University ministry celebrated

Every year around Valentine’s Day, the Menno Office Charcuterie and Coffee House brings together students, their families, alumni and supporters of Menno Office to enjoy each other’s company with good food and music in a warm, inviting setting.

Menno Office, a University of Manitoba chaplaincy ministry, offers an Anabaptist Christian presence in an effort to create a space where students feel safe, welcomed and accepted as they experience God’s loving invitation to discover and follow Jesus. It provides students with a place to eat their lunch, study, connect with friends, play instruments, chat with the chaplain and participate in Menno Talk, a more focused time for discussion, reflection and worship.

Chaplain Mark von Kampen says, “The coffee house gives students a platform to showcase their gifts and share something of the warm and welcoming energy and atmosphere they experience in Menno Office with a wider audience.”

This annual event also helps get the word out about our campus ministry to potential new students and also to potential new supporters and partners who make this work possible.

This year, the coffee house took place on February 8 at Morrow Gospel Church in Winnipeg. The music, decorations and charcuterie, hosted by Doris Penner and other volunteers from Landmark, met with a warm and receptive response from the audience.

Menno Office is supported by Inter-Mennonite Chaplaincy Association, a partnership of Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference and Mennonite Church Manitoba. It also receives prayer and financial support from congregations and individuals who value the opportunity to be active partners in a ministry that nurtures Christian faith and community among students at a critical stage of their development.

“At a time when many churches lament that there are fewer young people in their pews, Menno Office helps the church step into the everyday world of university students and walk alongside them as they process the daily challenges of school, life and relationships from a Christian faith perspective,” says von Kampen.

To learn more about Menno Office see mennooffice.ca.