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Conversations on Food, Faith, Eating, and the City

December 5, 2012 – On World Food Day 2012, Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) was excited to co-host the second event in the Germinating Conversations series on Food, Faith, Eating, and the City. The series is a partnership between CMU, the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Manitoba Peace Program, and A Rocha Prairie Canada.

The October 16 event presented perspectives from five different urban dwellers, reflecting on their faith and how that impacts their food choices. They all answered the question: As an eater, what do you wish food growers understood about how you buy and eat food?

“We wanted to include diverse perspectives – from people who subscribe to the 100 Mile Diet to people who are fast food regulars,” said Kenton Lobe. “The idea was to bring these people together with food growers and other consumers and to create an environment for listening and learning.”

Deanna Zantingh, a CMU student, was one of the presenters. “As a rural farm girl turned urban eater, I have come to appreciate both sides of this complex conversation. My presentation was based on my ‘Alice in Wonderland’ experience of existing in two very different worlds that don’t always understand each other. Going in, my hope was to function as a bridge builder and lay a foundation for truthful engagement that incorporated all stakeholders – eaters and growers – without backing away from tough issues. I walked away very encouraged.”

Another presenter, DeLayne Toews, works at CMU Farms and Winnipeg Harvest. He shared his journey to incorporate the principles of Micah 6:8 – “…to do justice and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” – in all areas of his life, including how he eats. “I’ve come to see that the food I eat is a way that I can live these passages out,” he explained. “For me, food has become one of those places where I can grasp how faith interacts concretely in my everyday life. I try to beenvironmentally and socially responsible in my choices, buying locally and directly whenever possible, and looking for products that are organic and fair trade. That said, there is so much to learn from nearly every place on the spectrum. God is at work at many places in the food system.”

“It was so encouraging to see the dialogue that came out of this event,” Lobe continued. “After the presentations were over, I watched as one of the Province’s largest conventional farmers and an organic 100-mile eater got into a really friendly conversation. It was wonderful to see.”

The event’s organizing partners are working to make the presentations available online and are considering future events. Visit www.mccmanitoba.ca for details.

A Christian university in the Anabaptist tradition, CMU offers undergraduate degrees in arts, business, humanities, music, sciences, and social sciences, as well as two graduate degree programs. CMU has over 1,600 students, including Menno Simons College and Outtatown students, and is a member of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC).

Article written by Lindsay Wright for CMU.

 

 

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Renowned Instructors Join in CSOP 2013

December 4, 2012 – Canadian School of Peacebuilding (CSOP), an annual summer peace and justice program of Canadian Mennonite University (CMU), in 2013 welcomes seven renowned instructors over two weeks, each to teach a week-long intensive course that will engage participants in issues related to peace, justice,   and conflict resolution.

“I continue to be amazed by the quality of our students, who arrive ready to listen and to learn from one another,” says CSOP Co-Director Valerie Smith, noting that the peace-justice summer school is now in its  fifth year of operation. “We draw students from around the world, coming from diverse backgrounds. They    are incredible people.  They arrive ready to engage with one another  and it is amazing to see the depth of their conversations by the end of a week together. CSOP’s first session, June 17-21, features three courses: “Healing the Wounds: Peacebuilding through Transformative Theatre,” led by Armand Volkas; “Human Rights and Indigenous Legal Traditions,” by Val Napoleon; and “Collaborative & Culturally Responsive Partnerships,” by Wendy Kroeker.

Courses in the second session, June 24-28, are: “Train the Trainer: Working for Conflict Transformation,” led by Karen Ridd; “Reconciliation & Forgiveness: Exploring Biblical & Contemporary Understandings,” by Ched Myers and Elaine Enns; and “Finding Your Voice: Understanding Nonviolent Action for Today’s Complex World,” by Mubarak Awad.

The Canadian School of Peacebuilding aims to educate on peace and justice issues and encourage discussion in a collaborative environment. The goal is for participants to leave these sessions with a new understanding of emerging ideas in peace studies, encouraged to take these practices into their daily living.  In addition to the CSOP summer program, courses are available year-round at CMU’s Shaftesbury and Menno Simons College campuses.

Through its Menno Simons College campus at The University of Winnipeg and its south Winnipeg Shaftesbury campus, CMU offers one of the most comprehensive undergraduate programs in peace and conflict studies in the world.  Located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, CMU has over 1600 students in its programs. CMU is a member of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada.

