Last year, Arno and Lena Fast (MBBC ‘55) celebrated their 85th birthdays, their 60th wedding anniversary, and 45 years of ministry at Salem Community Bible Church in Winnipeg’s North End. At a time when many are enjoying retirement, the Fasts remain committed to their work at the church.
Salem was close to shutting its doors in 1969 when the Fasts began working there. Since then, the congregation has grown into a thriving, multicultural mix of 100 adults and children. Arno is currently mentoring his 32-year-old grandson into the ministry role at the church. “We don’t feel we’ve done anything exceptional,” Arno says. “We just followed the call of God.”
The Distinguished Alumni Awards celebrate alumni who, through their lives, embody CMU’s values and mission of service, leadership, and reconciliation in church and society. The awards are presented to alumni from CMU and its predecessor colleges: Canadian Mennonite Bible College (CMBC) and Mennonite Brethren Bible College (MBBC)/Concord College.
Since graduating from MBBC, Gerry Dyck (’82) has fused his interest in business with his interest in international development to make a difference. Dyck is the co-founder and president of Kalora Interiors International, a business that specializes in décor solutions for the home furnishings industry. An offshoot of a multi-national non-profit charity called International Development Enterprises, Kalora was established to match the needs of suppliers from the developing world with the needs of customers in the Western world. Dyck is also involved with the Ontario Board of Church Extension, with a focus on church planting in large urban centres in Ontario. He lives in St. Jacobs, ON.
The Distinguished Alumni Awards celebrate alumni who, through their lives, embody CMU’s values and mission of service, leadership, and reconciliation in church and society. The awards are presented to alumni from CMU and its predecessor colleges: Canadian Mennonite Bible College (CMBC) and Mennonite Brethren Bible College (MBBC)/Concord College.
Lawyer, teacher, coach, musician, Olympic athlete – Larry Plenert (CMBC ’78) has worn many hats. His 6’6” frame and prowess on the volleyball court earned him a spot on Canada’s national volleyball team starting in 1973, which led to competing in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. After a short stint teaching, Plenert finished his Bachelor of Theology and then moved on to law school. Plenert practiced law in Abbotsford, B.C. for 27 years. Since 2008, he has worked as an adjudicator of claims of serious physical or sexual abuse by former students of Indian Residential Schools. He lives in Fort Langley, B.C.
Reunions, Concerts, Alumni Awards, and Donor Recognition Highlights of Annual Event
Although it’s only been five months since she graduated from Canadian Mennonite University, Amber Neufeld was eager to return to campus for Fall Festival.
Neufeld performed at the festival’s MPK folk concert, shopped at the farmers market, and attended the opening program. She hopes to attend more CMU events in the future because of the impact the university has had on her life.
“Not only did CMU teach me valuable things that are the foundation for my faith and education, it gave me some amazing people that I’m honoured to be friends,” Neufeld said.
More than 500 people gathered at CMU for Fall Festival this past weekend (Sept. 25-26).
CMU President Cheryl Pauls addresses those gathered for the Fall Festival 2015’s opening program
Celebrated at the end of each September, Fall Festival features opportunities for students, alumni, friends, donors, and community members to connect, learn, play, and celebrate with the CMU community.
In addition to the folk music festival and farmers market, the weekend included class reunions, community meals, a Manitoba Cycling Association-sanctioned bicycle race, MCAC basketball games, and a tour of Marpeck Commons, the new building on campus that houses a library, a bookstore/resource centre, learning commons, and a café.
The weekend kicked off on Friday, Sept. 25 with a Face2Face community discussion exploring oil dependency.
After a full day of activity on a warm and windy Saturday (Sept. 26), Fall Festival wrapped up with CMU’s annual opening program, a time of worship to celebrate the start of a new school year.
For the first time ever, the opening program was held in Marpeck Commons, which opened at the end of November 2014.
Delivering a message based on CMU’s chapel theme for 2015-16, Behold the Beauty of the Lord (Psalm 27:4), CMU President Cheryl Pauls spoke of the ways in which beauty and inquiry work together.
