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Our monthly digital newsletter

September 2026

Raw Conversations and Radical Hope:

An Interview with AST’s New Academic Dean

On July 1, 2026, AST had a change in leadership. We welcomed our new Academic Dean, Dr. David Deane.

“I'm coming into this role at an exciting time, when questions about unity, about difference, about the need to work together more closely are being exposed,” shared Dr. Deane.

“I think we need to feel this, live into it, and encourage it. We can encourage the idea that our differences may not simply be all okay.”

We caught up with Dr. Deane to discuss his vision for AST, the changing landscape of theological education, and what gives him hope for the Church today.

Having recently taken over as Dean, what excites you most about leading AST at this particular point in its history?

This is such an exciting time in the history of the Church for two reasons, one hopeful and one challenging, and AST is at the intersection of both.

First, the hunger for God, for Christ, for transformation by the Holy Spirit is palpable. We're seeing record numbers of people entering the Church in many locations, including in many parts of Nova Scotia. I was at Mass recently, and there were so many young people in their 20s who didn't know the creed, didn't know when to kneel or sit, didn't know the responses. This is exciting! Why? Because they haven't grown up in the Church. They're coming with curiosity and openness. They're coming seeking hope and truth and transformation. This is a massive shift from 20, or even 10, years ago. And because of this, it's a fruitful time for theological education, a time when people can come to learn more about this part of reality.

But it’s also a challenging time, because the need for an alternative to the dehumanizing forces of our age, to violence, injustice, naked quests for power, and hatred, has rarely been greater. We need leaders who are themselves being transformed and who can help transform people and the world, and this is what AST is for. So, we have the need, we have the people who want to respond to that need, and AST is a key place where those people can be formed to respond. Everything is in place. This is such an exciting time!

From Classroom to Hospital Corridors:

Susan Drain’s Calling to Care

Susan Drain, a special student at AST, is a postulant for the Anglican priesthood and professor emerita of English at Mount Saint Vincent University. 

This summer, she was a student in Clinical Psychospiritual Education with a placement at Dartmouth General Hospital. Drain shared that hospital chaplaincy is very different—there are no “cold calls,” as spiritual care must be invited by the patients.

In almost all cases, Susan found that grey hair was a great advantage for a chaplain!

What role does this interim chaplaincy position play in your ongoing discernment for the priesthood?

When the DGH chaplain resigned later in the summer, I was honoured and flattered that the hospital and Capital Health’s Spiritual Care office asked whether I could be a stopgap. If it works out, I will be happy to continue such meaningful engagement with folks at difficult points in their lives and help me discern a direction for my priestly calling.

Atlantic School of Theology Releases Volume 2 of Along the Arm

Along the Arm: The Journal of Atlantic School of Theology, Vol. 2 (Summer 2026) is out now!

The journal contains contributed articles and essays from students and faculty within the AST community and includes "Can Robots or Digital Persons Be Baptised into the Christian Faith? How AI Has Altered the Christian Perception and Experience of Christ," authored by Lynda Cicely Airriess (Capstone Project for MA in Theology and Religion); “Wrestling with Paul: The Question of Manumission in the Epistle to Philemon," authored by Sherry Brown (ST 3128: Theological Hermeneutics); “In Their Own Words: War, Conscience, and The United Church Observer, 1939," authored by Catherine Cavanagh (CH 2105: United Church History); and “Celebrating 100 Years: Looking Back, Looking Forward,” by Rev. Dr. Rob Fennell. 

Edited by Robert C. Fennell

Cover art by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, “Dove of the Holy Spirit” (ca. 1660, St. Peter's Basilica, Vatican).

Published by Atlantic School of Theology

In Memoriam

Fred Kimball Graham (1946 – 2026)

Honouring the life and legacy of Fred Kimball Graham.

Dr. Graham taught as adjunct professor of church music at Atlantic School of Theology.

Those who studied under him knew him as "a good professor, always ready to listen and encourage" (Kelly Higgins) and peers remember him as "a wonderful liturgist and musician" (Ann Turner).

We remember his lifelong commitment to faith, education, and music.

AST Board Chair Greg Aikins on Bringing Alpha to AST

On September 14, 2026, a group of volunteers gathered at AST’s President’s Lodge for a community gathering unlike any other. The focus was not just to study faith but to practice it in community.

The premise of Alpha is simple. Curiosity is the only requirement. What does it look like to welcome a stranger? To sit with someone’s questions? To be present at someone else’s table?

