

Kevin Eng

Technical Support
The Centre for Christian Engagement

WORDS

  • Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB
    Archdiocese of Vancouver

    We readily speak about the harmony between faith and reason. Neither is to be sacrificed, one to the other. To do so would be to fall either into religious fundamentalism on the one hand or atheistic rationalism on the other.

    One and the same God who created us with reason also opens us to the gift of faith. You don’t have to choose between the two.

    What you learn at the Colleges is that faith and reason work together in helping address the maior social questions of our day.

  • Dr. Gerry Turcotte
    President & Principal
    St. Mark's College
    Corpus Christi College

    The Centre has grown in leaps and bounds over the years and the work and mission are vital to keeping the Catholic Intellectual Tradition alive on campus and bringing the Centre to the public with John’s leadership.

CONNECT + SUBSCRIBE

Email

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Phone

604.822.6862 Ext. 120

Location

Centre for Christian Engagement
St. Mark’s College at UBC
5935 Iona Drive
Vancouver, BC V6T 1J7  CANADA

Office:

Suite 320 Vancouver School of Theology
6015 Walter Gage Road
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 CANADA

St. Mark’s College at the University of British Columbia is on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Musqueam People.

We are so thankful to be able to live, work, play, study, and create on the traditional ancestral unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples, including the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.