Meditating on the popular phrase, “Leave it better than you found it,” Pauls talked about how that mentality has captured people’s imaginations as they work amidst the complex, strained matters of today, such as economic disparity, climate change, food security, human sexuality, and reconciliation with First Nation, Métis, and Inuit peoples.
“I’ve little doubt that the call ‘Better than we found it’ nurtures our commitments to these and many more hurting peoples and places,” Pauls said.
“I’ve also little doubt that the mission entrusted to this university requires action and reflection—action and reflection that’s animated by bending towards beauty. That is, through postures of prayer in the courage and humility of inquiry and awe, ever seeking of God clear, compelling ways forward with matters and relationships that confound and trouble us. And also, perhaps more importantly, by ever releasing and offering to God the very best of our persuasions and of all we think we now grasp.”
The opening program included the presentation of the 2015 Distinguished Alumni Awards, which annually recognize alumni who, through their lives, embody CMU’s values and mission of service, leadership, and reconciliation in church and society.
Pauls presented the awards to Larry Plenert, an Olympian-turned-lawyer who has worked for the past eight years as an adjudicator of claims of serious abuse by former students of Indian Residential Schools; Cheryl Woelk, an educator and peace worker; Gerry Dyck, a businessman who has made significant contributions in the field of international development; and Arno and Lena Fast, a couple who have spent the past 46 years ministering at a church in Winnipeg’s North End.
Winnipeg artists Richard Finney (right) and Ray Dirks (left) with their art piece, which acknowledges those who donated to the construction of Marpeck Commons
Later in the program, Pauls noted that $12 million of the $14.4 million needed to pay for Marpeck Commons has been raised so far.
She unveiled a donor recognition wall, which features an art piece commemorating people who contribute money to the project.
Created by Winnipeg artists Richard Finney and Ray Dirks, the piece is made up of brushed metal and glass.
The glass features an etching of a tree made up of phrases from CMU’s mission statement.
The lower portions of the piece feature a laser cutting of the names of donors who contributed to the project, with room to add the names of future donors.
“It’s a field of names,” Pauls explained. “Each individual is a kernel, a kernel that matters and is vital to the actual, ongoing life of this place. As a collective, this field of names draws out the best of what is made possible through the learning, the conversation, the sharing together in this place.”
Vice President External Terry Schellenberg noted that Fall Festival is an important community builder for CMU.
“Once again, Fall Festival opened CMU to alumni, friends, and the broader community,” Schellenberg said.
“We were moved by a significant Face2Face conversation; inspired by stories of ministry, restorative justice, business, and peacemaking from five alumni award recipients; gratified by the generosity of CMU’s support community as we unveiled a beautiful donor wall in Marpeck Commons; and celebrated and blessed the start of a new academic year.”
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 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
Oil industry consultant, economist, and filmmaker featured on panel
Oil dependency is the focus of Canadian Mennonite University’s (CMU) first Face2Face discussion of 2015-16.
Titled “When Oil Dependency is Not Black and White: Contradictions and Possibilities,” the event happens Friday, September 25 at 7:00 PM in Marpeck Commons (2299 Grant Ave.). Admission is free, and everyone is welcome to attend.
Face2Face is a series of conversations with CMU faculty, designed to engage the community on a wide variety of current events and issues at the intersection of faith and life.
From cell phones to clothing, and from wind turbines to automobiles, we are embedded in an oil dependent world. The September 25 discussion will explore questions such as: How do we respond to the complex realities of oil dependency in our lives? What choices lie before governments, industry, and before each of us as individuals? What kind of ethical framework can guide and assist us?
Moderated by David Balzer, Assistant Professor of Communications and Media, the event will feature three panelists:
Marlene Janzen – Engineer, owner of Eclipse Geomatics and Engineering LTD; focused on conceptual development studies, front end engineering, and preliminary estimates for remote onshore and arctic offshore oil and gas opportunities.
James Magnus-Johnston – CMU Instructor of Political Studies and Economics; research interests in ecological resilience, principally through the application of “steady-state” economic policies and carbon reduction strategies.
