Mennonite education

UMEI launches renewal campaign

Pictured with UMEI’s Project Renew sign are, from left to right: principal Sonya Bedal, board chair Steve Enns and board secretary Carolyn Warkentin. (Photo by Megan Snippe)

The sanctuary of North Leamington United Mennonite Church was packed on March 9 as supporters of UMEI Christian High School gathered for a special meeting.

The UMEI board had been facing difficult numbers for several years, and it was time to face the question: “When is it time to say that it’s no longer sustainable to keep the school open?”

‘Gratitude abounds’ at retirement celebration for Rockway’s principal

Ann Schultz, in her final address to the Rockway community during her retirement celebrations on Nov. 28, reflected on her 30-year career with deep gratitude. (Photo by Charles Kruger)

Rockway alumni Jenny Enns Modolo, left, and Justin Martin sing snippets from musicals that Ann Schultz directed during her career at Rockway Mennonite Collegiate, Kitchener, Ont., as part of retirement celebrations for Ann Schultz on Nov. 28. (Photo by Charles Kruger)

With laughter and tears, stories and good music, family, friends, colleagues and students past and present celebrated Ann L. Schultz’s retirement from Rockway Mennonite Collegiate on Nov. 28.

Westgate students at rally

(Photo: The Canadian Mennonite / Mennonite Archives of Ontario)

In 1968, 115 Westgate Mennonite Collegiate students joined 2,000 members of Students for Educational Equality and Democracy (SEED) for a rally at the Manitoba legislature in Winnipeg. These students of private and parochial schools were seeking provincial funding, as recommended by a royal commission in Manitoba a decade before.

Wenger Shenk concludes nine years of service at AMBS

Sara Wenger Shenk retired from her role as president of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS), Elkhart, Ind., on June 30, after nine years in the role. Since beginning in the fall of 2010, she provided strong direction for the seminary’s future, overseeing changes such as transitioning the institution’s name from “Associated” to “Anabaptist” in 2012, renovating the Chapel of the Sermon on the Mount in 2011-12, and degree program revisions that included the creation of a distance-friendly master of divinity program in 2013.

Training peacemakers through ‘Tough talk’

Rosthern Junior College student body. (Rosthern Junior College photo)

Rosthern Junior College held its fall Deeper Life Days in late October and early November. The topic was ‘Tough talk: Conversations about the Bible, peace and violence.’ (Rosthern Junior College photo)

“It’s called Deeper Life Days for a reason,” says Grade 11 student Shaelyn Nordmarken. Deeper Life Days give Rosthern Junior College (RJC) students opportunity to engage with challenging topics.

The topic was “Tough talk: Conversations about the Bible, peace and violence.” The event was held over four days in late October and early November 2018.

CMU announces tuition increase

Winnipeg, Man.— Coming into effect in September 2018, tuition rates for the upcoming 2018-19 academic year at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) will increase 1 percent over 2017-18 rates. This increase is less than the current Consumer Price Index of 1.6 percent, and is the lowest among Manitoba post-secondary institutions. “CMU receives less government funding than other Manitoba universities and thus is less impacted by recent reductions in operating grants provided by the province of Manitoba,” says CMU president Cheryl Pauls.

Hesston College scholarship established in memory of Canadian citizen

Hesston, Kan.—A new Hesston College scholarship established in memory of Canadian citizen scholarship has been added to Hesston College’s more than 100 available endowed scholarships, and honours the legacy of Russ Neufeld, who was born in Killarney, Man. in 1977, and passed away from a rare form of Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma a year ago after battling the disease for about a year-and-a-half. The Russ Neufeld Memorial Scholarship was created to honour Neufeld, a 1997 Hesston graduate who had worked in the college’s information technology department since 2010 and as its director since 2014.

AMBS and Grebel to offer sequential degree for pastoral formation

Allan Rudy-Froese, AMBS Associate Professor of Christian Proclamation, leads an orientation session for incoming students in the Chapel of the Sermon on the Mount in August 2017. (AMBS photo)

In North American Mennonite theological education, a regional focus is emerging, as students prefer to access seminary education closer to home. Uprooting families and finding employment for a spouse in another country have become increasingly difficult. 

A renovated Westgate welcomes students back home

The newly renovated Westgate Mennonite Collegiate, featuring the atrium at the front. (Courtesy of Westgate Mennonite Collegiate)

The middle section of Westgate Mennonite Collegiate being demolished in the summer of 2016. (Courtesy of Westgate Mennonite Collegiate)

Visitors walk around Westgate Mennonite Collegiate’s new atrium at their building dedication in September. (Canadian Mennonite Photo by Nicolien Klassen-Wiebe)

Vic Pankratz conducts a choir class in the new choir room, which overlooks the river. (Courtesy of Westgate Mennonite Collegiate)

They say it takes a village to raise a child. For Westgate Mennonite Collegiate, it takes a village to not only raise its 300 students, but also to complete a $10.3-million redevelopment project. Westgate, a private school located in Winnipeg, finished renovating its building just in time for the 2017-18 school year.

Why Mennonite education matters

"Why should young people from our congregations choose a Christian college or university like Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford, B.C., Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ont., or Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) in Winnipeg, instead of a public university?” The question posed to me for this piece is often seen as the either-or choice for students, and the obvious starting point

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