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A MATTER OF DEGREE
A canon who has dealt with some of the most fractious differences of opinion in the Anglican Communion was granted an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree by Trinity College at the Faculty of Divinity Convocation on May 9.
The Rev. Canon Alyson Barnett-Cowan was cited by the Most Rev. Michael Peers for her contribution to the Church, from her parish work in Nova Scotia and Quebec in the ’70s to her current position as director of faith, worship and ministry of the Anglican Church of Canada. He also praised her service on the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Ecumenical Relations, established after the contentious Windsor Report of 2004.
“We are all afraid of the other, and in a world so full of others, and growing more complex all the time, it is much safer to spend time with people like me,” Barnett-Cowan told the graduands in her Convocation address, “… [but] I hope [you] will take up the challenge of going out beyond your own comfortable communities, to find out what God is doing in the lives of those who don’t look or think the same as you.”
The honorary doctorate brought Barnett-Cowan’s total Trinity degrees to four: she already counts a Bachelor of Arts (1971), a Master of Divinity (1975), and a Master of Theology (1987) from Trinity among her academic achievements.
The Hon. John. W. Morden ’56 was honoured with an honorary Doctor of Sacred Letters degree during the Convocation for his leadership in the Ontario judiciary. In the course of 25 years on the Ontario Rules Committee, he changed the way cases are conducted in court, bringing in new rules for disclosure and time requirements for cases to be brought to trial. He was also cited for his involvement in the Presbyterian Church and as a member of the board of trustees of the Toronto School of Theology.
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