Michael Tyas – Managing editor of One River News; graduated from the University of Manitoba with an honours degree in environmental studies; a professional videographer and video trainer; produced the feature length documentary One River, Many Relations in Fort Chipewyan, AB to tell the stories of people living downstream from oil sands resource extraction.
Balzer says the goal is to have a conversation that draws out some of the complexities surrounding the topic of oil.
“To have someone who’s an oil industry consultant with a deep concern for creation, together with an economist and a documentary filmmaker, feels like it will create a very interesting conversation with some expertise people don’t always have available to them when they’re discussing these issues,” he says.
Magnus-Johnston says he wanted to be a part of the event because he believes everyone is personally responsible when it comes to fossil fuel use.
“Often we want someone to take responsibility for climate change, so we vilify fossil fuel companies or those working in the fossil fuel industry, but when you dig a little deeper, we all are, in fact, contributing to the problem,” Magnus-Johnston says. “So, solutions are not so simple.”
Balzer points out that rather than just being a presentation by the three panelists, the event is meant to be a conversation that includes audience members.
With any luck, the conversation will produce new insights.
“We’re hoping we don’t end up getting caught in a positional debate, but rather that we listen to the panelists, hear what they’re saying, and perhaps look for the creative way forward that may not be present to any of us right now,” Balzer says.
The discussion will be followed at 8:30 PM by an informal reception.
The evening marks the start of CMU’s Fall Festival, a high energy weekend that features opportunities to connect, learn, play, and celebrate with the CMU Community. For more information about Fall Festival, visit www.cmu.ca/fallfest.
“When Oil Dependency is Not Black and White: Contradictions and Possibilities” is the first of four Face2Face events CMU will host during the 2015-16 school year. For details, visit www.cmu.ca/face2face.
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 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
Canadian Mennonite University’s Fall Festival is a time for students, staff, alumni and supporters to get together and celebrate the start of a new school year.
Reunions, Concerts, and Discussion Highlight of Annual Community-Building Event
When Brent Durksen and his wife, Kari Enns Durksen, found out that their graduating class would reunite at Canadian Mennonite University’s Fall Festival, they made plans to attend.
Brent Durksen and Kari Enns Durksen flew in from Calgary to reconnect with their Class of 2004 peers and the rest of the CMU community at Fall Festival.
The couple travelled from their home in Calgary to participate in their 10-year Class of 2004 reunion and visit friends, professors, and staff from the CMU community.
“It was a good opportunity to indulge in some nostalgia, stay connected to CMU, see the work being done on the new library, and visit our friends,” Durksen said. “We still have a lot of good friends from CMU that we’re connected with.”
Brent and Kari were two of the more than 500 people who came to CMU this past weekend, Sept. 27-28, for Fall Festival.
Celebrated annually, Fall Festival features opportunities for students, alumni, friends, donors, and community members to connect, learn, play, and celebrate with the CMU community.
In addition to class reunions, the weekend included a bicycle race, folk music festival, a farmers market with more than 25 vendors, and CMU Blazers basketball games.
The weekend opened on Friday, Sept. 26 with a Face2Face community discussion exploring shifting cultural sentiments and the complexity of end-of-life issues, euthanasia, and physician-assisted suicide.
Titled, “A Time to Die: Cultural and Faith Perspectives in the Face of Death,” the event featured Justin Neufeld, Lecturer in Philosophy at CMU; Dr. Cornelius Woelk, Medical Director of Palliative Care at Southern Health-Santé Sud, and the Honourable Steven Fletcher, Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia.
Activities on Saturday, Sept. 27 culminated in CMU’s annual opening program, a time of worship to celebrate the start of a new school year.
Dr. Gordon Zerbe, who was appointed Vice President Academic this past June, delivered a message, titled “Citizenship and CMU.
President Academic Gordon Zerbe delivered the message at CMU’s opening program on Sept. 27, which capped off an exciting weekend of events at the university.
