Category: Articles

Faculty: In Their Own Words – Dr. Paul Dyck

Post author By CMU
Post date February 29, 2016

Dr. Paul Dyck, Professor of English, has taught at CMU since 2000.

What do you love about your work here?
Paul Dyck Interview 2 retouch

Many things, but one is that I get into interesting conversations with professors from different disciplines. Kenton Lobe, who teaches international development, is in the office across the hall from me, and we’re constantly batting around ideas. We were just looking at a four-book poem by Virgil, The Georgics, which are about farm labour back in classical Rome, and tossing around the idea of maybe putting together a course that would look at poetry about the farm from Virgil to Wendell Berry. It’s a real privilege to work in a place with such a gifted and dedicated group of interesting people.

What are you teaching right now that most excites you?

I’m teaching an upper level course that I haven’t taught before on the sonnet as a poetic form. The sonnet was developed in 14^th century Italy, and it’s one of these inventions that just worked really well. There’s no rule that says poets should keep writing them, but pretty much all the significant poets have at least one sonnet. It’s a poetic form that has this kind of attraction that goes beyond questions of culture and language and even topic. It starts off as something devoted to love poetry, and today you’ve got sonnets on practically any topic you could name.

What are you researching and writing right now?
I’m working on a book about George Herbert. George Herbert was an early 17^th century poet and also an Anglican minister. He’s got this masterful use of the language where he can use the plainest of utterances and make them carry such depth so that you can read and re-read his work. It’s very inviting, but also very profound. I’m combining my interest in Herbert with my interest in book history, which looks at the material history of the books that we read. Typically in Herbert studies you get a lot of theological criticism, and you might get some material criticism, but I don’t think it’s really been adequately explored how the two go together. In Herbert, the material becomes incarnational.

What are you reading for enjoyment?
I just finished In The Rose Garden of the Martyrs: A Memoir of Iran, by Christopher de Bellaigue, an English writer who is married to an Iranian woman and who spent many years living in Iran. This past December, I travelled to Iran and took a short course on Islam at an institute that CMU has a partnership with. Reading In the Rose Garden of the Martyrs revealed a more complicated story than I would have understood just being there for a week. It’s fascinating how reading can broaden and give more depth to the experience of travelling somewhere.

Do you have any interesting projects underway in the broader community or church?
Recently I was involved with the Anglican Diocese of Rupert’s Land in its Theological Education Commission, which reassessed how the church prepares ministers for their work, and also how the church thinks about theological education broadly. It was very engaging work.

Tags Faculty, In Their Own Words, Paul Dyck

Articles

Career resourcing at CMU helps students take the next step

Post author By CMU
Post date January 26, 2016

Transitioning from university to the working world can be tricky. That’s where Adelia Neufeld Wiens comes in.

This past October, Neufeld Wiens joined CMU to provide additional support related to career resourcing.

Each Tuesday, Neufeld Wiens is available to meet one-on-one with students who want to discuss their studies and career aspirations.

Adelia Neufeld Wiens, helping students understand the link between the knowledge and skills they acquire in the classroom and their career goals.

From resumé creation to strategizing for work after university, Neufeld Wiens—who worked at CMU as Coordinator of Student Advising from 2006 to 2013—covers a variety of different topics depending on the student’s needs.

Neufeld Wiens can help students narrate transferable skills from university studies and practicum; find vocabulary to describe their aptitudes and interests; identify networking opportunities for employment; strategize for a “gap year” before continuing further studies; and give them things to think about as they consider what to major in at CMU.

It’s a valuable role that gives students an additional resource as they prepare for the working world.

“This is a conversation that a lot of students want to have, and it can be a source of tremendous anxiety,” Neufeld Wiens says. “In my sessions with students, they can talk about what they’re thinking and dreaming, and we can strategize the best way forward.”

Occasionally, Neufeld Wiens introduces students to different theories of vocational development and career planning, and helps them assess their learning style.

“Every week, I’m learning about different questions to ask the students I meet with, and I’m discovering different resources that are out there that I can bring to my work with them.”

CMU’s career resourcing efforts help students understand the link between the knowledge and skills they acquire in the classroom and their career goals, says Marilyn Peters Kliewer, Dean of Student Life.

“They’re learning how to be critical thinkers, how to be problem solvers, how to communicate well, and how to work with others as a team,” she says. “These are important skills.”

