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Winnipeg, Man.
Community prays for new university


It will be five months before renovations are complete, but on a gray spring evening a large group gathered in the future student commons area of the new Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) campus. They met there to pray for the future of the institution.

Held on April 8, four days before the announcement of the new name, the “Concert of Prayer” drew about 120 people – CMU students, faculty, staff and board members as well as many people from the church community.

Concord College student Krista Zook had the idea for an event where people could pray for CMU. Individuals from Concord, Menno Simons College and Canadian Mennonite Bible College helped plan the event. Members of Avante, a Winnipeg-based Christian pop group, led singing.

Zook opened the service by welcoming the participants to “a time when the body of Christ can be together in one place to pray for a common purpose . . . to pray for the [CMU] endeavour.” Over the course of the evening of guided prayers, the group was asked to give thanks and to pray for various needs and concerns. Menno Simons College student David Braun introduced a prayer for those in leadership. He expressed a hope that the new university would “not be just another school, but may the presence and glory of God be with us.”

John Unger, president of Concord College, was clearly pleased by this student initiative. “God is giving us a tremendous opportunity to build a new Christian university,” he said. “I believe it is important to bathe this whole project in prayer, and tonight the students have led us. This is an excellent beginning to our coming together onto one campus in September.”

Zook was elated by the well-received service. “I see the college federation having so much potential. There’s so much that these three colleges can do to further God’s kingdom,” she said. “I hope that we can realize this potential . . . and be unified in that purpose.”

 – Glenn Bergen, Mennonite College Federation

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Last modified May 12, 2000.

© 2000 Mennonite Brethren Herald.
Published by the Canadian Conference of MB Churches.
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