Stories

John Longhurst (MBBC '79), Winnipeg, MB, was appointed to the Order of Canada in December 2024 for his interfaith journalism at the Winnipeg Free Press, where he has been a faith page columnist since 2003 and a faith reporter since 2019. Through his writing, he seeks to connect people across religions and strives to foster understanding and respect. Longhurst also writes for various other publications in Canada and the U.S., including Canadian Affairs, Anabaptist World, Faith Today, Christian Courier and the Canadian Jewish News. He has won awards for his writing from the Associated Church Press and the Canadian Church Press and, in 2021, he received the Manitoba Lieutenant Governor's Award for the Advancement of Interreligious Understanding.

Rachelle Friesen (CMU '07), Toronto, ON, was arrested in October 2024 for supporting Palestine and demanding an end to the genocide in Gaza. Her arrest coincides with an increasing global trend of state criminalization and law enforcement crackdowns on people standing in solidarity with Palestinian liberation from Israeli apartheid and genocide. She is part of a community of people in Toronto being criminalized for calling attention to the genocide of Palestinians. Friesen is the Canada Coordinator for Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT), an organization that accompanies and advocates for communities experiencing violent oppression in conflict areas around the world, through nonviolent direct action and public witness. CPT unequivocally supports her efforts to confront these systems of oppression and hold the Canadian government accountable for its complicity in them. Friesen previously spent five years living and working in Palestine. She has been charged with two accounts of mischief and one account of wearing a mask.

Jesse Hofer (CMU '08), Sperling, MB, and Kenny Wollmann (CMU '18), MacGregor, MB, have co-edited For God's Truth: A Hutterite History Reader, a sourcebook designed to teach Hutterite/Anabaptist history. The book brings together key historical documents to support readers in exploring this rich heritage. Wollmann has also published Navigating Tradition and Innovation: Essays Commemorating the Permanent Settlement of Hutterites in Manitoba, a collection of edited essays spanning Hutterite history with an emphasis on Hutterites in Manitoba. He is a member and teacher at Baker Hutterite Community. Hofer is a member and teacher at Silverwinds Hutterite Community. Both are active members of the Hutterite Education Committee, contributing to curriculum development and educational initiatives for Hutterite communities.

Katrina Forget (Thiessen, CMU '10), Winnipeg, MB, works as the Clinical Team Lead for a new community-based Youth Mental Health and Addictions Recovery Service through the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority. She has been working in child and youth public mental health for the past 10 years, most recently as a mental health clinician in the Community Child and Adolescent Treatment Service at Shared Health's Manitoba Adolescent Treatment Centre. Forget is also actively involved in her union (Manitoba Association of Health Care Professionals) and was recently a keynote speaker at the Manitoba Undergraduate Healthcare Symposium on the union's behalf, speaking about advocacy for self and others in healthcare. She holds a Master of Counselling, specializing in Counselling Psychology, from Athabasca University.

Lori Pauls (CMU '15), Crossfield, AB, is a professional potter. After her first time sitting behind the potter's wheel, she quickly fell in love with the artform. She dove into creating, teaching, and establishing her business, officially opening Prairie Willow Pottery in 2022. She draws inspiration from her Western Canadian roots and the simple beauty of nature. Having discovered a love for small business management, she has also taken on part-time work as the coordinator of a local event centre.

Levi Klassen (CMU '22), Toronto, ON, recently began working at Sunnybrook Hospital and the University of Toronto, where he is studying high consequence viral pathogens in the lab of Dr. Samira Mubareka. He is also currently finishing up his thesis for a Master of Science in Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases at the University of Manitoba and National Microbiology Laboratory. He previously worked at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg for two years, and last summer he presented research on mpox at the Canadian Society for Virology symposium in Saskatoon, SK.

Anna Pyne (CMU '24), Porto, Portugal, is playing professional basketball in Europe on a professional sports contract with Juvemaia. Her team is made up of people from Portugal, and one other imported player from Canada. Pyne played point guard and shooting guard on the CMU Blazers basketball team for five years, and was signed directly after graduating.

