Stories of neighbourly love: David Balzer interviewed by Matt Galloway on The Current (CBC)

The Current with Matt Galloway:

"David Balzer of Winnipeg is spending his summer recording people's stories of gratitude.

New Mini CMU program focuses on creativity, science, and community (CHVN)

Canadian Mennonite University is opening its campus to young learners this summer with the launch of Mini CMU, a new day camp program designed to combine learning, creativity, and outdoor exploration.

The six-week program will run from July 13 to Aug. 28 and is open to children ages six to twelve. Camp days will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., with science and arts-themed camps alternating each week.

"We really want kids to belong and feel like they're in a safe and welcoming environment so that we can kind of grow the whole person, socially, emotionally, creatively," said Hannah Alexander, coordinator for the Mini CMU program.

Enriching research at CMU through cross-disciplinary inquiry and process

For many researchers, ethics review is seen as a required step before a project can begin. At CMU, ethics review reflects a broader commitment to thoughtful scholarship, meaningful dialogue, and respect for the people at the centre of research.

How a camper-turned-recording studio became a gratitude mission on wheels (CBC)

Inside a golden yellow circa 1978 camping trailer, strangers are sharing moments of gratitude.

And armed with a microphone and a few prompting words of encouragement, David Balzer is capturing their stories.

Chatterbox — a mobile recording studio — is Balzer's antidote to social isolation and bad vibes.

Balzer, an associate professor of communications and media at Canadian Mennonite University, parks the camper-recording studio at community events and block parties and invites people to share a story of gratitude about a neighbour.

CMU choir brings community together to raise voices for peace (Winnipeg Free Press)

Decades have passed since We Shall Overcome was deemed the unofficial anthem of the American civil rights and anti-war movements, but the folk song — originally a gospel spiritual — remains as relevant today, and as frequently sung, as it was back in the 1960s. In the last few months alone, the song's lyrics have loudly echoed through the crowds at non-violent rallies, protests and sit-ins around the world, and been performed onstage by renowned artists, social activists and community choirs.

One of those community choirs is the Canadian Mennonite University's (CMU) Voices for Peace. Voices for Peace was launched in March 2026 as an extension of the Anabaptist university's Singing Resistance program. That program had brought like-minded voices together earlier in the winter to sing in solidarity with those being affected by the ICE raids in Minneapolis.