Jenny Stephens Receives Alumni/ae Service Award
The Rev. Dr. Jenny Stephens Emm 9T3 received the Alumni/ae Service Award this year for her leadership in developing and implementing the Office of Vocation of The United Church of Canada. As Team Leader: Policies and Programs for Ministry Personnel in the General Council Office (GCO) of the United Church since 2016, she has helped to plot the candidacy pathway for a generation of Emmanuel College Master of Divinity students. In addition to supporting the ongoing transition to a new governance system, Stephens brought the Effective Leadership and Healthy Pastoral Relations task group to its conclusion, incorporating best practices into a new pastoral relations policy and the Office of Vocation.
Operationalizing the new Office of Vocation included replacing 84 presbytery-level Education and Students Committees with seven candidacy boards and implementing a cohesive, timely and "compassionately dispassionate" elected member system to ensure faithful, effective and well-equipped ministry personnel. As the current Office of Vocation coordinator, Stephens supports deployed Office of Vocation ministers across the church and is involved in policy development and implementation.
Her preparation for these roles included serving in pastoral ministry for 11 years and as personnel minister in the Hamilton Conference for 16 years, where she focused on compassionate spiritual support for ministers during formation and ongoing vocation. Stephens is a trainer with the Center for Emotional Intelligence & Human Relations Skills, which supports faith leaders to align intention and impact. She is the vice-president of the Interim Ministry Network, an international organization which strengthens the spiritual and organizational health of faith communities by equipping and supporting those who lead during times of transition. Their faculty of practising ministers and rabbis provide education to religious leaders to reduce the severity of unhealthy practices and restore spiritual wellness.