A conference on Indigenous-Mennonite Encounters, while encouraging Mennonite historical self-examination, brings new partners into conversation and relationship. These connections, while often brief , enrich our work and sense of purpose, even if their impacts on those we rub shoulders with aren’t always visible to us.
Sometime in 1993, in pursuit of a good mark in Reformation History, I went to my professor’s office to discuss an essay topic. Hoping to appear studious, I took copious notes during the meeting—until Professor Werner Packull told me to stop, in words I’ll never forget: “Put your pen down,” he said. “I’m not here to give you the answers; I’m trying to broaden your mind.”
Because Grebel’s mission and programs are rooted in and inspired by its Anabaptist/Mennonite heritage, the College puts a significant emphasis on teaching Mennonite studies and History. While Mennonite Studies wasn’t an official program from the outset, Grebel’s founders wanted to ensure that Mennonite students pursuing post-secondary education at a secular university still had some grounding in Mennonite education.
Over the past 60 years, thousands of Grebel alumni have taken individual Grebel courses in History and Mennonite Studies, while hundreds of Grebel alumni have received University of Waterloo Arts degrees with majors and minors in History, along with some who have pursued specializations and minors in Mennonite Studies. The following profiles highlight a few of these alumni—some who went into history professions and some who used history as a jumping point for their career.
From martyr ballads and shape-note singing to contemporary folk hymns, operas, musicals, and festivals like Mennofolk, folk music and Mennonites just seem to go together.
Nowhere in archives are the three companions of loss, remainder, and possibility more present than when communities seek to understand historical wrongs. Following the Truth and Reconciliation calls to action, archives in Canada are being urged to communicate to Indigenous communities what has been collected by and about them.
Disney animator. CEOs. Lawyers. Musicians. Peacemakers centred in war zones. These are just a few of the fascinating folks who have graduated from Grebel over the last 60 years. Not only are these alumni making advances in their fields, but they’re also representing Grebel’s excellence on an international level, with careers in countries all across the world.
Recent Grebel alums share how history courses have inspired them in their academic and professional careers.
Grebel History Professor Troy Osborne was asked by MennoMedia to write a new textbook that draws from recent scholarship on the global church. Set to be released in June 2024, Radicals and Reformers: A Survey of Global Anabaptist History, traces the origins and development of the Anabaptist and Mennonite movements from their beginnings in Europe through their spread across the globe.
Grebel alumni, staff, and friends are getting ready to explore Anabaptist beginnings on a European tour in May 2025. Alongside faculty experts Troy Osborne and David Neufeld, travellers will follow this story from the Netherlands through Germany, France, and Switzerland, visiting the very places where events significant to this tradition occurred.