Quebec MB seminary attracts university students

The number of Roman Catholic students attending École de Théologie Évangelique de Montréal (ETEM) is rising since the school’s move to the U of M campus last year, says president Eric Wingender.

“It’s usually because the university’s faculty of theology isn’t offering a wide range of courses any given semester,” says Wingender. “They come to ETEM for one class, and then stay for more.”

The reason is simple, he says. User-friendly facilities, teacher’s offices located beside classrooms – and they always have time for discussion after class.

“But the main factor seems to be the general posture or outlook with which we teach,” he says. “We articulate content from a believer’s perspective. This confessing stance and weaving of personal insights coming out of one’s faith pilgrimage into the fabric of teaching is having the Catholics coming back for more.”

ETEM director Eric Wingender says the crossover of Catholic, evangelical, and non-religious students at their new University of Montreal campus is invigorating.

Battling prejudice

This friendship, built up in the last 10 years, has a lot to do with how professors present their faith. “Now we’re able to explain who we are and what we believe without making our Roman Catholic listeners feel attacked or rejected.” That attitude, says Wingender, is a respectful model for evangelical students who think it’s impossible to be a real Christian and remain Roman Catholic.

Evangelical prejudice was evident at the Imagine church planting conference in Ottawa last November, during a workshop on Quebec also attended by two priests. When it came time for the Quebec pastor to answer the question “how should we look to the contribution of the Catholic church?” he responded along the lines that the Lord was also bringing Catholics to faith.

“The evangelicals that came to Quebec during the 60s brought with them an anti-Catholic streak that is still prevalent in several denominations,” says Wingender.

Wingender hopes ETEM is the beginning of a consortium of Christian schools attached to the university.

A time of refreshment

But he’s excited about the future. The ETEM program took a new twist this fall, when six students in a bachelor of art history program enrolled in “History of Christianity.” They had no previous experience of Christianity, and Wingender was able to present the difference between Christian culture and the person of Jesus who gave it the initial impetus.

“To have an appreciation for how this makes us feel, you need to remember that we as Quebec MBs have struggled for decades to get people to our churches, with relatively little success. Now we experience this as a time of refreshment. We are deeply moved and encouraged to find ourselves in the position we are in.”

Since courses are posted on the University of Montreal website, students in history, literature, or psychology enroll for a few courses. In a few cases, they may even decide to continue on and complete a minor.

ETEM is also partnering with the French counterpart of IVCF (GBU, or Groupes Bibliques Universitaires), which has played a key role in supporting leaders of this generation. They host the weekly students’ Bible study and provide office space.

Looking to the future, Wingender hopes to establish a bilingual graduate program within the next five years. To achieve it, he says, they’ll need more resources, and he’s currently looking for partnerships. There is also discussion of creating a consortium of several small schools like ETEM, but this vision is long-term.

—AS