Author: CMU

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Alumni Profiles Articles

Alumni Profiles – Megan Klassen-Wiebe

Practicum experiences sometimes take students outside their comfort zones into new territory and new environments, giving them opportunities to do something they otherwise wouldn’t have had the chance to do.

CMU alumna Megan Klassen-Wiebe’s practicum took her to Cedar Lane Farm, a small, mixed, family-run farm in Coles Island, New Brunswick for five months in 2009. There, she was involved in a wide variety of activities, including gardening; feeding and watering animals (pigs, chickens, turkeys); butchering chickens and turkeys; milking cows; collecting eggs; stacking hay bales; making granola and granola bars; and selling goods at the market.

Klassen-Wiebe graduated from CMU in 2009 with a general BA, and at first wasn’t too sure about her professional future.

“This experience gave me a chance to explore a passion in myself that I had only just discovered at CMU,” she says of her practicum. “It was a way for me to begin to look beyond the community of CMU and to see into the greater world. It made me aware of issues that I wanted to think about further in life and gave me a purpose beyond my CMU graduation.

“It was through this practicum that I decided that I wanted farming to be a part of my future, and led me to studying Agroecology at the University of Manitoba,” say Klassen-Wiebe.

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Articles Student Profiles

Student Profiles – Peter Dueck

Current CMU student Peter Dueck, who will graduate in 2012 with a four-year BA in Biblical and Theological Studies with a Philosophy minor, says his practicum experience was beneficial in a number of ways.

Dueck completed his practicum assignment during 2010-2011 as a Grade 7/8 teacher aid at St. Aidan’s Christian School, a private Christian school in Winnipeg that accepts students who are no longer welcome or no longer feel safe in the public school system. There, he tutored students while serving as a positive male role model for them, many of whom had none. 

“My placement challenged me to think seriously about the role of a Christian institution in a non-Christian neighbourhood, and what that role should be,” says Dueck, who is currently volunteering at the school once a week during his last year at CMU.

Dueck says his practicum complemented his academic studies and helped prepare him for an education role. However, he adds that his practicum was also about growing personally and professionally.

“CMU, as a whole, has taught me less about what I should do professionally and more about daily experience and how to work my way through it,” he shares. “CMU and my practicum experience guided me along the journey of discovery within the world; I have developed a greater understanding of how to live and work as a disciple of Christ.”

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Alumni Profiles Articles

Alumni Profiles – Cindy Bass (CMU ’09)

CMU alumna Cindy Bass’ practicum helped her to create a new job position and employment for herself.

As part of her practicum experiences, Cindy, who graduated from CMU in 2009 as a mature student with a Bachelor of Music Therapy degree, volunteered her services at Extendicare Tuxedo Villa personal care home in Winnipeg, where there was no music therapy program in place. She ended up with a permanent part-time job.

She now works as a Canadian Association for Music Therapy-accredited music therapist at Tuxedo Villa and at another personal care home. As well, she runs her own private-practice business for children with special needs, which she plans to expand in the future.

Cindy also fulfilled practicum assignments in Winnipeg at Riverview Health Centre, St. Amant Centre, and several elementary schools, giving her a taste of working with different clientele.

Cindy credits her practica to giving her hands-on experience and figuring out which populations and environments were a good fit for her.

“The practicum experience was definitely one of the greatest parts of the whole learning experience,” says Cindy. “There is nothing quite like hands-on experience that prepares you for the working world. It also gives you a very good idea of knowing whether it is the right profession for you or not.

“CMU definitely prepared me to get out there and do the work,” she adds.

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Articles

Alumni Profiles – Christy Anderson (CMU ’11)

Christy Anderson graduated in 2011 with a 4-year Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in Communications and Media from CMU.

Anderson, whose heritage is half First Nations, completed her practicum during the summer of 2011 at the Aboriginal People’s Television Network (APTN) under the Executive Director of APTN West, Naomi Clarke.

Anderson views her opportunity to work under Clarke as an incredible experience to pursue her passion for broadcast journalism and to learn more about the Aboriginal community.

“I’m excited to immerse myself in the Aboriginal community and to get the work experience that’s geared towards my interests and my degree.”