Neufeld Wiens has a variety of work experience. After earning a Master of Arts degree in Religion from the University of Manitoba, she taught courses at the U of M and at Canadian Mennonite Bible College, one of CMU’s predecessor institutions.

At the same time, she was working at St. Boniface Hospital as the volunteer coordinator in the palliative care unit.

Neufeld Wiens later became the chapel coordinator at CMU. Eventually, she and her husband Werner moved to Nairobi, Kenya, where he taught and she worked as a guidance counselor at Rosslyn Academy, a school serving the children of missionaries, diplomats, and internationals.

She also writes for the Winnipeg Free Press on a freelance basis.

“I sometimes tell students about the nonlinear career path I’ve taken, and how serendipitous events often come into play,” Neufeld Wiens says.

Her work experience and deep knowledge of CMU’s programs make her well suited for her current role.

“Adelia’s very good at what she does,” Peters Kliewer says. “She is helping our students embrace the skills they are learning in the classroom. If they feel good about those skills, they will also feel more confident in getting a job.”

Neufeld Wiens says the biggest thing she tries to express to students is that carving out a career is an ongoing process.

“It’s important to recognize that this is a journey, and the journey is life-long,” she says. “Find allies to help you on your journey, and be an ally so you can help others along the way.”

Tags Adelia Neufeld Wiens, career resourcing, Student Life, Student Services

Student Profiles

It is God who makes the music

Post author By CMU
Post date January 25, 2016

A lifelong love of music and a fascination with worship led Anneli Loepp Thiessen to pursue a Bachelor of Music at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU).

Loepp Thiessen says her studies offer opportunities to explore questions such as: why do we worship? And what does it mean when we worship? Answers to questions such as these are complex, yet Loepp Thiessen suggests the root of the answer lies in viewing worship as a conversation.

“We are very used to worshipping and making music as a community, but it’s more than congregations often realize,” she says. “It’s about gathering as a community and what we’re saying to each other—what does it mean to us and what does it mean to God?”

As a worship director at Doon Presbyterian Church in Kitchener, Ontario for two summers, Loepp Thiessen explored this theory in a practical setting, drawing on her classroom learning, including theories and techniques learned in the course Leading Music and Worship. The position was a foundational one for her.

“I know that I’m going to be involved with church music for a long time,” she says. “Having this foundation from CMU has given me a really realistic expectation for worship and guidelines of how we approach worship.”

A quote by Johann Sebastian Bach encapsulates the connections Loepp Thiessen sees in the two concentrations she’s studying: music ministry and piano performance.

I play the notes as they are written, but it is God who makes the music. – Johann Sebastian Bach

“If as a solo pianist I am being true to what Bach intended, then it’s going to be an act of worship—I need to think of it as a conversation with God, which takes it to another level,” she says.

Bach is a favourite composer of Loepp Thiessen’s and at CMU she’s had the opportunity to perform his pieces as a solo performer, with the Mennonite Community Orchestra, with the CMU Singers, and with a solo singer, all of which she has greatly enjoyed. She’s appreciated the opportunities to learn how to provide accompaniment in different performance contexts.

Loepp Thiessen has also experienced the collaborative nature of CMU through faculty mentorships in each department of the music program. Witnessing the care and interest of faculty members has impressed upon her the importance of sharing music with others.

“When I graduate from CMU, one of the things that will stick with me is the idea that as musicians one of the most valuable things we can do is be mentors,” says Loepp Thiessen. She’s already sharing her passion for and knowledge of music with others by teaching piano at CMU’s Community School of Music and the Arts.

Loepp Thiessen says studying music at CMU has surpassed her expectations.

“There is no school that offers such a wide range of disciplines within the music program, does them so well, and within the context of Christian community.”

Learn more about CMU’s Bachelor of Music degree: www.cmu.ca/music

Tags Anneli Loepp Thiessen, Bachelor of Music, CMU, music, School of Music, worship

Articles

CMU students win competition at 2015 MEDA convention

Post author By CMU
Post date December 23, 2015

Jillian Beever, Tess Longley, and Nonsie Sibanda won the MEDAnext Talks competition at MEDA’s 2015 convention, “Growing Business, Building Community”.

Styled after TED Talks, the MEDAnext Talks provided an opportunity for students to present on a topic that fell into one of the following categories of how to be, do, or care “in the next.”