Drawing from Jeremiah, Matthew and Philippians, Zerbe spoke of the ways being a Christian is itself a kind of citizenship, and how the mission of Christian citizenship—and of CMU—is multidimensional.
“Christian citizenship practice… is about being on the move, along the ‘way,’ never quite knowing what is one’s true and only home, just as Jesus had nowhere to lay his head,” Zerbe said.
“Similarly, the practice of CMU as a Christian university in its multiple dimensions and multiple subjectives, will always be on the move—crossing boundaries, and not building walls. Resisting barriers, it will instead be building bridges.”
The opening program also included the presentation of the 2014 Blazer Distinguished Alumni Awards, which annually recognize alumni who, through their lives, embody CMU’s values and mission of service, leadership, and reconciliation in church and society.
Kathy Bergen (from left), Lorlie Barkman, John Neufeld, and Odette Mukole received the 2014 Blazer Distinguished Alumni Awards, which annually recognize alumni who, through their lives, embody CMU’s values and mission of service, leadership, and reconciliation in church and society.
President Cheryl Pauls presented the awards to Kathy Bergen, who has spent more than 30 years working for justice in Israel-Palestine; Lorlie Barkman, a pastor-turned-TV producer; John Neufeld, the executive director of an organization that serves low-income people in need or support; and Odette Mukole, a Congolese immigrant who helps newcomers to Canada adjust to life in a new country.
During a short speech, Abram Bergen, Director of Church and Alumni Relations, noted how far CMU has come in the 14 years since becoming a university. A residence has been built, a new science lab has been completed, and the new library, learning commons, and bridge will open on November 29.
Meanwhile, 1,000 students have graduated from CMU and 1,200 have completed its Outtatown Discipleship School.
“These graduates are impacting their workplaces, their communities, and their families,” Bergen said.
For Paul Dueck, a graduate of Canadian Mennonite Bible College, one of CMU’s predecessor institutions, the chance to reconnect with faculty is what drew him to Fall Festival. An avid musician, Dueck was impressed by the music performed at opening program.
CMU’s Class of 2004 reunited for its 10-year reunion at Fall Festival on Sept. 27.
“To hear the choir sing with this quality this early in the year is incredible,” Dueck said.
Daniel Friesen, a fourth-year Music student who participated in the MennoCross bike race and sung in the choir, was happy he attended Fall Festival.
“It’s cool to see the wider community of CMU supporters that you don’t necessarily think of when you’re a student,” Friesen said. “It’s cool to think you’re part of a larger group than just the student body.”
Vice President External Terry Schellenberg said Fall Festival is a marquee event on CMU’s calendar because it is a great community builder.
“Once again we brought together cyclocross racers—old and young—hundreds of community members for our Farmers Market, and a packed house for an important Face2Face community conversation,” Schellenberg said.
“We celebrated the impact of four of our alumni who have made an incredible difference in church and society, and we opened another school year with great energy. It was a wonderful weekend of fun and celebration.”
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, and graduate degrees in Theology and Ministry. CMU has over 1,600 students, including those enrolled in degree programs at the Shaftesbury Campus and in its Menno Simons College and Outtatown programs.
Kevin Kilbrei, Director of Communications & Marketing
kkilbrei@cmu.ca; 204.487.3300 Ext. 621
Canadian Mennonite University
500 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 2N2
Winnipeg – A woman who has spent more than 30 years working for justice in Israel-Palestine, the executive director of an organization that serves low-income people in need of support, a pastor-turned-TV producer who volunteers with people who have Alzheimer’s, and a Congolese immigrant who helps newcomers to Canada are the recipients of Canadian Mennonite University’s (CMU) 2014 Blazer Distinguished Alumni Awards.
CMU President Cheryl Pauls is pleased to present the awards to Kathy Bergen, John Neufeld, Lorlie Barkman, and Odette Mukole on Saturday, September 27 during the Opening Program ceremony at the university’s Fall Festival.