 

Canadian School of Peacebuilding Instructors, June 2013

Mubarak Awad is the founder of the National Youth Advocate Program in different locations in United States, which provides alternativefoster care and counseling to “at risk” youth and their families. He is also the Founder of the Palestinian Center for the Study of Nonviolence in Jerusalem, Palestine, and was deported by the Israeli Supreme Court in 1988after being jailed for organizing activities involving nonviolent civil disobedience. Mubarak has since formed Nonviolence International, which promotes peace education and nonviolent action in dealing with political and social issues and works with various movements and organizations across theglobe. He has also been an adjunct professor at the American University in Washington, DC since 1989 at the School of International Studies, focusing on promoting dialogue and transforming post-conflict societies and teaching graduate courses on Methods and Theory of Nonviolence. Mubarak was born in Jerusalem, Palestine and currently resides in Gaithersburg MD, USA.

Elaine Enns has been working in the field of restorative justice and conflict transformation since 1989 as a victim-offender dialogue facilitator, consultant, educator and trainer. She provides mediation and consultation services for individuals, churches, schools, community organizations, and businesses, and travels throughout North America teaching and training. Enns teaches part time at the Peace and Justice Academy of Pasadena, CA and is a co-founder of the Word and World School for faith based activists. Born and raised in Saskatoon, SK, she currently lives in Oak View, California, where she serves as the Program Director for the Restorative Justice Program with Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries (BCM). She holds an MA in Theology and Peacemaking from the Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary in Fresno. From 1995 to 1999, Elaine served as faculty at the Center for Peacemaking and Conflict Studies, Fresno Pacific University, Fresno.  Her most recent publication is Ambassadors of Reconciliation: A New Testament Theology and Diverse Christian Practices of Restorative Justice and Peacemaking with Ched Myers (Orbis Books, 2009).

Wendy Kroeker is currently employed at Canadian Mennonite University in the Peace and Conflict Transformation Studies department and is a doctoral student at the University of Manitoba in Peace and Conflict studies.  She came to CMU from the field of international development as the Latin America Program Manager for Canadian Lutheran World Relief. As well, Wendy brings long-term experience as a  workplace/community mediator in North America and facilitator at international peacebuilding schools such as the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute and the Northeast Asia Regional Peacebuilding Institute.  Wendy holds an M.A. in Theology from MBBS (Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary) , a certificate in mediation from Mediation Services and course work in the area of Religion and Conflict at the EMU (Eastern Mennonite University) Summer Peacebuilding Institute.  Wendy has facilitated trainings with community organizations in the Philippines, Burma/Myanmar, Indonesia, Cambodia, Bangladesh, India and other locations in Asia.  In 2011, Wendy served as Co-Director of the Canadian School of Peacebuilding.

Ched Myers is an activist theologian who has worked in social change movements for 35 years. With a degree in New Testament Studies, he is a popular educator who animates scripture and issues of faith-based peace and justice. He has authored over 100 articles and more than a half-dozen books, including Binding the Strong Man: A Political Reading of Mark’s Story of Jesus (Orbis, 1988/2008); The Biblical Vision of Sabbath Economics (Tell the Word,2001), Ambassadors of Reconciliation: A New Testament Theology and Diverse Christian Practices of Restorative Justice and Peacemaking (with Elaine Enns, Orbis, 2009), and most recently, Our God is Undocumented: Biblical Faith and Immigrant Justice (Orbis, 2012). Most of Myer’s works can be found at www.ChedMyers.org. Myers is a co-founder of the Word and World School (www.wordandworld.org), the Sabbath Economics Collaborative (www.sabbatheconomics.org), and the Center and Library for the Bible and Social Justice (http://clbsj.org/). He and his partner Elaine Enns, a restorative justice practitioner, live in the Ventura River watershed in southern California and work with Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries (www.bcm-net.org).

Val Napoleon was appointed Law Foundation Professor of Aboriginal Justice and Governance at the Faculty of Law, University of Victoria, in January 2012. She is from northeast British Columbia (Treaty 8) and is a member of Saulteau First Nation. She is also an adopted member of the Gitanyow (Gitksan) House of Luuxhon, Ganada (Frog) Clan. Prior to joining the Faculty of Law at UVIC, she was an associate professor, cross- appointed with the faculties of native studies and law at the University of Alberta. Napoleon worked as a community activist and consultant in northwestern BC for over 25 years, specializing in health, education, and justice issues. She has also worked with a number of regional, provincial, national, and international projects relating to indigenous legal traditions, conflict management, education, and citizenship. Her dissertation on Gitksan law and legal theory was awarded the UVIC Governor General’s Gold Medal for best dissertation in 2009.

Her current research focuses on indigenous legal traditions, indigenous legal theory, indigenous feminism, citizenship, self-determination, and governance. Two major initiatives include the JID (joint JD and indigenous law degree) program and establishing an indigenous law clinic.

