Jack Shaver
Encyclopedia
Michael John Victor Shaver (1918-2001), known as Jack Shaver, was a theologian and clergyman of the United Church of Canada
.
Shaver was born in Fort William, Ontario
(Thunder Bay) in 1918 – the second son of the Rev. and Mrs. James M. Shaver. When he was two years old, his father succeeded J.S. Woodsworth as Superintendent at All Peoples' Mission – first a Methodist, and then a United Church institution in the north end of Winnipeg. The family lived in the manse next door to the Mission, serving the immigrant population of the region in the spirit of the social gospel
movement. Shaver graduated from United College (now the University of Winnipeg
) and was ordained by Manitoba Conference on July 23, 1942. He married Dorothy Hamlet of Fort William in 1944. They have five children.
For the first 10 years, Shaver served two rural charges in Manitoba Conference (Murillo and Sidney-Austin), then seven years at Fort Garry United Church in suburban Winnipeg. It was during this period that his theological interest and skills flourished – nurtured by a small group of clergy regularly meeting to debate the writing of Tillich
, Aulén
, Bultmann, and Bonhoeffer.
Shaver's next placement was in Vancouver
in 1959 where he served 10 years as the first United Church chaplain at the University of British Columbia
. His unique blend of ‘God talk', affirmation of ambiguity, and commitment to even the most radical Other, made him the ideal person for the hippies, draft-resistors, anti-war advocates, and disenchanted of the 1960s. It was during this period that he integrated and developed insights from the existentialists
and the social psychology of Martin Buber
, Erik Erikson
, and Norman O. Brown
into his writing and presentations. It was during this period that he became a regular panelist on a radio program initiated by Roy Bonisteel
.
He left the campus ministry in 1969 and spent three years on the Metropolitan Council – an inter-presbytery urban council in BC Conference (of the United Church of Canada), where he acted as advocate, counselor, and janitor to the young people drifting through the Vancouver hostel and crash pad scene. He spent his final 10 years in the ministry on the staff of First United Church, a mission institution in downtown Eastside Vancouver
. He was elected President of the BC Conference in May 1979.
Shaver received two honorary doctorates; from the University of Winnipeg
(1980) and the Vancouver School of Theology
(1982).
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...
.
Shaver was born in Fort William, Ontario
Fort William, Ontario
Fort William was a city in Northern Ontario, located on the Kaministiquia River, at its entrance to Lake Superior. It amalgamated with Port Arthur and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Ever since then it has been the largest city in Northwestern...
(Thunder Bay) in 1918 – the second son of the Rev. and Mrs. James M. Shaver. When he was two years old, his father succeeded J.S. Woodsworth as Superintendent at All Peoples' Mission – first a Methodist, and then a United Church institution in the north end of Winnipeg. The family lived in the manse next door to the Mission, serving the immigrant population of the region in the spirit of the social gospel
Social Gospel
The Social Gospel movement is a Protestant Christian intellectual movement that was most prominent in the early 20th century United States and Canada...
movement. Shaver graduated from United College (now the University of Winnipeg
University of Winnipeg
The University of Winnipeg is a public university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and theology as well as graduate programs. The U of W's founding colleges were Manitoba College and Wesley College, which merged...
) and was ordained by Manitoba Conference on July 23, 1942. He married Dorothy Hamlet of Fort William in 1944. They have five children.
For the first 10 years, Shaver served two rural charges in Manitoba Conference (Murillo and Sidney-Austin), then seven years at Fort Garry United Church in suburban Winnipeg. It was during this period that his theological interest and skills flourished – nurtured by a small group of clergy regularly meeting to debate the writing of Tillich
Tillich
Tillich is a German surname:It may refer to:* Paul Johannes Tillich , German-American Protestant theologian** The Paul Tillich Park, New Harmony, Indiana, USA...
, Aulén
Gustaf Aulén
Gustaf Emanuel Hildebrand Aulén was the Bishop of Strängnäs in the Church of Sweden, a theologian, and the author of Christus Victor, a work which still exerts considerable influence on contemporary theological thinking on the Atonement.-Life:Aulén was born in 1879 in Ljungby parish, Kalmar...
, Bultmann, and Bonhoeffer.
Shaver's next placement was in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
in 1959 where he served 10 years as the first United Church chaplain at the University of British Columbia
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia is a public research university. UBC’s two main campuses are situated in Vancouver and in Kelowna in the Okanagan Valley...
. His unique blend of ‘God talk', affirmation of ambiguity, and commitment to even the most radical Other, made him the ideal person for the hippies, draft-resistors, anti-war advocates, and disenchanted of the 1960s. It was during this period that he integrated and developed insights from the existentialists
Existentialism
Existentialism is a term applied to a school of 19th- and 20th-century philosophers who, despite profound doctrinal differences, shared the belief that philosophical thinking begins with the human subject—not merely the thinking subject, but the acting, feeling, living human individual...
and the social psychology of Martin Buber
Martin Buber
Martin Buber was an Austrian-born Jewish philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of religious existentialism centered on the distinction between the I-Thou relationship and the I-It relationship....
, Erik Erikson
Erik Erikson
Erik Erikson was a Danish-German-American developmental psychologist and psychoanalyst known for his theory on social development of human beings. He may be most famous for coining the phrase identity crisis. His son, Kai T...
, and Norman O. Brown
Norman O. Brown
Norman Oliver Brown was an American classicist.-Life:Brown's father was an Anglo-Irish mining engineer. His mother was a Cuban of Alsatian and Cuban origin...
into his writing and presentations. It was during this period that he became a regular panelist on a radio program initiated by Roy Bonisteel
Roy Bonisteel
Roy Bonisteel, CM is a Canadian journalist and the former host of the CBC Television program Man Alive....
.
He left the campus ministry in 1969 and spent three years on the Metropolitan Council – an inter-presbytery urban council in BC Conference (of the United Church of Canada), where he acted as advocate, counselor, and janitor to the young people drifting through the Vancouver hostel and crash pad scene. He spent his final 10 years in the ministry on the staff of First United Church, a mission institution in downtown Eastside Vancouver
Downtown Eastside
The Downtown Eastside is one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is known as "Canada's poorest postal code"....
. He was elected President of the BC Conference in May 1979.
Shaver received two honorary doctorates; from the University of Winnipeg
University of Winnipeg
The University of Winnipeg is a public university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and theology as well as graduate programs. The U of W's founding colleges were Manitoba College and Wesley College, which merged...
(1980) and the Vancouver School of Theology
Vancouver School of Theology
Vancouver School of Theology, located on the campus of the University of British Columbia, is a multi-denominational graduate school known for its theological innovations while being rooted in Christian traditions...
(1982).
“Jack Shaver was one of the most insightful and iconoclastic theological thinkers of his generation in Canada. His life spanned most of the twentieth century Canadian landscape; his thought reflected fundamental shifts in Canadian social consciousness; his work undoubtedly contributed to the spiritual ethos of this country. His astute analyses, penetrating interventions, iconoclastic style, and enigmatic personality left an indelible imprint on all who encountered him.”