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Combining academics and practice is vital to learning. Recognizing this, Professor Jane Kuepfer, Schlegel Specialist in Spirituality and Aging, integrates experiential learning in the classes that she teaches in the Master of Theological Studies program at Grebel. “Academics is a way of processing what happens in daily life.

In 2017, the #MeToo hashtag started a global movement to destigmatize and increase awareness about sexual violence. This coming March, Carol Penner, Assistant Professor of Theological Studies, will speak on “#MennonitesToo: Sexual Violence and Mennonite Peace Theology” as the C. Henry Smith Peace Lecturer at Bluffton University and Goshen College. 

During Orientation Week this fall, Grebel’s graduate programs in Theological Studies and Peace and Conflict Studies organized a learning trip to the Woodland Cultural Centre in Brantford, Ontario.

Practicing Empathy across Disciplines by Peter Kim (MTS 2019)

After studying science for my undergraduate degree at the University of Waterloo, I wanted to grow in my personal relationship with God and discern his calling on my life, so I enrolled in the Master of Theological Studies (MTS) program. 

Having taught in Grebel’s Master of Theological Studies (MTS) program for 13 years, Old Testament Professor Derek Suderman observes that new students are often surprised by the wide scope of student perspectives in the program.

Recent MTS graduate, Danielle Raimbault, is associate pastor at Listowel Mennonite Church in Ontario, as well as chaplain at a long-term care residence. Raimbault found her education to be instrumental in preparing for ministry in the church. “The Applied stream courses offered practical advice for the everyday of pastoral ministry,” noted Raimbault. “The Bible courses taught me in-depth ways to research and prepare for sermons. I learned how to read the Bible in ways that are more helpful and I gained a deeper understanding of the Bible and what it means to me.

WATERLOO, Ontario (Conrad Grebel University College and Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary) — 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.

Professor Alicia Batten teaches New Testament in Grebel’s Theological Studies program. She is writing a commentary on the Letter of James for the Illuminations Commentary Series—a close look at the letter as a whole, combined with attention to the reception of the letter and its impact over the centuries.

After teaching Old Testament in the Theological Studies program at Grebel for more than a decade, Professor Derek Suderman notes that he is most often asked how to address declining biblical literacy in congregations. “But it’s not primarily a question of literacy,” notes Suderman. “It’s a question of of consistently engaging the Bible in a positive way. How do we provide leadership for a life-giving experience with the Bible?”