Our MB Schools alive and well

MENNONITE EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTE

Largest enrollment to date
ABBOTSFORD, B.C.

The 1998-99 school year at MEI started with a total of 1256 students, 434 in the elementary school, up 36 from last year, and 822 in the secondary school, up 18 from last year. This represents the highest enrollment in the history of MEI. In fact, Business in Vancouver magazine listed MEI as the largest private school in B.C.

1998-99 MEI ENROLLMENT FIGURES

Following last year's resignation of principal Leo Regehr, the board restructured the school's administration. It appointed Peter Froese as principal and created several new positions: Associate principal of the secondary school is Harv Wiens; associate principal of the elementary school is David Erickson; and an expanded vice-principal role is filled by Dave Loewen.

MEI's tradition of academic excellence remains strong, and the school is developing strategies so that each grade 12 examinable course continues to achieve above provincial averages. In addition, there will be more flexibility in staffing. The technology in the high school has been upgraded to include computer networking in all classrooms, along with several new computer servers to manage academic programming and printing, library circulation and CD files, as well as Internet access and e-mail.

Garth Klassen, former Dean of Students at Columbia Bible College, has been appointed spiritual director. The Bible curriculum is currently under review at the elementary school where a more focussed curriculum, that has a sequential base leading directly into the high school curriculum, is being developed.

The school is adding an international student program. Nine students from Japan and Korea are involved this year under the leadership of Ron Peters.

Staff took time to reflect on their own personal commitments to God at a retreat at Cedar Springs Sept. 17. Pastor Steve Berg of South Abbotsford MB Church, spoke on the topic of "spiritual brokenness".

Grade 12 students paired up with grade 8 students over lunch Oct. 22 for the annual buddy day. For many, this friendship endures beyond the one-year relationship.

The opening program on Sept. 27 focussed on the worship with band and choral music. Associate principal Harv Wiens welcomed the audience and introduced new staff members: Christina Schmidt, Garth Klassen, Marie Grim, Ferdinand Bredenholler, Kevin Lynn, Pirkko Gosselin and Linda Trendall. Christina Schmidt led in the invocation and Garth Klassen gave his testimony. Chair Doug Reimer brought greetings from the Board.

Scholarship winners were honoured and the Governor-General's medallion was presented to Lana Ebdon, who completed five years at MEI with a straight A record.--

MB COLLEGIATE INSTITUTE

New program focusses on global awareness
WINNIPEG

At the opening program on Sept. 21, Principal Donald Peters based his meditation on Micah 6:8. Student council co-presidents Juergen Hamm and Kyle Rudge stated that their goal for the student body is to nurture a climate with Jesus at the centre. Pastor Keith Poysti of Elmwood MB Church, who has two children enrolled in the school, offered the dedicatory prayer for the 582 students, staff, parents and board members. A highlight of the evening was a joint choral piece by the Grade 7 choir and concert choir.

New to the teaching staff are Sandra Buller, English and health; Michael Mierau Friesen, English language arts and biblical studies; Richard Klassen, history and social studies; and Alex Wall, music, biblical studies and German.

Basketball coach honoured

After 18 years of coaching at MBCI, Ken Opalko was inducted into the Manitoba Basketball Hall of Fame Oct. 17. He led the MBCI varsity boys basketball teams to many victories in regional and provincial competitions. Currently, he is department head for the physical education program.

The Servant Learning Program, introduced a few years ago through the annual "Service Day", provides students with a practical, hands-on experience with a service agency in the city. A new component this year is a service requirement as part of the Grade 9 biblical studies curriculum. Each student will complete 15 hours of voluntary service during the school year. One group of students will also participate in a mission trip to an MB church in northern Manitoba in spring.

One of the school's priorities for 1998-99 will be to integrate a special global focus into curriculum, programs and activities. Since Winnipeg will be hosting the 1999 Pan American Games, the special focus committee has chosen Latin America as its theme. The goal is to educate students in an increasingly interconnected and rapidly changing world and to help students to think more critically about global issues. Teachers will promote a positive view of other countries and cultural groups by incorporating the global education theme into their courses. Special assemblies will bring in speakers who live and work in Latin American countries, including workers with church agencies.--

EDEN HIGH SCHOOL

Job action postpones opening program
ST. CATHARINES, ONT.

Eden's enrollment has increased slightly again this year, above the enrollment cap of 450, to 478, the capacity of the building and two portables. A large number of students had to be turned away. Opening ceremonies have had to be postponed dur to job action protesting Bill 160.

