Category: News Releases

Canadian Mennonite University celebrates Class of 2017

Post author By CMU
Post date April 27, 2017

Canadian Mennonite University recognized the accomplishments of the Class of 2017 during graduation weekend, held April 21 to April 23, a time filled with reflection, laughter, and tears.

The weekend culminated with CMU President Dr. Cheryl Pauls conferring 70 undergraduate degrees, seven graduate degrees, one undergraduate certificate, and three graduate certificates, at the graduation service held at Immanuel Pentecostal Church on Sunday, April 23.

“All of us, your teachers, are grateful to you graduands for opening our eyes to new ways of seeing, hearing, and reflecting,” Pauls said. “May the wonder of God’s love ever inspire the vocation of your hearts, hands, and minds as you move from this place.”

Pauls conferred two degrees for the first time ever: Anika Reynar became the first student to graduate with a Bachelor of Arts (Four-Year) in Interdisciplinary Studies; and Michael Duerksen and Wesley Ngwenya became the first students to graduate from CMU’s collaborative Master of Business Administration program.

Pauls awarded President’s Medals to Reynar and Nicholas Czehryn (BA, Four-Year, Psychology) in recognition of their qualities of scholarship, leadership, and service.

Anika Reynar delivers her valedictory address

Earlier in the service, Reynar delivered the valedictory address, based on the graduation verse from Proverbs 24:13-14: “My child, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, you will find a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

Reynar said that at CMU, she and her peers were encouraged to learn, think, question, and love, especially in those times when they felt lost, overwhelmed, and disoriented.

“Recognize that who you are and who you have become during your time at CMU is a gift from your friends, mentors, family members, and church community that surround you,” Reynar told her fellow graduates.

“Wherever you find yourself next, carry this place and these people with you,” she added. “When you are lost and overwhelmed, remember to take risks and to start learning, questioning, and loving. Ask for help connected to the community and place where you are; then you will continue to find the sweetness of friendship and to be surprised by the gift of wisdom.”

After Reynar spoke, Adrian Jacobs delivered the graduation address, titled, “Who Are You in a Kairos Moment?”

Adrian Jacobs, Keeper of the Circle at Sandy-Saulteaux Spiritual Centre, urged students to pursue peace and justice with integrity

Jacobs, who is Keeper of the Circle at Sandy-Saulteaux Spiritual Centre, an Aboriginal Theological and Ministry Training Program of the United Church of Canada in Beausejour, MB, pointed out that in 2017, Protestants are celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, and Canadians are celebrating the 150th anniversary of confederation.

These are potentially kairos moments, Jacobs said: moments in which God is speaking in some way.

“Keeping up to date in your understanding of the times in which you live, and knowing for sure what God wants you to do, is key to fulfilling Creator’s purpose in your life,” Jacobs said, later challenging the graduates to live with integrity, working for peace and justice.

“Graduates of Canadian Mennonite University, who are you in this kairos moment of 2017?” Jacobs asked at the end of his address.

At With Gratitude, a CMU graduation weekend event at which graduates share their experiences through spoken word or musical performance, Hannah Stoesz (BA, Four-Year, Social Science – Counselling Studies) reflected on how CMU is an encouraging place where students can safely share their dreams, doubts, and goals.

CMU's class of 2017 — CMU’s class of 2017

“The things I have learned, and the people I have encountered at CMU, have helped me grow… and have given me a solid base from which I’m already beginning to interact with and find my place outside of CMU,” Stoesz said. “I will always be grateful for me time here.”

Speaking at the same event, Meara Sparling (BMus, Concentration: Music Education—Early/Middle Years) reflected on how much she has grown over the past four years.

“I was pushed out of my comfort zone over and over, and presented with opportunities I don’t believe I could find anywhere else,” she said.

At CMU, Sparling was encouraged to take on leadership roles in her church. The musical ideas and techniques she learned at CMU helped her as she led choirs and worship.

“I will be eternally grateful for the four years I’ve gotten to spend here,” Sparking said. “I know I will miss walking these halls.”