PhotoGrid_1452186579340 — Nonsie Sibanda, Tess Longley, and Jillian Beever (clockwise from top-right) formed CMU’s winning entry in the MEDAnext Talks competition at the 2015 MEDA Convention in Richmond, Virginia.

The topic chosen by the students was “Empowering Millennials for the Future,” in response to the ‘Do’ category questions: What can we do to utilize the power of change for good? What can we do to empower others in the future?

The students’ presentation included an introduction to the millennial generation and offered suggestions for how businesses and the field of academics can empower millennials by drawing on the generation’s strengths and characteristics.

The students express appreciation for the opportunity, which provided “a platform to talk about something interesting that we wanted to share, meet new people and network, and practice skills that we learned in class,” said Longley.

“Attending the MEDA convention provided an opportunity for the students to draw on the leadership studies that we’ve incorporated into the business program,” says Craig Martin, Assistant Professor of Business at CMU. “They did really well on their presentation.”

All three are taking the course Leadership Development, taught by Dr. Vonda Plett, which they credit with helping them develop skills such as active listening, team building, and presentation techniques, all of which they utilized while preparing their presentation.

“When I began [the Leadership Development] course, I had leadership goals. Taking up public speaking was one of my goals and this was an opportunity to practice that,” says Sibanda.

The convention included opportunities for networking with MEDA supporters, staff, and convention attendees, including those from other universities and colleges.

This is the fourth year CMU has attended the MEDA convention and the students hope that more students will be able to participate in the future. They’ve already begun planning for next year.

“You’re there to connect, to meet people, to learn about new things, and to come back next year and hear what you’ve done since,” says Beever. “It took our degree and shaped it in a whole new light.”

Tags Jillian Beever, MEDA, MEDAnext Talk, Nonsie Sibanda, Redekop School of Business, RSB, Tess Longley

Articles

CMU students reflect on their involvement with Freedom Road campaign

Post author By CMU
Post date December 9, 2015

“It almost feels too good to be true.”

That’s how Samantha Klassen feels now that the City of Winnipeg, the Province of Manitoba, and the Federal Government have voiced their support for the construction of a permanent road for Shoal Lake 40 First Nation.

Klassen, a second-year student at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU), is a member of Students for Freedom Road, one of the grassroots organizations in Winnipeg advocating for just relations with Shoal Lake 40.

Shoal Lake 40 is an isolated reserve that straddles the Manitoba-Ontario border. The reserve was cut off from the mainland a century ago during construction of an aqueduct which sends fresh water to Winnipeg.

It has no all-weather road and its residents have lived under a boil-water advisory since the late 1990s – one of the longest boil-water advisories in Canadian history.

A road connecting Shoal Lake to the mainland would mean the reserve could start thinking about a water treatment plant and economic development.

Klassen, who is a co-director of the Peace and Sustainability Committee student group at CMU, wanted to get involved after hearing Winnipeg singer-songwriter Steve Bell talk about the cause in a chapel service at CMU in September.

The Peace and Sustainability Committee partnered with Witness Through Service, another student group on campus, to form Students for Freedom Road.

They soon partnered with Friends of Shoal Lake 40, a collective of community organizations working on the issue.

In addition to circulating petitions and attending rallies, a handful of CMU students were part of a delegation that traveled to the reserve on October 30 to meet Shoal Lake community members and better understand how the aqueduct that supplies Winnipeg with its drinking water has devastated the community.

The delegation also included Bell, seven city councillors, two aides, business leaders, and representatives from various advocacy groups.

For Klassen a sharing circle city councillors and community members participated in during the October 30 visit was particularly meaningful.

“I don’t think there’s anything that can replace taking the time to be present with each other,” says Klassen, who wrote about her experience in The Doxa, CMU’s student newspaper. “It felt like a turning point. (It felt) huge, but also so simple.”

Jim Cheng, a student in his final year of study at CMU who captured his experience on October 30 through a number of photographs, says getting involved with Students for Freedom Road and visiting Shoal Lake was an opportunity to apply what he’s learned in classes like Biblical Perspectives on Peace and Justice to everyday life.

“Often I feel like the stuff that I learn academically can only stay with me as head knowledge,” Cheng says. “When I meet people, the information touches not only the head but the heart and the spirit.”