Under the guidance of the spiritual life directors, Laurie-Anne Kavanagh and Ed Heinrichs, students are being challenged to "learn Christ and live for Christ". Through daily chapels and the Bible study program, students from Grade 9 to Grade 12/OAC are encouraged to commit their lives to growth in their relationship with Christ. One-day and three-day retreats in September and October helped students cultivate new and deeper relationships with one another and with God. During the March break, dozens of students will travel to various locations to minister to those in need. Last year, students in the SOAR Northeast program of Youth Mission International, served in Halifax, Toronto, Buffalo and Kentucky.

Students who complete their studies by the end of the first semester are eligible to take part in a new venture called "New Flight". This program has been designed to develop leadership skills, foster a servant mindset and cultivate a vision for global ministry. After a month of intensive discipleship training and preparation for cross-cultural ministry, approximately 10 students, with Ed and Cheryl Heinrichs, will fly to Uruguay to work with local churches until early April.

Finally, a long-term solution to Eden's inadequate facilities seems to be close at hand. The Board of Education will reconsider closing a secondary school within St. Catharines by Decemeber. It is expected that any facility slated for closing would be made available to the Eden constituency for occupancy in September 1999.--

MB BIBLICAL SEMINARY

Enrollment down
FRESNO, CALIF. AND ABBOTSFORD, B.C.

Preliminary fall 1998 enrollment figures at Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary in Fresno, Calif. show 149 credit students, down three from last year. Last fall, the seminary had 152 credit students and in spring 1998 159. Full-time equivalent students is 92.25, identical to last fall at this time, according to Joyce Warkentin, registrar.

Enrollment at the Fresno campus fell from 137 to 133, and enrollment at B.C. Centre increased slightly from 15 last fall to 16 this fall. The number of audit students at both facilities is lower this year (from 55 to 21) due largely to fewer lectureships and mini-courses offered.

MBBS has 14 international students, one more than last fall, and 34 Canadian students (24%), four fewer than last fall, 19 in Fresno and 15 at B.C. Centre. MB enrollment slipped by six, with 64 MB students compared to 70 last fall. There are eight students representing other anabaptist denominations and 71 students representing other denominations. Currently, there are 92 men and 51 women in studies at both locations.--

INSTITUT BIBLIQUE LAVAL

French-Canadian Christian education progresses
ST-LAURENT, QUE.

The school year began with a staff reshuffling. Having resigned after 16 years as president, Jean Théorêt was appointed as registrar, and Eric Wingender, who was registrar since 1996, was appointed president.

This semester IBL has 42 students in its academic program, 22 male and 20 female. Four students are full-time and 38 part-time. Six students come from MB churches while the others come from other churches. Eight students are pastors of churches in and around Montreal. Three students work for Christian organizations in the area of social ministries and one is on staff at GBU (French Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship). Last year at this time, IBL had 59 students registered.

Last year, IBL teachers were in four churches teaching 111 people in IBL's Microprogram, which provides biblical and theological education in a local church setting. A church can choose from an existing list of courses or can have a tailor-made course presented. One of the four churches has asked IBL to give a series of 10 courses to train its lay leadership.

Martha Wall heads up the Centre for Research and Development in Christian Education, which provides French-speaking Christians with Christian education material that is biblical, relevant and uses dynamic teaching methods. She and her team of volunteers have produced a new series of 15 lessons. The centre has produced 12 series to date. A partnership with a Quebec publisher is allowing the centre to market in French-speaking Europe this fall.

IBL teaching staff incorporates several lecturers. Glenn Smith, director of Christian Direction and a member of St-Laurent MB Church, is a specialist in urban ministries. Three courses on urban ministries are designed to equip students with the current methods on how to do church work in a large city. Two new staff are Marc Paré and Daniel Genest. Paré, also a member of St-Laurent MB Church, is a recent graduate of MB Biblical Seminary in Fresno, Calif. With masters degrees in Old Testament and New Testament, he is teaching introduction to biblical studies. Genest, coordinator for Quebec and the Eastern Conference Mennonite Church, is supervising students in field education.

IBL's aging computers were replaced this summer. The old computers were made available for students in a study room.--

US college and seminary enrollments

Associated Mennonite Biblical, Elkhart, Ind.: 173 students, down from 217 a year ago.

Bethel College, North Newton, Kan.: 518 students, down from 608 a year ago.

Bluffton (Ohio) College: 1,001 students, down from 1,053 a year ago. Includes 19 graduate students.

Eastern Mennonite University, Harrisonburg, Va.: 1,302 students, up from 1,210 a year ago. Includes 183 graduate students.

Eastern Mennonite Seminary, Harrisonburg, Va.: 106 students, down from 115 a year ago.