The Blazer Awards are presented annually to alumni from CMU and its predecessor colleges: Canadian Mennonite Bible College (CMBC) and Mennonite Brethren Bible College (MBBC)/Concord College. The awards celebrate alumni who, through their lives, embody CMU’s values and mission of service, leadership, and reconciliation in church and society.
“We are humbled and inspired by the honour and care all four of these alumni extend to people who are often marginalized,” Pauls says. “We give these awards to thank them for the example of their lives.”
Pauls will present the awards during CMU’s Opening Program at 7:00 PM on Saturday, September 27 in CMU’s Loewen Athletic Centre as part of CMU’s Fall Festival.
Earlier that day, the public is invited to meet and interact with Bergen, Neufeld, Barkman, and Mukole during an event at 4:00 PM in CMU’s Laudamus Auditorium. During this hour, the award recipients will reflect on their personal and professional journeys. There will be time for questions and interaction.
Information about the 2014 award recipients:
For the past 32 years, Kathy Bergen (CMBC ’72) has dedicated her life to working for justice in Israel-Palestine. Bergen lived in Jerusalem from the time of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 until after the Gulf War in 1991, working with MCC. Her career includes seven years as the program coordinator for the Friends International Center in Ramallah, a Quaker ministry in the West Bank, and 12 years as national coordinator of the Middle East Program of the Peacebuilding Unit for the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that works for peace and justice around the world.
A 1995 graduate of CMBC, John Neufeld earned a Master of Social Work at the University of Toronto and worked for 11 years in foster care. After completing a Master of Business Administration at Wilfrid Laurier, he took on his current role as executive director at House of Friendship, a Kitchener, ON-based organization whose mission is to serve low-income adults, youth, and children in need of support. “I think it’s critical to our common humanity that we all feel we belong, so I want to be engaged in work that makes people feel they belong,” he says.
Pastor and television producer are two titles on Lorlie Barkman’s resume. Barkman (MBBC ’90) spent 15 years with Family Life Network, a communications arm of the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba, where he co-created a family TV series called “The Third Story” that aired across much of Canada. Before and after his time in TV, Barkman worked as a pastor. Now retired, Barkman enjoys volunteering in seniors homes, where he does a form of art therapy for people with Alzheimer’s by drawing pictures of memories that they share with him. “The Lord has kindly provided many mercies – guidance, forgiveness, encouragement, love,” Barkman says. “I’m very grateful to God.”
Concern for her family’s safety motivated Odette Mukole to move to Canada from the Congo with her three daughters in 2000. She graduated from CMU in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Social Science and currently works as a case coordinator at Family Dynamics, a not-for-profit, community-based agency in downtown Winnipeg that helps newcomers to Canada adjust to life in a new country. “I really like what I’m doing, helping people and making sure they get what they need,” she says. “And when I talk to clients, it’s from my own experience.”
About CMU 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 more than 1,700 students, including Menno Simons College and Outtatown students, and is a member of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC). For information about CMU, visit: www.cmu.ca.Media contact: Kevin Kilbrei, CMU Communications & Marketing Director kkilbrei@cmu.ca; 204.487.3300 Ext. 621 Canadian Mennonite University 500 Shaftesbury Blvd., Winnipeg, MB R3P 2N2
‘God only knows how much impact they have had on society,’ organizer says
Graduates from the 1953 classes of two of Canadian Mennonite University’s (CMU) predecessor colleges gathered at the university’s Fall Festival Sept. 28 for their 60th class reunion.
Seven alumni from Canadian Mennonite Bible College (CMBC) and Mennonite Brethren Bible College (MBBC) reunited for a time of sharing, remembering, fellowship, singing, and prayer.
“A good number of us are still alive and with it—we can’t take that for granted,” said John B. Epp, who helped organize the reunion.
John Unger, another reunion organizer, said that a highlight for him was a “ministry map” the committee put together indicating the places in the world where 1953 graduates have worked and served.
Of the seven CMBC graduates and 20 MBBC graduates from that year, seven went into pastoral ministries and four went into church conference ministries. Twelve went into education, with seven acquiring PhDs in fields including mathematics, sociology, and history, and teaching throughout North America.
