‘Nobody is perfect and that’s okay’
I often get asked what draws me to work at a small private Christian school in Gretna, a small rural town in Manitoba. The answer is quite simple: because of the people. It’s not always easy, but I can always find ways to point towards God at work. Our hope at Mennonite Collegiate Institute (MCI) is…
Engaging Anabaptist theology in community—at a distance
Randall Koehler wants to explore how Anabaptist theology might shape the mission of the church in a rural context. Koehler, who lives with his family in Benson, Ill.—a rural community whose population was 423 in the 2010 census—is able to pursue this interest from home as a student in the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS)…
Rockway to feature ‘Voices Together’ committee member at special event
Rockway Mennonite Collegiate in Kitchener, Ont. marks 75 years of mission in 2020. Sarah Johnson, a 2003 alumna, will be the guest speaker at a special Founders’ Day chapel at the school on Feb. 9, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. She will explore the question, “What does it mean to be a Mennonite school…
The servant heart
Over the past few years Menno Simons Christian School in Calgary, Alta. has taken the students on a spiritual journey to explore an upside down kingdom, a world that is the complete opposite of the one that our society promotes today; PEACEKEEPING, our school’s foundational acronym with each letter describing an attribute of a peacekeeper;…
Lessons from Narnia
Menno Simons Christian School put on an amazing performance of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe earlier this year. It’s an adventurous story about four children who find themselves travelling through a frozen land to reach a great lion named Aslan while being hunted by an evil witch. I was lucky enough to be…
Embodying knowledge
Knowledge is truly amazing. When you really know something, it can light you up, it can discombobulate you, it can put you in touch with your body or it can make you feel connected to a much bigger body. In the 21st century, we invent new professions in the service of “knowledge translation” and “knowledge…
Seminary short course offers congregations tools for engaging conflict
Betty Pries, a conflict management specialist based in Waterloo, Ont., provides mediation, coaching and consulting services for businesses, nonprofit organizations, governments and congregations. For six weeks each year, she also leads an online short course of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) as a sessional faculty member. In Transforming Congregational Conflict and Communication, Pries and her…
Conversations about sex and spirituality impact Rockway students
Rebecca Hiller-Ranny, a Grade 12 student, affirmed the blunt tone taken to address sex, power and spirituality at her school. “It was so important,” she said. “It was so impactful.” And Micah Neufeld, in Grade 11, said he was glad for the open communication, noting how it sparked good conversations with his parents. “Let’s talk…
Canadian post-secondary schools announce enrolment figures
WINNIPEG—Preliminary fall enrolment numbers at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) indicate an overall 3 percent increase in students in the university’s undergraduate and graduate degree programs. This increase reflects both headcount and full-time equivalent (FTE) course registrations. Anticipated full-year registrations for 2019-20 total 955 FTEs for all CMU programs. This includes 670 FTEs through CMU’s main…
CMU recognizes distinguished alumni with 2019 awards
A former teacher dedicated to building relationships with Indigenous peoples, a former Mennonite Church Canada Witness worker invested in intercultural relationships, a long-time pursuer of justice with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), and a priest and canon theologian in the Anglican Church are the recipients of the Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) 2019 Distinguished Alumni Awards. The Distinguished…