Klassen, Cheng, and their peers are celebrating the commitments all three levels of government have made to build Freedom Road.

“The people of Shoal Lake 40 will at last have the chance to thrive in their own home,” Klassen says. “Let this be a witness to all of the power of goodness to overcome evil, and the redemptive power of grace.”

The barge transports the group from the mainland to the man-made island of Shoal Lake 40. (photo credit: James Christian Imagery)

The group poses for a photo on the temporary bridge across the diversion canal. (photo credit: James Christian Imagery)

The Shoal Lake 40 community relies solely on bottled water for drinking, cooking, and bathing as a result of the boil-water advisory. (photo credit: James Christian Imagery)

Chief Erwin Redsky speaks to the group on October 30. (photo credit: James Christian Imagery)

The group stands on the temporary bridge that was built two years ago. A permanent bridge is being constructed and will connect Freedom Road, which will join Hwy. #1 to the west of Shoal Lake 40. (photo credit: James Christian Imagery)

Stewart Redsky explains the history and geography of Shoal Lake 40. (photo credit: James Christian Imagery)

Visitors participate in the tour of the island on October 30. (photo credit: James Christian Imagery)

The Junior Chief and Junior Council members, dressed up for Halloween, spoke to the group in the community hall. They were shy but they welcomed the group and explained how they wish Freedom Road would get built. (photo credit: James Christian Imagery) — The Junior Chief and Junior Council members, dressed up for Halloween, spoke to the group in the community hall. They were shy but they welcomed the group and explained how they wish Freedom Road would get built.
(photo credit: James Christian Imagery)

Steve Bell speaks with Samantha Klassen. (photo credit: James Christian Imagery)

Displaying t-shirts that get the message across. (photo credit: James Christian Imagery)

CMU students Rebecca Penner (from left), Erin Froese, Kelsey Wiebe, Edina-lil Preteau, Samantha Klassen, and Louisa Hofer pictured with singer-songwriter Steve Bell (far right) and Amy Knight (second from right). (photo credit: James Christian Imagery) — CMU students Rebecca Penner (from left), Erin Froese, Kelsey Wiebe, Edina-lil Preteau, Samantha Klassen, and Louisa Hofer pictured with singer-songwriter Steve Bell (far right) and Amy Knight (second from right). (photo credit: Aaron Epp)

Tags Jim Cheng, Samantha Klassen, Shoal Lake 40, The Doxa

Articles

2015’s Pastor-in-Residence reflects on his week at CMU

Post author By CMU
Post date November 27, 2015

Kevin Derksen, a 2007 CMU graduate serves as pastor at St. Jacobs Mennonite Church (SJMC) in St. Jacobs, ON. He was on the CMU campus from November 2 to 6 as CMU’s Pastor-in-Residence, a program designed to encourage out-of-province pastors to live in residence and participate in the life of the CMU community.

Derksen’s reflection on his week at CMU appears in the Winter 2015 issue of SJMC’s newsletter, Life Together. Republished with permission is Derksen’s excerpt below.

Pastor-in-Residence for a Week: Canadian Mennonite University

by Kevin Derksen, SJMC Pastor

During the week of November 2-6, I had the opportunity to turn back the clock and re-live my student years at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) in Winnipeg. I had been invited to spend a week on campus as the “Pastor in Residence” for the fall semester.

The “in Residence” part was quite literal—I was given a tiny bachelor suite in the student apartment block, and went for meals in the school cafeteria. The head cook was still the same from my time thirteen years before, and the good food I remembered hadn’t changed a whole lot.

The years had been less kind to the mattress in my room, however, which clearly predated my student days by a fair margin. But I was sleeping on my own without young children to attend to, so the accommodations still felt pretty good. There was a fair amount of night-time commotion from rooms down the hall, but I decided those students probably didn’t need me to find their ‘blankie’ and tuck them back in!

The point of the visit, however, was to spend time with students—not as a parent, but as a pastor. CMU invites someone to come for a week in each semester as a “Pastor in Residence.” The idea is to bring a fresh face on campus to get to know the school, connect with students and initiate some good conversations. I was happy to accept the invitation when it came, especially as a former student with lots of connections and memories still there. Even though I became a pastor in Ontario, I was shaped significantly by my time at CMU. So it was fun to bring what I do now back to that community.