The Graduation Service and With Gratitude presentation were part of a number of events that occurred during graduation weekend, including a gala dinner on Friday, April 21, Spring Concert on Saturday, April 22, and a Baccalaureate Service the morning of April 23.

Commencement Ceremony (video)
Photo album – 2017 Graduation Events (unedited)

About CMU
A Christian university in the Anabaptist tradition, CMU’s Shaftesbury campus offers undergraduate degrees in arts, business, humanities, music, sciences, and social sciences, as well as graduate degrees in theology, ministry, peacebuilding and collaborative development, and an MBA. CMU has over 800 full-time equivalent students, including those enrolled in degree programs at the Shaftesbury and Menno Simons College campuses and in its Outtatown certificate program.

For information about CMU visit www.cmu.ca.

For additional information, please contact:
Kevin Kilbrei, Director of Communications & Marketing
kkilbrei@cmu.ca; 204.487.3300 Ext. 621
Canadian Mennonite University
500 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 2N2

Tags Adrian Jacobs, Commencement, Grad, Grad 17, Graduation

Events General News News Releases

CMU to present Christian Peacemaker Teams with CMU PAX Award

Post author By CMU
Post date March 22, 2017

Peacemaking organization honoured for its dedication to service, leadership, and reconciliation

Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) is pleased to announce that it will present its CMU PAX Award to Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT) next month.

CMU President Dr. Cheryl Pauls will present the award to Sarah Thompson, executive director of CPT, on Wednesday, April 5 at Gather. Give. Celebrate. Spring at CMU, an annual fundraiser in support of the university.

Sarah Thompson, Executive Director of Christian Peacemaker Teams, will be on-hand to receive the 2017 CMU PAX Award on April 5

“The work and witness of Christian Peacemaker Teams bring public attention to the beauty of courage and vulnerability that is vital to peacebuilding,” Pauls says. “The CMU learning community is inspired by the stories of CPT and its executive director, Sarah Thompson.”

The CMU PAX Award was created to honour people and organizations who are dedicated to service, leadership, and reconciliation in church and society.

“Christian Peacemaker Teams is deeply humbled to receive the CMU PAX Award,” Thompson says. “The journey towards peace is a long and challenging path. Yet, we know we are not walking alone on this journey.”

For nearly 30 years, CPT has sought to build partnerships to transform violence and oppression around the world.

Envisioning a world of communities that together embrace the diversity of the human family and live justly and peaceably with all creation, CPT has committed itself to work and relationships that honour and reflect the presence of faith and spirituality; strengthen grassroots initiatives; transform structures of domination and oppression; and embody creative non-violence and liberating love.

CPT was formed in 1986 out of a desire of the historic peace churches to seek new ways of expressing their faith. After the formation of a steering committee, the first staff person began work in 1988.

By 1992, CPT had put together a series of delegations to Haiti, Iraq and the West Bank. The steering committee then set a goal to develop a Christian Peacemaker Corps of 12 full-time persons, with a much larger number of reservists.

By the end of 1998, when the organization reached the goal of a 12-person peacemaker corps, it had set up and staffed violence-reduction projects in Haiti; Washington, D.C.; Richmond, VA; Hebron, West Bank; Bosnia; and Chiapas, Mexico.

Today, CPT has regional groups in Europe; the United Kingdom; Oceania (Australia, New Zealand, and Indonesia); Philippines; Colorado; northern Indiana; and Ontario. CPT has around 30 full- and part-time, stipended peacemakers and nearly 200 part-time volunteers who serve in violence-reduction projects around the world.

The CPT experience has demonstrated that small teams of four to six people trained in the skills of documentation, observation, nonviolent intervention, and various ministries of presence can make a striking difference in explosive situations.

Along the way, more than 30 alumni, faculty, and staff of CMU and its predecessor colleges have worked for CPT. That includes Dr. Harry Huebner, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and Theology, who helped found the organization.