Fresno (Calif.) Pacific University: 1,660 students, up from 1,521 a year ago. Includes 848 graduate students and 130 in the Center for Degree Completion.

Goshen (Ind.) College: 1,045 students, up from 1,016 a year ago. 75 are enrolled full-time in degree completion programs.

Hesston (Kan.) College: 411 students, down from 416 a year ago.

Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kan.: 512 students, down from 516 a year ago.--

COLUMBIA BIBLE COLLEGE

A full house
ABBOTSFORD, B.C.

Enrollment at Columbia Bible College is once again on the rise. The dorms are filled with 195 residential students. Added to these are 99 commuter students, bringing the total full-time students to 294. Of these, 173 are first-year students, 82 are second-year students and 39 are third- and fourth-year students. Part-time students total 69, rounding out the student body to a full-time equivalent of 324. Last year's full-time equivalent was 294.

Students from MB churches comprise 45% of the total, those from the Conference of Mennonite churches equal 16% and the remaining 39% come from other denominations.

Two new academic programs were added this fall. There are 26 students enrolled in the Outdoor Recreation Leadership program, which is designed to prepare students for staff and leadership positions in Christian camps, youth programs and other outdoor recreational settings. The church ministries major, which offers training for associate pastoral roles, currently has 10 students.

Daryl Kutz has joined the faculty on a half-time basis as director of Outdoor Recreation Leadership program. He was most recently involved at Winkler (Man.) Bible Institute and has worked extensively at Camp Crossroads in Ontario.

Merv Boschman, a long-time pastor, has assumed the role of director of development.

The new athletics/recreation director is Tim Demant, a recent University of British Columbia graduate with a masters in kinesiology.

Shawna Lafeniere, who served as admissions counsellor for several years at Briercrest Bible College, Caronport, Sask., is helping in the recruiting department.

Assistant librarian Ann Andres has replaced Eileen Taves, who stepped down due to illness.

Alumnus Laurali Toews is the women's residence director for over 100 women students.

The receptionist position was filled by another alumnus, Leanne Olson, following the resignation of Fran Wiebe after the birth of her first child.

George Schmidt, who is in his 31st year at CBC, returns as dean of students.--

BETHANY BIBLE INSTITUTE

Freshmen enrollment steady
HEPBURN, SASK.

The opening Sunday service at Bethany Bible Institute highlighted the students through an all-school choir, a testimony by the student body president and a dedicatory prayer for the school year. Harry Heidebrecht spoke on "Turning Our Hearts Toward God" and used the illustration of a sunflower turning its head in the direction of the sun. His challenge ended with a presentation of a sunflower to the student body president. Edgar Dueck, board chair, ended the day with a challenge that Christians, in midst of world-wide financial turmoil, invest in those things that do not pass away but have eternal value.

Freshmen enrollment remains steady. Overall, student enrollment is down slightly due to a drop in the number of returning students.

Students by Province or Country

BC	Alta.	Sask.	Man.	Ont.	US	Kenya	Total
16	22	62	40	10	1	1	152

Staff Changes

Daphne Plett and Cam Priebe were hired in the student life department as associate deans. Lisa Braun was hired as athletic director. Andrew Hershey Bergen is missions director/instructor. Staff changes include Carissa Neudorf as administrative assistant and Janna Berg as receptionist. Rick Schellenberg is on sabbatical this year.

The board accepted the resignation of Doug Berg as president, effective June 30, 1999. (See side bar BBI President resigns.)

In September, Bethany finished the year-long process of automating the library. The learning resource centre has been working with the Alberta and Saskatchewan Christian education boards to make BBI's resources available to churches and the churches' resources available to BBI. Internet access and catalog formats will be available soon.

Three years ago, a new department called resource ministries was developed to assist churches and communities in the area of ministry. The department's goal is to enhance relationships with church and alumni, to provide information on the activities of Bethany and to resource the local church.

As part of its goal, Bethany embarked on several music and writing projects. Phil Siebert, ministry arts director, oversaw recording the chorale, an alumni quartet CD and a contemporary worship CD. The worship CD was put together to assist camps and churches in worship.

Resource director, Derrick Mueller, continues to develop VBS and camp materials with over 10,000 books being sold this summer to various ministries. Plans include producing two new booklets, Knowing the Shepherd: A Look at Psalm 23; and Jesus: The Greatest Story Ever Told, a tool designed to introduce Christ to non-Christians.

Bethany is in the final stage of the accreditation process. The institutional self-study was submitted Nov. 1. If accepted, the school will be visited by an evaluation team in March 1999, with the goal of achieving accredited status in February 2000. Ben Wohlgemut has been heading the work for this process.

