While the closing of a church is never easy, Warden Woods Mennonite Church turned some of their sadness into joy with a unique gift to Conrad Grebel University College.
The church had been the recipient of a bequest from the estate of Winston Harrison and his partner John Ford. As Warden Woods prepared to disband in June 2009, they wanted to find a way for this gift to be passed along to continue to honour Ford and Harrison. Pastor Johanna Wall (‘75), herself a Grebel Alumna, contacted Fred W. Martin, Director of Development at Grebel, to inquire about setting up a scholarship. She noted that Ford and Harrison
promoted sacred music through choral conducting, singing, teaching and adjudicating - enriching the lives of many deeply appreciative people.
In May, the college received a gift of $50,000 to establish the “The John Ford and Winston Harrison Church Music Award.” Proceeds from this endowment will be awarded to qualified students for expenses as part of the Church Music and Worship program at the college.
This past year, Ken Hull, chair of the Music Department at Grebel, revitalized the Church Music and Worship program by creating a specialization in this area.
Ken remarked:
We believe that preparing students to help lead the church’s music and worship is an important contribution we can make to the life of the church. This award will assist students both with the cost of tuition as well as to enrich their studies beyond the walls of the classroom. We’re grateful for this gift given in memory of John Ford and Winston Harrison.
Jim Buchanan (‘79) from Warden Woods and a member of Grebel’s alumni committee, explained that
John was very active in music education in the Toronto community, and was very involved in directing concerts for high school students.
Ford was also involved in the establishment of the Pax Christi Chorale in Toronto.
Harrison’s sister, Leona Webb, was pleased with the establishment of this new award.
Our family is thrilled to know that this scholarship has been founded, and will remain a lasting memorial to the work and dedication of my brother and John. Church Music and Worship was such an important part of both their lives and we are so very proud to see their life’s work put to such a wonderful promotion of youth and talent in the music field.
The inaugural award will be made to a student in the fall term of 2010. In addition to the gift to Grebel’s Music department, Warden Woods made gifts to the Ontario Mennonite Music Camp and Silver Lake Mennonite Camp.