Helen Brenneman inspired all she met

Toronto, Ont.

Many people will walk into and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.” This quote from Eleanor Roosevelt was aptly applied to Helen Brenneman at her memorial service on December 6.

Brenneman left indelible footprints in the hearts of many. Her instinct of caring for others was developed when, as a teenager, she lost her mother and became surrogate mother to her younger siblings. She continued to nurse close family relationships with nieces and nephews.

Teaching faith went hand in hand with living it. As a Sunday school and Bible school teacher in the Western Ontario Mennonite Conference, Brenneman helped build the strong leadership evident today in Mennonite Church Eastern Canada.

Her enthusiasm for teaching and meeting people took her to Toronto to help with Summer Bible School. In 1950 she moved here and became a charter member in the Warden Park congregation.

Many have memories of her as a church visitor, teacher and girls’ club leader. During her eight years of teaching in the public school system she took a year out to serve in the Ozarks (Arkansas) with Mennonite Central Committee.

As the social services project at Warden Woods was emerging, Brenneman was taking courses in early childhood education. The Woodland Nursery School, which opened in 1966, provided her with an ideal milieu to touch the lives of children and parents in the new housing development.

“All the most important things my kids know, they learned at Woodland Nursery School,” said one father. For 23 years, Helen taught children how to handle their frustrations by talking rather than hitting. Parents learned by watching Brenneman and her staff model ways to handle children in the classroom and on outings to city attractions. They discussed their problems at weekly parents’ sessions.

When Brenneman retired as superintendent in 1989, she was succeeded by someone who had been involved as a mother and student teacher.

After her retirement, she continued to touch the lives of Sunday school children, adults in Bible studies and women’s groups. Seniors enjoyed tea parties in her beautiful garden. She volunteered at the St. Clair-O’Connor community, on the church’s care team and on a group sponsoring refugees. She related easily to all ages and retained a multitude of names, faces and events, making her an invaluable source of information.

Brenneman’s enormous contribution to Warden Woods Church and Community Centre was recognized on several occasions: on her 60th birthday, her retirement from the nursery school, and her farewell service at church before she moved to Kitchener in 1995. In Kitchener she volunteered at the office of MC Eastern Canada, at the Rockway thrift shop and teaching English as a second language. Wherever she lived, people felt the touch of Christ.

Because of a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis Brenneman gradually had to relinquish activities. Letting go was hard, but what helped her was the long investment she had made in a world beyond this one. —Mary Groh

Book lover joins publishing board

Saskatoon, Sask.

In the quiet darkness of a cold December morning, I make my way toward the Great Canadian Bagel shop to meet Carry Dueck for breakfast.

Dueck and her husband Wayne are almost household names for those in the Mennonite community here who like to read or have kids who reach for a book rather than the television remote.

Reaching for a good book has been Dueck’s passion for much of her life. She recently accepted an appointment to the board of the Mennonite Publishing Network and brings over 25 years of experience in book sales and publishing. The Network, run jointly by Mennonite Church Canada and USA, operates Faith & Life Resources as well as Herald Press. As part of her role, Dueck wants to raise awareness about the network in the Saskatchewan community.

“There is sadness about some of the things that have happened,” she observed, referring to the financial woes of Herald Press. But there has to be forward movement. She would like to explore how the network can be an effective tool in the international scene of Mennonite publishing.

Dueck’s journey into the world of business began when she and her husband were preparing for a stint with Mennonite Central Committee in Africa. Warfare broke out in their assigned country and plans changed.

Trading in a trip to Swaziland for a month in northern Saskatchewan, the family made alternate plans for the future. While their two boys enjoyed swimming and fishing, Dueck and her husband tossed ideas back and forth.

“I had a dream to make a children’s book store happen,” she recalled. Wayne decided to work with her.

In August 1977, the dream turned into “Bookworm’s Den,” a small store tucked into the corner of a busy shopping mall. It was a career leap that Dueck admits “was harder for others to see happen than for us to do.” A nurse by training, Dueck had no background in business.

Over time, the Duecks built up contacts with the school market and the store became a landmark for all who love children and books. The business lasted 20 years. It was forced to close because of declining orders from schools and competition with big box stores.

