Alumni Profiles: Biblical and Theological Studies
CMU graduate studies addiction and care in Canada's poorest postal code
David Naylor is never sure what his workday will look like when he starts his shift. "It can be anything from giving out a pair of socks to reviving somebody with naloxone in the back alley," he says.
Naylor works at Union Gospel Mission (UGM), a non-profit organization that does community outreach as Christian ministry in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, a neighbourhood with some of the highest urban rates of addiction, homelessness, and poverty in Canada.
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Alumni in their own words - Marnie Klassen (CMU '21)
Where has your life taken you since you left CMU?
After graduating I very quickly got a job doing communications and admin support with A Rocha Manitoba, a Christian nature conservation organization. I was eager to explore volunteer and service opportunities elsewhere, and through some encouragement I applied and was accepted to the worker program at Romero House in Toronto. Taking this step felt so big for me, in a wonderful way. In the one-year term, I lived and worked with refugee claimants in Toronto's west end. I was the volunteer coordinator for the organization, which had me managing a team of over 140 volunteers, and was a settlement case worker for several claimant families. I learned a lot about the refugee claimant system in Canada, and a lot about interfaith and intercultural relationships. During my time in Toronto, I made connections at Eglinton Saint George United Church and ended up getting a job with that congregation as the Growth Initiatives Project Coordinator, which meant I was coordinating and running food justice-based events and programs through the church. All during this time I began freelance writing and preaching for organizations and churches, mostly exploring the themes of faith and climate. When the contract at the church came to an end, I decided to move back to Winnipeg and focus on developing a podcast called 'The Schism Between Us', which explores religious polarization in Canada, particularly within the Mennonite community. I've also recently taken on work as communications assistant for a worship resource hub called "Together in Worship."
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From student to teacher: A journey of faith, learning, and community
Kenny Wollmann is a high school educator, teaching primarily Bible, theology, and world religions—but not in a typical classroom. Wollmann teaches students online in Hutterite communities across Manitoba and even into the northern United States.
Hutterites are communal Anabaptist Christian groups who live in rural colonies, share belongings and resources, and often sustain themselves through agriculture. With only small groups of students in each community, sharing resources, like teachers who are each experts in their subjects, helps ensure a robust learning program.
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Rigour, curiosity, and the arts: A CMU story of leadership
CMU was a place of transition, community, and discovery for Evan Klassen, Executive Director of the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre (MTC).
"My first gig was on this stage here in the ... [Laudamus Auditorium]," he says, explaining that he helped organize a theatre production of A Man for All Seasons with a small group of fellow students. He stage-managed, ran sound cues, and discovered the kind of collaborative, behind-the-scenes work that would eventually define his career.
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Advancing reconciliation through storytelling
"I have always been a storyteller," says Ben Borne over a Zoom call from his home in Saskatoon, SK. "And what I'm really good at is bringing people together."
Since graduating from CMU with a Bachelor of Arts in 2013, Borne's various endeavors and accomplishments—which are far too innumerable to list but include podcast host and founding his own public relations firm—all share that similar theme: storytelling.
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