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CMU Chamber Choir Goes West

April 23, 2012 – The CMU Chamber Choir is on the road again for their year-end performance tour.

This year’s tour will take the choir out west – where they will travel to various communities in Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia, and perform at 14 locations during their April 23 to May 6 tour.

Travelling together with the CMU Chamber choir and its Conductor Rudy Schellenberg are CMU Enrolment Director Lois Nickel (Apr. 23 – 29) and CMU President Gerald Gerbrandt (Apr. 29 – May 6).

Last year, during its April 2011 tour, the CMU Chamber Choir visited churches and schools in North Dakota, Minnesota, Ontario, and Manitoba.

“This year-end tour is a great way for us to showcase the talents of our students to the broader community, demonstrating the discipline and art of music-making at CMU, and to celebrate the finish of another year of hard work,” says Schellenberg. “It also provides an opportunity for choral music lovers in western Canada to participate in worship concerts with our CMU Chamber Choir.”

“We’re so pleased to have President Gerbrandt and Enrolment Director Lois Nickel accompany the tour,” says Church and Alumni Coordinator Eleanor Braun, tour organizer. “Having President Gerbrandt on tour is particularly special, as he retires as President on June 30. He has been very involved in the CMU community throughout his time as president, and the 2012 tour provides an opportunity to connect with friends and alumni from western Canada.”

In addition to their tour performances, CMU choirs perform at various worship services in Manitoba throughout the year, and collaborate and perform with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra at its internationally recognized New Music Festival.

CMU Chamber Tour Schedule

April 23 | 7:30 PM
Parkland Community Church
78 South Front St, Yorkton, SK

April 24 | 6 PM Dinner, 7:30 PM Program
Celebration Event together with Rosthern Jr. College Chorale
Hosted by Osler Mennonite Church
212- 2nd Ave, Osler, SK

April 25 | 7:30 PM
Bergthal Mennonite Church
Didsbury, AB

April 26 | 7:30 PM
Singing together with the Okanogan Festival Singers, conducted by Leroy Wiens
First Mennonite Church
1305 Gordon Dr, Kelowna, BC

April 27 | 7:30 PM
Singing together with the MEI Concert Choir and Chamber Singers, conducted by Dean Wedel
Mennonite Educational Institute
4081 Clearbrook Rd, Abbotsford, BC

April 28 | 7:00 PM
Emmanuel Mennonite Church
3471 Clearbrook Rd, Abbotsford, BC

April 29 | 11:00 AM
Langley Mennonite Fellowship
20997 40 Ave, Langley, BC

April 29 | 7:00 PM
Singing together with the Vancouver Peace Choir,
conducted by Timothy Corlis, and the Richmond Youth Honour Choir, directed by Heidi Epp
Peace Mennonite Church
11571 Daniels Rd, Richmond, BC

May 1 | 7:30 PM
First United Mennonite Church
659 East 52nd Ave, Vancouver, BC

May 2 | 7:00 PM
Singing together with the Sea to Sky Singers, directed by Veronica McPhee
St. John the Divine Anglican Church
1930 Diamond Rd, Squamish, BC

May 3 | 7:30 PM
Sardis Community Church
45625 South Sumas Road, Chilliwack, BC

May 4 | 7:30 PM
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church
1136 6 Ave, Kamloops, BC

May 5 | 6:45 PM
Concert and Desert Fundraiser
At Menno Simons Christian School
7000 Elkton Dr SW, Calgary, AB

May 6 | 10:45 AM
Highland MB Church
4018 Centre B St NW, Calgary, AB

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CMU Singers Begin Year-End Tour

April 23, 2012 – With the spring academic term over, the CMU Singers are wrapping up their time together by embarking on a final one-week tour, with seven performances scheduled for their April 24 to April 29 tour.

This year’s tour will see the singers going east to communities in Indiana and Ontario. Last year’s tour destinations for the CMU Singers included Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta.

Conductor of the CMU Singers is Dr. Janet Brenneman, CMU Assistant Professor of Music. Also travelling with the tour as a guest speaker for congregations is CMU’s Dr. Dan Epp-Tiessen, Associate Professor of Bible.

“This year-end tour is a wonderful way for our students to finish off another year of hard work, and to share their efforts with the broader community,” says Brenneman. “We appreciate this special commitment that our students make to share their music with our church families in other regions. The tour provides a chance for choral music lovers to participate in worship concerts put on by our exceptional choir ensembles.”