Alumni events have been held in various provinces this past year. The alumni weekend, Sept. 25-26, brought over 800 people to a volleyball tournament and music group reunion. The alumni continue to branch out with the goal of setting up chapters in each province. A highlight for this school year will be the intra-provincial bike-a-thon that will start in Ontario and end in B.C.--

CONCORD COLLEGE

School of Discipleship launched
WINNIPEG

Concord College enrolled 248 students in its courses in September with students in three locations. The largest group, 220 students, is enrolled at the Winnipeg campus, five are at Lithuania Christian College and 23 are in the School of Discipleship at Canmore, Alta. The total student body consists of 154 students in a Concord program and another 94 visiting students, mainly from the University of Winnipeg.

"While the number of students is down somewhat, " said president Harry Olfert, "the total course registration is up by more than 25%." The addition of 23 full-time School of Discipleship students is a key factor in this increase. "But so is the fact that both our new and returning students are taking a larger course load with us, and the decrease in total students is mainly in visiting one-course students."

Students in the religious course along with the new School of Discipleship account for 44% of the course enrollments, 39% in music and 17% in general arts.

There are 113 students from Manitoba pursuing a Concord College program, with students from other regions as follows:

The School of Discipleship has 23 students and 4 staff. The staff are director Wally Schmidt, Susan Derksen, Jay Janzen and Steve Dyck. The school will operate at Camp Evergreen, then move to Canmore, Alta., then to Guatemala and finish the school year on the Concord campus in Winnipeg.

"It's exciting to be part of a new venture such as the School of Discipleship, " said Olfert. "But I don't see that emphasis limited to the one-year program. Discipleship is at the heart of all areas of the Concord program and student life. It is this dimension that we believe is the value-added in Christian university education."

Mark Bartel joined the music faculty in July. He has a master of music degree in choral conducting and a master of sacred music degree from Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Tex. He teaches conducting and the history of vocal literature. He is assisting in the development of choral ensembles whose ministry is to churches, youth groups and local schools, and is conducting the Concord College Singers and the oratorio choir. William Baerg concluded his choral conducting role at Concord last year with the Mennonite oratorio choir's performance of Brahm's "A German Requiem". Baerg is continuing on the faculty of music as a half-time instructor in the history of music, and conducting.

The current year marks the last for Concord College as an independent college. The soon to be proclaimed Bill 48 will create a Mennonite College Federation consisting of Canadian Mennonite Bible College, Menno Simons College and Concord College, with a charter as a new university in Manitoba. The MCF will strengthen and continue to offer the programs currently available at the individual colleges in religious studies and music, but in addition will offer a bachelor of arts degree in a number of new majors and a number of partnership and pre-professional programs in cooperation with the public universities.

"The Mennonite conferences have a unique opportunity to provide a post-secondary education to a much larger range of students," said Olfert, "and to do this from a Christian perspective as understood in the Anabaptist/Mennonite tradition."--

Concord College looking for new leaders

WINNIPEG

On the threshold of its transition into the anticipated Mennonite College Federation, Concord College is looking for persons to assume its leadership positions. Terms of both president and academic dean come to an end in 1999. A search is in process to find replacements for Harry Olfert and David R. Dyck respectively.

Both are stepping down in mid-1999. They had accepted their assignments on the understanding they would be limited terms. Olfert and Dyck came to Concord in 1997 to provide leadership during a critical period in the life of the institution. Not only were intense discussions underway to develop the shape of a visionary new institution involving three existing Mennonite schools, but Concord College was also creating a new identity as the Christian university-level school of a portion of the Canadian MB constituency. Earlier MB conference decisions had determined that provincial groupings would assume support of its colleges rather than the entire Canadian MB Conference. As a result, Manitoba MB Conference now owns Concord College, with representatives from Ontario, Alberta and Saskatchewan MB Conferences on the board by invitation.

Olfert, with a long history as teacher, administrator and fundraiser, and having an intimate knowledge of the MB community, brought good leadership to Concord. Moreover, he had served as campus administrator during an earlier period with MB Bible College. This past year he helped launch the new School of Discipleship under the umbrella of Concord College, which enrolled 23 students in the program.

David R. Dyck, who retired from a professorship at the University of Winnipeg, including service there as faculty dean, was suited to carry the burden of the negotiations on the shape of the common curriculum for the new Mennonite College Federation. He has spent much time in those negotiations since joining Concord. This year, he is also teaching history of science, his area of specialty.

The board is in the process of searching for a president and a dean. Suggestions can be sent to: Harold Jantz, Chair, The Search Committee, Concord College, 169 Riverton Ave., Winnipeg, Man. R2L 2E5; phone 204-667-1419; fax 204-654-9182.

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