For fifteen years, Karen Ridd has been effectively using alternative teaching methodology while teaching in the Conflict Resolution and International Development Studies programs at Menno Simons College of the Canadian Mennonite University. Ridd is also a mediator, teacher, and speaker with over 20 years’ experience. Her work with Peace Brigades International was recognized with the 1992 Governor-General’s 125th Anniversary Medal, the 1990 Canada YM/YWCA Peace Medal, and the 1989 Manitoba Human Rights Achievement Award. Ridd excels in alternative pedagogy, and has worked in a wide variety of settings, including Latin America, South East Asia, and First Nations Territories.

Armand Volkas is a psychotherapist, drama therapist, and theatre director. He is clinical director of the Living Arts Counseling Center in Oakland, California. He is also associate professor in the Counseling Psychology Program at California Institute of Integral Studies and adjunct professor at John F. Kennedy University and Institute for Transpersonal Studies.

Volkas, the son of Auschwitz survivors and resistance fighters from World War II, created Healing the Wounds of History, a therapeutic approach in whichtheatre techniques are used to work with groups of participants from two cultures with a common legacy of violent conflict and historical trauma. He was moved by his personal struggle to address the issues that arose from his own legacy, including victimization and perpetration, identity, meaning and grief. Healing the Wounds of History has received international recognition for its work in bringing together groups in conflict: Descendants of Holocaust survivors and The Third Reich; Palestinians and Israelis; Japanese, Chinese, and Koreans on their legacy of WWII; Armenians and Turks on the legacy of genocide; African-Americans and European-Americans on the legacy of slavery; Tamil and Singhalese in the aftermath of the Sri Lankan Civil War and between the factions involved in the Lebanese Civil War. Volkas is also Artistic Director of The Living Arts Playback Theatre Ensemble, which is in now in its 23rd year of existence. At the heart of Armand’s work is a profound respect for the power of personal story to build bridges between people and cultures.

Volkas has an MFA in Theatre/Acting from the University of California, Los Angeles, and an MA in Clinical Psychology/Drama Therapy from Antioch University. He is a registered drama therapist and a board certified trainer with the National Association for Drama Therapy.

 

 

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Shadrack Mutabazi Maintains Hope for Congo

December 4, 2012 – Shadrack Mutabazi is a Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) student who is doing his best to concentrate on his studies and embrace his family’s new Canadian home. It’s an everyday challenge for him because even oceans can’t separate him from the trauma he’s faced in his lifetime – and the trauma that continues to plague his family  and his country.

Mutabazi was born into the Banyamulenge minority tribe in the Democratic Republic of Congo – which is to say, he was born into persecution and violence. He lived for ten years in exile in Rwanda and five years as a refugee in Uganda,  spending his life as the victim of xenophobic persecution and life threatening circumstances, witnessing unspeakable atrocities, and losing many loved ones along the way.

“I have lost many relatives – parents, uncles, brothers, cousins, colleagues, and friends – and I have narrowly escaped life threatening incidents myself. I grew up with no peace, no hope for stability,” he said.

While he’s been victimized, Mutabazi is anything but a victim. In Africa, he became an ordained pastor and founded the HOPU Organization to bring hope and peace to hurt and suffering people – both those who have been persecuted and the persecutors themselves. “Deep inside, we all have interest in finding reconciliation and forgiveness. Even the perpetrators don’t live in peace,” said Mutabazi. “HOPU uses music to repair and restore, building bridges between groups of people who have been fighting for their entire lives. We want to see reconciliation. And we will get there someday. But first, we focus on just getting people sitting in the same room together and finding some common ground – through music, poetry, and other cultural activities.”

This married father of six children has moved his family – including some of his siblings, for a total of eleven people – to Winnipeg in search of the peace and stability he’s been looking for his entire life. At CMU, he is studying Peace and Conflict Transformation Studies and he also attended CMU’s Canadian School of Peacebuilding this past summer. He hopes that advanced education will help him continue to lead his people in healing and restitution.

“One of the most important things I’ve learned during my time at CMU so far has been the power of love and forgiveness,” he said. “It sounds so simple, but I’ve discovered that you must go inward first to find love and healing so that you can help others to do the same. This truth has been profound in my life.”

His work has continued here in Winnipeg, through Shalom Christian Outreach and Heritage Outreach, and Mutabazi plans to use his degree to continue promoting peace, unity, and social justice as both a church and a community leader.

When asked about his home country and the atrocities that continue there today, Mutabazi – holding onto his innate strength and optimism – said, “I see great possibilities for peace and reconciliation in the Congo.”

“The complexity of the real situation has been unrecognized – or undermined – by the organizations that have been trying to help there,” Mutabazi explained, “but God knows what is happening in the Congo. From my experience, I know that with deep spiritual maturity, we can remain positive and learn the process that can support resolution.”

