Fall 2024 Grebel Now

Grebel was first imagined in the late 1950s, when local Christian denominations were invited to found colleges on the campus of the new University of Waterloo. For Ontario Mennonite leaders, the invitation arrived at a moment when Mennonite youth were enrolling en masse in universities and colleges for the first time. With a 400-year history of separation from society at large, Mennonite leaders were concerned that their youth would lose their faith at university. A residential college was an opportunity to create an environment where this new generation of Ontario Mennonite youth could maintain connection to their faith tradition during what one founder called “the seeking, doubting, formative years of their lives.” 

For Grebel’s 50th Anniversary year, Marlene Epp wrote Bridging Mind & Spirit, Conrad Grebel University College, 1963-2013 to tell the story of the College’s founding, accomplishments, people, and traditions. Although ten years have now passed and the College has had another anniversary, for this issue of Grebel Now, we have chosen to reflect on Grebel’s 60 year legacy by inviting a small group of former board members, faculty, and administrative leaders to share their memories, even if some details have faded.