Doctor of Ministry for Canon “Grace”
The Rev. Canon Georgia “Grace” Jervis has been conferred with the Doctor of Ministry Degree in Educational Leadership (D.Min) from the Virginia Theological Seminary, in the USA. The Degree was presented at the Seminary’s 196th Commencement Ceremony held in its Immanuel Chapel on Thursday, May 16.
The doctoral thesis submitted by the Rev. Canon Dr. Jervis is titled “Congregational Mentorship and Vocational Discernment: A Case Study of 18-35 year old Anglicans in the Diocese of Jamaica and The Cayman Islands.”
The thesis seeks to highlight congregational mentorship as a critical aspect of discipleship. It contends that, when the process is grounded in the Church’s theology of baptism, and targeted to the 18-35 year-old age cohort, which is missing in many congregations, there is likely to be greater appreciation of their unique role in the Church’s ability to achieve its discipleship goal. The thesis further suggests that, as this target group becomes more mature in its faith, committed leaders who are able to stem the membership decline will emerge.
The Rev. Canon Dr. Jervis notes that her work with a sample group supports the assumption that focused mentoring aids vocational discernment and can help to bridge the membership gap being experienced in the Diocese and other parts of the Anglican Communion.
Dr. Jervis, who is the Director of Training, was appointed a Canon of the Cathedral in 2011, and is the second woman in the Diocese to attain that rank. A former Executive Director in the Department of Education and Youth, she holds the Diploma in Ministerial Studies from the United Theological College of the West Indies (UTCWI) and the Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Theology from the University of the West Indies. She earned the Master of Arts in Education from the University of London in 1989. The former Deaconess was ordained a Deacon in 2000 and a priest in 2001. She served as Assistant Curate at St. Jude’s Church, Stony Hill from 2000-2003; and as Rector of Christ Church, Port Antonio from 2003 to 2010.
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