CMU

CMU launches master’s program in spiritual care

(Supplied Photo)

Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) has added a new master of arts degree to its Graduate School of Theology and Ministry (GSTM) programming. As of fall 2023, students will be able to earn a Master of Arts in Spiritual Care, in addition to the three pre-existing master’s options: Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Theological Studies and Master of Arts in Christian Ministry.

Gallery curator aims to explore the world, share stories

‘It’s always been about making space to listen,’ says Sarah Hodges-Kolisnyk, director at MHC Gallery. (Photo by Aaron Epp)

Kinetic by Sarah Hodges-Kolisnyk

Two photographic works by Hodges-Kolisnyk: Prairie Dance (left) and Fairies. (Artwork by Sarah Hodges-Kolisnyk)

Sarah Hodges-Kolisnyk approaches art through the lens of storytelling.

“My journey as an artist and a curator has always been linked to exploring the world and sharing stories with others,” she says. “I approach everything with a questioning and a searching for the story, and hoping those stories bring people together.”

CMU student finds her place as composer

Composer and CMU student Anna Schwartz. (Photo courtesy of CMU)

With choral singing back in full swing, its community-building capacity is even more obvious to composer and Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) student Anna Schwartz. After writing the song “Answers” at the height of the pandemic, she is set to direct the CMU Chamber Choir’s spring performance of the song on April 28.

The power of language

Anna Nekola (left) and Jubilee Dueck Thiessen (right)

How have you experienced gendered language? Has certain language hurt you or made you feel welcome and safe? These are some of the questions that students reflected on in a recent peer-led survey about Canadian Mennonite University (CMU).

Bursary helps recipients develop and explore

Alongside his degree work, Bryant Neufeldt has been working at CMU’s Folio café. It has been a great way for him to engage with friends, fellow students and faculty, and to find a joy and love for making coffee and non-caffeinated beverages. (Photo courtesy of Bryant Neufeldt)

Danika Warkentin

In 2021, there were three recipients of Mennonite Church Alberta tuition bursaries, which offer an incentive for young people who attend an MC Alberta congregation and have enrolled in a Mennonite/Anabaptist post-secondary institution.

CMU celebrates the Class of 2022

CMU president Cheryl Pauls with 2022 President’s Medal recipients, Levi Klassen (left) and Naomi Derksen. (Photo courtesy of CMU)

After two years of outdoor ceremonies and air hugs, the Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) community gathered at Bethel Mennonite Church on April 30 to observe this year’s graduation in a more familiar way. Finally, CMU was once again able to host an indoor convocation ceremony, also livestreamed online, and reception.

Music comes alive through synesthesia, art

CMU student Anna Schwartz, left, stands with visual artist and piano instructor Shirley Elias in front of one of the artworks that make up ‘Spectrum – The Colour of Music; Precision and Impression.’ (CMU photo)

Imagine if you could see sound. When Anna Schwartz listens to music, she not only hears the different instruments, keys and dynamics—she sees them. That’s because she has synesthesia, a neurological condition in which information entering a person’s brain stimulates multiple senses at once.

CMU music students break pandemic ‘fast’

Two CMU students offer musical talents to community orchestra in Winnipeg. (Photo by Stanley Wiebe)

The Mennonite Community Orchestra (MCO) broke the pandemic silence with a concert featuring two Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) students on Nov. 14 in Winnipeg.

The concert was the ensemble’s first since November 2019, after which the novel coronavirus postponed all further productions.

CMU honours Class of 2021

Canadian Mennonite University celebrated the Class of 2021 last month during an outdoor event at the university. (Photos courtesy of CMU)

After a year of mingling on Zoom and many online classes, the Canadian Mennonite University community gathered in person on Aug. 21 to celebrate the Class of 2021. At an outdoor convocation ceremony on CMU’s grounds, CMU President Dr. Cheryl Pauls conferred 68 undergraduate degrees, 20 master’s degrees and three certificates.

CMU Xplore program ventures into new territory

Marlene Janzen

Aubrey Hemminger

When Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) moved its Xplore classes online for the fall 2020 semester due to COVID-19, Marlene Janzen was thrilled. Janzen lives in Ottawa, so the new format meant she could participate for the first time.

“This was really interesting to me, to access these resources from CMU,” she says, adding that she had a great experience in her course.

Watch: Quarantine viewing ideas

"Everyone has their own needs, their own ways of engaging with film..." (Image by Jan Vašek/Pixabay)

Looking for a movie to watch? Sue Sorensen has some suggestions for you.

Sorensen, an English professor at Canadian Mennonite University in Winnipeg, is featured in a series of five short videos CMU posted to its YouTube channel earlier this month. 