Abram Thiessen (CMU '16) and Marika Friesen (CMU 2012–13), Winnipeg, MB, September 28, 2024

Abigail Hill (CMU '23) and Felix Stetefeld (CMU '25), Winnipeg, MB, May 4, 2025

Sofia Fast (Bogoya Enns, CMU '22) and Josh Fast (CMU '21), Winnipeg, MB, June 7, 2025

Alyssa Berger (Lord, CMU '18) and Jorden Berger, Winnipeg, MB, a daughter, Sarah Éloise Berger, March 23, 2024

Janelle Braun (Hume, CMU '09) and Andrew Braun, Winnipeg, MB, a daughter, Sadie Evelyn Braun, June 14, 2024 [ photo ]

Will Makau (CMU '19) and Nonsi Sibanda (CMU '16), Winnipeg, MB, a daughter, Taraji Makau, July 7, 2024 [ photo ]

Ennet Muitire (Bera, CMU '19) and Clemence Muitire, Winnipeg, MB, a daughter, Mufaro Merry-Anne Muitire, August 19, 2024

Sara Wolowich Brown (Wolowich, CMU '19) and Matthew Brown, Oak Bluff, MB, a son, Alder Derek Brown, November 1, 2024 [ photo ]

Kim Rempel Smith (Rempel, CMU '22) and Jeremy Rempel Smith, Winnipeg, MB, a daughter, Rosalind Noelle Rempel Smith, December 31, 2024 [ photo ]

Kierra Ferguson Edwards (Ferguson, CMU '18) and Braeden Edwards, Winnipeg, MB, a son, Kolson James Ferguson Edwards, March 11, 2025 [ photo ]

Jesse Epp-Fransen (CMU '07) and Christina Warner, Toronto, ON, a child, Jacob Miles Warner, April 7, 2025 [ photo ]

Danae Reimer (CMU '11) and Paul Little (CMU staff), Winnipeg, MB, a daughter, Zoey Tena Alexandria Little, April 30, 2025

Amy Carlson (CMU '15) and Max Griffin-Rill, Winnipeg, MB, a son, August Griffson, May 6, 2025

Julia Sisler (CMU '16) and James Cook, Winnipeg, MB, a daughter, June Cook, June 5, 2025

Walter Martens (CMBC '61), North Battleford, SK, April 11, 2024

Esther Penfold (Balzer, CMBC '80), Kitchener, ON, April 14, 2024

Ethel Suderman (Brandt, MBBC '62), Abbotsford, BC, June 27, 2024

Bill Thiessen (CMBC '58), Abbotsford, BC, November 7, 2024

Freda Enns (Sawatzky, CMBC '57), Winnipeg, MB, November 8, 2024

Elisabeth Hamm (Hildebrand, MBBC '56), Smiths Falls, ON, November 24, 2024

Jacob Froese (MBBC '64), Winnipeg, MB, November 26, 2024

Harry Dyck (MBBC '64), St. Catharines, ON, December 6, 2024

Katie Kehler (CMBC '56), Abbotsford, BC, December 22, 2024

Francis Giesbrecht (CMBC '69), Winkler, MB, January 10, 2025

Mary Zacharias (CMBC '59), Winkler, MB, January 25, 2025

Evelyn Kampen Carrière (Kampen, CMU '12), Winnipeg, MB, February 13, 2025

Reinhold Pauls (MBBC '83), Winnipeg, MB, February 14, 2025

Glen Koop (MBBC '71), Steinbach, MB, February 18, 2025

John Kampen (CMBC '66), Abbotsford, BC, February 20, 2025

Jake Harms (CMBC '69), Winnipeg, MB, March 12, 2025

Phyllis Roth (Zacharias, CMBC '70), Rosthern, SK, April 2, 2025

Susan Kehler (Martens, CMBC '57), Abbotsford, BC, April 9, 2025

David Adrian (CMBC '66), Steinbach, MB, May 5, 2025

Henry Dueck (CMBC '59), Winnipeg, MB, May 15, 2025

Victor Sawatzky (CMBC '66), Winnipeg, MB, May 21, 2025