They did keep me pretty busythroughout the week. I spoke at three chapels and at a student worship night. I was a guest presenter in a couple of ministry-related classes. And I had lunches and meetings with a handful of student and faculty groups. In many of these settings I shared about my own experience as a pastor and invited reflection on topics that are significant within our context here at St. Jacobs. I discovered all sorts of resonances and common interests. It turns out that many of our current issues and conversations here are happening within churches in Winnipeg and beyond, too.

I also spent a whole lot of time in campus coffee shops visiting and talking with people. There were a couple of mornings where I was assigned to sit with a box of cookies to share with students who stopped by for conversation. But I also spent lots of time visiting with staff and faculty, as well as community folks who happened to be around.

On one day I had “coffee” with six different people over the course of five hours, as I held court in one of the cafes. By the end of the week, I was pretty chatted out! But it was really interesting to hear what was going on at CMU and make some connections with where I was coming from as a pastor. Hopefully students and staff and faculty at CMU found something valuable in what I shared as well.

Part of what I took from the week was also a renewed appreciation for what a place like CMU can be and do as a branch of the church. So, here are a few quick reflections on what I noticed as the vibe at the school right now:

CMU has just completed a building project that created a new library, coffee shop and student space called the “Marpeck Commons.” The new space is connected to buildings on the other side of Grant Avenue by a fancy indoor bridge that saves the need for risky street crossings in the winter. The bridge and the Commons have transformed the CMU campus. It has connected the buildings on both sides of the street, and created a natural crossroads for the community. I have never experienced a building project that has had such an immediately positive impact on the culture of a place. Kudos to the vision that lay behind it.
When I began as a student at CMU thirteen years ago, there were still growing pains in the integration of the partner colleges. In particular, some of the church culture distinctives between the Mennonite Brethren and Mennonite Church Canada were still being negotiated. My sense fifteen years into this experiment in unity is that these divisions are less of an issue. In part, because the school has grown to encompass a much greater diversity of students. These days, less than half of students come with any sort of Anabaptist or Mennonite background. CMU remains committed to providing education from an Anabaptist perspective, but there is a wide and beautiful diversity in those who come to learn.
Finally, I was struck by the wealth of thoughtful and committed student leaders that I met – many of who are and will be leaders for the church. It was encouraging to receive their passion and to share my story in the midst of it. God is at work at CMU, as in many other places of learning and formation that we are connected with.I’m grateful for the opportunity to see that again.

Tags Kevin Derksen, pastor-in-residence

Articles

Seed-saving at CMU leads to relationships between Mennonites, indigenous peoples

Post author By CMU
Post date November 10, 2015

Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) made headlines this fall when it was revealed that workers at the CMU Farm, in collaboration with members of the Métis community, had successfully grown an ancient variety of squash from seeds shared with them by the White Earth Seed Library in Minnesota.

The story that accompanied the “Gete-Okosomin” squash seeds was that they were found in a clay ball at an archaeological excavation near the Wisconsin-Illinois border. It went on to suggest that the dating of the clay ball indicated that the seeds were more than 800 years old.

The story captured the imagination of seed savers and gardeners across the continent. It is a good story—but is it true?

When asked, Kenton Lobe, Instructor in International Development Studies at CMU and one of the CMU Farm’s founders, smiles.

“The truth of the story of these squash seeds is still emerging,” he says.

Kenton Lobe and Caroline Chartrand with squash — Kenton Lobe and Caroline Chartrand with Gete-Okosomin squash grown at the CMU Farm

Further digging into the history of the Gete-Okosomin seeds—which, roughly translated, means “cool old squash”—reveals that they were originally gifted to David Wrone, an emeritus University of Wisconsin historian, by some elder women gardeners from the Miami Nation in Indiana in 1995.

One of these squash had been grown and saved by the Miami people for many generations, perhaps even thousands of years.

The men and women stewarding the seed took care to grow them so that they would not cross-pollinate with other kinds of squash, maintaining the variety and characteristics that Lobe suggests resulted in a tasty and prolific squash.

One of the squash grown this season weighed in at more than 30 pounds.

In a note to the White Earth Seed Library, Wrone—who has spent much of his career studying the history of indigenous peoples around the Great Lakes—relates that he had earlier received squash seeds that had been found deep underground in a cave in Kentucky.

