All are invited to join CMU for A Time of Reckoning: Telling the CMU Story on October 27 and 28. The free two-day symposium is a time for to reflect on the character, mission, and way in which the community influenced the past and guide us into the future of our learning journey.
"The symposium provides an opportunity to tell the story of CMU through a spectrum of voices," says Cheryl Pauls, CMU President. "It's a time to seek out points of resonance and productive tension across what each speaker thinks we're doing [at CMU]."
The event will feature lectures, group discussions, presentations from church leaders and supporters, and, yes, plenty of coffee breaks.
During the first day of the symposium, "Embodying the CMU Project," hosted by Pauls alongside Vice-President Academic and Academic Dean Jonathan Dueck, we will turn our attention to the faculty and staff who have epitomized the work and mission of the institution.
The evening will conclude with the annual J.J. Thiessen Lecture, featuring Dr. Willie James Jennings known for his contributions on liberation theologies, cultural identities, and theological anthropology. Jennings is Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies at Yale University. The lecture will be available via livestream to those who cannot attend in person.
On the second day, Professor of English Paul Dyck will host a roundtable discussion with alumni regarding CMU and the Korean Anabaptist movement, followed by a presentation from Research Coordinator, Claudia Dueck on CMU's Hold in Common project.
Hold In Common draws on the experiences of alumni, constituencies, and friends of CMU. It works to strengthen the university's grassroots ownership of those who create capacities for the sustainability of institutions over time. Dueck says, "This project excites me because it addresses the larger question of what motivates people to choose continued participation in institutions like CMU when they are no longer connected to them out of necessity."
A significant part of Saturday morning will be the panel discussion "Church and External Voices." The ecumenical roundtable features Former Rector of St. Margaret's Anglican Church, David Widdicombe, Executive Minister of Mennonite Church Manitoba, Michael Pahl, and Associate Professor of Religion and Ecology, University of Alberta, Augustana, Joseph Wiebe. Pauls will also host this one-and-a-half-hour event open for all.
As several anniversaries significant to the CMU community approach such as 500 years of Anabaptism and 25 years of CMU it's a necessary time to consider the past and the lessons we've learned in consideration of the future.
"It's a time of being honest with ourselves on how well the deep purposes for which the university was created connect with experiences over time," says Pauls. "There's always plenty to do."
CMU's mission colours the university in all aspects. Whether through programming from the music department, interdisciplinary studies, sciences, graduate studies, or any other, the institutions' convictions to equip for lives of service and reconciliation are in all that we do.
As paramount as the mission of any organization or institution is to its continued success, Pauls says, "It's essential to reflect periodically on what we think we're doing and why."
All are invited to A Time of Reckoning: Telling the CMU Story; registration is free.
