After two years of celebrating our graduates via Zoom, all of us at Montreal Dio are delighted to be once again hosting an in-person Convocation. The service will be held on Monday, May 2nd, at 7:00pm at Christ Church Cathedral (635 Sainte-Catherine St. W.), followed by a reception in Fulford Hall.  

This year, we will be jointly celebrating with the United Theological College. Since the spring of 2021 Dio and UTC have been in a strategic alliance which has included sharing our building and community life. We look forward to ending our year together with a joint service that gives thanks for this challenging and hopeful year.  

Adele Halliday will be the Convocation speaker. She currently serves as the Anti-Racism and Equity Lead for the United Church of Canada and moderator for the World Council of Churches’ Advisory Group on Overcoming Racism, Racial Discrimination, and Xenophobia. Adele is an expert anti-racism educator, workshop leader, and award-winning author. We look forward to hearing what she has to say, and pray that her wisdom can help us move toward becoming a truly just and inclusive church. 

In addition to a convocation address, Adele will be giving a free talk entitled “Building an Anti-Racist Church” from 3:30pm to 5:00pm on May 2nd at St. James United Church (463 Sainte-Catherine St. W.). Click here to download the event poster, or click here to be directed to the Facebook event. 

During the convocation ceremony, UTC will be conferring the honorary Doctorate of Divinity on The Rev. Catherine Ann Hamilton, in recognition of the work she has done to ensure the continued existence of the French language in United Church ministries throughout Québec. Cathy received her Master of Divinity from UTC in 2009. In 2012, she led the Comprehensive Review Task Group which restructured the United Church of Canada. Throughout this process she supported the Francophones in the Church as they created the Table des ministères en français, which allowed them to govern themselves and to strengthen ministries in French in the United Church. Her efforts have made a long-lasting impact for the francophone community of the United Church. 

We know not everyone is able to join us in person for convocation at this time so we will also be livestreaming the ceremony. To join, simply go to montrealcathedral.ca/live before the ceremony.