“So, you’re all Mennonite, right?”
I should’ve began counting how many times I’ve been asked this question the first time I heard it. The number would be laughably high.
Most often, I receive the question in response to me stating that I go to Canadian Mennonite University. They hear the word “Mennonite” paired with the word “university” and their eyes narrow, the wheels in their brain spinning. The person I’m talking to has most definitely never visited campus; they don’t know what we all know.
If you head to the “Fast Facts About CMU” page on the CMU website, you get a quick rundown of what’s going on here on campus regarding faith backgrounds.
- 44% of students are from diverse Ecumenical traditions
- 37% of students come to CMU from Mennonite or Anabaptist related backgrounds
- 19% of students disclose no faith or church background.
Wait a minute… we’re not ALL Mennonites? I laugh as I’m writing this, because I am Mennonite and I have met plenty of other Mennonites during the past few years, but I have also met the most culturally and religiously diverse student body that I have ever been a part of.
Last week in my Theology and Art class, we went around the classroom stating what our faith backgrounds were, just to get a sense of the different angles we would be approaching the art and readings we were about to dive into.
I began writing down what I heard, the “so you’re all Mennonite, right?” question surfacing in my mind. Here’s the list I gathered:
“Pentecostal”
“Agnostic”
“Evangelical”
“Christian”
“Muslim”
“I’m still figuring things out”
“Not religious”
“Roman Catholic”
“Swiss Baptist”
“Buddhist”
“Mennonite Brethren”
“Mennonite General Conference”
“Anglican”
“Protestant”
“Ethiopian Orthodox”
The diversity of the list was interesting, sure, but what interested me more was the confidence in which these words were being said. No one felt like they were “wrong” or “an outsider”, and there was no perceivable judgement coming from the professor or the class. If anything, there was an feeling of gratitude emanating. If you’re a student or staff member here at CMU, you’ll recognize this feeling.
We all had this amazing opportunity to gather together twice a week, to have conversations about art and theology, and we were already being blessed with such rich conversations because of the religious diversity within our classroom. We were all different, and that was good.
I truly believe that CMU is a place for everyone, not just Mennonites. Yes, the university is built upon a foundation of important Mennonite values (check out the Mennonites and CMU page on the website for more info), but we’re a stronger institution when we recognize our differences. And students, professors, and staff all know it! My education has only benefitted from my conversations with and the contributions of everyone here.
So, are we all Mennonite? Definitely not. Am I thankful for that? Yes.
Chloe Friesen, 3rd-year Communications and Media student