“I am one of many who have experienced this extremely challenging journey,” he said. “What has happened in my life – the killing, the fear – surpasses all human understanding. But we can still preach the message of peace, love, and justice. God promises us, in John 14:27, a ‘peace that the world cannot give.’ Peace comes from God, and God has a wonderful plan for the Congo.”

This past week, increased tensions in the eastern Congo have sent some of the remaining members of Mutabazi’s family fleeing for their lives. Some are safe for now, but have been separated from their families and fears run high. Mutabazi is looking for ways to bring more of his family into Canada.

Article written by Lindsay Wright for CMU

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CMU Installs New President Cheryl Pauls

December 4, 2012 – Canadian Mennonite University began a new era of leadership on November 25, 2012 at a Service of Installation for President Dr. Cheryl Pauls.  The Installation, held at River East Mennonite Brethren Church in Winnipeg, drew guests from local and national academic and church communities.

In his welcome, Dr. Paul Dyck, CMU faculty member who served as Worship Leader, framed the Installation as a gathering of a “University, in the presence of the church and the broader community, formalizing our call to one of our own to serve as President.”

Present on this occasion to bring greetings were Mennonite Brethren Church Manitoba Executive Director Elton DeSilva, and Mennonite Church Canada Executive Director Willard Metzger. Also among the guests greeting the new President were Canada’s Regional Minister for Manitoba, Hon. Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safefy; Hon. Erin Selby, Minister of Advanced Education & Literacy, Province of Manitoba; Dr. David Barnard, Chair, Committee of Presidents of Universities in Manitoba, and President & Vice-Chancellor, University of Manitoba; and Dr. Lloyd Axworthy, President & Vice-Chancellor, The University of Winnipeg.

During the Service, Dr. Pauls received a Charge from CMU Board of Governors Chair Marlene Janzen. “Canadian Mennonite University is at one of those irregular but reoccurring milestones that signal institutional progress and renewal,” said Janzen. “Behind lies a lengthy and honoured tradition of effective Christian education; ahead, significant opportunities and the challenge to create environments within and through partners outside the University in which the highest calling, thinking, action, and aspiration is supported and expected, to prepare our graduates for service in the church and society. We are grateful that Dr. Pauls has accepted this call and the responsibilities it entails.”

Reverend John Klassen, Pastor of Emmanuel Mennonite Church in Winkler, Manitoba, delivered the Homily, expressing his conviction that “the church embrace the invitation to be vital partners in the joyous mission of helping young adults see life through specific sets of lenses… I encourage all of us,” said Klassen, “to be sources of inspiration and encouragement as we support Cheryl’s work and as we run alongside her in the faith journey, and in shaping this incredible institution of learning and discipleship.”

In her response, Pauls invited those gathered to see the words, sounds, and symbols of the Installation as gifts, “and I receive them with honour on behalf of Canadian Mennonite University. At the same time, I invite you to share in the joy, the beckoning, and the challenge that rest in these gifts, for you are the cloud of witnesses that surrounds all that has been entrusted to this University.”

During a Community Blessing student, faculty, staff, alumni, Board, and constituency representatives symbolically placed scarves of support and blessing about the President’s shoulders.

Choral music and congregational singing were interwoven throughout and contributed richly to this important occasion.

Together Elton DeSilva and Willard Metzger, representing CMU’s church ownership bodies, shared in blessing Pauls. Speaking for the Mennonite Brethren church family, De Silva said, “CMU, as a university of the church, has an important place in shaping the leaders of tomorrow. We encourage you to keep your trust in God as your lead this University into the future. You stand supported by the prayers and encouragement of the faith community.”

“As Mennonite Church Canada, we renew our pledge to pray for Canadian Mennonite University, and to offer our ongoing support,” stated Mennonite Church Canada’s Willard Metzger. “It is in our efforts together that we experience the continued direction and renewal of the Holy Spirit. May our relationship always be aligned to the activity of God in our midst, that our present endeavours will continue to develop a future that will serve our church and society for the glory of God.”

Mary Anne Isaak, Pastor of River East Mennonite Brethren Church, offered the Closing Prayer.

Dr. Pauls and her husband Bryan Harder were accompanied on this occasion by their two boys, Nicholas and William, and by their parents and many close family members and friends.

CMU expressed appreciation to River East Mennonite Brethren Church for embracing the new role of their fellow-member, Dr. Cheryl Pauls, as Canadian Mennonite University’s President, and for graciously hosting the November 25, 2012 Service of Installation.

A Christian university in the Anabaptist tradition, CMU offers undergraduate degrees in arts, business, humanities, music, sciences, and social sciences, as well as two graduate degree programs. CMU has over 1,600 students, including Menno Simons College and Outtatown students, and is a member of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC). 

