User:LumenCLC

The Lumen Institute is a nonprofit educational organization that prescribes, oversees and furthers the growth of Christopher Leadership Courses instructed in various geographic areas across Canada. Christopher Leadership Courses are courses in effective speaking and leadership for individuals. The Lumen Institute also provides support and acts as an advisory body for the areas across Canada. The organization is comprised of volunteers. The geographical areas are primarily Chartered Areas. The Lumen Institute is incorporated and approximately half of the Chartered Areas are incorporated on their own.

Christopher Leadership Courses were first developed and presented by the Christopher Guidance School of Detroit, Michigan in 1951. The sole source of revenue for training of leaders, course promotion and administration comes from the sale of course manuals. Instructors receive no financial remuneration or gifts.

Christopher Leadership Courses has its roots in the Christopher Movement (link to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Christophers) started by a Maryknoll priest, James Keller (1900 – 1977). It was Keller’s book, You Can Change the World that struck a responsive chord in individuals who believed that they could make a difference and wanted some insights into how to do it.

CHRISTOPHER LEADERSHIP COURSE COMES TO CANADA The first Christopher Leadership Course to be held in Canada was at Assumption College (University of Windsor) in 1953 under the sponsorship of a local parent-teacher association. In 1954, the first Christopher Instructors workshop was held in Canada and the basic United States text was copyrighted. The course spread to different parts of Ontario, and a central committee was formed to assume sponsorship of the course. The official title of that committee is The Lumen Institute of Canada.

GOVERNING BODY OF CHRISTOPHER LEADERSHIP COURSES The Lumen Institute is the national governing body of Christopher Leadership Courses. The Lumen Institute is administered by an elected volunteer board of directors who are responsible for the professional training, certification of Christopher chapters, setting and updating standards and curriculum development.

Besides promoting the course and training leaders, The Lumen Institute periodically revises the course content to improve its quality and to give it a Canadian perspective. A set of instructor’s notes was developed to facilitate the teaching of the course. In 1966, the Government of Canada granted this central committee a Federal charter.

The Lumen Institute is a non-profit organization registered with the Ministry of Consumer and Corporate Affairs, and is certified as an educational institution under Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. The Lumen Institute and Christopher Leadership Courses are also registered for the Goods and Services Tax (GST), and The Lumen Institute is a Registered Charity.