Anderson feels well prepared by her practicum work and by the support she has received from her program advisor and instructor at CMU, David Balzer, for the next steps in her life.

“My experience at CMU has empowered me. I feel like I can make a difference in the world,” Anderson says.

According to Balzer, “The chance to work with a national broadcaster provided an exceptional opportunity, and they clearly saw current capacity and potential for the future in her during the process,” he says.

Following her practicum, Christy enrolled in a graduate degree program at the University of Manitoba in the Native Studies Department.

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Articles Student Profiles

Student Profiles – Frances Paletta

Mature student Frances Paletta came to CMU in 2005 to study Peace and Conflict Transformation Studies (PACTS), years after having attended Red River Community College, where she graduated, and The University of Winnipeg, after establishing herself as a successful businesswoman in the hospitality industry.

Paletta says she had put aside her aspirations of completing another degree when the family business workload became too demanding. Then, in 2004, the family sold one of the businesses in which she was heavily involved. “This afforded me the opportunity to enroll in CMU’s PACTS program,” says Paletta. “My desire was – and still is – to play a greater role in service within the church and broader community.”

She studied part time to maintain an active administrative role in the family business, serving as secretary-treasurer since January 2011, and to manage her mother’s homecare. Paletta has completed her PACTS coursework and hopes to finish her practicum and graduate in 2012.

“CMU has provided me with tools to promote peaceful ways of communication that include respect, justice, and mercy, and has helped me solidify my commitment to ways of peace,” Paletta shares. “I’ve also been given a fresh way to look at conflict. Now I see conflict as an opportunity for overcoming, for growth, and for well-being.

“The program has been instrumental both in how I live my life and how I carry out my business affairs,” she continues. “I already use the tools I’ve learned very actively in my current position. In the future, as my involvement in the family business changes, I hope I will be able to use this knowledge to bring about peaceful solutions where there is strife.”

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Alumni Profiles Articles

Alumni Profiles – Bethany Paetkau (CMU ’11)

IDS grad planting urban gardens

If there’s one thing Bethany Paetkau learned at CMU, it’s that people are at heart of the solution to every major issue affecting the world. With that in mind, she’s taking on the issue of food security.

Paetkau, who graduated from CMU with a four-year BA in International Development Studies in April 2011, became employed after graduation with A Rocha, a Christian environmental organization that runs ecological conservation projects around the world. Paetkau spent her summer teaching low-income Winnipeggers how to plant urban gardens and how to cook and preserve the fresh produce.

It may seem like a low-key response to a global food crisis (food prices around the world increased by 25 per cent in 2010), but it fits with Paetkau’s grassroots, people-focused philosophy of development.

“We’re asking the question: How do we live sustainably? And one piece of that is to garden,” she says.

Working together with inner city residents and St. Margaret’s Anglican Church, Paetkau and her co-workers grew kale, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, green beans, dill, chives, strawberries, and other nutritious vegetables in public garden plots and next to the homes of people who volunteered their yards.

Small-scale, sustainable agriculture has been one of Paetkau’s interests ever since she took a class on creation care at CMU. Paetkau likes the fact that projects such as the urban garden empower people by giving them access to better, healthier food.

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Lectures News Releases

Fall Lectures Feature Peter Widdicombe

October 18, 2011: How can Christians understand and use words of a text, a thing of space and time, to reveal the eternal and transcendent Word of God? How can a doctrine be formed on the basis of the Bible, and how can it be represented visually? These questions are explored in a series of lectures hosted at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU).

CMU welcomes Dr. Peter Widdicombe, Associate Professor at McMaster University in the Department of Religious Studies, as the keynote speaker for the 2011 J.J. Thiessen Lecture series. The theme of his lectures is “Scripture and the Christian Imagination: Text, Doctrine, and Artistic Representation in the Early Church and Beyond.” Widdicombe presents two lectures on October 18 and one on October 19.

Widdicombe’s first lecture earlier today looked at the development of Patristic hermeneutics, focusing more specifically on the thought of Augustine. His second and third lectures explore two examples of how this approach played out in both text and art from the Patristic Period through the Reformation: the account of the Drunkenness of Noah in Genesis 9:20-27, and the reference to foxes and vines in Song of Songs 2:15.

