the seminary since 2012, Robbins is responsible for (among
other things) oversight of the
school’s curriculum, its administration and application.
Profoundly curious, passionate about the intersection of
faith and culture, a self-de-scribed “extreme extrovert”
and a gifted communicator,
Robbins says she doesn’t see
herself as being on a career
path per se, but just following
her vocation.
As a young woman she
wanted to be a journalist. But
after a year of journalism
school she changed her mind.
Robbins took up communications work with the Red Cross.
It was there, dealing with humanitarian concerns, that she
began to wonder what her
faith had to say about justice
issues, and decided to pursue
theological study.
“I kept studying because my
questions were big,” she ex-
plains. “For me, it’s a drive for
a deeper understanding. Not
just for my own edification,
but so that I can pass that on
to other people.”
Her calling, says Robbins, is
to serve the Church. But after
more than a decade working in
England – at the London
School of Theology (including
stints as acting principal, sen-
ior lecturer and vice-principal)
– she’s glad to be pursuing that
calling once again on Canadian soil, working at the
school she describes as “a gem”
in Eastern Canada.
While moving from a city of
eight million to a town of a few
thousand has required some
adjustment, Robbins describes
bits of her daily life in idyllic
terms. She lives with her hus-
band and elementary school-
aged son in the small town of
Wolfville, “Just a stroll through
the woods to work,” she says. “I
can almost see my son’s school
from my office window.”
The work itself, while chal-
lenging and clearly something
she loves, can feel somewhat
overwhelming at times – be-
cause of its sheer volume and
multiple details. “When you
have so many things to do, it’s
easy to get lost in the mire.
Part of that is the job itself,
and part of that is because I’m
an ideas person, and some-
times my ideas are bigger than
my resources.”
Still, it is an interesting time
for theological schools in
Canada, she says, because of
the decline in the Church. “It’s
a matter of colleges owning
some responsibility for ad-
dressing [that decline]. If the
churches are in decline, what
is our role as seminaries?”
She believes part of the
answer lies in helping church-
es do a better job of engaging
culture. “I’m excited because
I don’t think what’s coming is
going to look anything like
what came before,” she says,
“except that it will be all about
Jesus.
“We could be a holy huddle
and hide away, but we’re working really hard to be engaged.
And that’s an awful lot of fun.”
Jo-Ann Badley
Bringing renewal to Ambrose
IT WAS in August 2014, mere
months ago, that Jo-Ann Badley took up her post as dean of
theology and professor of New
Testament at Ambrose University in Calgary, Alta. But
she’s already having a perceptible impact there.
“From the beginning, she
has been engaging the faculty
in strategic conversations
around the mission of the
faculty and what it is we’re
trying to accomplish,” says
Paul Spilsbury, vice-president
for academic affairs and also
professor of New Testament.
As a result of Badley’s influ-
ence, Ambrose’s faculty are
already trying to formulate
“new ways of thinking” about
that mission. “There’s a sense
of excitement, encourage-
ment … it’s leading to a kind
of renewal,” he says.
Sparking that kind of
energy might seem incongru-
ous for a woman who began
her postsecondary studies in
the field of economics and
her working life as a statis-
tical analyst. But there’s
nothing dour about Badley.
Spilsbury says she’s got a
sense of humour and “her
outlook is optimistic without
being saccharine.”
She’s also thoughtful and
passionate about her subject.
Badley describes theology as
“fun” and clearly communi-
cates that passion to those
around her. Author and
theologian Brian McLaren
“I kept studying because
my questions were big,”
she explains. “For me,
it’s a drive for a deeper
understanding. Not just
for my own edification,
but so that I can pass that
on to other people.”
–Anna Robbins, Acadia
Divinity College
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