The CMU Choirs are auditioned, mixed ensembles whose members demonstrate high calibre talent and strong vocal proficiency. Each year, CMU choirs study and perform a challenging body of choral repertoire chosen from a variety of genres and styles, providing opportunity for advanced students to strengthen and increase their musicianship. The groups perform regularly in concert and in worship throughout Manitoba, and embark on yearly tours such as this, across Canada and Northern U.S.A.

“Choir tours are one of the ways that we like to connect with CMU friends and alumni across Canada and the United States,” says CMU Church and Alumni Relations Coordinator Eleonore Braun. “Through these tours, we look forward to meeting new people, renewing friendships, and worshipping together.

CMU Singers 2912 Tour Schedule

April 24 | 7:00 PM
Eighth Street Mennonite Church
602 S 8th St, Goshen, IN

April 25 | 7:30 PM
Floradale Mennonite Church
22 Florapine Rd, Floradale, ON

April 26 | 7:30 PM
Grantham MB Church
469 Grantham Ave, St. Catharines, ON

April 27 | 7:00 PM
Worshipping together with MCEC conference
United Mennonite Educational Institute
614 Mersea Road 6, Leamington, ON

April 28 | 6:45 PM
Concert and Desert Fundraiser
United Mennonite Educational Institute
614 Mersea Road 6, Leamington, ON
Please RSVP to Sheryl Penner 877.231.4570 or email shpenner@cmu.ca by April 16.

April 29 | 9:45 AM
Leamington United Mennonite Church
78 Oak St E, Leamington, ON

April 29 | 7:00 PM
Waterloo North Mennonite Church
100 Benjamin Rd, Waterloo, ON

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Outtatown Grads Share Stories of Discovery

April 20, 2012 – On April 14 and 15, 92 graduates from the 2011-2012 Outtatown program gathered on the Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) campus to celebrate their experiences in Africa and South America.  They shared their experiences through stories and music during their two-day graduation program attended by family and friends, site leaders, and Outtatown and CMU faculty and staff.

CMU’s largest-ever program for Outtatown featured four teams travelling to South Africa, Guatemala, or Burkina Faso. The many highlights from the different teams included a meeting with a conservation organization working among indigenous people in one of Guatemala’s high-altitude rainforests, and a rare visit with South Africa’s Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Students participating in the new French West Africa program discovered historic and cultural connections linking the cities of Winnipeg, Montreal, Paris, and Ouagadougou.

“One of the highlights for me was hearing students talk about their experience of community,” says Outtatown Director Cameron Priebe. In Burkina Faso, students encountered a culture in which one’s sense of identity is deeply rooted in family, community, church, and nationality.

 About a third of the graduates plan to continue their studies at CMU in the fall.

The Outtatown Discipleship School is a unique and enriching program of serving and learning for students seeking a life-changing experience of adventure, travel, service, and Christian studies.

Through participation in Outtatown, students may earn up to 18 university credit hours for the academic work completed during their programs. Outtatown offers two-semester programs at site locations in Guatemala and South Africa, and a one-semester program in French Africa.

 

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MSC’s J. Buckland Launches “Hard Choices”

 April 17, 2012 –  Menno Simons College Professor Jerry Buckland’s non-fiction book Hard Choices: Financial Exclusion, Fringe Banks and Poverty in Urban Canada, published by The University of Toronto Press, was launched at Winnipeg’s McNally Robinson Booksellers on April 5, 2012.

 Much of the research for the book was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC).  In 2006, Buckland, who teaches International Development Studies, was awarded an SSHRC grant to conduct important research into financial exclusions and poverty, with the end goal of fostering better accessibility through community organizations, financial service providers, and government.

 Buckland notes that when low-income city dwellers lack access to mainstream banking services, many end up turning to fringe banks, such as cheque-cashers and pawnshops, for some or all of their financial transactions. In his powerful study, Hard Choices, Buckland takes a comprehensive look at this predicament of financial exclusion faced by those underserved by conventional financial institutions.

Buckland’s book, which is the first account of the nature and causes of financial exclusion in Canada, thoroughly integrates economic and social data on consumer choice, bank behaviour, and government policy. Buckland demonstrates why the current two-tier system of banking is dysfunctional, especially in the context of new credit products that aggravate income inequality and stifle local economic growth.

