To many people, theology as a pastoral or practical discipline sounds like a contradiction in terms.

Isn’t theology about ideas and concepts? Isn’t what you do secondary to what you think?  At Queen's we seek to explore an alternative way of doing theology, where theory and practice/action are inseparable, and where what you do informs what you think.  This means paying attention to some of the contexts in which we engage in mission and ministry; we seek to explore, analyse and reflect on the context of our churches and communities, asking how serious attention to these contexts will inform, shape, and critique our understanding and practice of mission and ministry.

We also seek to consider the way in which we minister to one another, and examine the issues, dynamics and complexities of pastoral encounters. We seek to cultivate skills of theological reflection on experience and practice, encouraging students to develop self-awareness about what they bring to pastoral encounters and the implications of these for pastoral ministry. Whilst these are important questions for those training for recognized public ministerial roles, you don't have to be a minister to do pastoral theology!