Biography of Dr. Cheryl Pauls, PhD, President of Canadian Mennonite University

Dr. Cheryl Pauls became President of Canadian Mennonite University on November 1, 2012. Her Service of Installation as President was held November 25, 2012 at River East Mennonite Brethren Church in Winnipeg.

Cheryl Pauls began teaching at CMU’s predecessor colleges in 1994, and came to the position of CMU President from that of Associate Professor of Piano and Music Theory. For the past twenty years, Pauls has thrived on exploring a diverse range of things musical together with highly engaged students in both the classroom and the piano studio. As a faculty member, Pauls also played a significant role in the University’s administrative activities; from 2000-2007 as Music Department Chair, and from 2008-2012 as Campus Chair of CMU’s Shaftesbury Campus.

Alongside teaching, Pauls has enjoyed a career as a piano soloist, collaborating musician, and lecture recitalist. She performs a diverse spectrum of music and has made a few forays into harpsichord playing; however, she’s known best as a player and active apologist of new music. Pauls has been active in Winnipeg’s new music scene, curating concerts and performing regularly for GroundSwell and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s New Music Festival; she also has been heard regularly on CBC radio broadcasts and in concert at universities, academic conferences, and concert series across the country. She credits Luciano Berio, György Ligeti, Elliott Carter, and many local composers for shaping her love of pieces for which there isn’t already a template of how the music goes. Pauls’ most recent project is a recording of Carter’s recent piano music. She considers this collection to be the most delightful set she’s ever encountered; Carter happened to pen these short pieces between the ages of 85 and 100.

Many of Pauls’ research projects seek to interface studies in music theory and performance with those in memory, physiology, liturgy, and cultural expression. Her recent publications include essays that engage the agency of musical metaphors within theological and socio-cultural studies. At the same time, she endeavours to explore what we think we’re doing with musical practices. Pauls also enjoys creating multi-media liturgical and concert projects in collaboration with her husband, Bryan Harder (and occasionally also their sons, Nicholas and William).

Pauls holds a doctorate in piano performance from the University of British Columbia where she studied piano with Jane Coop, Douglas Finch, and Robert Silverman, and music theory with John Roeder. Prior to that, she completed an M.Mus. degree at UBC, a B.Mus. at University of Manitoba, a BA from The University of Winnipeg, and a Bachelor of Religious Studies from one of CMU’s processor colleges, Mennonite Brethren Bible College.

Cheryl Pauls grew up in St. Catharines, Ontario, and came to Manitoba in 1983. Along with her husband and children, she is part of the River East Mennonite Brethren Church in Winnipeg, where she participates in worship leading and music and recently completed a four-year term as church moderator.

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CMU Welcomes New President Cheryl Pauls

Dr. Cheryl Pauls

Dr. Cheryl PaulsNovember 1, 2012 – Canadian Mennonite University begins a new era of leadership in welcoming its President Dr. Cheryl Pauls to her duties effective November 1, 2012.

CMU Board of Governors Chair Marlene Janzen is delighted to welcome Pauls as President. “Our Board is very excited to have Pauls begin her new duties,” says Janzen, who announced the appointment in February 2012. “We are highly confident in our President’s abilities to find creative ways to strengthen and broaden our student base, programming, funding structures, and constituent relationships, and we look forward to working with her.”

“The primary imperative of my role as President of CMU is to support and sustain the impulse of the university’s mission so that it resonates both within and beyond the institution,” says Pauls. “I look forward to working with CMU’s strong team of faculty and staff, as well as its many external friends and partners to further implement the mission entrusted to this university.”

Pauls follows President Dr. Gerald Gerbrandt, who served as sole President from 2003 until his retirement on June 30, 2012, and Interim President Dr. Earl Davey, who served in this capacity from July to October, and who now returns to the duties of Vice-President Academic.

Among her first priorities will be to both sustain and bolster the strong momentum of the University’s CONNECT Campaign, which is raising funds for a new CMU Library and Learning Commons and Pedestrian Bridge. “We are halfway to goal, and have set our sights on bringing this capital project to successful completion so that we can offer these outstanding new facilities and services to students, to faculty, and to the broader community,” says Pauls.

Pauls is a graduate of one of CMU’s predecessor colleges, Mennonite Brethren Bible College (MBBC), and holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of British Columbia. The CMU President ‘s strong administrative and leadership gifts have already been well utilized during her time at CMU, with her most recent role being Chair of the Shaftesbury Campus and member of the President’s Council from 2008 to 2012.

Formerly, Pauls served as Professor in Piano and Music Theory. She is a well-established solo and collaborative pianist, known particularly for performances of new music and for multi-media worship events. Pauls has undertaken research projects focused on the interface of studies in music theory and performance with those in memory, physiology, liturgy, and cultural expression.