“My research leaves me constantly amazed at the creativity of the Christian writers of the Patristic and Medieval periods,” says Widdicombe. “Theirs was an imagination put to the service of thinking about the world through the eyes of the biblical text in conformity with what that text told them about God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Their sensitivity to the words of the text, the inventive intricacy of their readings and application, and their unstinting dedication to the task of interpretation were extraordinary.”

Widdicombe’s research interests lie in Patristics, the history of doctrine, systematic theology, and artistic representation. His published works focus on Trinitarian and Christological thought and scriptural interpretation in the early church; and on the history of the reception of biblical texts and their artistic representation from the Patristic period through the Reformation.

Widdicombe has his D.Phil. in Patristic Theology, which he received from St. Catherine’s & St. Cross Colleges, at the University of Oxford in 1990. He received his M. Div., Theology from Wycliffe College in Toronto, 1981, his M. Phil., Early Modern History, from St. Catherine’s College in 1977, and his B.A. Hons., in History, from the University of Manitoba in 1974. He has had involvement with organizations like the Canadian Society of Patristic Studies and the North American Society of Patristic Studies. At the Canadian Society of Patristic Studies, he was President from 2000-2002. He has received honours in his membership at the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, 2004-2005, and at the British School of Rome in spring 2010.

Some of Dr. Peter Widdicombe’s recent works include: “Origen,” Blackwell’s Companion to Paul, ed. Stephen Westerholm;“The Gospels of Mark and Matthew in Patristic Interpretation,” Mark and Matthew. Texts and Contexts, ed. Eve-Marie Becker and Anders Runesson. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck; “The Fatherhood of God in the Writings of Ireneaus,” Irenaeus of Lyons and his Traditions, ed., Paul Foster and Sara Parvis. Minneapolis: Fortress Press ; and Drunkenness, Nakedness, and the Redemption and Fall of an Image: Noah and Christ. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing Company.

The last of these publications, Drunkenness, Nakedness, and the Redemption and Fall of an Image: Noah and Christ, is the title of the second lecture featured in his three-lecture series.

Widdicombe is presently writing a book on the interpretation of the Drunkenness of Noah in text and art from the early Church through the Reformation. He examines the development of the allegorical approach to the interpretation of Scripture in the Patristic period, the application of that approach in the Middle Ages, and its abandonment at the Reformation. He also observes how changes in the reading of the Drunkenness affect the way in which the incident was portrayed in visually in paintings, sculpture, and manuscript illustrations.

Using visual aids, Widdicombe demonstrates how paintings, sculpture, and manuscript illustrations have been influenced by biblical text and understanding.

Widdicombe fosters discussions and reflection on the Christian faith and its intellectual and cultural expression. He hopes that guests at his lectures take away a greater appreciation for a rich and complex history of biblical interpretation and gain appreciation for how the theological imaginations of earlier periods of the Christian faith can enhance our own.

LECTURE SERIES (CMU Chapel, South Campus, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd. Free Admission)
Oct 18 – 11:00am Words and the Word: Augustine and the Patristic Interpretation of Scripture
Oct 18 – 7:30pm Drunkenness, Nakedness, and the Redemption and Fall of an Image: Noah and Christ
Oct 19 – 11:00am When is a Fox not a Fox? Song of Songs 2:15 and the Need for Vigilance

Text:  Evelyn Kampen, CMU Communications & Media Student

 

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General News News Releases

CMU Welcomes Pastor-in-Residence Ken Peters

Pastor-in-Residence Program, introduced n the 2010-2011 academic year, continues this year, welcoming Ken Peters as the third Pastor in Residence…

October 31, 2011…Ken Peters, pastor at Saanich Community Church in Victoria since 2010, has arrived on campus as CMU’s campus Pastor-in-Residence, October 31 to November 4.   

Canadian Mennonite University’s Pastor-in-Residence program is designed to encourage out-of-province pastors to come live in residence, participate in the life of the CMU community and share their faith experiences through CMU chapel sessions. 