Jerry Buckland is a professor at Menno Simons College (MSC). MSC is a College of Canadian Mennonite University and affiliated with The University of Winnipeg.

 Menno Simons College is one of the world’s largest centres for peace and justice studies. The College provides education flowing from Anabaptist Mennonite understandings of faith, peace, and justice while engaging other religious traditions and intellectual perspectives. MSC fosters a learning community that prepares students from diverse backgrounds for participation and leadership in local and global communities. Considered a pioneer in International Development Studies and Conflict Resolution Studies, MSC offers a wide range of courses and experienced faculty in these areas, along with practicum opportunities and supporting scholarships. 

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Janzen Competition Showcases Talent

April 9, 2012 – The 7th annual Verna Mae Janzen music competition at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) welcomed audiences for a public performance showcasing CMU’s talented instrumentalists and vocalists. The event required  a preliminary round of performances in the first week of March, followed by the competition finals that took place March 29 in the Laudamus Auditorium.

Competitors in this year’s finals were: Anna Bigland-Pritchard, soprano; Rebecca Klassen-Wiebe, piano; Rebecca Hill, soprano; Daniel Bergman, tenor; Josiah Brubacher, tenor; Rocio Martinez, soprano; and Courtney Dugan, mezzo soprano.

CMU awarded first place honours to Rebecca Hill. Rebecca Klassen-Wiebe won second place, and Anna Bigland-Pritchard won third.                                                                From left: Rebecca Hill, Peter  Janzen,
                                                                                                                                                                                       Rebecca Klassen-Wiebe, Anna Bigland-Pritchard

The Verna Mae Janzen Competition is made possible each year through the generous contributions of the event sponsor and prize donor Peter Janzen, from Deep River, Ontario. Janzen established the competition in memory of his wife, Verna Mae, who died of cancer in 1989 at age 53 and who shared the joy of singing with her husband. This was Janzen’s seventh year of travelling to Winnipeg to attend the competition.

“As founder of the Verna Mae Janzen competition, Mr. Janzen takes an avid interest in the development of our students,” says CMU competition organizer Henriette Schellenberg. “We are grateful for his interest and for his support for our student musicians and singers. It is gratifying to see the quality of performances, and to see how much our students appreciate having an opportunity to showcase their talents in a competition of this level.” 

This year’s competition juror was distinguished conductor Henry Engbrecht, Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies in the Faculty of Music at University of Manitoba. Engbrecht is a renowned conductor within the Manitoba community and abroad. He has trained a generation of conductors and teachers in Manitoba, acting as a model of excellence to them as well.

“CMU very much appreciated the privilege of welcoming Professor Engbrecht as this year’s juror,” says Schellenberg. “Receiving feedback from an expert provided competitors with an experience to grow and learn as musicians.”

The response from the audience to this year’s expanded program was very positive, says Schellenberg. “They really loved the variety, especially this year because of the different instruments.” 

 One thing that has not changed from previous competitions is the excellent performances of the competitors, especially those who reach the competition finals. Says Schellenberg: “I was pleased with the high calibre performances from CMU students and proud of the efforts that went into preparing for the Verna Mae Janzen competition.”

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CSOP Special Event with Piet Meiring, Cara Luft

March 30, 2011 – Canadian School of Peacebuilding (CSOP), an Institute of Canadian Mennonite University (CMU), warmly welcomed Piet Meiring back to its campus for three days in March. Meiring presented  a workshop , participated in a special “Evening of Story and Song,” also featuring musician Cara Luft, and shared personal reflections of his faith journey, in conversation and a chapel presentation, during his visit.  

 “We are blessed to have Piet Meiring to share with us,” said CSOP Co-director Val Smith, introducing Meiring during his March 14 to 16 visit. “Piet has taught, spoken, and advised on reconciliation, restorative justice, and truth in settings worldwide – in Israel, Palestine, Rwanda, Ireland, Fiji, and Canada.  He is a wise and humble person who seems equally at home speaking a prophetic word to government leaders…and telling stories of African elephants to my kids.”

