E-Newsletter

September 2026

Greetings,

Please join us this month in praying that the Gospel’s message of renewal permeates ICS, Canada, and, ultimately, every aspect of creation. Your support, especially your prayer, allows ICS to reform, extend, and amplify the Reformational tradition, advocating for human flourishing in a world that so often diminishes human and creational life.

May God bless you and keep you.

Reflections from the President’s Office

Back-to-School Edition

How quickly the summer passes. The start of the new school year comes as an ending and a fresh start. How will you mark the passing of summer?

The early days of September stir mixed emotions in me. I expect many educators can relate to this. I feel a sense of anticipation. I love back-to-school stationery and the promise of a yet-to-be-filled notebook. I am excited to meet students and onboard new colleagues. If I am really honest, I am relieved to get a timetable and return to familiar routines.

I am also always nervous. Was this the summer that I forgot how to do it? Did I forget how to teach? What happened to all that wisdom I am supposed to impart on the first day of school? It feels somehow like it leached away during the long, hot days of summer; surely everyone will be able to tell.

Ray Bradbury wrote a beautiful reminiscence of the summer of 1928 in his semi-autobiographical novel Dandelion Wine. In it he revisits the memories of childhood summers. He does this in the same way that his grandparents reach for dandelion wine in winter. Carefully harvested and bottled in the summer months, the dandelion wine is shelved in the root cellar and when it is opened it releases shafts of summer light and tastes back into the dark depths of the end of the year.

Dandelion Wine is not sentimental about the past. Told through the lens of childhood, it deals with dark and light. Loss and disappointment are included in the children’s experience even as they enjoy adventures and cultivate deep friendships.

Tom and Douglas, the two brothers in the story, know that the end of summer is approaching when the coloured pencils and crayons appear in the dime store window.

‘“Pencils Doug, ten thousand pencils!”...“No,” moaned Tom in despair. “School, School straight on ahead! Why, why do dime stores show things like that in the windows before summer’s even over! Ruin half the vacation!”’

Tom and Douglas reflect on how quickly a year has passed and they worry that next year will go even more quickly. The writer of Ecclesiastes captures this same poignancy, encouraging readers to remember their Creator in the days of their youth and to sow while they can.

At ICS, we are eager to welcome new students to our orientation and Fall Retreat, and we are excited for the first days of class and the rollout of a new slate of courses. Check out the degree course offerings here and the Free to be Faithful lineup; it is never too late to sign up for a class. Take advantage of all these opportunities for learning and reflection this fall.

Bradbury, Ray. Dandelion Wine. New York: Bantam Books, 1976. Originally published 1957, p. 235.

With Joy and Love,

Beth Green

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ICS Community

Prayer Letter

Monday, September 7 – Friday, September 11:

Orientation Week begins on September 8 as we welcome new and returning Junior Members to another year of study at ICS. Our September 9 community Zoom will include devotions led by President Beth Green, introductions, and opportunities to learn about academic support and research at the Institute. Please pray that our students will feel welcomed and encouraged, and that friendships will take root across the distances and time zones that shape our community.

From September 11–13, students, faculty, and staff will gather at Crieff Hills Retreat Centre for our fall retreat. Alongside time for rest and informal conversation, two community dialogue circles will give us opportunities to listen and reflect together. Please pray for safe travel, renewed friendships, and a shared sense of calling as we begin the academic year.

Monday, September 14 – Friday, September 18:

Our first two Free to be Faithful courses of the fall begin this week. On September 15, Jim Olthuis begins Spirals of Love and Healing: Empathy, Re-stor(y)-ing, Re-connecting, Transforming. On September 16, Bruce Berglund begins Keeping Faith Under Dictators: Lessons from 20th Century Europe. Please pray for both instructors and their students, that these six-week courses will encourage careful listening, renewed understanding, and faithful responses to suffering and injustice.

Please also pray for Ron Kuipers and Neal DeRoo as they attend the Waymaking Conference, September 16–19, in St. Albert, Alberta. Gathering with pastors and church leaders navigating theological questions and church transitions, Ron and Neal will build relationships, connect with supporters, and invite pastors into F2BF learning opportunities. Neal is adapting his course on consumerism and spirituality with pastoral leaders in mind. Pray for encouraging conversations and lasting connections that help ICS serve these leaders and their congregations well.

On September 16, we say farewell to Parker Cotton after three years of service as Academic Registrar. We give thanks for his care for our students and his contributions to community life, and pray for blessing on his next steps. Please also remember those overseeing the registrar search and the transition in the Academic Office, that students will continue to receive attentive support during this busy season.

Monday, September 21 – Friday, September 25:

As fall courses get underway, please keep all our instructors and students in your prayers. Remember especially the educators taking The Craft of Reflective Practice with Gideon Strauss and Cultivating Learning Communities of Belonging with Edith van der Boom. Pray for energy and insight as they balance their studies with school and family responsibilities, and that their learning will enrich the communities they serve.

This academic year also brings changes in leadership. We give thanks for Gideon’s years as Academic Dean and Edith’s service as Interim Dean. Please pray for Gideon as he returns his full attention to scholarship and teaching, and for Ron Kuipers as he takes up a one-year term as Interim Academic Dean. Pray, too, for Beth Green during her first fall as President, that she and her colleagues will find wisdom, strength, and joy in their work together.

Monday, September 28 – Wednesday, September 30:

Both the Academic Council and the Board of Trustees meet on September 28. Please pray for the Senior and Junior Members, staff, and Trustees who share in the work of guiding ICS. May their deliberations be marked by careful listening, clarity, and faithfulness to our educational mission, and may the decisions they make support the flourishing of our scholarly community.

Please also pray for preparations for the Pastors’ Consultation, which the Free to Be Faithful team hopes to launch this fall. Héctor Acero Ferrer is developing the consultation, with Ken Baker and Elle Pike helping identify and invite pastors in Canada and the United States. Pray that these conversations will make room for honest reflection on the needs of pastors and congregations, and help ICS discern how its teaching and resources can support them in their ministries.

Thank you for keeping the ICS community in your prayers as we begin another academic year. We are grateful for your faithful company and encouragement in this shared work.

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