“CMU has been a place of nourishment for many CPTers,” Thompson says. “While (the CMU PAX Award) recognizes the peace work of CPT, we hope it also recognizes the deep relationship between CPT and CMU. As we continue to work for holistic peace and justice, with our neighbours across the street and our neighbours around the world, may we continue to challenge, nourish, and hold each other up.”

This is the third year that Canadian Mennonite University has given out the CMU PAX Award.

In 2015, it was awarded to Jean Vanier, who founded L’Arche, an international federation of communities for people with developmental disabilities and those who assist them. In 2016, the CMU PAX Award was presented to Art DeFehr, a humanitarian and business leader.

Gather. Give. Celebrate. Spring at CMU is an evening of story, song, and food in support of CMU. The event takes place at CMU (500 Shaftesbury Blvd.) from 7:00 PM until 9:00 PM.

For information about CMU visit www.cmu.ca.

Tags Christian Peacemaker Teams, CMU PAX Award, CPT, PAX Award, Spring at CMU

Events News Releases

CMU community to celebrate Bach’s birthday and World Poetry Day with special events

Post author By CMU
Post date March 16, 2017

Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) students and faculty will celebrate Bach and poetry at two separate special events, both happening on campus this coming Tuesday, March 21.

Both of these events are free and open to the public:

Bach on the Bridge will feature musicians from the CMU community performing the music of J.S. Bach on the Marpeck Commons pedestrian bridge (2299 Grant Ave.). There are two performances: one at 10:00-11:30 AM, and one at 12:00-1:30 PM. Bach on the Bridge coincides with Bach in the Subways, an annual celebration of Bach’s birthday that features musicians around the world performing his music for free in public spaces.

Born in Germany on March 21, 1685 to a renowned musical family, Johann Sebastian Bach was well-respected as an organist during his lifetime. Although he wrote some 1,100 items while he was alive, it wasn’t until 200 years after his death that Bach’s skills as a composer gained widespread recognition. Today, he is generally regarded as one of the greatest composers of all time.

Pop-Up Poetry will feature Winnipeg poets stationed at vintage typewriters in folio café (2299 Grant Ave.), writing poems on demand. You can approach one of the poets and name a topic, and the poet will write an original poem on the spot for you to keep. The CMU Department of English is organizing this event to celebrate World Poetry Day. It takes place 12:00-1:00 PM and will feature Sally Ito, Ariel Gordon, and Joanne Epp. “We want people to see that poets do important work in our society,” says Dr. Sue Sorensen, Associate Professor of English at CMU. “We’re also trying to make poetry fun, exciting, and spontaneous, so that people can get over their fear of poetry.”

March 21 was declared World Poetry Day by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1999. The day is meant to recognize the unique ability of poetry to capture the creative spirit of the human mind.

For information about CMU visit www.cmu.ca.

General News News Releases

CMU welcomes Dori Zerbe Cornelsen as Director of Development

Post author By CMU
Post date March 10, 2017

Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dori Zerbe Cornelsen as Director of Development.

Zerbe Cornelsen comes to CMU following nine years of experience in donor relations as a Gift Planning Consultant with Abundance Canada, the organization formerly known as Mennonite Foundation of Canada.

Dori Zerbe Cornelsen

“We’re thrilled to have Dori join CMU as Director of Development,” says Terry Schellenberg, Vice President External. “Dori’s strength in relating to donors and her experience opening gift planning opportunities will be a real asset.”

Zerbe Cornelsen, who has two adult children who have graduated from CMU in recent years, is excited to work for an organization committed to learning and growth.

“We need places like CMU to root us in values and faith, so that we’re better able to embody lives of service, leadership, and reconciliation,” she says.

Prior to her work with Abundance Canada, Zerbe Cornelsen served as a pastor. Before that, she was the coordinator of Open Circle, a program that provides relationships of integrity and faith for prisoners and people who have committed offenses.

She holds a Master of Divinity degree from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, IN; a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in Cultural Anthropology from the University of Winnipeg; and a diploma in Biblical Studies from Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford, BC.