Nearly 3 million people in 158 countries experienced Alpha in 2025—because it made a difference in their lives. It has been adopted across virtually every Christian tradition, including those at AST, precisely because it creates space rather than pressure.

We sat down with AST’s Board Chair, Greg Aikins, who stepped into facilitating Alpha at AST in an independent, volunteer-led capacity outside of official AST operations.



“It was my exposure to the lack of community or fellowship in the residence that first touched my heart,” shared Aikins, adding, “Then I realized that for the many AST students not in residence, it was a real opportunity to enhance student life by building community with lasting relationships while learning how to share the beauty of our Christian faith in an open and loving way through the Alpha experience.”

Orientation Morning Worship | Sept. 8

Students, faculty, and staff gathered at St. Columba Chapel for a morning of worship and connection to launch the new academic year.

Matriculation Service | Sept. 17

Our community officially welcomed new students, faculty, and staff during the Matriculation Service, both in person and online.

Announcements & Media Mentions

Job Opportunity: Recruitment Coordinator

The Advancement Office is seeking a Recruitment Coordinator for a three year contract.

The Recruitment Coordinator takes a resourceful, hands-on approach to increasing awareness of and enrollment in AST’s academic programs. Reporting to the President and working closely with the rest of the Advancement team, this role offers high day-to-day flexibility and autonomy—ideal for a self-motivated professional who enjoys connecting with people, managing relationships, and identifying creative outreach opportunities on a manageable, part-time schedule. 

To view the full job description, qualifications, and EDIA statement, please visit our website.

How to Apply: Please submit your cover letter and resume to Andrea Ngui at Andrea.Ngui@astheology.ns.ca by October 2, 2026, at 11:59 P.M. 

Interviews will take place on a rolling basis.

What if small is enough?

AST President Rev. Dr. Heather McCance was recently featured in the Sept./Oct. Small Church issue of Broadview.

In a special feature asking "What does it mean to be called to be small?", Rev. McCance reminds us that "Jesus didn’t come to help us build buildings or to preach the capitalist mindset that bigger is better; he came to give us abundant life."

Explore faith, growth, and why what we have is already enough. Read the full article by Jocelyn Bell to explore faith, growth, and why what we have is already enough.

Sept. 28 | 7 p.m. | MacKinnon Lecture 2026

Dr. Rebecca Carter‑Chand | Christian Internationalism and German Belonging: The Salvation Army from Imperial Germany to Nazism

On Monday, September 28, at 7 p.m., the MacKinnon Lecture will take place at the Sobey Building, Saint Mary’s University. Drawing on her award-winning book of the same title, winner of the George L. Mosse First Book Prize, Dr. Carter-Chand will examine how the Salvation Army navigated the passage from Wilhelmine imperialism through the Third Reich—and what its trajectory reveals about religion, transnational identity, and the moral compromises of a catastrophic era.

The Cadence of the Spirit: Preaching and Formation Under the Powers

2026 Nicholson Lecture Series with Rev. Dr. Mark Jefferson

Oct. 13 & Oct. 14, 2026 | 7 p.m. | Hybrid Event

This October, join us in person at the Saint Columba Chapel or online for the 2026 Nicholson Lecture Series with Rev. Dr. Mark Jefferson titled, “The Cadence of the Spirit: Preaching and Formation Under the Powers.”

About the speaker: Dr. Jefferson is Associate Professor in the John Gladstone Chair of Preaching and Worship and Dean of the Sarah Daley Nickerson Chapel at Acadia Divinity College in Wolfville, N.S. An alumnus of Norfolk State University (B.A.), Candler School of Theology (M.Div.), and Emory University (Ph.D.), his work explores the confluence of race, class, technology, contemporary cultural expressions, and preaching. Dr. Jefferson has preached around the globe—in South Africa, Israel, the Caribbean, and throughout the United States. He has appeared on prominent platforms, including the Washington National Cathedral and the Festival of Homiletics. Whether in pulpits, classrooms, or digital platforms, Dr. Jefferson brings a theologically rigorous and culturally resonant vision for Gospel witness.     

The two-day lecture series will proceed according to the following schedule: 

Oct. 13 | 7 p.m. ADT

Lecture I: The Powers That Form Us: Rival Cadences in the Algorithmic Age


This lecture will examine the competing cultural, technological, racial, economic, and ideological forces that shape attention, desire, identity, and belonging before the preacher ever enters the pulpit. Dr. Jefferson will argue that formation often happens rhythmically before it happens propositionally and that contemporary preaching must take seriously the rival cadences already forming Christian communities.

