The recipient of the 2021 A. James Reimer Award is Hyejung Jessie Yum. Jessie is a PhD candidate and adjunct instructor at Emmanuel College, the University of Toronto.
Responding to the news that she would receive this award, Jessie says:
"I am honoured to receive the A. James Reimer Award, which commemorates his contribution to establishing the Toronto Mennonite Theological Centre (TMTC). It is especially meaningful to become the first Mennonite woman of colour to receive this award, given that I have sought peace in a multicultural society. TMTC has provided me with a rich Mennonite theological environment to develop my scholarship, reflecting my voice as a Korean migrant Mennonite woman. In my dissertation entitled “Planetary Peace,” I am constructing a postcolonial and intersectional Mennonite peace theology applicable for multicultural contexts. This project has been awarded a 2021 Louisville Dissertation Fellowship.
By connecting to other Mennonite scholars and colleagues via TMTC, I have been able to develop my research in a number of supportive Mennonite theological communities. As an extension of the TMTC’s support, I currently have an opportunity to do part of my research at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and connect with Mennonites in the Netherlands for three months.
I am very grateful for this award that financially makes it possible to continue my vocation as a researcher and minister. Alongside my research on a decolonizing and developing anintercultural understanding and practice of peace, I have made efforts to cultivate a peace culture in Toronto through Sowing for Peace, an intercultural peace ministry affiliated with Danforth Mennonite Church. Through my research and ministry, I would like to continue to contribute to decolonization and increasing the intercultural capacity of Mennonite communities."
The A. James Reimer award is given annually to a student completing an advanced degree program at the Toronto School of Theology or another university who actively participates in TMTC programming. The award was established to recognize the work of A. James Reimer in establishing the Toronto Mennonite Theological Centre. TMTC provides a Mennonite presence at the Toronto School of Theology in order to engage in theological conversation at an advanced degree level as well as to support Anabaptist students pursuing advanced degrees.