“We’re grateful for what Dori’s earlier pastoral experience, along with her ongoing commitment to the church and to CMU’s mission, will bring to her work with us,” Schellenberg says.

Zerbe Cornelsen is looking forward to starting her work at CMU on April 3.

“I’m looking forward to getting to know others who feel strongly about the mission of CMU, who want to live out their values by making gifts to a place that allows for the potential of a future that we all want to see,” she says. “We all want to see a world of more compassion, grace, and ability to live better together, and CMU nurtures that kind of passion.”

For information about CMU visit www.cmu.ca.

Tags Dori Zerbe Cornelsen

Events News Releases

CMU Opera Workshop class presents H.M.S. Pinafore

Post author By CMU
Post date February 23, 2017

Canadian Mennonite University’s Opera and Musical Theatre Workshop is proud to present Gilbert and Sullivan’s famed comic opera H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor next month.

Directed by David Klassen, the production will run for four shows: Thursday, March 9 through Saturday, March 11 at 7:00 PM, and Sunday, March 12 at 2:30 PM. The performances take place in the Laudamus Auditorium (500 Shaftesbury Blvd.). Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students, and are available at the door.

Written by librettist W.S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan in the 1870s, the opera takes place aboard the titular ship.

The captain intends for his daughter, Josephine, to marry Sir Joseph Porter, the First Lord of Admiralty. At the same time, she is in love with Ralph Rackstraw, a lower-class sailor. The opera follows the characters as Josephine and Ralph declare their love for each other and eventually plan to elope.

The four performances are the culmination of six months of hard work by the 26 students enrolled in Klassen’s Opera Workshop course.

The course gives students an understanding of the energy and effort it takes to communicate when performing operative works, and students learn how to work as part of an ensemble.

The course is made accessible to students at all skill levels.

“The cast is very enthusiastic,” says Klassen, Instructor of Music at CMU. “What’s great about these students is that they are really eager to grow as singers on stage. They’re attentive and they are moldable, which makes it a real joy to work with them all.”

A key goal is to develop each student’s comfort level as a communicator onstage.

Klassen says that the lessons they learn in the class and while performing have significance in everyday life.

“When you understand what you’re reacting against in other people’s creations of characters, it kind of helps you understand real life a little bit better, and understand the value and strength of communication,” he says.

Klassen employed a costumer to give students a sense of what it is like to do a production at an advanced level.

“They’re treated like professionals in that regard, and they look like professionals,” he says.

Opera Workshop students mount a full-scale production every second year. Past productions have included The Merry Wives of Windsor, a three-act opera based on William Shakespeare’s comedic play, and Die Fledermaus, a German operetta by Johann Strauss II.

In the years in between, students present scenes from a variety of different works.

For more information about CMU’s production of H.M.S. Pinafore, call 204-487-3300.

For information about CMU visit www.cmu.ca.

Tags David Klassen, H.M.S. Pinafore, opera workshop

Events News Releases

Sense of camaraderie marks 2017 Verna Mae Janzen Music Competition

Post author By CMU
Post date February 21, 2017

‘We’re all proud of each other,’ first place winner says

A pianist hailing from southern Ontario is the winner of the 12th annual Verna Mae Janzen Music Competition at Canadian Mennonite University. Anneli Loepp Thiessen’s performance, which included a piece by classical Austrian composer Joseph Haydn that she learned just one week before the competition, earned her first place and the $700 prize that comes with it on Wednesday, February 15. “It was very exciting,” said Loepp Thiessen, who grew up in Kitchener-Waterloo. “I still feel like I’m a little bit in shock.”

Verna Mae Janzen Music Competition winner Anneli Loepp Thiessen (center) with second place winner Emma Heinrichs and third place winner Nolan Kehler.