They were well preserved in perfect temperature and humidity and were estimated to be several thousand years old. Wrone reports that he grew them out, but that they were “smallish and not as tasty.”

The seeds from the Miami women were shared with Wrone and eventually with White Earth Seed Library.

Over time and through many tellings, these two squash seed stories crossed and turned into one.

The seeds shared with the CMU Farm were, in fact, those grown by the Miami women.

Pollinating Gete-Okosomin squash at the CMU Farm

During the last three growing seasons, members of the Metanoia Farmers Worker Cooperative, who work the CMU Farm, collaborated with Caroline Chartrand, who describes herself as “the landless Métis seed saver,” to grow the seeds out and maintain the varietal purity of the squash.

Their pioneering hand-pollinating method involves community members in planting and caring for the plants, and in harvesting the seed to share with others.

Megan Klassen-Wiebe, one of the farmers, presented this methodology at the Indigenous Farming Conference at White Earth Indian Reservation in March 2013.

“When we started the CMU Farm, we talked a lot about seeds—the politics of seeds and the role they play in our global agriculture system,” Klassen-Wiebe says. “To have connected with Caroline and be doing seed-saving work is exciting.”

Lobe says that whether or not the original story is ‘true,’ growing the squash has helped forge relationships between Métis and Mennonites, with Anishinaabe peoples in Minnesota and ultimately, with Miami gardeners.

“The truth is, the work of seed saving has opened up space for indigenous-settler dialogue and has been both hopeful and helpful,” he adds, noting that the CMU Farm lies on what in the 1870s was a Métis river lot, and which is still part of Treaty 1 territory.

Chartrand says that seed-saving is important in Métis culture because in one sense, every time a variety of vegetables goes extinct, part of Métis history is sacrificed.

“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this partnership I have with Kenton and the farmers at CMU,” she says. “As a result of our work, we have varieties of seeds that were once rare that are now in seed libraries across Canada and the United States.”

While the new development in the Gete-Okosomin story may not seem as exciting as the story the farmers originally received with the seed, it is still fascinating, and shows the care and commitment the Miami people had for this variety of squash.

The story helps those who grow and eat the squash to appreciate the long agricultural history and seed saving skills of indigenous peoples.

“The story opens up people’s imagination to indigenous seed varieties and the stewarding of agricultural biodiversity, which has been done by indigenous farmers from time immemorial,” Lobe says.

The squash seeds will eventually be available for sharing through the fledgling Red River Regional Seed Library hosted on CMU’s campus.

“We love this squash for the story, its unique size and beauty, as well as for its deliciousness and the food it provides through the winter,” Lobe says. “It plays a part in cultivating agricultural biodiversity on the farm and in restoring relationships with people who were here before the Mennonites arrived in this region.”

Tags Caroline Chartrand, CMU Farm, community farm, Gete, Gete-Okosomin, Kenton Lobe, Métis, Red River Regional Seed Library, seeds, squash

Articles Student Profiles

CMU, Camps with Meaning develop students into strong leaders, faithful Christians

Post author By CMU
Post date October 27, 2015

Summer may be a distant memory for most people, but Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) student Jonas Cornelsen fondly recalls how he spent July and August – working as the Bible instructor at Camp Koinonia.

The camp is one of three run by Mennonite Church Manitoba’s Camps with Meaning (CWM) ministry.

Cornelsen, who is majoring in Politics as well as Communications and Media, had never worked at camp full-time before.

It was a meaningful summer of spiritual renewal.

“God is God in all parts of our lives, and doesn’t leave (us) when we leave a special place like camp, but certainly that’s a place where you can become reconnected with that part of your being,” Cornelsen says. “I think I managed to carry that back a little bit with me into this (school) year, which has been great.”

CWS Group (small) — CMU students who were senior counsellors with Camps with Meaning in 2015 gathered at the CMU campus

Cornelsen wasn’t the only CMU student at camp. All 17 members of CWM’s 2015 leadership team and more than half of its senior counsellors were CMU students or alumni.

“CMU prepares people who become stronger leaders,” says Rebecca Klassen-Wiebe, a 2015 graduate who ran the summer program at CWM’s Camp Assiniboia this past summer.

Whether it’s by working as a residence assistant (RA), being a member of student council, leading worship in chapel, or playing on a sports team, CMU offers a variety of leadership opportunities.

Klassen-Wiebe knows people who found the confidence to work at camp after being in leadership roles at CMU.

