This article was written prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When one hears of a hymn sing, university students spending their evening singing from a hymnal is rarely the first image that comes to mind. However, at Conrad Grebel University College, students have organized Sunday evening hymn sings for several years.
Students who take courses with Jennifer Ball appreciate her active example of what it means to live peaceably. Jennifer is Assistant Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) at Conrad Grebel University College and the University of Waterloo. She holds a Doctorate in Rural Studies with a focus on Sustainable Rural Communities. Her research stretches across women’s community-based peacebuilding, Circle practice, and community development. Jennifer is known by her students as someone who, as Charity Nonkes explained, “not only teaches the course concepts, but also embodies them.”
Helen Martens, Conrad Grebel University College’s first music faculty member, passed away on Thursday, April 9 at the age of 92, surrounded by family in Winnipeg. She last visited Grebel in 2013 during the College’s 50th anniversary.
Grebel staff and faculty remember Helen Martens for her extensive contributions to the Music Department and the College community.
The only visitors to the Grebel campus these days have feathers. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, students, faculty, and staff have settled into a new normal of working and studying from home.
University students who have been anticipating their graduation – complete with celebrations, final recitals and capstone project presentations - are struggling with the abrupt end to campus activity as a result of COVID-19 closures.
In this time of uncertainty and isolation caused by COVID-19, Grebel Professor Carol Penner is offering a gift to all who need help putting their heart’s longing into words. Author of a popular blog, Leading in Worship, she is tapping into her training as a Mennonite pastor and practical theologian to write pandemic prayers. “Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday will all be experienced differently this year because of the fears and anxieties we have about this pandemic,” Carol explained. “My prayers reflect that reality.”
When assignments pile up and due dates loom, the act of writing can become a stressful task for university students. Emilie Chase and her fellow GrebelSpeaks team have been working to change that. GrebelSpeaks is Conrad Grebel University College’s monthly publication that is written for Grebel students by Grebel students.
On March 11, three Grebel students competed in the C. Henry Smith Oratorical Contest. This Peace Speeches competition invites students from Mennonite and Be in Christ colleges and universities across Canada and the United States to present speeches exploring the application of the Christian peace position to contemporary concerns.
Apartment-dwellers visit with Grebel’s Director of Operations Paul Penner outside their window and with Director of Student Services Mary Brubaker-Zehr via video chat. Photo by Anna Kuepfer
Most of our lives have shifted dramatically in the past few weeks as we grapple with social isolation, educational upheaval, job changes, pandemic preparations, and health care emergencies surrounding COVID-19. Over the course of two weeks, the situation moved rapidly at Conrad Grebel University College