A gifted musician who has played her instrument for 16 years, Loepp Thiessen is in her fourth year of a music degree, with a double major in piano performance and music ministry. This was her third time participating in the competition. Part of what made this year’s competition so much fun is the sense of camaraderie among the finalists, she said. “There’s a sense that we’re all proud of each other, which is a good feeling,” Loepp Thiessen said. “We really had each other’s backs.” “We’re all technically proficient at our instruments, so making the music come alive was the goal,” she added. “I don’t know how the judges made their decision, because everyone of us was communicating so well.” Emma Heinrichs, a pianist in her second year of a Bachelor of Music, placed second and received $500. Third place and its $300 prize went to tenor singer Nolan Kehler, who is completing his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance this April. Alexander Milevic (piano), Elowen Braunstein-Black (soprano), and Alyssa Hildebrand (soprano) also competed in the finals, advancing from a group of 19 competitors. “I’m always very pleased to see how students rise to the occasion when it comes time to perform,” said Dr. Janet Brenneman, Dean of the School of Music at CMU. “The entire evening was a strong showcase of what our students can do.” Margery Koop, a performer, choral conductor, and teacher known for her work with singers of all musical genres, and Darryl Friesen, an acclaimed soloist and collaborative artist who has performed around the world, served as adjudicators for the finals. Brenneman was thrilled to see so many members of the community attend the event. “This event has a following of audience members that attend every year, who are excited to hear the finalists and witness the outcome of the competition,” Brenneman said. The competition possible made possible by thegenerous donations of Peter Janzen of Deep River, ON. The event is named in memory of his wife, Verna Mae, who died of cancer in 1989 at age 53. “We are very grateful to Dr. Janzen, whose generosity and strong commitment to music at CMU makes this event possible,” Brenneman said. For Janzen, sponsoring the event is a way to contribute toward the success of CMU. He wanted to support CMU via a music competition because he and Verna met through their interest in choral singing. “I always dreamed of someday dedicating a memorial to my wife—a wonderful, loving, sensitive, intelligent, and happy companion,” Janzen said in 2007. “Through the Verna Mae Janzen Music Competition at CMU, I can keep her memory alive.” [ photo gallery ] [ videos ]

About CMU A Christian university in the Anabaptist tradition, CMU’s Shaftesbury campus offers undergraduate degrees in arts, business, humanities, music, sciences, and social sciences, as well as graduate degrees in theology, ministry, peacebuilding and collaborative development, and an MBA. CMU has over 800 full-time equivalent students, including those enrolled in degree programs at the Shaftesbury and Menno Simons College campuses and in its Outtatown certificate program.

For information about CMU visit www.cmu.ca.

For additional information, please contact:
Kevin Kilbrei, Director of Communications & Marketing
kkilbrei@cmu.ca; 204.487.3300 Ext. 621
Canadian Mennonite University
500 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 2N2

Tags Alexander Milevic, Alexander Milevic (piano), Alyssa Hildebrand, Anneli Loepp Thiessen, Elowen Braunstein-Black, Nolan Kehler, Verna Mae Janzen Competition

Events News Releases

Pastors, lay leaders invited to explore the transitions of young adulthood at conference at CMU

Post author By CMU
Post date February 13, 2017

Canadian Mennonite University is inviting pastors and lay leaders to come together and think creatively about young adult ministry at a one-day conference later this month.

A Transformative Moment: Seeking God in the Transitions of Young Adulthood takes place from 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM on Saturday, February 25 at CMU. The event will feature a variety of talks, a panel discussion, and keynote addresses from Gil Dueck who has expertise in the area of young adults and the church.

“CMU is excited to provide resources to people in the church, no matter what their denomination is, who work with young adults,” says Peter Epp, Church Engagement Coordinator at CMU and one of the conference’s organizers. “I haven’t found a lot of conferences in Manitoba geared specifically toward working with young adults, so I’m looking forward to this event.”

Currently serving as program director at Mennonite Central Committee Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, Gil Dueck previously spent 12 years at Bethany College in a variety of teaching, mentoring, and administrative roles.

He is currently in the final stages of doctoral work through the International Baptist Theological Study Centre and the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. His research focuses on a theological and transformational reading of faith development among young adults.

Dueck’s two keynote speeches will bookend the conference.