“In two chapels, I will chronicle my own spiritual pilgrimage in a talk entitled From Love to Love, and speak into our intercultural missional context, Redefining out Neighbour,” says Peters. “In the forum, I’ll be addressing Unspoken Conversations Surrounding the Atonement.  Some students may also have opportunity to hear me speak on An Anabaptist Sensitivity to the Use of Power in Preaching.” 

Peters will share stories on spirituality with students, staff and faculty. Marilyn Peters Kliewer, CMU Dean of Student Life, notes that the aim of the Pastor-in-Residence program is to encourage spiritual growth in members of the CMU community, while also helping to build and maintain stronger relationships with our churches.

Peters, serving in his 25th year of pastoral ministry, has had experience working in churches with a variety of denominations. Previous pastoral ministry include his roles as lead pastor at Killarney Park MB in Vancouver (1995-2010), associate pastor at Memorial United Methodist Church in Clovis, CA (1993-1995), and associate pastor at Coaldale MB in Coaldale, AB (1985-1992) where he was ordained in 1990.

Peters earned his Diploma in Agricultural Management from BCIT (’79), a BRS in Theology from MBBC and a BA in Religious Studies from U of W (’85), an M. Divinity in Pastoral Ministry from MBBC (’95) and wrote his thesis entitled Interculturalism: A Preferred Praxis for Ministry in Multicultural Contexts to graduate with his Doctor of Ministry from Carey Theological College in 2009. 

Peters has involved himself in denominational work throughout his pastoral ministry, serving on the Alberta boards of Education and Church Extension, the Canadian Board of Evangelism, the Planning Teams for Banff  ’86 and ’89, the BC Board of Pastoral Ministries and most recently eight years on the Canadian Board of Faith and Life from 2002-2010.

His work history extends beyond pastoral ministry, having worked for the Bank of British Columbia and for construction and agricultural firms in the Langley, BC area.

Ken and his wife Yvonne moved to Brentwood Bay in May of this year. With three adult children out of the home, Ken and Yvonne take time to enjoy cultural celebrations, travelling, and quiet walks.

Peters shares many common interests with those in the CMU community and will fit right in during his time spent here in residence.  He is an avid gardener and enjoys cycling. With the presence of the CMU Farm and the bike co-op on North campus, he should feel right at home. 

“As a MBBC/MBBS grad, I was never schooled on the current campus but look forward to sensing how the historical DNA lingers on in and through conversations in the classroom, hallways, and campus culture,” says Peters, who received his BRS in Theology and his M. Divinity in Pastoral Ministry from MBBC (now CMU) in the ‘90s.

“I hope to bring encouragement to students that God is present in and through all experiences and uncertainties.”  Peters also looks forward to observing and listening to how CMU students integrate shared convictions of Christian faith and the natural provocations associated with exploration of ideas.  

PASTOR-IN-RESIDENCE COMMUNITY GATHERINGS

October 31 – November 4

Monday Forum @ 11:30 A.M. (Chapel)
Unspoken Conversations Surrounding the Atonement
With Ken Peters, Pastor In Residence

Tuesday Chapel @ 11:30 A.M.
From Love to Love:  A Faith Story
With Ken Peters, Pastor In Residence
Music by Rudy Schellenberg

Wednesday Night Worship @ 9:30 P.M. (Conference Room, South Campus)
Led by the Faith in Life Committee

Friday Chapel @11:30 A.M.
Who really is my neighbour?
With Ken Peters, Pastor In Residence
Music by the Chamber Choir

Issued October 31, 2011 

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General News News Releases

CMU Launches Redekop School of Business

On October 19, 2011, CMU launched its new Redekop School of Business, made possible through the generosity of the Redekop family of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia.

“We are deeply gratified to announce a significant gift from the Redekop Family that enables CMU to establish its new School of Business,” says Canadian Mennonite University President Gerald Gerbrandt. “Redekop School of Business has been established as an expression of thanksgiving for God’s providential care for the family of Jacob and Maria Redekop, and their children Mary, Jacob, John, and Peter.”

The two brothers, John and Peter, their nephew James, and the extended family, have together pledged a minimum of $6.5-million and potentially up to $7.5-million to found the School. Twenty-four members of the family travelled to Winnipeg from Alberta and British Columbia for the announcement.

