Rev. Dr. Douglas MacEachern Bursary

From 1969-2019, the Dalhousie Agricultural Campus (formerly the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, NSAC) in Truro hosted the Atlantic Seminar in Theological Education. The establishment of this unique seminar grew out of the work of the Rev. Dr. Douglas MacEachern and his long association with NSAC. He was passionate about promoting theological education, not only for those in the pulpit, but also for those on the farms and in the pews. As a result, many lay people who might not be inclined to go off to a seminary in the city have come to the seminar at the agricultural college — and having come once, like so many who have discovered NSAC, they keep coming back.

The seminar moved to First United Church in Truro from 2017-2019. There was no seminar in 2020 due to the pandemic so this event was postponed to 2021 when it was held online. From 2022 the seminar move to TataCentre in Tatamagouche NS.

In the 40th anniversary year the steering committee of ASTE made a plan to both honor Doug and continue his emphasis on lay education. Beginning with the 41st Seminar in June of 2009, a bursary to cover the cost of registration was made available to a lay person who is attending the seminar for the first time.

To apply, please download the application form below:

For United Church of Canada lay people there may be bursaries available through your region; for those in Atlantic Canada, check ucceast.ca and select the appropriate region you are in.