During the morning, conference participants will have the opportunity to take part in breakout sessions looking at a handful of topics including prayer, baptism, Jesus, and sex.

The afternoon will include a panel discussion revolving around stories about young adults and churches searching for and finding each other.

The panel will include Janessa Giesbrecht, Pastor of Youth and College and Career at Fort Garry MB Church; Jamie Howison, Anglican priest and founding pastor at saint benedict’s table; Hilde Marsch, Young Adult Ministry Director at the Meeting Place; and Katrina Woelk, a University of Manitoba student.

“From young adults, to academics, to pastors from different denominations, I’m thrilled to have a variety of people involved in this conference,” Epp says, adding that he hopes people who attend will walk away with an enriched understanding of young adult ministry.

“I’m excited for us all to come together and bounce ideas off of each other,” he says. “I think the networking and discussion that will happen at this conference will be extremely valuable.”

For more information and to register, visit cmu.ca/transformative.

For information about CMU visit www.cmu.ca.

Tags A Transformative Moment, Centre for Faith and Life, workshop, youth ministry

General News News Releases

Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives & Gallery to continue under new structure

Post author By CMU
Post date February 9, 2017

Joint News Release by:
Mennonite Church Canada,
Canadian Mennonite University
Centre for Transnational Mennonite Studies

The Mennonite Heritage Centre including its Archive and Art Gallery programs, is being reorganized under a new partnership and name.

Discussions over the last months between Mennonite Church Canada (MC Canada), Canadian Mennonite University (CMU), and the Center for Transnational Mennonite Studies (CTMS) at the University of Winnipeg culminated in a proposal for CMU to assume full ownership of the Mennonite Heritage Centre building, and programming of the faith-based Art Gallery, while the archives will be managed and funded by a three-way partnership of MC Canada, CMU, and CTMS. CTMS is a partnership between the University of Winnipeg’s Chair in Mennonite Studies and the D.F. Plett Historical Research Foundation Inc.

Mennonite Heritage Centre, located on the CMU campus

Per the proposal, CMU will own and maintain the Mennonite Heritage Centre infrastructure with staff of both the Archives and Gallery integrated in CMU’s human resources complement. Operational details within the partnership will be further clarified over the coming months. The proposal was accepted by MC Canada’s General Board at a January 13, 2017 meeting. The Mennonite Heritage Centre will be re-named to become “Mennonite Heritage Archives” (MHA) on June, 1, 2017, the anticipated transfer date to the new partnership.

To facilitate the transition to the new structure, MC Canada will be releasing the current Archives program’s staff. The full-time position of Director is being eliminated, while the archivist position is being expanded to full time as part of the new partnership. Further announcements for re-staffing the new MHA are pending. A committee representing the three partners will provide leadership to the MHA.

The partnership will seek to continue and to deepen the existing mandate of the Archives program, including present and future deposits to the collections of MC Canada and other Mennonite denominations. At the same time, it will expand the focus to include resources that document the transnational Anabaptist experience, including materials related to church communities in the global south, the Mennonite sojourn in Russia, and the Low German Mennonites of the Americas.

The Archives program has a distinguished record of service to the church community by storing and indexing congregational, area church, and national church records. These records, such as baptismal and church membership information, also constitute a primary source of data for church and family researchers and genealogists. The program also receives donations of records from education faculty, church leaders, and others.

The operations of the Art Gallery will be assumed entirely by CMU on June 1, 2017.

The Art Gallery is a bridge between Mennonites and other faith communities, featuring visual arts that share our own faith story within our community as well as bringing the faith stories of other religious groups to the Mennonite community. While the Gallery is based in Winnipeg, travelling exhibits have been featured in congregations, campuses, and events such as MC Canada Assemblies and Mennonite World Conference.

“CMU recognizes the significant value of both the Mennonite Heritage Centre’s Archives and Gallery as valuable resources for the Mennonite community,” says Gordon Zerbe, Vice President Academic at CMU. “CMU has a strong commitment to deepening the existing and ongoing mandate of these programs.”

