Two New Faculty Appointments: DMin Chair and Theological Studies Program Director

St. Stephen's College is pleased to announce the appointment of Rev. Dr. Sheryl Johnson as Professor of Theology and Chair of the Doctor of Ministry program, as well as the appointment of Dr. Kehinde Olabimtan as Professor of Theology and Theological Studies Program Director. Sheryl and Kehinde will work closely in the Department of Theology to give leadership to our DMin, MTS, and Graduate Certificate programs.

Sheryl Johnson is a settler of European heritage, born on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabeg, Cree, Dakota, Dene, Métis, and Oji-Cree Nations, Treaty 1 territory, in what is colonially known as Winnipeg, Canada. Her scholarship focuses on the intersection of justice-rooted Christian ethics and the practices of mainline Protestant churches, particularly in the area of finance. She holds a PhD in Theology and Ethics from Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California and both a Master of Divinity and Master of Pastoral Studies from Emmanuel College, University of Toronto. Ordained in the United Church of Canada, she presently serves part-time in ministry at Congregational Church of San Mateo, affiliated with the United Church of Christ located on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Ramaytush Ohlone people in the San Francisco Bay Area. Sheryl has taught courses on a wide range of topics including climate justice, pastoral care, ethics, and women’s studies in religion. In addition to teaching and ministry, she also served many ecumenical and justice-rooted organizations such as KAIROS: Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives and the Student Christian Movement. Sheryl is passionate about the intersection of theology and practice and helping people and communities to more deeply live out their values for the sake of flourishing and abundant life. Sheryl began as DMin Chair on February 1, 2022; she is based in Berkeley, California and will be working with the College remotely.

In her own words, Sheryl expressed: “ I am so honoured to be joining this diverse and dynamic learning community. I am invigorated by the broad and innovative approach to ministry and by the depth of theological and theoretical engagement that I have already seen at play.”

Kehinde Olabimtan holds a Master of Environmental Design in Architecture from the University of Lagos and a Doctor of Philosophy in Theology from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He spent one-year in postdoctoral studies contributing to the online Dictionary of African Christian Biography (DACB) at the Overseas Ministries Study Centre, New Haven, Connecticut, a project now domiciled at Boston University. He taught at Akrofi-Christaller Institute of Theology, Mission and Culture in Ghana and at Bowen University in Nigeria. Kehinde’s teaching and research has focused on the interactions between Christianity, Islam, and African religion in the 19th century. His doctoral thesis, Samuel Johnson of Yorubaland: Identity, Change and the Making of the Mission Agent (Oxford: Peter Lang, 2013) was published in the Africa in Development Series. He is currently completing his Doctor of Ministry at St. Stephen’s College in the area of theology and the environment. Kehinde began as the Theological Studies Program Director on January 1, 2022; he is based in Edmonton.

Over the past 18 months, Kehinde has been working as a program assistant with our Theological Studies students. The College is delighted that he now is stepping into a full faculty role, and that he will be giving leadership to our MTS and Graduate Certificate programs. When asked about taking on this new role at the College, Kehinde noted: “I am excited about my new role of working closely with students from diverse theological traditions and the varieties of perspectives they bring to the interaction of faith and society through their ministries.”

The appointment of Sheryl and Kehinde marks a moment of transition at St. Stephen’s College, as the Rev. Dr. Henriette Kelker has now entered as sabbatical on the way toward retirement in June of this year. Henriette spent the last seven years as Chair of the Department of Theology.

Please join us in congratulating both Sheryl and Kehinde!