Values in Action
Grebel offers opportunities for students to put into practice the values at the heart of the College’s identity and mission. Through community building, compassionate service, and global engagement, students are finding meaningful ways to live out those values.
Community Building
One of Grebel’s newer traditions is helping at the Cream Bun Tent at the annual New Hamburg Mennonite Relief Sale each May. This is a sweet way to support a good cause and build community.
Global Engagement
A group of 16 UWaterloo students and Community Gamelan players traveled to Bali, Indonesia in May 2026 as part of a Music and Culture course. Led by Grebel Music Professor Maisie Sum and Artist-in-Residence I Dewa Made Suparta, musicians interacted with scholars and master artists, attended concerts, played an array of instruments, engaged in the daily life of local Balinese families, and visited spaces of historical and cultural significance.
Compassionate Service
In May 2026, a group of students traveled to Denare Beach in Saskatchewan to help rebuild homes with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) after wildfire destruction. Later in the summer, two groups of students spent a few days supporting flood relief efforts in the Niagara Region.
“Volunteering with MDS has shown me the vitality of collective action in the aftermath of destruction. In a global and political climate that can feel increasingly suffocating, being involved in small-scale acts of dedication to each other and the land gives me a sense of hope. Within the Grebel community, I think it is important to recognize that our connection, cooperation, and empathy for one another does not stop at our doors, but extends far wider.”
- Anna Wiebe, Sociology
