If you are 22 years old, soon to graduate with a Bachelor's degree, bright, ambitious, eager to make a difference in the world, and you see churches disappearing from the social landscape, it is tough to decide to choose to train for ministry when half the addtional training can put you in a classroom or equip you for teaching oversees or in remote communiities and the same amount of additional training can provde you with the tools for social or economic development or a degree of medical training that can open doors to thousands of possiblities of serving God.

The kinds of consideration apply to second career people like me.  While I was at seminary and in the years sense,  theological colleges are increasingly dependent on providing educational opportunities to lay people and further education for clergy, and this market is steadily decreasing in numbers.

I attended the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, and I believe the education and training I received there was very much geared to the current needs of the church and of society.  They emphasized being knowledgeably in society to increase effectiveness at being effective agents for God's mission.  But it is not enough for the clergy to have the knowledge and skills.  Lay people need to care enough to take the time to develop their knowledge, skills, and general capacity to work for effective change.

Thank you, Jim

I am disappointed by the number of typing errors in my answer.  Twenty years ago I wrote a letter to a medical school commending them for being able to provide an education for doctors that was half or less the cost of training clergy.  The response I got back pointed out that their much larger number of students was the primary factor in that cost difference.  I believe we probably have about 1/2 as many students in our theological colleges as at that time.  I am not sure what the totals are today, but I suspect we have less than the equivalent of 200 full-time students in our 6 seminaries al together.  If we are using a crippled system for theological education, it may be difficult for that system to provide the education needed by our candidates for ministry in an apparently crippled church system.

Are you speaking of just UCCanada seminaries here, Jim Kenney?

Hi Jae, yes, I am just speaking of UCCanada seminaries (VST (Vancouver), St. Andrew's (Saskatoon), Emmanuel (Toronto), Queens (Kingston), UTC (Motreal) and AST (Halifax).  St. Stephen's is our theological college in Edmonton that des not have a seminary program. The University of Winnipeg used to be associated with he UCCanada, but I am not sure about its current status.  The same applies to Ryerson University in Toronto.  I am not sure is there is still a seminary program at UTC.

Thank you Jim, that's what I thought. I had thought, though, that the OP was asking about all of the seminaries that are currently serving the Church, and that would certainly also include those not connected to the UCCanada. Here in Toronto, considering one city as an example, we have non-UCCanada colleges within TST, plus Tyndale, CCC, TBS, and there may be others :)

I forgot about the Centre for Christian Studies and the Dr. Jessie Saulteaux Centre, both of which are in Manitoba.  We also have learner centres (Naramata, Calling Lakes, Five Oaks, and Tatamagouche.  I just checked and the faculty of Theology at the University of Winnipeg is associated still with the UCC.  We have 8 centres preparing people for ministry with, I believe, fewer than 50 people in total each year entering ministry.  Each college focuses on a particular niche, and fills that niche with s much excellence as it can achieve.

Those low numbers honestly surprise me.

As a lay worship leader I try to keep up-to-date, informed and inspired, by attending seminars.  This year I hope to attend the Atlantic Seminar in Theological Education in June.  The key note speakers as Water Farquharson and Mayann Francis.   There is usually a nice mix of clergy and lay leaders attending, UCC, RC, Anglican, occasionally a few Baptists, and others.   It is one wonderful, spirit filled week.   

I realize theology and religious studies are very different.  If someone were to get a religious studies degree though, would it be possible for them to become a minister, probably with a bit of extra training without attending a theology college?

If not, would they just be lacking the proper creditentials, or are they actually lacking something that's actually important for ministry?

That looks excellent. I might go to that if it was in TO. A very reasonable price for such conferences too.

Getting a religious studies degree which is a good idea, leads often to religious studies not church ministry.  For UCC one has to get a degree from one of our schools, and mdivs reguire a BA or such degree.  Center for Christians studies has other basic reguirments, and leads to diaconical degree.  The educational centers are for lay and continuing education,  The UCC does not finanically support VST or Queens but their degrees are fine for ordination. Queens does not accept new students.  UCT has a small group preparing for ministry.  The problem is the lack of students for all and the costs.