Jakob and Maria Redekop, together with their four children, fled to Canada from the Soviet Union following World War II. They spent four months in Manitoba, where they were welcomed by family and church, before settling in British Columbia.

“Our family has been inspired to establish a school of business at CMU,” says Peter Redekop on behalf of the Redekop family. “We see the need to educate the next generation in commerce, marketing, and finance, and to do this in a university that inspires and prepares future leaders with skills complimented by Christian ethics, integrity, and service.”

“The School will greatly enhance the university’s ability to prepare and educate a significant number of Christian business leaders who will provide a positive influence on society and the life of the church, and who will have the resources to fund the church’s institutions,” says Redekop.

CMU’s business programming will use an inter-disciplinary approach in preparation for a global business environment. The goal is to prepare students to become engaged in business and not-for-profit organizations, with a worldview and character shaped within a Christian university community.

Redekop School of Business will offer rewarding career opportunities for students through the following programs:

  • a Bachelor of Business Administration degree (4-year, with a 5-year Co-op option) with Majors in Business Management, Not-for-Profit Management, Accounting, and Human Resources Management, and
  • a Bachelor of Arts degree (3- and 4-year), Major in Business and Organizational Administration

Students will benefit from a generous awards program, excellent professors, a supportive student-to-faculty ratio, opportunities for a term of study in an international setting, and interaction with business and not-for-profit leaders. CMU also provides the option of extending learning through a business co-op experience.

“We are convinced that the Redekop School of Business will have a positive impact on our church, our community, and all those who will be served by our business graduates,” says Gerbrandt.

Released October 19, 2011

For AUDIO interview with Dr. Gerbrandt about this significant gift, click here

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General News News Releases

University Partners Awarded $6.4-M

 October 13, 2011 – Manitoba Universities and Project Partners Awarded $6.4-Million from Canadian International Food Security Research Fund for International Research…Principal Investigators include Professors Kirit Patel, Canadian MennoniteUniversity, and Wolé Akinremi, University of Manitoba…

The Honourable Steven Fletcher, Minister of State (Transport) and Member of Parliament for Charleswood – St. James–Assiniboia, today congratulated recipients on the funding of $6.4-million in awards from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), for projects supported through the Canadian International Food Security Research Fund (CIFSRF).

In his remarks earlier this morning, Minister Fletcher said: “I am pleased to be here today to recognize two cutting-edge agricultural research projects that support two leading Canadian universities – the University of Manitoba and the Canadian Mennonite University and their university research partners. These universities will work to find practical solutions to help developing countries become more food self-sufficient. I am convinced that positive results will come out of this research and that it will contribute towards breaking the circle of poverty in developing countries.”

 

The research project “Revalorizing minor millets in rain-fed regions of South Asia” was awarded $3.5-million, shared among researchers from Canadian Mennonite University and other Canadian and international university and NGO partners.  CMU’s Dr. Kirit Patel is one of the principal investigators.  Patel is a professor of CMU’s Menno Simons College. Other principal investigators are: Muniappan Karthikeyan, Development of Humane Action Foundation (India); Ram Bahadur Rana, Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development, (Nepal); and Widanelage Sathis Pemruwan de Mel, Arthacharya Foundation (Sri Lanka). Dr. Derek Johnson of the University of Manitoba and Dr Shailesh Shukla of The University of Winnipeg are contributing investigators on the project.

The research project “Better vegetable growing opportunities for Nigerian women” was awarded $2.9-million, shared among researchers from the University of Manitoba and other Canadian and international university partners. The University of Manitoba’s Dr. Wolé Akinremi is one of the principal investigators.  Other principal investigators are: Cape Breton University’s Dr. Thomas Bouman; Dr. Joseph Oyedele; Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria; and Dr. Clement Adebooye, Osun State University, Nigeria.

“We are extremely proud of the success of Professor Patel and his team in securing this significant level of funding,” says Canadian Mennonite University President Gerald Gerbrandt.  “Professor Patel is passionate about his work in sustainable food production and international food security. This funding will enable the research team to make significant progress in gaining understanding and knowledge in their field of research, and will enable then to make a valuable contribution in developing practical applications in the future.”

