Canadian Mennonite
Volume 5, number 11
June 4, 2001

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Winnipeg, Man.-Canadian Mennonite University graduated its first class on the weekend of April 27-29. Thirty graduates received degrees from CMU, Canadian Mennonite Bible College or Concord College. Also, 60 School of Discipleship students received recognition for their one-year program of study and travel. Guest speaker Ron Mathies, director of Mennonite Central Committee, encouraged the grads to experience the lives of others. He spoke on three gifts: a ticket (to travel), a towel (to serve) and a good pair of lenses (to see). Menno Simons College, the third partner in CMU, held its own convocation, with 51 students receiving degrees in conflict resolution and international development studies from the University of Winnipeg. CMU had 254 full-time and 79 part-time students on campus this year, while Menno Simons educated 683 students at University of Winnipeg.-From CMU releases

Photo: Sohrab Sardual (left) from the Philippines and Surendra Shresthra from Nepal get acquainted at Eastern Mennonite University in May. Some 90 people from 34 countries introduced themselves at the opening of EMU's sixth annual Summer Peacebuilding Institute on May 7. The participants came from many "hot spots" of the world, including Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi, Cambodia and Northern Ireland, and represented various religions. The institute offers 17 courses over two months. By the end of this session on June 29, more than 200 people from nearly 60 countries will have taken at least one course.-EMU release Photo by Jim Bishop

Abbotsford, B.C.-Mennonite Educational Institute will take over the Valley Christian School in Chilliwack on July 1. Located in the Chilliwack Alliance Church, the school will be renamed MEI Chilliwack. It has 140 students in kindergarten to grade 9. MEI had rejected the offer to take over two schools of the Valley Christian School Society, but reconsidered when the Chilliwack school became independent (see April 9). MEI is B.C.'s largest independent school, with over 1,400 students in the elementary and secondary schools on the Abbotsford campus. A middle school is planned for September 2003.-From MEI release