“It was an easier progression because they had more experiences in other areas of their life,” she says.

Working at camp has also prepared students to lead at CMU.

Andrew Brown, a History and Politics major in his final year of study, was inspired to become a camp counsellor in high school because he wanted to give children the same great experience his counsellors gave him as a camper.

Brown describes himself as a naturally reserved, quiet introvert. Working at camp helped him grow and mature by pushing him out of his comfort zone.

Ultimately, it gave him the confidence to work as an RA at CMU.

His reasons for taking on that role were similar to his reasons for wanting to be a camp counsellor.

“You want to step up and offer that great experience you had to other people,” Brown says. “You want to be that person and help facilitate the community.”

Breanna Heinrichs, a Music major, says studying at CMU has equipped her to be a better song leader at camp.

She recalls working at camp one summer after taking a class on leading worship, in which she learned practical skills as well as explored the theology of worship.

“I found I could bring that understanding (to worship at camp), whether I articulated it explicitly with my fellow song leaders or not,” Heinrichs says.

Klassen-Wiebe adds that studying theology at CMU has made her a better counsellor and leader at camp.

“Having that base of knowledge, you have a wider spectrum of (things) to pull from when you’re talking about faith with campers,” she says.

Having so many CMU students involved with CWM is exciting, says CMU President Cheryl Pauls.

“As I’ve had opportunity to see CMU students in action through CWM, I’ve sat back with deep hope for the future of the church and thought, ‘Wow, what an honour CMU has to walk alongside young adults of such fine character, commitment, and courage,’” Pauls says. “CMU is deeply invested in leadership development, and the uptake and effectiveness of emerging leaders through camping ministry is most heartening.”

The camping ministry is vital to Mennonite Church Manitoba’s mission, says Ken Warkentin, the organization’s executive director.

“We at Mennonite Church Manitoba are very pleased to work in cooperation with CMU in this ministry,” Warkentin says. “We appreciate the integrated approach to education that CMU provides. This approach infuses the intellectual and spiritual development of the student with Christian Anabaptist values and worldview. Even though there is no direct link between CMU and Mennonite Church Manitoba, we recognize the importance of this university in our ongoing ministry.”

For Heinrichs, working at CWM is “a way of serving the church in a meaningful way.”

“It’s good work and also, it’s a good fit with a lot of what CMU is all about: community, the church, and figuring out ways of being the church,” she says.

Cornelsen agrees.

“CMU and camp bleed over in terms of the way we try to express God’s vision for how we should live… as people being the church,” he says. “They’re both important expressions of the church’s values and the way the church can be some kind of visible alternative to other parts of mainstream society.”

He adds that during the course of their studies, CMU students learn about a lot of things that are wrong with the world. Ultimately, though, optimism and hope undergird each lesson.

The same is true for camp.

“CMU and camp both teach us to live as if the story of the Bible matters,” Cornelsen says.

Tags camp subsidy, camps with meaning

Articles Student Profiles

Practicum Experience about Embracing the Moment

Post author By CMU
Post date July 21, 2015

Kathleen McCullough describes her practicum placement as a “home away from home.”

While completing the final year of her BA in Psychology at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU), McCullough volunteered with L’Arche, “an international organization of faith-based communities creating homes and day programs with people who have intellectual disabilities.”

The relational nature of a practicum with a L’Arche house in Winnipeg appealed to McCullough, who describes her placement as not necessarily having specific jobs, but helping to facilitate meeting the residents’ needs.

There are six L’Arche houses in Winnipeg, each with four to five core members, and a certain number of assistants and volunteers.

McCullough helped residents with day-to-day activities such as getting dressed, preparing for bed, or cooking meals. She developed friendships with the L’Arche residents through these activities and others such as games nights, watching movies, and birthday celebrations.

“It was about being with each other and embracing the moments that you have with each other … about being a home with people,” she says.

For McCullough, who describes herself as “big on relationships,” completing a practicum with L’Arche was an excellent choice. It also tied into her future plans—she’ll be pursuing further studies in education and aims to work as an assistant to children with disabilities in schools.

Anticipating this future work, McCullough says her practicum allowed her the opportunity to “figure out how to work with how [the residents] show their disability,” which she describes as a meaningful experience.