Each video features a film that Sorensen recommends watching, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

CMU prof offers sermons, reflections in new book

WINNIPEG—The gaping mouth of a giant fish stretches open across the cover of Chris Huebner's new book, Suffering the Truth: Occasional Sermons and Reflections. The image of a Polish church pulpit in the shape of the giant fish from the biblical story of Jonah represents the difficult undertaking of speaking on behalf of God through preaching. The associate professor of theology and philosophy at Canadian Mennonite University released the book this April through CMU Press. The 111-page volume is a collection of provocative explorations and thoughts on the Christian life.

CMU is Climate Smart certified

WINNIPEG—On Earth Day 2020 (April 22), Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) announced that it was now officially Climate Smart certified. This certification marks a significant milestone in CMU's effort to address its role in climate change, and sets the university on a path towards continuous improvement in the stewardship of the resources, people and planet entrusted to its care. Climate Smart certification is based on a quantified commitment to greenhouse gas emissions reduction, reflecting standardized measurements of sustainability discerned at a global scale.

Outtatown students stranded in Guatemala

Outtatown students pose for a group shot at the top of Pacaya, a volcano that lies 30 km. outside of Guatemala City. (Photo courtesy of Instagram.com/outtatowncmu)

While school and government officials work together to bring the group home, 36 students, six leaders and two program staff from Canadian Mennonite University’s Outtatown Discipleship School are waiting patiently in Guatemala, putting the semester's lessons to the test. 

‘In the end, we’re all neighbours’

Will Braun, Canadian Mennonite’s senior writer, left, makes a point to Marnie Klassen during the Face2Face panel discussion at Canadian Mennonite University, Winnipeg, on the theme ‘Us and them: How did we become so polarized?’ (CMU photo)

How do people respond to the strong rhetoric of polarization that is gripping the world? How can they listen and talk to people that are different from them? And why does it matter if they do?

Roméo Saganash visits CMU

Former MP Romeo Saganash, left, and Steve Heinrichs, MC Canada’s director of Indigenous-Settler Relations, and members of the CMU community met on Oct. 16 in an effort to ensure that all 46 articles of UNDRIP are implemented in Canadian law. (CMU photo)

Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) students, staff and faculty gathered on Oct. 16 to hear Roméo Saganash speak on how Indigenous political leaders are keeping up the fight to see the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) implemented into Canadian law. 

CMU recognizes distinguished alumni with 2019 awards

Randy Klassen (clockwise from top left), Donna Kampen Entz, Jeffrey Metcalfe and Eileen Klassen Hamm are the recipients of the CMU 2019 Distinguished Alumni Awards. (Photo courtesy of CMU)

A former teacher dedicated to building relationships with Indigenous peoples, a former Mennonite Church Canada Witness worker invested in intercultural relationships, a long-time pursuer of justice with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), and a priest and canon theologian in the Anglican Church are the recipients of the Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) 2019 Distinguished Alumni Awards.

Master of Divinity degree coming to CMU this fall

WINNIPEG—Beginning this September, Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) will offer a master of divinity degree, a new program of its Graduate School of Theology and Ministry. The MDiv is considered a gold standard by many denominations. The three-year program provides an extensive and thorough preparation for Christian ministry, including strong emphasis on discerning vocational calling and a field-based independent study tailored to each student’s specific context.

The courage to be vulnerable

‘My classmates and I came to CMU as vulnerable newcomers, and . . . we will walk into many more situations that need vulnerable people,’ Jason Friesen says. (Photo courtesy of CMU)

Jason Friesen was the valedictorian for CMU’s Class of 2018. (Photo courtesy of CMU)

The players on CMU’s men’s volleyball team committed themselves to doing weekly Bible studies during the 2017-18 school year. (Photo courtesy of CMU)

Most of us don’t like to be in vulnerable spaces. The uncertainties of those spaces leave us with butterflies fluttering around in our stomachs. Conceding power is uncomfortable. Yet, Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) is a place that exemplifies and guides us into those vulnerable spaces.

New Centre for Resilience open for business at CMU

The ceremonial ribbon cutting at the April 13, 2018, grand opening of the Centre for Resilience at CMU. From left to right: Heather Stephanson, Manitoba’s minister of justice and attorney general; Cheryl Pauls, CMU’s president; Ian Wishart, Manitoba’s education and training minister; Doug Eyonlfson, MP for Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia-Headingley; and James Magnus-Johnston, director of the Centre for Resilience. (Canadian Mennonite University photo)

Faculty, students and staff celebrated the grand opening of the $1.7-million Centre for Resilience (CFR)—a co-working lab that will incubate and nurture social enterprises—on April 13, 2018. 

Why Mennonite education matters

"Why should young people from our congregations choose a Christian college or university like Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford, B.C., Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, Ont., or Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) in Winnipeg, instead of a public university?” The question posed to me for this piece is often seen as the either-or choice for students, and the obvious starting point

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