One of the CMU President’s first initiatives after settling into her CMU Shaftesbury campus office in Winnipeg is to meet with various friends and supporters of CMU in Ontario and Alberta. As one of several stops on her trip, Pauls, who was born and raised in St. Catharines, ON, will pay a visit on November 3, 2012 to Grantham Mennonite Brethren Church where she grew up.

Canadian Mennonite University will hold the Service of Installation for its President on November 25, 2012, at River East Mennonite Brethren Church, 755 McLeod Avenue, Winnipeg. The service begins at 2:30 p.m.

Pauls has made her home in Manitoba since 1983. She and her husband Bryan Harder have two boys, Nicholas and William. The family attends River East Mennonite Brethren Church.

 

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CONNECT Campaign Launches at $5.5 Million

October 26, 2012 – With the backing of friends and supporters of the Canadian Mennonite Community across Canada and throughout North America, the 13-year-old University in Manitoba is kicking off the public phase of a major $11-million capital campaign to construct a new Library and Learning Commons and  Pedestrian Bridge.

“We are excited to announce campaign progress to date of over $5.5-million in support of this Campaign,” says Campaign Chair Elmer Hildebrand, C.E.O. of Golden West Broadcasting Co. Ltd. “With this level of support in hand, and with commitment anticipated from our extended community, we are confident that we

can be successful in providing CMU with this essential and exciting resource.”

CMU presented project renderings, prepared by Manitoba design firm Friesen Tokar, in June 2012, sharing its vision for the project and opening conversation within the community. By August, CMU announced strong support achieved by the CMU “family” campaign (CONNECT Campaign executive, board and council, faculty, staff, etc.), with over $4-million in lead gifts to get the campaign underway.

“Canadian Mennonite University opened its doors to students in 2000, thanks to the bold collaboration and committed imagination of a great many people,” says CMU President-elect Cheryl Pauls. “Since then, CMU has sustained its vision, graduating women and men who are making a life-giving difference in church and society. The new Library and Learning Commons will help CMU achieve its primary task as a university – that of building understandings that engage both the world and one another.”

“At its core,” says Pauls, “this library project is about a bold spirit and a transformation vision for CMU students, faculty, and the broader community. It draws attention to the vital support of church bodies, businesses, individuals, and government whose partnering and ongoing generosity enable this university to thrive.”

Marlene Janzen, Chair of the CMU Board and Council, notes that the Board is fully committed to backing a project that significantly enhances the learning experience at CMU. “This project will create wonderful spaces for students, faculty, and the community to connect,” says Janzen.

Supporting the campaign’s fundraising efforts are a dedicated group of CONNECT Campaign volunteers, including Campaign Chair Elmer Hildebrand and Campaign Executive Members Art DeFehr, Philipp R. Ens, Bill Fast, Janice Filmon, Bert Friesen, Charles Loewen, Jake Rempel, and Tamara Roehr, supported by the University’s Development team.

Library Director Vic Froese is keen to offer the benefits of the new library to students and to the community. “The Library will be more than a building,” says Froese. “It will be a place for people to study, collaborate, and research together. It will be a gathering place for meaningful conversation and learning. Well-designed surroundings make a real difference to the quality of learning and research.”

The Library will act as a learning commons at the heart and centre of CMU’s Shaftesbury campus, offering high quality services, important resources, and spacious new study areas. The facility will include mezzanine study rooms and a commons meeting area and will house the University’s substantial library collections, services, and technology. In addition, the new building will host a bookstore and resource centre and a vibrant café, providing the broader community with access to a fine array of resource materials and a forum for engaging dialogue.

One highly visible part of the project is construction of a Pedestrian Bridge to span Grant Avenue, connecting the two sides of CMU’s Shaftesbury campus and providing safe passage across the busy thoroughfare. The bridge will signal the presence of CMU as an institution that connects people to one another. 

News of the new capital project is generating excitement among students on campus.

“The Library will provide a wonderful learning space for residence and commuter students alike,” says Jenna Dyck, 4th-year Psychology student from Ottawa, Ontario.

“It’s an important investment in our future,” comments David Epp, History student from Rosthern, Saskatchewan.

Danielle Bailey, 3rd-year Theology and Social Sciences student from Winnipeg, sees the Library not only as a place for research and study but also as an important space to connect with others. “It will strengthen the CMU community,” says Bailey.

For Campaign Chair Elmer Hildebrand, the motivating factor behind his commitment to the Campaign is clear. “This project will impact the future of our church by equipping young people to live out their faith and make a difference in a challenging world,” says Hildebrand. “Support from volunteers and donors matters!”