“The new MHA will continue to serve our congregations as an important depository for their historic records. We encourage the continued and strong support of the MHA, not only through the contribution of congregational records, but also the financial support that makes this work possible,” said Coreena Stewart, Chief Administrative Officer for Mennonite Church Canada.

“CTMS is committed to preserving and telling the evolving Anabaptist story,” said Hans Werner, Executive Director, D.F. Plett Historical Research Foundation, Inc. “The archives are important in insuring that the rich transnational story of Mennonite faith, life and community can be told for generations to come.”

Mennonite Church Canada is made up of over 33,000 baptized members, 225 congregations and 5 area conferences. For more information, contact Dan Dyck, 600 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 0M4, 204-888-6781, ddyck@mennonitechurch.ca.

A Christian university in the Anabaptist tradition, Canadian Mennonite University offers undergraduate degrees in arts, business, humanities, music, sciences, and social sciences, as well as graduate degrees in theology, ministry, peacebuilding and collaborative development, and an MBA. For more information, contact Kevin Kilbrei 500 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 2N2, 204-487-3300, kkilbrei@cmu.ca.

The Center for Transnational Mennonite Studies is a Centre of the University of Winnipeg and partnership between the D.F. Historical Research Foundation, Inc. and the Chair in Mennonite Studies. For more information contact: Hans Werner, 515 Portage Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, MB R3B 2E9, 204-786-9352, h.werner@uwinnipeg.ca.

Tags Archives, Center for Transnational Mennonite Studies, CTMS, Gallery, Heritage Centre, MC Canada, Mennonite Heritage Centre, Mennonite Heritage Centre Gallery

General News News Releases

Canadian Mennonite University announces new faculty appointments

Post author By CMU
Post date February 3, 2017

Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) is pleased to announce three new faculty appointments, all to start in their roles on July 1, 2017.

Dr. Jonathan Dueck, Vice President Academic and Academic Dean: Dueck holds a PhD from the University of Alberta in Music (Ethnomusicology). He is currently Assistant Professor of Writing and Deputy Director of Writing in the Disciplines at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., an interdisciplinary position that gives Dueck the opportunity to work with scholars and students in a variety of different faculties. He previously taught at Duke University, the University of Maryland, and the University of Alberta.

Dueck does research in the areas of writing and music. He is coeditor of The Oxford Handbook of Music and World Christianities (2016) and author of Congregational Music, Conflict, and Community (forthcoming 2017, Routledge) as well as Performing Basketball (Oxford, under contract).

He is a graduate of Canadian Mennonite Bible College; during studies at CMBC he also took courses at Concord College and Menno Simons College. With familiarity for all three colleges that merged to form CMU, he looks forward to working at the ongoing development of the university.

“Seeing the institution that CMU has become, and the way that it’s engaging the community and church and world, are really exciting for me, and something I’ve long wanted to be a part of,” Dueck says. “I’m more convinced than ever of the vibrancy, potential, and energy of CMU.”

Dueck brings impressive insight into the good of the university for church and society, says CMU President Cheryl Pauls.

“Dr. Dueck is inspired by the mission entrusted to CMU: centred on Christ, imaginative and wide-ranging in terms of inquiry, oriented toward servanthood and peacebuilding, and inter-culturally engaged,” Pauls says. “The CMU learning community is deeply enthusiastic about the quality education that Jonathan will continue to envision and inspire through CMU.”

Dr. Rosemary Vogt, Assistant Professor of Business: Vogt holds a PhD in Education, with a concentration in Leadership and Administration, from the University of North Dakota. She has worked as an instructor at CMU and Red River College, and done consulting work in the areas of forging strategic partnerships between industry, government, and higher education; leadership/management development; Indigenous education and training; counseling and conflict resolution; program evaluation; and researching, developing and evaluating policies and programs.

Her research interests include the way universities partner with, and serve the needs of, the communities in which they are situated. She brings considerable practical experience in various community organizations to her role as a business professor.

“I am passionate about students and I am passionate about teaching,” Vogt says. “I’m looking forward to joining the faculty at CMU full-time and investing in the lives of students.”

