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Just last week, I was commenting to a colleague that the work we do at St. Stephen’s College is the work of sowing seeds. When, for example, we admit a new student to a degree program, we are investing in that student’s learning and formation in ways that will bear fruit for the rest of that student’s life. Or, when we launch a new program at the College, it can take five or more years—the timeframe of moving a few cohorts through—before we are able to fully see that program’s impact.

Within a few short days of making this remark, the staff and faculty of St. Stephen’s College were deeply saddened to hear of on April 7, 2025. I met Fran only once (back in 2019). Nevertheless, I am acutely aware that her ministry at St. Stephen’s College was one of sowing seeds, the fruit of which continues to be enjoyed today.

During her 30-year affiliation with St. Stephen’s, Fran contributed variously to the College’s learning community. She completed her Doctor of Ministry degree in 1987 (under Bill Close) in the area of Feminist Theology (title: The Hunger and the Thirst: Women’s Images of God). Two years prior, in 1985, she was appointed as St. Stephen’s first female faculty member. From 1985–1996 she was Director of Lay Programming (which included coordination of the Certificate in Theology and Master of Theological Studies programs). During this time, she taught courses in “Feminist Theology” (together with Dr. Jean Waters), “Makers of Modern Theology,” and “The Way of the Mystics.” In her teaching and public scholarship, she had a penchant for demonstrating the relevance of theology; her teaching regularly engaged pop culture, and she also prepared several videotape resources on biblical women.

In 1996, Fran accepted a new challenge from St. Stephen’s: the launching not only a new master’s program—the Master of Arts in Spirituality and Liturgy—but also a new SSC campus housed at Knox United Church in downtown Calgary. The program attracted several students and ran for five years until 2001, at which time budgetary concerns prompted the closing of the Calgary campus and the cessation of the program, too.

From 2002 through 2014, Fran took on yet another new challenge at SSC. During these 12 years, she served as a member of the Doctor of Ministry program committee, providing supervision to DMin students working in a variety of ministry contexts.

In her own words, Fran saw St. Stephen’s as “a place where people were not only allowed but driven to push the edges;” a place that invites students into “a sense of creative explosive theology” (quoted from Gayle Simonson, Ever-Widening Circles: A History of St. Stephen’s College [Edmonton, AB: St. Stephen’s College, 2008], 151). Over the course of 30 years, Fran worked deeply to establish St. Steve’s as an environment that encouraged feminist thought that was creative and engaging.

Speaking personally, I became acutely aware of Fran’s impact on the College the moment I came to St. Steve’s. When I began as Principal and Dean in May 2018, at the exact moment of being hired I was the only male employee—either staff or faculty—at SSC. Fast-forward a few years: as of 2024, 84% of the SSC student body self-identifies as female (14% as male, and 2% as non-binary). My how far the College has come since 1985, when Fran was hired as the first female faculty member!! The work of the College continues to enjoy the fruit born of seeds scattered by Fran some 10, 20, 30, even 40 years ago. The long arc of Fran’s impact at St. Stephen’s continues to be felt today, and it will be felt for decades to come.

In Reflection,
Fred Tappenden
Principal and Dean, St. Stephen’s College