Community Values Statement

Submitted by admin on Thu, 02/02/2012 - 12:21

As part of our undergraduate admissions process we ask you to please read this description of our community values and express what it would mean to you to live in this kind of Christian community. We would welcome you to respond by email to ssu@ssu.ca in one of the following ways:

  • Write a 250 word paragraph, or
  • Create a brief video presentation, or
  • Request to share your thoughts with us over the phone

St. Stephen's University is a unique learning community, where living, studying and traveling together creates a transforming blend of education and spiritual growth. We welcome students from a wide variety of backgrounds and stages in life's journey; we appreciate this diversity, and we want SSU to be a place where you can be who you are, and become the best version of yourself.

We want to create an environment where we learn and experience that loving Jesus can actually help us think critically, humbly and creatively within all aspects of everyday life. In our intellectual, spiritual, practical, and relational lives we want to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2).

We believe that the Bible, and Christian traditions, can show us who God is and inform how we live. The application of this belief is essential to our community life and we aim to be like Jesus in the way that we love and serve each other. When living in a close-knit community, behaviour that respects others is appropriate and necessary. We tend to rely on common interpretations of the Bible as our standard and guide, not necessarily our rulebook. So although we don't try to make people conform to some pre established norm, if someone's choices affect others in harmful ways, we will do our best to resolve the issue in a timely manner. We treat individuals with dignity and compassion rather than anger and judgment, and we figure issues out one at a time.

In summary, SSU is an academic Christ-centered community where friendships and fun blend with an education that teaches you to think, to communicate, and to engage with God and the world.

Submit your Community Values Response right now and you will be one step closer to completing your application!