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 two graduate degree programs. CMU has over 1,600 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 Campaign information, contact: CMU Director of Development Abe Bergen | agbergen@cmu.ca

 

FEATURES OF THE LIBRARY AND LEARNING COMMONS AND PEDESTRIAN BRIDGE

The Library and Learning Commons will greatly enhance the CMU learning environment for students, faculty, and the general public.

  • Students will be better able to focus on their studies in a quiet and attractive setting furnished with study carrels, worktables, and lounge seating.
  • Small group rooms will invite students to work together in teams at important questions and issues.
  • New computer, wireless, and peripheral technologies will support study, research, and collaboration.
  • A seminar room will enable small classes to meet in proximity to necessary library resources.
  • Significantly increased space with natural light and controlled temperature and humidity will allow future expansion and growth of the collection.

The Library and Learning Commons will include a prominent and welcoming entrance and gathering area (Library Centre), inviting students and the general public to make use of its resources.

  • It will feature a Bookstore and Resource Centre with the most extensive selection of theological resources anywhere in the province.
  • An inviting Café will welcome students, faculty, staff, and members of the community to gather and discuss the issues of the day.

An attractive Pedestrian Bridge will link the two sides of CMU’s campus, currently partitioned by a busy thoroughfare, providing a safe, accessible route across Grant Avenue. It will also signal the presence of CMU in the community, serving as a symbol for an institution that connects people with ideas and each other over issues that matter.

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Cataloguing Begins on CBC CD Donation

 

October 16, 2012 – Canadian Mennonite University recently acquired a large donation from the Winnipeg CBC’s music library, including 20,000 classical and jazz CDs. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation donated the CDs to CMU’s music program. CMU will make the collection available to other educational institutions  as part of the agreement.

As the cataloguing process gets underway, CMU Library Director Vic Froese looks forward to reviewing the full collection.

“It more or less increases our existing CD collection by ten times, so it’s an  enormous donation,” says Froese. “We’re very happy to have it.”

Among those benefitting greatly by the donation are the many music students at the university who use the library’s CDs for their music listening requirements as part of their course work. CMU School of Music faculty and members of CMU’s choirs, vocal jazz ensemble, and other ensembles and students takings music lessons at CMU will undoubtedly also be among the many Library users who will deeply appreciate this new treasure trove of classical and jazz music.

Froese also points out that the donation will benefit the wider community as well as other educational institutions, as intended by CBC in making this gift to CMU in summer 2012.

“We’re happy that we can not only serve our CMU School of Music with this collection, but also the broader community,” he says. “Members of the public are welcome to use our library, and they can check out these CDs for seven days at a time.”

As part of a process it began in 2009 to digitize its entire music library, the CBC has been selling or donating CDs and albums to a variety of organizations.

For the present, due to a lack of library space at CMU, the CBC collection of CDs are temporarily in storage.

In June 2012, CMU announced an $11-million capital project to construct a new Library and Learning Commons. Shelving space for CMU’s CD collections will be incorporated into plans for the new library.

In the meantime, now that cataloguing is completed for the books and DVDs that were part of the CBC donation, cataloguing the CDs is the next phase to get underway – a process that will take thousands of hours of dedicated work. Froese and his colleagues in the library are up for the task, though, and looking forward to familiarizing themselves with this wonderful new collection from CBC.

“I don’t know what gems might be there, but I expect there will be many,” says Froese.

 

Photo ID:

CMU’s Vic Froese, Wes Bergen, and John Dyck display a few items from CMU’s newly acquired CBC CD donation.

 

 

 

Categories
General News Lectures News Releases

J.J.Thiessen Lectures Presents Beverly Roberts Gaventa

October 16, 2012 – Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) welcomes Beverly Roberts Gaventa, Helen H.P Manson Professor of New Testament Literature andExegesis at New Jersey’s Princeton Theological Seminary, as lecturer for its 35th annual J.J. Thiessen Lecture Series, October 16 and 17.

Founded in 1978 at Canadian Mennonite Bible College, one of CMU’s founding Colleges, the J. J. Thiessen Lectures are named in honour of the long-time chair of the CMBC Board. The lectures seek to bring to the Canadian Mennonite University community something of J.J. Thiessen’s breadth of vision for the church.

The 2012 lectures presented by Gaventa, entitled “From Powerlessness to Praise in Paul’s Letter to the Romans,” explore apocalyptic theology in Paul’s letter to the Romans. Gaventa addresses Paul’s relentless depiction of humanity as thoroughly captive to powers by the names of Sin and Death, the action of God in radical deliverance through the peaceful invasion of Jesus Christ, the place of worship in the words and the working of Paul’s letter, and the apocalyptic character of worship in Romans.

