Grebel Sings to Bridge Gaps and Build Community

At the beginning of the school year, students, staff, and faculty at Conrad Grebel University College in Waterloo, ON took a deep breath and sang together – first in unison, and then in several different parts to build a new melody. The piece called “We all Sing” was written by Grebel Professor Karen Sunabacka and commissioned for the College’s 2018-19 integration initiative. This year marks the fourth year that Grebel has intentionally planned a year-long series of activities intended to offer meaningful ways for the different people and programs of Grebel to interact with one another, and with the University of Waterloo and the broader community.

In North American Mennonite theological education, a regional focus is emerging as students prefer to access seminary education closer to home. Uprooting families and finding employment for a spouse in another country have become increasingly difficult.
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.
