We celebrated 150 years of theological education at Montreal Dio this year! In the fall we held a commemorative service of Evensong at Christ Church Cathedral, and in the winter an online alumni reunion where we heard stories from alumni from the 1950s to the 2010s, reminisced with old friends and learned a little bit more about the history of the college.
Throughout the summer and fall we spent time digging into the archives in the attic and down at the Synod Office. We discovered many interesting artifacts of our history which we enjoyed sharing with our supporters on social media. We’ve compiled some of the highlights below!
1892
1961
1977
1962
Memories from Alumni, 1957 to 2011
The following are some of the stories that were shared at the alumni reunion in February.
“One of the things I’ve thought about and smiled about was the very strict policy that people could not get married until they were graduated from the college. That was a matter of strong feelings. One marvelous man, Malcolm Weston, we had from Jamaica who was older than most of us, he was probably about 42, he was required to live in residence as a celibate as it were while his wife and family I think originally were still in Jamaica and then later came to Montreal. It was a strong emphasis on being a part of the Anglican worshipping community.”
– John Barton, M. Div. ‘57
“The memories I put together to share are actually all about being a mom because I was 8 months pregnant when I started at Dio. While this probably isn’t the case for every parent, going to seminary instead of maternity leave was awesome for me and my family. When Gilbert got to be a little too busy to come to class with me, my classmates let me turn one of the rooms at Dio into the place where we stored toys and books and diapers and clothes and they actually babysat while I was in class and my husband was in class. Another beloved memory is Dr. Kirkpatrick carrying Gilbert around the classroom during a lecture on cognitive dissonance. For years later, Gilbert had no idea what was going on or why but every time Dr. Kirkpatrick encountered Gilbert, she would ask him if he had resolved cognitive dissonance yet. All These memories and many many more really speak to the gift of Dio, the way that it helped me integrate my studies, my sense of self, my faith, really supporting my formation as a whole person.”
– Rhonda Waters, M. Div. 2011
Before the Year in Review there was…
1890s
1960s
1970s