“I congratulate Dr. Akinremi and his co-investigators in Canada and Nigeria on their success in receiving this funding award,” says University of Manitoba Vice-President (Research and International) Digvir Jayas. “The truly collaborative nature of this team of researchers will undoubtedly have an impact on the important issues facing the world today: safe and secure food supplies delivered in a sustainable and economically beneficial model.”

CIFSRF

The Canadian International Food Security Research Fund  (CIFSRF) is a key element of CIDA’s Food Security Strategy. This strategy is designed to empower the poorest and most disadvantaged by reducing their vulnerability to various factors that impact their food security —including food shortages, market barriers, and constraints to agricultural productivity. The Food Security Strategy builds on Prime Minister Harper’s 2009 G-8 Summit announcement made in L’Aquila, Italy, that Canada would more than double its investment in sustainable agricultural development with an additional $600 million in funding over three years. Canada is the first G-8 nation to have fully delivered on its L’Aquila commitments.

Thirteen research teams involving Canadian researchers and international partners are recipients of grants provided through CIFSRF.  These 13 grants represent two of three calls in the five-year, CA$62-million fund. Results of the third call will be announced in 2012.

The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) work in partnership to fund the CIFSRF awards.   Refer to news release May 3, 2001: http://publicwebsite.idrc.ca/EN/Programs/Agriculture_and_the_Envirnonment/Canadian_International_Food_Security_Research_Fund/Pages/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsID=288

IDRC 
A key part of Canada’s aid program since 1970, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) supports research in developing countries to promote growth and development. IDRC also encourages sharing this knowledge with policymakers, other researchers, and communities around the world. The result is innovative, lasting local solutions that aim to bring choice and change to those who need it most.

 UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA

The University of Manitoba is the only medical-doctoral post-secondary institution in the province and educates the majority of professionals in Manitoba. The U of M is a world leader in many research areas, including the search for a vaccine against the spread of HIV/AIDS.  umanitoba.ca 

CANADIAN MENNONITE UNIVERSITY

CMU is a Christian university offering undergraduate degrees in a variety of programs as well as two graduate degree programs. CMU has over 1,700 students at its Shaftesbury campus, Menno Simons College campus, and in the Outtatown program.  A College of CMU, Menno Simons is affiliated with The University of Winnipeg. CMU is a member of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC).  www.cmu.ca

IDRC/CIDA GRANTS

CMU’s Menno Simons College Professor Kirit Patel is one of the principal investigators for the $3.5-million project, “Increasing millet production in South Asia.” Other principal investigators of the team are:  Muniappan Karthikeyan, Development of Humane Action Foundation, India; Ram Bahadur Rana, Local Initiatives for Biodiversity Research and Development, Nepal; Wideanelage Sathis Pemruwan de Mel, Arthacharya Foundation, Sri Lanka. Dr. Derek Johnson of the University of Manitoba and Dr. Shailesh Shukla of The University of Winnipeg are contributing investigators on the project.

Project #106506:  Increasing millet production in South Asia
“Despite the nutritional benefits, tolerance for difficult growing conditions, and ease of storage, minor millets have been neglected by government agricultural policy in South Asia, which has put the emphasis on cash crops and cereals like rice and wheat. Minor millets have long been an important and nutritious part of the diets of small-scale farmers and indigenous groups in the area. Research is needed to help revitalize the development of improved millet species among small-scale farmers and indigenous groups in South Asia.” IDRC website

University of Manitoba’s Dr. Wolé Akinremi is one of the principal investigators for the $2.9-million project, “Better vegetable growing opportunities for Nigerian women.” Other principal investigators are: Cape Breton University’s Dr. Thomas Bouman; Dr. Joseph Oyedele, Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria; and Dr. Clement Adebooye, Osun State University, Nigeria.

Project #106511: Better vegetable growing opportunities for Nigerian women

“Growing and gathering vegetables is an extremely important livelihood activity for women in rural Nigeria, who make up a majority of the rural labour force. Vegetables are major foodstuffs for poor rural women and their families, as they often cannot afford staples such as milk, eggs, and meat. New technologies and approaches must be developed to improve farming practices. Doing so will increase the range of commercially viable vegetable varieties that are grown, and will improve nutrition, income, and food security for Nigeria’s rural poor.” IDRC website