 For three decades, Meiring was involved with the church’s struggle against apartheid in South Africa, and he had to challenge his own denomination on this issue.  He served with Archbishop Desmond Tutu on the South Africa Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).  Meiring is an emeritus professor at the University of Pretoria and an ordained minister in the Dutch Reformed Church.

 “He has lived a life guided by his faith in Christ, a life that is a model of faithful living in difficult circumstances, a life through which God’s face has been allowed to shine,” said Smith.

 Participants in the March 14 day-long workshop had an opportunity to engage with Meiring during his session, titled, “The Perennial Quest for Truth and Reconciliation: Learning from one another’s experiences.”   

 The “Evening of Song and Story” on March 15 featured a time of sharing with Meiring, and performances by renowned singer, songwriter, and guitarist Cara Luft, who shared her music with an appreciative crowd. 

 An artist steeped in folk and traditional roots music, Luft enjoys stretching the boundaries, unafraid to bend genres and styles.  Luft is a former founding member of Juno award-winning folk music trio The Wailin’ Jennys.  Her sense of honesty, integrity, personality, and spontaneity permeate and resonate in her music and her live performances.

At the March 16 Chapel service, Meiring shared reflections on God’s “windows of faith, hope, and love” that sustained him during the apartheid period and throughout his TRC work.  He describes his time serving on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as “this painful, wonderful, agonizing journey through South Africa, (to) make sense of the past, and find our way into the future.”

 “The Lord opened my eyes in many, many ways – and made me look through his windows at the reality,” says Meiring.

 “The future of the world, of reconciliation,” says Meiring, “…does not depend in the first instance on better structures, important though they are.  It is dependent on people’s hearts, on personal relationships between people.  I came to realize that time and time again in South Africa.  It was love that reined:  the willingness to forgive. People astounded one another.  It was a painful but exhilarating experience.

 “…Stand at the window of love,” Meiring says, “and you are astounded at what God has done for us.  But you are also from time to time astounded if you see how people are translating their profession of love into action. And when that happens, you will know that swords are beaten into ploughshares and that spears are turned into pruning hooks… My prayer for you in Winnipeg is that Winnipeg will stand out as a place where a monument is erected for faith and hope and love for the world to see.”

 Canadian Mennonite University, through Menno Simons College (CMU’s campus at The University of Winnipeg) and through its south Winnipeg Shaftesbury campus, offers one of the most comprehensive undergraduate program in peace and conflict studies in the world. CMU has over 1,700 students at its Shaftesbury Campus, at Menno Simons College in downtown Winnipeg, and enrolled through its Outtatown discipleship program. CMU is a member of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.

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CMU Blazers Recognize Athletes’ Achievements

March 30, 2012 –  Members of the CMU varsity soccer, basketball, and volleyball teams gathered earlier this month to recognize the outstanding achievements of CMU athletes   for the 2011-12 MCAC seasons.

One of CMU proudest accomplishments this year was the success of its varsity athletes in the classroom. CMU   honoured nine student-athletes for academic achievements    of 4.0 or higher:  (back row, l .to r.)  Jacob Miller, Christina Janzen, Vanessa Kornelson, Simon Dueck, Lindsay Braul, Rodger Toews, Josh Ewert; (front row, l .to r.): Nina Schroeder, Laura Tait 

The MCAC recognizes student-athletes who achieve a grade-point average of 3.0 (80%) or higher with academic awards for Scholar-Athletes. This year, 47 members of CMU varsity teams received recognition for their classroom success (69% of all team members) at CMU’s March 11, 2012 Athletics Awards Banquet.

Evelyn Kampen took home her second-consecutive Female Athlete of the Year honours. The fifth-year women’s volleyball star completed her final year at CMU in style, winning her third-consecutive conference MVP honours last month.

Other major award winners included Jacob Miller of the men’s basketball team who was selected Male Athlete of the Year. The 5’10 second-year guard was selected to the MCAC All-Conference Team for the first-time earlier this month and helped lead the Blazers to a first-place finish in the regular season.

The Trailblazer Award, given to a student-athlete who showed excellence in team leadership and community service was awarded to Todd Reimer of the men’s volleyball team. The 5’10 outside hitter from Rosenort has captained the Blazers and will be graduating from CMU this spring.