McCullough has been interested in psychology and the nature of relationships since high school. The psychology classes she’s taken at CMU focused on social relationships, counselling, and motivational psychology. The skills and tools she gained in the classroom were helpful in her placement, as the L’Arche community is composed of residents from diverse backgrounds.

“There’s so much diversity at L’Arche—different genders, faiths, cultural backgrounds,” she says. “L’Arche accepts everyone which is unique because [the diversity] makes the community at L’Arche so strong.”

For those who are planning their practicum, McCullough recommends choosing a practicum placement that will be meaningful.

“If you pick something that could lead toward your future vocational experience, that’s really important,” she says. “It makes it more enjoyable and you get more out of it.”

Ellen Paulley is a Writer and Social Media Coordinator at Canadian Mennonite University

Each of CMU’s Bachelor of Arts programs includes a practicum component that complements classroom education and allows students to gain hands on experience in their field. Learn more about CMU’s practicum program.

Alumni Profiles Articles Faculty Profiles

CMU prof completes unfinished book by mentor, friend

Post author By CMU
Post date May 27, 2015

Paul Doerksen’s latest book is one he hoped he would never have to work on.

Doerksen, Associate Professor of Theology and Anabaptist Studies at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU), is the editor of Toward an Anabaptist Political Theology: Law, Order, and Civil Society. Published this past October by Wipf and Stock, the book is a collection of essays by the late theologian A. James Reimer.

Paul Doerksen (right), Associate Professor of Theology and Anabaptist Studies at CMU, is the editor of Toward an Anabaptist Political Theology: Law, Order, and Civil Society, a collection of essays by the late theologian James Reimer (left).

Reimer, who was diagnosed with cancer while working on the book, called Doerksen in 2010 and asked if Doerksen would finish the book and find a publisher for it if he were to die before completing it.

“I agreed in a heartbeat out of respect for him and his work,” says Doerksen, who developed a deep friendship with Reimer after Reimer served as the advisor for his Master’s thesis. “I recall hoping that I wouldn’t have to keep good on the promise – that he would survive long enough to finish it himself. That would have been great.”

Six weeks after that phone call, Reimer died.

Doerksen and Reimer had collaborated in the past, and Doerksen approached his work preparing Reimer’s essays for publication with sadness, respect, and a sense of privilege.

“His voice comes through so clearly in his writing that it just felt like the work was continuing, only more slowly than if he had been there,” Doerksen says.

Reimer graduated from Canadian Mennonite Bible College, one of CMU’s predecessor colleges, in 1963.

More slowly, and not as fun. Reimer was a humorous, engaging man who enjoyed cooking for friends and family.

“I missed all those things,” Doerksen says. “Nonetheless, the voice and the development of an argument – and the passion for what he was trying to do – was sort of a constant companion when I was working with his material.”

Political theology is a burgeoning field. In the book, Reimer argues for a more positive embrace of law, order, and civil society than Anabaptists have historically offered.

“He was trying to do Anabaptist work in the field, but in a way that was far more open to classical Christianity, especially the kind that was developed in the first four centuries,” says Doerksen, adding that he appreciates the comprehensiveness of Reimer’s project. “I think it’s a fresh voice.”

Reimer was Professor of Religious Studies and Christian Theology at Conrad Grebel University College and at the Toronto School of Theology, and was named Distinguished Professor Emeritus upon his retirement in 2008.

Doerksen with Reimer’s wife, Margaret Loewen Reimer, at the Waterloo launch for the book.

He was an alumnus of Canadian Mennonite Bible College, one of CMU’s predecessor colleges. In 2010, CMU presented him with a Blazer Distinguished Alumni Award in recognition of his contribution of service, leadership, and reconciliation in church and society.

Toward an Anabaptist Political Theology is the third book by Reimer published posthumously.

Christians and War: A Brief History of the Church’s Teachings and Practices was published the month after his death, and La dynamique de la foi chrétienne: Quand les dogmes libérent l’imagination – a French translation of his 2003 book, The Dogmatic Imagination – was published last year.

Reimer’s wife, Margaret Loewen Reimer, says she is happy Toward an Anabaptist Political Theology is available.

“Paul did a really good job of presenting the essays,” Loewen Reimer says. “Jim would have been delighted.”

Tags A. James Reimer, alumni, Anabaptism, Canadian Mennonite University, CMU, Faculty, Paul Doerksen, political theology