“Stores like Costco and Superstore were moving in and they priced their books so low, we just couldn’t compete,” said Dueck. “It was the most difficult decision we’ve made in our lifetime.”

Because both were heavily involved in the business, the impact hit harder, However, before closing down the store, the couple had begun a bed and breakfast on their acreage about seven miles south of the city.

“We didn’t know how long it would last,” said Dueck. They worked at it for three years and enjoyed it immensely, but they didn’t have enough customers to make it work.

While entertaining guests from as far away as Switzerland, they got to know Paul and Holly McNally, who own a chain of bookstores across the prairie provinces. Through that contact, Dueck landed her current job as manager of children’s books at the new McNally-Robinson bookstore in Saskatoon.

Connecting with her community has been a guiding principle for all that Dueck does.

“We were raised in a home where every child mattered,” she points out. Her years at Rosthern Junior College developed a feeling of being valued in the wider church community. Valuing every person and serving the community have directed her business ventures at every turn.

Longtime employee Helen Epp, who has worked for Dueck at both stores, agrees.

“She brings out the best skill in each staff member,” noted Epp. “She treats each employee with respect.”

These values will serve her well in her new role with Mennonite Publishing Network.—Karin Fehderau

Award-winning nurse has big heart for others

Kitchener, Ont.

Barbara Burkhart, a member of Hillcrest Mennonite Church, recently received the Reverend Rip Kirby Award of Excellence from St. Mary’s Hospital here for her work as a nurse.

She was nominated by nursing peers, patients and families as someone who exemplifies the mission statement of the hospital where she has worked for 30 years.

The award was a surprise. The chief executive officer, director of nursing and others arrived on the ward with balloons, a rose, a gift certificate to a restaurant, free hospital parking for a month, and the award itself. Burkhart later met the hospital board at a tea party given in her honour.

A news release stated: “Described by her peers as a nurse who consistently offers her patients and their families excellence in care, she is also a strong patient advocate, …. Barb is respected for her knowledge, expertise and her willingness to help others. She is often called upon to help with the orientation of new staff….”

Burkhart’s call to nursing began in public school. She concedes that there were few options available to women then—nursing, teaching or secretarial work.

As a teenager in the Conservative Mennonite Church, Burkhart was not allowed to take the five-year program in high school. An astute vice-principal, knowing that several students were interested in nursing, introduced the prerequisite science courses into the four-year program.

Burkhart trained in Stratford, Ontario, graduating in 1972. She received a gold medal for bedside (clinical) nursing. Although her father did not readily show his approval, she knew he was proud of her.

After working for a year at Stratford General Hospital, Barb began in the intensive care unit at St. Mary’s. Currently she works in the cardiovascular intensive care unit, an assignment for which she took special training last fall.

In her catechism class in the Conservative church, one minister said: “We must avoid professions that make us work on Sunday.” Burkhart drummed up the courage to retort: “But if your wife were in the hospital on Sunday, would you not want her to have a Christian nurse?”

Burkhart and her sisters left that congregation several years later. Two of her sisters became teachers, one a nurse.

“Mom was very supportive,” says Burkhart. “She always wanted to be a nurse or a teacher, but had to quit school after grade 10.”

Burkhart has done occasional stints as a charge nurse, but is always glad to get back to primary bedside care. She senses that people who have support of family, friends and church have a resource that helps them to be less afraid.

St. Mary’s Hospital still has strong links to the Catholic Sisters of St. Joseph. Burkhart believes those links affect the style of patient care, create a welcoming atmosphere and account for the strong spiritual care component in the hospital.

The pastoral care department is readily available to debrief with nurses after a difficult case. Tough decisions for Burkhart include making decisions about the “Do not resuscitate” status of some critically ill patients.

Burkhart finds it challenging to keep up with changing medical techniques. People are more demanding—they used to accept a nurse’s word but now they ask questions, she says, and sometimes they become belligerent.

“All the changes, things I’ve needed to learn to do the job, have kept nursing alive for me,” she says. Burkhart plans to study further to become a critical care nurse.—Maurice Martin