Oct. 14 | 7 p.m. ADT

Lecture II: Learning the Cadence of Christ: Toward a Cadential Homiletics

This lecture will move from diagnosis to a constructive theology of proclamation. It will develop Cadential Homiletics as a Spirit-enabled, Christologically ordered understanding of preaching as formation, organized around the recurring movement of hearing, discernment, proclamation, formation, and witness. 

RSVP below to receive your Zoom link. 

Community Thursday Chapel event with Rev. Dr. Mark Jefferson

Oct. 15 | 12 p.m. ADT | Hybrid Event

Confusing Our Cadence

Dr. Jefferson will also join the AST Community for Community Thursday Service on Oct. 15, 2026, preaching from Genesis 11:1–9 under the title “Confusing Our Cadence.”

The sermon, which is an extension of lectures, will move from Babel to Pentecost, exploring the danger of a common but distorted cadence and concluding with Pentecost as a Spirit-given counter-cadence: communion without conformity. 

Taken together, the sermon and lectures will form one integrated theological movement: not every cadence is holy; the powers form us through rival cadences; and the Spirit forms a people into the cadence of Christ for faithful witness.

About the Nicholson Lectures: The Nicholson Lectures were established in the early 1980s in memory of Dr. C.M. Nicholson, who was principal of Pine Hill Divinity Hall from 1946 to 1971. The memorial fund was established by the Pine Hill Alumni Association, which has committed itself to the establishment of permanent funding for the lectures. 

Zoom Join Link for Community Thursday Service.

Funding Ministry into the Future

How do we faithfully fund ministry in a changing world?

Join stewardship and faith leaders on November 20–21 in Waterloo, ON, for practical learning and honest conversation about stewardship, generosity, and sustainable ministry.

Many churches are facing changing giving patterns, tight budgets, and big questions about the future. We aren’t going to simply tweak our way out of these challenges. This conference will offer practical ideas you can use now, along with fresh approaches to bring back to your congregation and leadership team.

Hear from Grace Pomroy on stewardship, generosity, and faithful leadership, and Paul Nazareth, whose humour and decades of experience in Canadian philanthropy will help us think about stewardship through the lens of people, relationships, and community.

Workshops and breakout sessions will feature other stewardship and faith leaders, including Lori Guenther Reesor and Gillian Doucet Campbell, both featured in AST's Certificate in Stewardship.

Bring a few people from your church and return home ready to put what you’ve learned into practice.

AST Christmas Card Contest

We're inviting the creative children in our community to design AST's official Christmas card. Your artwork could be printed and sent all around the country! 

Draw inspiration from what matters most to you—your favourite Christmas traditions, carols, stories, holiday memories, or winter themes. Create a festive design that celebrates the joy of the season and shows us what Christmas means to you. 

Who can enter?

Children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, or cousins of AST alumni, students, staff, and faculty—all ages under 16 are welcome. Winners will be selected in the following age groups: Five and under; 6-8; 9-10; 11-12; 13+

The winning design from each age category will be featured on our official Christmas cards, and the artist will receive a prize recognizing their creative spirit and community connection. 

How to enter

Complete the contest form and submit your artwork no later than October 14. 

Email the completed form and drawing (as one .pdf) to Rachel.MacLeod@astheology.ns.ca, mail to the Advancement Office, or visit us in person in the basement of St. Columba Chapel. 

We will announce our winning designs on November 4, 2026. 

Questions? Contact Rachel MacLeod.

Through the Archives

We invite you to journey through the archives of AST as we honour the stories, leadership, and ecumenical milestones that continue to shape our mission today. 

"Through the Archives" is a monthly look at the moments that built AST into the institution it is today. Check out the first edition of AST News from 1982. The message still stands true today:

"Got something to say?

To share or to pray?

Wait no longer!

Tell us today!"

Every snapshot tells a story of faith and community. We want to hear from you: Did you read or contribute to the 1982 volume of AST News? Join the conversation by replying to this email!

Watch your inbox for two upcoming emails from AST

Alumni Benefits: Discover special home/auto insurance discounts, library perks, and ways to stay involved.



Fall Appeal: Read Dean David Deane’s message on AST’s future and help us reach our $25,000 goal by November 1!