2012 CMU’s JJ. Thiessen Lecture Series
October 16, 11:00 AM Unable to Help Ourselves
October 16, 7:30 PM       The God of Peace Makes War
October 17, 11:00 AM    Let All the People Say “Amen!”

Admission is free as a community service offered by CMU.
Lectures are held in the CMU Chapel at 600 Shaftesbury Boulevard (south campus).

Gaventa specializes in the Pauline epistles and in Luke-Acts, emphasizing theological interpretation. She holds an M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary in New York, a Ph.D. from Duke University, an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Kalamazoo College, and an honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Christian Theological Seminary. She is also an honorary professor of New Testament atStellenbosch University in South Africa and an ordained elder in the Presbyterian Church.

In addition to having written numerous articles, reviews, and lectionary resources, Gaventa is the author of several books, her most recent being Our Mother Saint Paul (Westminster John Knox, 2007), and The Acts of theApostles (Abingdon, 2003). She has served on editorial boards for a number of scholarly journals, is an editor-at-large for Christian Century, and has edited several volumes, the most recent being The New Interpreter’s Bible One Volume Commentary (with David Peterson; Abingdon, 2010).

Gaventa has lectured widely in the United States as well as in South Africa, Australia, and Europe.  She is a member of the Society of Biblical Litera­ture, the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, the Catholic Biblical Association, Duodecim, and the American Theological Society.

For further information on the J.J. Thiessen Lecture Series, visit http://www.cmu.ca/publiclectures.html#jjt)

 

Categories
Events General News News Releases

CMU Co-hosts Germinating Conversations Series

October 15, 2012  – On October 15, 2012, the second event in the Germinating Conversations series on Food, Faith, Eating and the City will be hosted in Winnipeg by a partnership of Canadian Mennonite University, the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Manitoba Peace Program, and A Rocha Prairie Canada.

The conversations invite growers and eaters to the table to listen to one another, and are intended to help bridge divides among people of faith. The desire is to promote an understanding of how land stewardship and food ethics are understood in both urban and rural contexts. Following the first converstation in Winkler in spring, this event will focus on perspectives of urban eaters and attempt to address challenging food issues such as satisfying food desires, contradictions seen in consumer practices, and how Christian faith impacts the selection and preparation of food.

“As farmers’ markets expand and the interest in “eating local” surges, there remains a tension between those who grow food and those who eat it,” says CMU Instructor Kenton Lobe, one of the event organizers. “Germinating Conversations explores what it means for people of faith to eat. How does one’s understanding of food as a gift from God impact daily decisions in the supermarket and in our kitchens?”

The public is invited to hear what five urban dwellers from different walks of life have to say about their food choices. Free to the public, the event will be held in the CMU Great Hall at 7:00 p.m., 500 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg.

A previous Germinating Conversations event, held in Winkler, MB on March 21, explored the perspectives of rural food growers.

For event information, contact Kenton Lobe at kalobe@cmu.ca

 

 

Categories
General News News Releases

CMU Welcomes Bruxy Cavey to Campus

September 28, 2012 – On Tuesday, October 2, Pastor Bruxy Cavey will be a guest speaker on CMU’s campus during an all-day conference with Church leaders and CMU faculty and students on the topic: “Getting, Giving, and Living the Gospel.”

The conference, sponsored by CMU’s Institute for Theology and the Church, takes place in CMU’s Chapel (on the south side of CMU’s Shaftesbury campus). Participants may register at the door ($40).

Bruxy Cavey is the teaching pastor of multi-site church The Meeting House, based in Oakville, Ontario with satellite churches throughout Ontario and in communities around the world.  The Meeting House is considered to be one of the largest and most innovative churches in Canada, with a vision to “create safe places for spiritual seekers to ask questions and develop a thoughtful faith.”

Cavey, author of End of Religion, is known for his engaging presentations. His scholarly approach and “refreshing honesty” have earned him a reputation as a popular guest for television and radio interviews and as a featured speaker on university campuses worldwide.

The general public is welcome to attend CMU’s Tuesday October 2 Chapel Service at 11:30 a.m., where Cavey will be speaking. He will also be meeting with CMU’s Outtatown students when Guatemala and South Africa teams return to the CMU campus in Winnipeg for a special session on October 2. The teams will spend additional time with Cavey at Camp Arnes on October 3 and October 4.

“Bruxy Cavey does a great job of helping people understand the importance of knowing Jesus – not just knowing about him,” says Outtatown Director Priebe. “He also invites people to consider what it means for Jesus to be our Lord. I’m excited to see how he challenges and encourages our teams.”

To read about Bruxy Cavey’s trip to Manitoba, visit his blog at  http://bruxy.com/blog/

For information on Bruxy Cavey, visit http://bruxy.com

For information relating to the ITC conference, contact abergen@cmu.ca