Events & Speaking
GSC – critical conversations with Christian Academics since 1995
NEXT EVENTS: watch here, for updates…
&… get to know GSC through PAST EVENTS:
GSC Webinar
The 4th ‘R’ in Education: Why Religious Literacy is Imperative for our Polarized World
Thu. June 4, 2026 @ 7 pm ET
What is Religion?
And why is it such a controversial topic in public education?
Is there a way to see the study of religion become as basic to education as the 3 “Rs” of reading, writing, and arithmetic?
JOIN US for a conversation around Leo Van Arragon’s new book, Reflections on Religious Literacy: Paradox, Promise and Politics in a Secular Age and help us press into the need for greater religious understanding in our polarized and often rather misinformed world.
With Host: Peter Schuurman, ED, Global Scholars Canada
Respondents: Dr. Brian Carwana, ED, (Encounter World Religions), PhD Candidate, Traver Carlson (ICS) & Dr. Margie Patrick (The King’s University)
GSC WEBINAR – International Student STORIES: Global Flows of Education, Labour & Dreams
Tues. MARCH 24, 2026 @ 7 – 8 pm EDT
We’re listening. We’re learning. The ‘International Student Crisis’ in Canada has many facets. Read the growing collection of International Student STORIES, (views we do not often hear), posted to our home page, & JOIN US ONLINE for an important conversation.
Co-sponsored by a valued GSC partner organization, Canadian Scientific & Christian Affiliation
GSC’s 3rd Annual ‘Word & World’ Symposium on a changing & challenging subject:
The International Student Crisis & Christ’s Call to Peacemaking
A panel discussion for everyone: “The Crisis of International Students in Canada and Christ’s Call to Peacemaking.” Hear experts share different Christian perspectives and answer your questions on an urgent matter in our country today.
Friday, November 14, 2025 @ KNOX Presbyterian Church TORONTO, 7-9 pm ET.
Co-sponsored by:
CSCA (Canadian Scientific and Christian Affiliation), Christian Reformed Campus Ministry, The Missions Hub and Knox’s University & Young Adult Ministry.
Read Dr. Gang Li’s Primer on this important issue in advance of attending: https://www.globalscholarscanada.ca/news-stories/the-international-students-crisis-in-canada-christs-call-to-peace-making/
3CK: Third Culture Kids – A Webinar Exploring Faith Life in the ‘In-between’
“All my life, I have been asked ‘Where is home for you?’ Each time, I find it difficult to respond.”
Esther Yoon is a Korean, born in the States, raised in Canada, who has spent most of her adolescent years in West Africa. She is the daughter of Global Scholar, Manhee Yoon. In June, Esther will lead a discussion on the issues of faith, identity, and HOME for a Third Culture Kid (3CK).
All are welcome to join in the discussion, especially those who feel home is a complicated notion.
Join us online, for a conversation on growing up… multiculturally. Wednesday, June 11, 2025 @ 7 pm ET
Blessed are the Undone: Testimonies of the Quiet Deconstruction of Faith in Canada
A best-selling book that people aren’t finished talking about. Join GSC’s candid conversation on a difficult subject with Authors, Peter Schuurman & Angela Reitsma Bick
Christians, Climate & Culture around the World
Webinar with renowned Climate Scientist, Dr. Katharine Hayhoe
WEDNESDAY, Mar 12, 2025 at 7:30-8:45 pm ET
At its core, climate change is profoundly unjust. It exacerbates hunger, poverty, and even political instability, disproportionally impacting the most vulnerable people of the world, the very ones we Christians are called to love and care for.
As the scientific evidence builds, however, so does the opposition to solutions: they’re impractical, or they’ll harm people, or they’re even too late, some argue. Why is climate change such a difficult problem to solve, and what can we as Christians do about it?
Climate Scientist, Dr. Katharine Hayhoe joins us online as she untangles the complex science behind global warming and highlights the key role our faith and values play in shaping our attitudes and actions on this crucial topic.
Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist whose research focuses on understanding the impacts of climate change on people and the planet. She is the Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy and a Horn Distinguished Professor and Endowed Professor of Public Policy and Public Law at Texas Tech University. She has served as a lead author for the Second, Third and Fourth U.S. National Climate Assessments and her work has resulted in over 125 peer-reviewed papers, abstracts, and other publications.
Hayhoe is the author of the best selling book Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World.
She also hosts the PBS Digital Series Global Weirding and is a co-founder of Science Moms.
Hayhoe is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the American Scientific Affiliation, an Honorary Fellow of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society, an Oxfam Sister of the Planet, and the World Evangelical Alliance’s Climate Ambassador.
Dr. Hayhoe has been named to lists including the TIME 100 Most Influential People and Fortune’s 50 World’s Greatest Leaders, received a number of awards including the National Center for Science Education’s Friend of the Planet Award, the American Geophysical Union’s Climate Communication Prize and Ambassador Award, and the Sierra Club’s Distinguished Service Award, and is a United Nations Champion of the Earth in Science and Innovation.
SPEAKING
We want to connect with you about opportunities for SERVING with/SUPPORTING GSC
Executive Director, Peter Schuurman, is available to speak with you individually, with your group, or congregation, about how you can be involved in the important work of Global Scholars Canada.
Email admin@globalscholarscanada.ca for more information.
30th Anniversary, 4-Author Book Launch
4 new publications. 4 authors in a unique meet & greet on important subjects. A celebration of 30 Years of Christian Higher Education. 1 important gathering.
