For discussion



1. Mennonite schools had been designed to keep students separate from the “modernizing secular world” while Conrad Grebel College was deliberately set within a large public university. What are the advantages and challenges of this approach? How has the Mennonite Church changed as it has participated more closely with the world since the 1960s?

2. What is the value of a liberal arts education? Do we value it less than we did in the 1960s? How important is it that our church leaders be educated from a Mennonite perspective? Do Mennonite schools help to preserve Mennonite heritage and identity?

3. Marlene Epp quotes church leaders as saying that a residential college is a good way to provide “a wholesome environment and helpful personal counsel to. . . young men and women during the seeking, doubting, formative years of their lives.” Do you agree? Do residential schools do this better than other schools?

4. What do you think our church schools will look like in another 50 years? Do our church schools depend too much on public funding? What role should the church play in supporting a school like Grebel?



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