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Announcing the P.M. Friesen Chair in Biblical and Theological Studies
Edwin Redekopp (second from left) and CMU President Dr. Cheryl Pauls (far right) pose with P.M Friesen BTS Co-Chairs Dr. Paul Doerksen and Dr. Andrew Dyck.
Edwin and Agnes Redekopp of Winnipeg have gifted CMU with a $2,000,000 endowment, to create the P.M. Friesen Chair in Biblical and Theological Studies (BTS).
The Edwin and Agnes Redekopp Endowment Fund will support permanent financing for a position at CMU that ensures the ongoing strength of BTS excellence in teaching, research, and service—particularly in ways that provide service to the Mennonite Brethren (MB) church tradition and draw on its witness.
Furthermore, the provisions of the endowment ensure that CMU can continue to offer BTS with a commitment to ministry-leadership formation through both undergraduate and graduate programs. This includes in connection to the MB church, into times when the denomination may no longer be able to fund theological education to the same capacity as it once did.
The P.M. Friesen Chair will normally be expressed through one full-time professor or, where appropriate, through several part-time appointments. The chair will begin formally in summer 2025 and will be initially shared by two faculty members, Dr. Andrew Dyck and Dr. Paul Doerksen, each in a one-half time arrangement.
"I'm honoured to be installed in the chair alongside Andrew Dyck, who is a good friend and colleague. We've collaborated before, so it's quite wonderful to be thinking together about what might come from this," said Paul Doerksen, Associate Professor of Theology and Anabaptist Studies.
The P.M. Friesen Chair was inaugurated with a public announcement on October 22, at CMU's annual J.J. Thiessen lectures, where the Redekopps were honoured.
Andrew Dyck, Assistant Professor of Christian Spirituality and Pastoral Ministry, addressed the donors that evening: "Thank you for supporting CMU's mission, which is rooted in Jesus Christ, in an Anabaptist expression of Christian faith, and in engaging students formationally, not only informationally."
Edwin Redekopp shared with those gathered that this initiative is dedicated to his parents, Henry and Sigrid Redekopp. For decades, the couple generously upheld the mission of Mennonite Brethren Bible College, one of CMU's predecessor schools. Their commitment to Christian education in the MB church tradition was vital for countless young adults entering ministry and beyond.
Dr. Cheryl Pauls, CMU President, stated that the legacy of Edwin Redekopp, and of his parents and extended family, represents a breadth of vision and trust that is evident in the purpose of the P.M. Friesen chair—to strengthen CMU's capacity to nurture persons with the desire and skills to carry forward the Anabaptist faith tradition as leaders in the church and as people of faith who build flourishing communities through service and leadership. This purpose resonates with the heart of CMU education and we look forward to how future generations will give shape and life to this entrustment.
The endowment draws inspiration from MB leaders who have historically sustained connections across various denominational streams, like Peter M. Friesen.
Doerksen explained that Friesen's writing is often described as 'irenic,' which means, briefly, 'peaceable.' "Friesen's massive book was a display of an 'irenic' way of doing history and theology in a time and setting in which there would've been a fair amount of polarization," he said.
In Friesen's notable work, The Mennonite Brotherhood in Russia, he expresses a hope and call that "the mutual relationship of all believers amongst us and the relationship of our body to all the other Christian churches, as well as to the state, society, and mankind would be a holy and saving one."
Dyck said, "I look forward to continuing my work in Christian spirituality and pastoral ministry—and now to do so inspired by the life of Peter Martinovich Friesen. In his scholarship, pastoring, and training of teachers, he viewed MBs as an insider...and as an outsider...Friesen's binocular perspective helped him care for MBs enough to challenge them to engage the broader church with grace, and to engage the wider world with reconciliation. I pray that this endowed chair will have a similar impact."
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