Rev. Dr. John Charles Yake, I. V. Dei

BIOGRAPHY

Rev. John Yake began his professional career teaching in the elementary panel for five years at Christ the King School, Etobicoke, In religious life he served as the Director of the Pre-Novitiate phase of formation and was the Director of Vocations for eight years while offering presentations, retreat experiences, and assisting in parishes and for a time as an elected member of the Provincial Council. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1980. Within religious life he returned to teaching at the secondary level and was the Director of Campus Ministry for twenty-eight years. While a teacher and chaplain in the secondary panel he established chaplaincy programmes for youth while working with the (York Catholic) Board to provide guidelines for youth ministry/chaplaincy within secondary schools. He served as a Sessional Lecturer at the Faculty of Theology (The University of St. Michael’s College, 1995 – 2000) in the area of the ministry of religious education and then in the Masters of Religious Education programme (MRE) for the Institute of Theology (St. Augustine’s Seminary of Toronto, 2001 - present). From 2006 – 2017 he represented St. Augustine’s Seminary on the Doctor of Ministry Advisory Board. In 2010 he became a member of the Formation Faculty of St. Augustine’s Seminary of Toronto with the roles of acting Dean of Studies and Director of the Spiritual (Propaedeutic) Year while continuing as an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Theology. He teaches (online) for the Institute of Theology while serving as Pastor of the parishes of St. Peter, St. Peter’s; St. John the Baptist, River Bourgeois; Holy Guardian Angels, L’Ardoise; Immaculate Conception, Barra Head; St. Kateri Tekakwitha Chapel, Potlotek; and Sacred Heart Parish, Johnstown.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS / SELECTED AREAS OF SERVICE / PASTORAL WORK

Publications

• Where is God Calling You? (in French; Ou Dieu Vous Appelle-T-Il?).  (1984)

• Star Wars and the Message of Jesus: An Interpretive Commentary on the Star Wars Trilogy (Image Publishing. 1985)

• The Theory of Religious Ministry to Youth: Faith Development and the “Christ in Others” Retreat (The Edwin Mellen Press. 2005)

• Talking to Teens About the Mass: A User’s Guide. (Legas Publishing. 2012).

• Teens Making Decisions: Engaging the Thought of Bernard Lonergan. (Legas Publishing. 2015).

• Secular Consecration and the Evangelical Counsels (Ongoing Formation booklet for the Voluntas Dei Institute, also in French and Spanish, 2020.)

• Education for Evangelization (Published in Seminary Journal, 2021).

Workshops

• Address to the Ontario Provincial C.W.L. for the Marian Year 1988: “All Generations Shall Call Me Blessed.” (1988)

• Delivered Keynote Address: “Philosophical Foundations for a S­pirituality of FertilityCare,” for the American Academy of FertilityCare Professionals Annual Convention. (2003)

• Facilitated the Youth Ministry Workshops for the youth ministers of the Archdiocese of Toronto, sponsored by the Office of Catholic Youth. (2006)

• Institute of Theology Faculty Colloquium Presentation.  Subject: Youth Ministry. (2007)

• Featured Speaker: When Faith Meets Pedagogy Conference 2011. Sponsored By The Catholic Curriculum Corporation addressing the topic: “Setting the Lord’s Table for Youth: Gathered, Nourished, Sent Forth.” (2011)

• Workshop for the Clergy Formation Program: St. Augustine’s Seminary of Toronto, “Adolescent Faith Development.” (2013)

• Presentation for New Beginnings, a workshop for Catholic Family Services: For Those suffering the loss of a loved one through death, separation, or divorce: “Can the Faith Development Theory of Dr. James W. Fowler successfully address the pain of loss?” (2013)

• Mercy in the Life of a Teacher: A Lenten Retreat in the Jubilee of Mercy for Teachers. The Catholic Teachers’ Guild. (2016)