Peace has been an important value in the lives of Aden and Joanne Bauman and their sons Barry, who passed away in 2016, and Michael. Lifelong members of the Elmira Mennonite Church, Aden and Joanne were fixtures in the community at their Arthur street jewelry store. “Peace is a Mennonite thing,” observed Joanne. “Peace is important to our family, and our boys remember that their uncle Elias was a conscientious objector during WW II,” noted Aden.
Living in Toronto for 46 years, Mary Groh was increasingly surrounded by a multi-cultural society. As an active member of the Danforth Mennonite Church, following the closure of Warden Woods Mennonite Church, she witnessed the growth of various Mennonite congregations in the east end of Toronto.
Students at the University of Waterloo are an incredibly diverse group, with interests spanning math, health, engineering, science, environment, and arts. Many of these students have spent hundreds of hours of their life learning a musical instrument and, instead of giving up their love of music while at university, they have found a collective place to express it. The orchestra@uwaterloo is a full-sized symphony orchestra whose players are students, staff, faculty, and alumni of Waterloo.
For Muslim students at the University of Waterloo, long spans of fasting during the longest days of the year are over and may already feel like a distant memory. However, it was just a few weeks ago that students were stretching the limits of their bodies as they refrained from eating or drinking each day while the sun was up. This religious practice during Ramadan becomes even more difficult for university students living away from the support of their families for the first time.
This summer, a celebration of hymnody will coincide with the 500th anniversary of the Reformation at the annual Hymn Society conference to be held at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, July 16-20. Attracting hundreds of hymn aficionados, the conference will revolve around the theme: “Now Thank We All Our God: Celebrating Congregational Song since the Reformation.”
In a quest for increased and updated kitchen and dining room space, the Conrad Grebel University College Board of Governors has approved a kitchen and dining room expansion and renovation architectural feasibility study. After careful review, the College has engaged Moriyama and Teshima Architects (MTA) to lead the study. MTA is one of the most prestigious architectural firms in Canada. They have led similar studies for organizations around the world including many colleges and universities in Ontario. They also have significant experience with the assessment, renovation and adaptive reuse of existing buildings.
In an inspirational welcome to 12 male Grebel students on a March Saturday, Chaplain Ed Janzen announced, “This workshop begins our commitment to change the world!”
Billed as a “train the trainer” type event, men were invited to not only participate in a Male Gender Identity and Leadership workshop that addresses sexual assault on the Waterloo campus, but also to become change agents. “The idea is that these young men will take the skills and tools they learned today, and be equipped to recognize and fight against gender inequality and rape culture wherever they are – in classrooms, in workplaces, and in society,” added Ed. Running the workshop was Lexi Salt, the GreenHouse Program Coordinator at St. Paul’s University College on campus, and Stephen Soucie, the Male Allies Program Coordinator at the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region.
A strategic plan vision is realized for Mennonite Studies at Conrad Grebel University College as the new "J. Winfield Fretz Fellowship in Mennonite Studies" is announced. The Fellowship, to be awarded annually, will support visiting scholars as they engage in research, teaching, and relationship building between the College and academic and community audiences around Anabaptist and Mennonite Studies themes. Funding from the Fellowship will also provide support for special projects at the College initiated by the Institute of Anabaptist and Mennonite Studies (IAMS).