At least five went into missions, with their work taking them to countries that include Ecuador, Uruguay, Paraguay, Israel, China, and Japan.
Almost all are or were affiliated with a church congregation where they served as well.
“We’re amazed at what God can do with 27 people if they really are the salt of the earth and the light of the world,” Unger said. “God only knows how much impact they have had on society.”
The organizing committee wanted to plan a 60th reunion after hosting a successful 50th reunion in 2003. At that reunion, the Class of 1953 established a $20,000 endowment for a student bursary. To date, more than $6,000 has been distributed to CMU students in need.
By now, members of the Class of 1953 are in their 80s. Eight class members have passed away, and some were not able to make it to the reunion due to health concerns.
Still, those who were there enjoyed connecting with one another.
“I’m glad we can celebrate together,” Unger said. “My bottom line is the thought that was mentioned in Job 19:25 – ‘I know that my redeemer lives.’ We have to keep our central focus on the Lord, and He is still ruling, and we want to live by faith day by day until He calls us.”
Henry Visch, one of the organizers of the CMBC/MBBC Class of 1953 60-year reunion, stands with a “ministry map” he created. The map indicates where members of the Class of 1953 have worked and served, including Ecuador, Uruguay, Paraguay, Israel, China, and Japan.Members of CMBC’s and MBBC’s Class of 1953 gathered at CMU on Sept. 28 for their 60th class reunion. From left to right: George Wiebe, Hedy Sawatsky, Leo Driedger, Henry Visch, John Unger, John Epp, and Peter Penner.
Themes of bridges, building, and relying on Jesus Christ were explored as Canadian Mennonite University faculty, staff, students, alumni, and supporters gathered to mark the beginning of the 2013 school year.
“Walls, Bridges, and Living Stones” was the title of CMU’s opening program, a time of worship held on Saturday, Sept. 28 as part of the university’s Fall Festival.
In a meditation he gave during the program, Andrew Dyck, Assistant Professor of Ministry Studies, drew from 1 Peter 2:4-5, suggesting that each person in the room—students, donors, friends, and employees—were living stones.
At the centre of CMU’s mission statement is Jesus Christ, whose life, teachings, death, and resurrection moves and transforms the community, Dyck added.
“When we build on this living cornerstone—both wonderful and inscrutable—we will eventually discover that God is using our various efforts at building walls and bridges to accomplish something greater than anything we could ask or imagine: a house of healing, a house for all peoples, a house for God’s Spirit!”
Earlier in the program, during his CMU update, Vice President External Terry Schellenberg noted that the university’s enrolment is up two per cent from last year, with 629 students at the Shaftesbury campus. This includes students from 12 countries, including Chile, Cina, Congo, Germany, India, Kenya, Nigeria, Paraguay, South Korea, Taiwan, Ukraine, and Zimbabwe.
Schellenberg added that construction has started on CMU’s new Library, Learning Commons, and Bridge. $10.2 million of a total $14 million has been given and committed, and people are invited to contribute in a variety of ways.
“If it takes a village to raise a child, it certainly takes a generous and visionary community of supporters and alumni to move CMU forward for a new generation,” Schellenberg said. “Thank you for your support of this project and your interest in a vital university mission, of the church, in and for the world.”
The opening program was the culmination of Fall Festival, CMU’s annual homecoming weekend.
Fall Festival started on Friday, Sept. 27 with the presentation of the 2013 Blazer Distinguished Alumni Awards, which celebrate alumni who, through their lives, embody CMU’s values and mission of service, leadership, and reconciliation and society. CMU President Cheryl Pauls presented the awards to John Siebert, Leonard Doell, Robin & Zachary Heppner Entz, and Carol Penner.
Pauls also presented the Blazer Distinguished Community Service Award to Selma Loewen, Sara Stoesz, Susan Giesbrecht, and Linie Friesen, the four women who started the first Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Thrift Shop.
The evening concluded with, “Oh My God! – Making Sense of Everyday Talk,” a presentation by CMU professors David Balzer and Gordon Matties on the use of the phrase “Oh my God” in today’s culture.