The following athletes were honoured by their CMU coaches with varsity team awards:

Women’s Soccer
Rookie of the Year – Amy Carlson
Outstanding Graduate – Chrissy Scheerer
Most Valuable Player – Maraleigh Short

Men’s Soccer
Rookie of the Year – Simon Dueck
Most Valuable Player – Sean Dyck

Women’s Volleyball
Rookie of the Year – Taylor Bain
Outstanding Graduate – Kathleen Vitt
Most Valuable Player – Evelyn Kampen

Men’s Volleyball
Rookie of the Year – Selanne Sangalang
Outstanding Graduate – Josh Krueger
Most Valuable Player – Todd Reimer

Women’s Basketball
Rookie of the Year – Darcie Donald
Outstanding Graduates – Meghan Kjartanson, Mallory Shack
Most Valuable Player – Nina Schroeder

Men’s Basketball
Rookies of the Year – Matt Koenig, Matej Juric
Outstanding Graduate – Nick Miller
Most Valuable Player – Wyatt Anders

Canadian Mennonite University has over 1,700 students at its Shaftesbury Campus, at Menno Simons College in downtown Winnipeg, and enrolled through its Outtatown discipleship program. CMU is a member of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.

For Athletics Information, contact CMU Athletics Director Russell Willms: rwillms@cmu.ca

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Youth Share Perspectives at Interfaith Conference

March 19, 2012 – Interfaith Youth Movement Held at CMU Draws Students Working Together for Social Change – On March 4, more than 80 students and other participants gathered at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) for Winnipeg’s first Interfaith Youth Conference. Targeted at youth ages 16 to 26, the event aimed to bring young people of faith together to think about, discuss, and imagine ways to understand each other and work together for social change.

Speakers included Obby Khan, a Winnipeg Blue Bomber starter; Michael Champagne, who spoke about his experiences growing up as an Aboriginal in Winnipeg’s North End; and Seunita Mahraf Sandhu, who shared some common misconceptions about Hinduism. The conference also included panel discussions and discussion groups where students from different faith backgrounds broke into small groups to explore an issue and develop steps to address it.

Melanie Kampen, a student at CMU and one of the conference organizers, said, “I was impressed by how articulate and creative the youth were. They are already leaders. We need to find ways to engage them, elicit their wisdom and imagination, and trust them with creating and organizing their visions for solidarity and justice.”

At left: CMU Student Melanie Kampen

Like the conversations it started, the conference itself was the result of many different groups and ideas coming together for a common purpose. The free day-long event was presented by the Islamic Social Services Association (ISSA), funded by Manitoba Multiculturalism Secretariat and the Winnipeg Foundation, and hosted at CMU. The organizing committee worked to find a date and time that could accommodate Muslim Friday afternoon prayers, the Jewish Sabbath, and Sunday morning Christian worship.

CMU was a natural fit to host this unique conference because of its commitment to educating for peace and justice, learning through thinking and doing, practicing generous hospitality and radical dialogue, and modelling an invitational community.

Elizabeth Beattie, a Booth College student who volunteered as a liaison between conference organizers and ISSA (who received funding for this project), said that “learning about similarities – instead of focusing on differences – is a way to bring people together for a common goal.” She called the conference a success, and an important step in building a bright future for faith communities in Winnipeg.

The conference organizers hope to hold more events like this one, and are hoping it will lead to the creation of an Interfaith Youth Council that would meet to continue the discussions started at the March conference and work to create a better understanding among young people of faith in Winnipeg and beyond.

Text: by Lindsay Wright for CMU

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Student Ambassadors, Visit Days Help Students

March 9 – CMU Student Ambassadors and Campus Visit Days Help Students Decide on University Programs – For many students considering university, deciding to attend and choosing programs can be difficult. There are many factors to think about. Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) helps make this a little easier by having students talk to Student Ambassadors to get the opinion of current students. As well, to help in decision making, students can participate in a Campus Visit Day, next being held on March 16, to experience firsthand what university life is like.

Student Ambassadors (SAs) play a role in helping potential future students decide to come to CMU by sharing their own experiences in classrooms, dorms, and in the CMU community as a whole.

Currently, Kate Polle, David Klippenstein, Amy Beckwith, and Jenna Dyck are SAs at CMU.

According to Polle, a fourth-year International Development Studies major, SAs work out of CMU’s Admissions Department and help the admissions counsellors with work that needs to be done. One of the more important jobs SAs have is letting people know about Campus Visit Days. They also promote CMU and the Outtatown program at public events. This involves talking to prospective students about their personal experiences.