Book table. Book signing. Q&A. Hybrid Event @ Faith Oakville -1415 Trafalgar Rd Oakville ON
“We read to know we are not alone.”
– C.S. Lewis
2025 marks 30 years since Wendy and Adrian Helleman founded GSC to help them transition to academic service in post-USSR Moscow. Why didn’t they just go with a broad-based mission organization? Because they wanted to go as Christian academics, first and foremost, and to be supported by people who understood the strategic value of Christian engagement in global higher education.
What better way to mark the moment than to launch four books recently released by four of our scholars? Supporters and celebrants came to Faith Baptist Church, Oakville on Thursday, February 6, 2025 for some of the backstory revealed by our authors on their books–David Koyzis, Michael Wagenman, Andrew Barron, and Peter Schuurman.
“A word after a word after a word is power.” said Margaret Atwood. Ideas are influence, and influence is part of the Christian calling to be agents that seek the transformation of lives and communities worldwide. Readers become leaders, and we believe that leaders who follow Jesus are bent toward helping, hoping, and healing the nations and their people.
This redemptive influence happens through the study of every and any discipline, for all belong to our Creator God. These four books we launch engage politics, theology, sociology, and disability studies. Come join us for the evening and celebrate what good God has done through our scholars!
“Blessed are the Undone: Leading in the Era of Quiet Deconstruction”, was a 2-day gathering covering the subject of faith and the contemporary climate of deconstruction of faith, based on our own Executive Director, Peter Schuurman’s latest work alongside co-author, Angela Reitsma Bick in Waterloo, ON and Saskatoon, SK and online via Zoom.
Together, we heard stories rarely told in Canadian churches – the real-life deconstruction testimonies of Canadians. As the Body of Christ, we will wrestle to analyze themes from these stories and examine the sociological and theological implications for those continuing to lead and minister in the Canadian context in this era of quiet deconstruction.
GSC’s 2nd Annual ‘Word in the World’ Symposium:
Global Scholars Canada is excited to host a panel discussion on the experience of Christian faith formation within the academic halls of China. Christianity is the fastest growing religion in mainland China and the chosen religion for a growing number of Chinese from the diaspora. While still a minority in China, they are becoming one of the largest populations of Christians on the planet.
Christianity has deep roots in China that go far back in history.
Five speakers with extensive experience in Christianity’s role in Chinese higher education, including our own Board Members: Dr. Gang Li and Dr. Ruth Hayhoe, will highlight religious change in China.
$10.00 per person (in-person) – includes seminar, book display, Q&A, coffee break
Mark you calendar and anticipate partaking in our exciting 2nd Annual Symposium event in the Year of the Dragon. Online attendees are encouraged to consider a donation for GSC via our GIVE page. Thank you for supporting the Mission and Vision of Global Scholars Canada.
Co-sponsored by Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship of Canada
Emerging Scholars’ Roundtable 2024
THE FEBINAR – On Thursday, February 8, 2024 @ 7:00 pm ET GSC excitedly set the table for a Christian, cross-cultural academic webinar highlighting the research of two emerging scholars from Cameroon, Isaac Daama (Engineer, Traditional Mining Methods) & Bernard Kola (Materials Engineer, see his blog here), who specialize in engineering research and traditional African knowledge. Each presented on their scientific research, how it has invited them to explore traditional African knowledge, and how it has provoked reflection on their Christian faith.
Intercultural faith reflections were encouraged by the participation of two Canadian Graduate Students as Roundtable Respondents, following commentary by Dr. Thomas Chacko, Professor of Earth and Atmospheric Science at the University of Alberta.
Global Scholar, Dr. Stephen Ney introduced our ‘Emerging Scholars’ and Dr. Peter Schuurman provided Welcome and Moderated post-presentation Q & A. Closing prayer was offered by Chloe Liu, PhD Candidate, McGill U, Biochemistry. This year’s Febinar was quite the feast.
‘Letters from Moscow’: The Opening & Closing of Russia, An Interdisciplinary Symposium on Faith, Politics and the University in post-Communist Russia (GSC’s First Lecture Series!)
Saturday, June 10, 2023 @ Faith Oakville with Guest Speakers: Global Scholars, Drs. Wendy & Adrian Helleman, Dr. David Koyzis and Professor Emeritus, Dr. Jim Payton with the Rev. Dr. Andrey Kordochkin joining via ZOOM. In today’s climate of global insecurity, this was a well received and most informative, must-attend. The combined panel of expertise did a remarkable job of explaining Russia’s thousand year history, taking us right up to where we find ourselves today. Learn more/access ‘Letters from Moscow’.
OUR FIRST FEBINAR! – Feb 10, 2023 @ 7 pm ET on ZOOM – A Christian Field Guide to Technology for Engineers and Designers – with Dr. Derek Schuurman.
Does faith have anything to do with fluid dynamics? Do beliefs have anything to do with blueprints? This talk will draw on sections of a new book titled A Christian Field Guide to Technology for Engineers and Designers to explore responsible technology and the implications for Christian engineers and others involved in various technical disciplines.
Global Scholars Canada welcomed Speaker, Dr. Derek Schuurman and Respondent, Dr. Johnathan VanderSteen for talk on technology from a Christian worldview.
Click here for more information.
May 14, 2022 @ 11 am EDT – International Online Talk via Zoom. Sponsored by Global Scholars Canada – Women in the Crossfire: The Girls of Chibok and the Long Road to Healing with Dr. Rebecca Dali.
Read more about the event here.