Earlier in the evening, CMU’s women’s and men’s basketball teams won their pre-season games, 62-45 and 101-85, respectively
Fall Festival continued on Saturday, Sept. 28 with a variety of different activities, including a farmer’s market that included more than 10 vendors from the community, as well as a pie bakeoff.
A bicycle race, folk music festival, learning samplers—where faculty and staff shared an aspect of their teaching and work—were also part of Fall Festival, as well as a community supper and class reunions.
Reflecting during opening program on her time at Canadian Mennonite Bible College (CMBC), one of CMU’s predecessor colleges, alumna Sherry Sawatzky-Dyck said that CMBC taught her that the love of God and the peace of Christ are the cornerstones of her faith and work.
“What I learned here, and who I learned it from, became my foundation,” she said. “Like those pillars that will support our new bridge over Grant Avenue, my foundation became strengthened.”
CMU President Cheryl Pauls talks about the university’s future during a learning sampler at Fall Festival 2013. Enrolment at the university is up for 2013-14, and construction began this past July on a new Library, Learning Commons, and Bridge.During CMU’s opening program on Sept. 28, Vice President External Terry Schellenberg gave an update on the university and thanked the constituency for its support. “If it takes a village to raise a child, it certainly takes a generous and visionary community of supporters and alumni to move CMU forward for a new generation,” he said.Seven alumni from the 1953 classes of two of CMU’s predecessor colleges, Canadian Mennonite Bible College and Mennonite Brethren Bible College, gathered for their 60-year reunion during Fall Festival.
![2014-08-29 - Blazer Award Winners 2014 [1] - Kathy Bergen edited](http://www.cmu.ca/media_archive/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2014-08-29-Blazer-Award-Winners-2014-1-Kathy-Bergen-edited.jpeg)
![2014-08-29 - Blazer Award Winners 2014 [2] - John Neufeld](http://www.cmu.ca/media_archive/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2014-08-29-Blazer-Award-Winners-2014-2-John-Neufeld-150x150.jpeg)
A 1995 graduate of CMBC, John Neufeld earned a Master of Social Work at the University of Toronto and worked for 11 years in foster care. After completing a Master of Business Administration at Wilfrid Laurier, he took on his current role as executive director at House of Friendship, a Kitchener, ON-based organization whose mission is to serve low-income adults, youth, and children in need of support. “I think it’s critical to our common humanity that we all feel we belong, so I want to be engaged in work that makes people feel they belong,” he says.![2014-08-29 - Blazer Award Winners 2014 [3] - Lorlie Barkman](http://www.cmu.ca/media_archive/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2014-08-29-Blazer-Award-Winners-2014-3-Lorlie-Barkman-150x150.jpeg)
Pastor and television producer are two titles on Lorlie Barkman’s resume. Barkman (MBBC ’90) spent 15 years with Family Life Network, a communications arm of the Mennonite Brethren Church of Manitoba, where he co-created a family TV series called “The Third Story” that aired across much of Canada. Before and after his time in TV, Barkman worked as a pastor. Now retired, Barkman enjoys volunteering in seniors homes, where he does a form of art therapy for people with Alzheimer’s by drawing pictures of memories that they share with him. “The Lord has kindly provided many mercies – guidance, forgiveness, encouragement, love,” Barkman says. “I’m very grateful to God.”![2014-08-29 - Blazer Award Winners 2014 [4] - Odette Mukole](http://www.cmu.ca/media_archive/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2014-08-29-Blazer-Award-Winners-2014-4-Odette-Mukole-150x150.jpeg)
Concern for her family’s safety motivated Odette Mukole to move to Canada from the Congo with her three daughters in 2000. She graduated from CMU in 2007 with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in Social Science and currently works as a case coordinator at Family Dynamics, a not-for-profit, community-based agency in downtown Winnipeg that helps newcomers to Canada adjust to life in a new country. “I really like what I’m doing, helping people and making sure they get what they need,” she says. “And when I talk to clients, it’s from my own experience.”
