McMaster Divinity College faculty members Dr. Kelvin F. Mutter and Dr. James R. Payton Jr. will retire this spring, following the 2025-26 academic year. We are grateful for their service in their respective areas and wish them a fulfilling and well-deserved retirement.
Dr. Kelvin F. Mutter joined MDC in the winter of 2006 as Associate Professor of Counselling and Spiritual Care. His teaching has been shaped by his experience as both a pastor and a psychotherapist. His pastoral work includes two full-time pastorates and three interim ministries in churches affiliated with the CBOQ. Between 1991 and 2022, his clinical work included counselling individuals, couples, and families, as well as providing clinical supervision for graduate students. We are immensely grateful to Dr. Mutter for his role in building the counselling programs at McMaster Divinity College.
Dr. James R. Payton Jr. joined MDC in 2021 as Professor of Patristics and Historical Theology and Director of the Centre for Patristics and Early Christianity. He is Professor Emeritus of History at Redeemer University, where he taught Eastern European and Church history. Prior to this, he served for eight years as a pastor. Jim has also taught at Westminster Theological Seminary (Philadelphia), St. Stephen’s College (University of Alberta), Evangelical Theological Seminary (Osijek, Croatia), and the Matthias Flacius Illyricus Faculty of Theology (Zagreb, Croatia).
He has been extensively involved in ecumenical and interfaith activities in both Eastern Europe and North America. He served as Executive Secretary (1998–2006) and President (2006–2011) of CAREE (Christians Associated for Relationships with Eastern Europe), a UN-endorsed NGO that worked for peace, justice, and reconciliation in the region for more than forty years. He also served as a member (2006–2021) and Christian chair (2008–2011) of the National Muslim-Christian Liaison Committee. We are grateful for his many contributions to the fields of Patristics and Historical Theology.
Please join us in expressing our deepest gratitude to Dr. Kelvin F. Mutter and Dr. James R. Payton Jr. for their significant contributions to the life and community of McMaster Divinity College!
