{"id":30671,"date":"2021-08-25T11:58:34","date_gmt":"2021-08-25T15:58:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.redeemer.ca\/?p=30671"},"modified":"2021-10-05T10:56:58","modified_gmt":"2021-10-05T14:56:58","slug":"redeemer-in-france-program-a-gift-from-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.redeemer.ca\/resound\/redeemer-in-france-program-a-gift-from-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Redeemer in France Program a Gift from God"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
It\u2019s not that you\u2019re happy when one chapter ends, but you\u2019re looking forward to what the next chapter will bring for you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is the perspective Dr. Allan Curnew, assistant professor of French for the past 10 years, has about painful cuts made to the French program at Redeemer and the loss of his position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Curnew joined Redeemer in 2011, first for a sessional contract, and then full time to chair the French program. \u201cI was very excited to apply my trade in a Christian environment,\u201d said Curnew, after having taught high school French immersion and then French courses at universities in New Brunswick, Alberta and Ontario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe were blessed to find Allan, a skilled French professor and committed Christian with a love for interacting with students in the classroom,\u201d said interim president Dr. David Zietsma. \u201cDozens of students have benefited from his experience, dedication to excellence, and passion for French language studies. We are grateful for his faithful service to the Redeemer community and he will be missed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dozens of students have benefited from his experience, dedication to excellence, and passion for French language studies. <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
As part of a French major at Redeemer, students had the opportunity to spend a semester studying abroad in France. Up until Curnew\u2019s arrival at Redeemer, this program took students to Paris to study at the Sorbonne. The thrill of studying at a world-renowned university in vibrant and historic Paris was certainly a highlight for many Redeemer students, but behind the scenes, the logistics of running the program were immense. Dr. Thea Rusthoven, the previous chair of the French program, stayed on for a certain number of years as director of the Redeemer in France program to continue to manage these details after completing her time as chair of the French program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Timing, housing, the obtaining of visas, travel arrangements and more were all part of managing the program. \u201cI was quite willing to let her bless me in that way,\u201d said Curnew, grateful to have Rusthoven\u2019s ongoing assistance and expertise, all the while knowing that she would eventually retire fully and he would need to develop a plan to manage the program alongside his teaching, research and administrative duties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
An email from a language institute in Montpellier, France in 2014 grabbed Curnew\u2019s attention because of the mention of family stays and service learning all managed by the institute. Students would take courses at the University of Montpellier and the institute arranged for everything else. Wanting to ensure the program was suitable, Curnew set off for the south of France to investigate in person. In spring of 2015, he was able to tour the university, meet host families, explore organizations where students could volunteer and visit local churches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEverything worked out perfectly! It was a gift from God right from that first email,\u201d said Curnew. Montpellier allowed an expanded student experience, including matching students with appropriate families, increased interaction with the community, applying their French language skills to relationships, service learning and church community. Students were able to interact with the culture by living in the community, rather than as \u2018academic tourists\u2019. The connections they made allowed for a rich experience and a broader range of vocabulary acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSome of my students had such amazing experiences,\u201d said Curnew, sharing one story of a student who was on Redeemer\u2019s cross country team and was matched with a host who was a long-distance runner. They would run together and even entered a half-marathon together, which the student won.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The range of service learning opportunities was also impressive in Montpellier. Some students worked in the local children\u2019s hospital or seniors\u2019 residence. Three of the local churches also came together to start a cafe where several Redeemer students were able to volunteer. The cafe ran outreach events like movie nights and various classes. Curnew feels that missing out on the uniqueness of these experiences is the greatest loss to students who might have come to Redeemer to study French in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Curnew says facilitating the Redeemer in France program was definitely the highlight of his time at the university, he enjoyed other aspects of his work as well, including research, committee work and, of course, teaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I feel I\u2019m now being divinely reassigned. I\u2019m just waiting for the call for the next mission.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe pleasure was in the classroom,\u201d said Curnew. \u201cI think a lot of my students would say I\u2019m an entertainer. I like telling stories. I\u2019ve been known to sing and dance in class.\u201d He also enjoyed mentoring students one on one. \u201cI feel the most teaching I ever did was actually in my office rather than in the classroom. That\u2019s where the real teaching often happened.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Curnew says Redeemer blessed him on a personal level from a faith perspective. \u201cGrowing up, I\u2019d come to believe that in order to serve God, you had to be a minister or a missionary. You had to be somehow contributing to the saving of souls. The only other ways to serve God were to read your Bible and pray. My Reformed experience at Redeemer gave me terminology for what I already believed. It gave me doctrine. It gave me what I needed to support what I already suspected, which was the ability to serve God no matter what you\u2019re doing. Even if it\u2019s decadent 19th-century French literature, there\u2019s a way to glorify God through that.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRedeemer was good for me and my faith personally,\u201d he continued. \u201cIt actually expanded and fortified my faith. God meant me to be here, not just for what I may have done for students, but for me personally. God helped me to grow by bringing me here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While Curnew speaks highly of relationships he\u2019s built at Redeemer, he says he\u2019s never gotten so rooted to a place that he was completely broken-hearted to leave. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLife is like a good book. It\u2019s made up of chapters. It\u2019s not that you\u2019re happy when one chapter ends, but you\u2019re looking forward to seeing what that next one is going to reveal to you. I feel I\u2019m now being divinely reassigned. I\u2019m just waiting for the call for the next mission.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Dr. Allan Curnew, former chair of the French department and director of the program that took students to France for a semester, discusses the uniqueness of the program and next steps for him as he leaves Redeemer.","protected":false},"author":4580,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[137],"acf":{"sub_title":"","post_featured_image":31033,"post_image_vertical_position":"center","post_hero":false,"post_featured":false,"post_featured_order":"0","post_hide_me":false,"use_drop_cap_and_lead_in":true,"lead_in_num_words":"3","hide_recent_articles_sidebar":false,"hide_popular_stories_in_body":false,"cover_story":false,"related_faculty_members":"","related_academic_programs":""},"yoast_head":"\n
Redeemer in France Program a Gift from God | Redeemer University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.redeemer.ca\/resound\/redeemer-in-france-program-a-gift-from-god\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Redeemer in France Program a Gift from God | Redeemer University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dr. Allan Curnew, former chair of the French department and director of the program that took students to France for a semester, discusses the uniqueness of the program and next steps for him as he leaves Redeemer.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.redeemer.ca\/resound\/redeemer-in-france-program-a-gift-from-god\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Redeemer University\" \/>\n<meta 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