Bursary Keeps Ministry Dream Alive for Disabled Woman

Carole Louise Sawatzky Graduate Studies Bursary at CMU will assist women preparing for ministry

WINNIPEG, Man. — Church was very important to Carole Sawatzky. The member of Winnipeg’s Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship taught Sunday school, told children’s stories, preached sermons, planned and led worship and did liturgical dance.

Carole Sawatzky prior to her illness

She loved church so much that she left a career as an occupational therapist to go to seminary. But just as she began her studies in 2000, the first symptoms of a progressive neurological disorder appeared. Today the 42 year-old is hospitalized, unable to walk, speak or eat, and suffering from memory loss.

Carole may be unable to pursue her dream, but her parents, Peter and Anne Sawatzky, decided to keep her dream alive for other women. With assistance from others at Fort Garry Mennonite Fellowship, they created the Carole Louise Sawatzky Graduate Studies Bursary at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) to provide financial aid to female graduate students who are preparing for church ministry.

On November 9 the church hosted a fundraiser for the bursary; the event, which attracted about 150 people, raised $9,600 for the fund. To date, about $25,000 has been donated to the bursary.

“Carole can’t be a minister, but this is a way we can help another woman to serve God through the church,” says Peter, adding that in this way “Carole can continue to minister to the church.”

The bursary will be used to support female students in CMU’s new Master of Arts in Theological Studies program.

“This will allow us to continue to support women who are preparing for ministry in the church,” says CMU Director of Enrolment Abe Bergen. “Even though Carole was not able to fulfill her dream, this will allow others to make their dreams of serving the church a reality.”

People who want to support the Carole Louise Sawatzky Graduate Studies Bursary can do so by contacting CMU Development Officer Len Sawatsky at 204.487.3300 or lsawatsky@cmu.ca. 

“CMU gives out more than $200,000 in scholarships and financial aid every year. For some students, the financial aid they are promised helps them to decide in favor of studies here. Since graduate studies are new at CMU, very few financial resources have been allocated for students in this program. I believe this bursary will enable us to attract and support students who wish to enroll in this dynamic new program.”

Posted November 17, 2007