Scripture Untangled

Season 11: Episode 4 | Malcolm Guite | What if Creativity Could Kindle the Imagination for Christ?

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• Malcolm’s early life growing up in Nigeria and then him moving to Canada with his family, where his formative years were shaped as the son of a minister.
• His teenage years and how he was impacted by the John Keats poem, Ode to a Nightingale which helped direct his path toward God and literature.
• How an encounter with the presence of God in college while reading the Psalms aloud had a profound impact on Malcolm’s life.
• The way Malcolm’s sonnets skillfully integrate Scripture and poetic work, exploring God in a deeper way.
• Malcolm’s purpose as a poet and minister to kindle people’s imagination for Christ through his love of poetry, language, and Scripture.

Malcolm Guite

Malcolm Guite is an English poet, singer-songwriter, Anglican priest, and academic. Guite earned degrees from Cambridge and Durham universities. His research interests include the intersection of religion and the arts, and the examination of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Owen Barfield, and British poets such as Samuel Taylor Coleridge. He was a Bye-Fellow and chaplain of Girton College, Cambridge and associate chaplain of St. Edward King and Martyr, Cambridge.  On several occasions, he has taught as visiting faculty at several colleges and universities in England and North America.

Guite is the author of five books of poetry, including two chapter books and three full-length collections, as well as several books on Christian faith and theology. Guite has a decisively simple, formalist style in poems, many of which are sonnets, and he stated that his aim is to “be profound without ceasing to be beautiful”. Guite performs as a singer and guitarist fronting the Cambridgeshire-based blues, rhythm and blues, and rock band Mystery Train. He also has a YouTube channel where he shares his passions and musings with his viewers.

Rev. Dr. Andrew Stirling was the Senior Minister of Timothy Eaton Memorial United Church in Toronto, one of Canada’s largest United Church congregations and was responsible for leadership and administration at Timothy Eaton from 1998 until his more recent retirement. Overseeing staff, providing visionary leadership, acting as the public representative of over 1,500 members and managing a dynamic and ever-evolving ministry to the city of Toronto and beyond.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and Law from the University of Cape Town, South Africa, a Master of Divinity from the Atlantic School of Theology in Halifax, Nova Scotia and a Doctor of Ministry in preaching from Acadia Divinity College, Wolfville, Nova Scotia. In 2008, Wycliffe College, Toronto, recognized his contribution to preaching with an honorary Doctor of Divinity.

Rev. Dr. Andrew Stirling is now the Ambassador for the Canadian Bible Society building relationships with churches, academic institutions and individuals across Canada.