James Magnus-Johnston, Instructor of Social Innovation/Director, Centre for Ecological and Economic Resilience (CEER: Magnus-Johnston holds an MPhil in Economics from Cambridge University and has taught political studies and economics at CMU. He is interested in the political, cultural, and institutional shift towards ecological resilience, principally through the application of “steady-state” economic policies.

His research is informed by professional experience in the insolvency field, in policy positions with organizations and lawmakers, and in the communications industry as an editor.

Magnus-Johnston says that one of the things he is looking forward to about his involvement with the CEER is working with students.

“There’s nothing I find more exciting than working one on one with students and finding out what problems they’re seeking answers to,” he says, adding that he enjoys working at CMU because the students are motivated by a greater purpose than making a buck or getting a job.

“CMU is practicing a lot of the change that we want to see in the world,” he says.

Other notable CMU faculty updates

Assistant Professor of Music Therapy, .5: Michelle Yaciuk
Assistant Professor of Music Therapy, .5: Lee-Anne Adams
Ongoing appointment as Instructor of Conflict Resolution Studies: Karen Ridd
Tenure as Associate Professor of Theology: Dr. Paul Doerksen

For information about CMU visit www.cmu.ca.

Tags James Magnus-Johnston, Jonathan Dueck, Rosemary Vogt

Events General News News Releases

Ministry workers invited to conference at CMU that will focus on becoming global

Post author By CMU
Post date January 26, 2017

“Becoming global congregations” is the focus of an upcoming conference for those in ministry that will be held at Canadian Mennonite University.

ReNew: Resourcing Pastors for Ministry takes place Monday, February 6 to Wednesday, February 8 at CMU (500 Shaftesbury Blvd.). The three-day event will feature stimulating Bible studies, inspiring worship, powerful stories, and enriching fellowship.

Dr. Jonathan Bonk, an expert in missions and evangelism, will appear at the conference as the keynote speaker. Bonk is Executive Director Emeritus of the Overseas Ministry Study Centre in New Haven, CT, a research professor of mission at Boston University, and author of Missions and Money: Affluence as a Western Missionary Problem.

“CMU and its predecessor colleges have a long history of holding conferences meant to resource pastors,” says Andrew Dyck, Assistant Professor of Ministry Studies and one of the conference’s organizers. “We are committed to helping support, encourage, and resource church leaders.”

The Christian Church is the body of Christ worldwide. It transcends geographical and denominational boundaries. Despite this conviction, and despite technology that makes the world smaller, it is easy for congregations to succumb to localism.

This year’s ReNew conference, titled, “Opening Our Maps: Becoming Global Congregations” will explore questions such as: How might congregations become more global in their worldview, practices, and endeavours? What might it mean to be a globally minded congregation, in relationship with the church in other lands, the church of other denominations, and the ethnically diverse church at home?

Representatives from a handful of churches in Alberta and Manitoba will share stories about what their congregations are doing. The churches range from a congregation doing evangelism in inner city Winnipeg, to a rural church where three different denominations gather together for worship services.

“We’ve worked really hard to include church leaders from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, including newcomers to Canada, so that we can learn from their experiences,” Dyck says. “I’m excited to hear what they have got to teach all of us.”

CMU faculty will lead workshops exploring the theological foundations of the Church as the body of Christ; innovative congregational partnerships; indigenous peoples as part of the global church; and more.

“Christ calls us to take the extra mile of welcoming people that we haven’t welcomed before,” Dyck says. “I hope this conference helps all of us reach just a little further and take a little more initiative to extend grace and welcome to people that we haven’t welcomed before.”

ReNew is intended for all who are involved in ministry. For more information and to register, visit cmu.ca/renew.

For information about CMU visit www.cmu.ca.

Tags Andrew Dyck, Centre for Faith and Life, conference, Jonathan Bonk, ReNew

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Joint News Release by:
Mennonite Church Canada,
Canadian Mennonite University
Centre for Transnational Mennonite Studies