Lisa Kelly, CMU’s Assistant Director of Enrolment, who works closely with the SAs, comments, “They are the ones best suited to telling the story of CMU to our prospective students as they are the ones living it.”

For Beckwith, a Peace and Conflict Transformation Studies major, Communications minor who also participated in Outtatown South Africa, being an SA gives her the opportunity of “interacting with new people and promoting something that I honestly believe in and care about.”

Beckwith’s experience doing the Outtatown program changed her life, she said. She has also been able to be involved in numerous leadership positions including Student Council and a fellowship group. She loves the small class sizes and how much the CMU professors care about their students.

“I can honestly promote the institution,” she said.

Dyck, a third-year social sciences major with a concentration in counselling, wasn’t sure what to major in right out of high school. Talking to high school students who seem to be in similar positions enables her to share her own story of switching majors two or three times.

“I’m able to reassure them that they don’t have to decide everything right away.”

Dyck also took part in CMU’s Outtatown program.

All of the SAs find it meaningful to help prospective students make decisions that will ultimately change their lives.

Klippenstein, who is studying History and Communications, observes that university is an opportunity for a lot of growth. CMU is no exception, though the community, he feels, is very different from most other post-secondary institutes.

“I love when I find a good fit, someone whom I could see having life-changing, growing experiences at CMU,” he said.

Frequently, it is because of conversations with SAs that high-school graduates decide to enrol as students at CMU.

Says Beckwith: “I often run into students at CMU or on Outtatown that I remember speaking to when they were looking around. One guy came up to me who is now a CMU student and went on Outtatown. He said, ‘Amy, you were the reason I went on Outtatown!’”

CMU’s next Campus Visit Day is March 16
Students and parents interested in attending CMU’s next Campus Visit Day should contact mkrohn@cmu.ca or sign up on the website (go to: future students > campus visits >form). To reply in person, call Mitch Krohn at 204.487.3300. During Campus Visit Day, guests will have opportunity to attend a class, learn about financial aid and residence life, eat lunch in the dining hall, tour the campus, and have conversation with faculty. Campus Visit Day begins at 9:00 a.m. on north campus at 500 Shaftesbury Boulevard and ends at 3:00 p.m.

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CMU Holds 2012 PIT Youth Conference

March 8, 2012 – Canadian Mennonite University’s (CMU) Peace-It-Together (PIT) Conference takes place on campus March 9 to 11, 2012. CMU welcomes high school students from youth groups all across Canada to stay at CMU and to share and discuss peace and justice issues with one another. The theme of this year’s PIT conference is “Jesus: The Peace that Matters,” focusing specifically on what the story of Jesus teaches us about peacemaking.

“It is exciting to anticipate youth from across Canada coming together to discuss Christian peacemaking,” says Harry Huebner. “Giving attention to Jesus is important in a world where we do not seem to know the things that make for peace.”

The Peace-It-Together Conference is a great opportunity for youth to learn from a variety of speakers, make friends, and see what CMU is all about. The Conference will be filled with activities of worship, discussion, singing, drama, games, and workshops.

Worship sessions and workshops will focus specifically on what the story of Jesus teaches us about peacemaking. The speakers, all CMU professors, will consider topics such as food, politics, and power, and ask how concerns around these topics can be shaped by the story of Jesus.

The worship session leaders include Kenton Lobe, Instructor in International Development Studies; Justin Neufeld, Lecturer in Philosophy; and Irma Fast Dueck, Associate Professor of Practical Theology. Focusing their sessions on the temptations of Jesus by the devil, PIT’s worship leaders will explore how the peace Jesus offers is true peace, respecting human freedom and the power of God, and how the peace the world offers is false peace.
Other highlighted weekend events include CMU’s get-to-know-you game called “Walk-a-Mile,” jam sessions, a drama presentation titled “Gadfly” by Theatre of the Beat, art workshops, movies, Variety Night, and sports activities. The PIT conference is hosted by students and allows youth to integrate into the CMU community and meet some CMU professors and staff.

PIT is an opportunity for youth to explore what CMU is all about and learn about peace in the process. Peace and justice are integrated into the core of the CMU institution and this conference helps to nurture a vision for peacemaking among the youth in Canada.