{"id":4797,"date":"2015-01-09T10:00:34","date_gmt":"2015-01-09T16:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/?p=4797"},"modified":"2015-01-08T21:35:24","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T03:35:24","slug":"cmu-a-safe-space-for-conversations-about-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/2015\/cmu-a-safe-space-for-conversations-about-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"CMU a safe space for conversations about faith"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ayla Manning initially wasn\u2019t sure she\u2019d want to study at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU). But attending CMU on a Campus Visit Day<\/a> helped change her mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cI interacted with the professors who would be teaching me, which hadn\u2019t happened at any other schools,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was a sign of how the relationships between students and staff would go.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ayla<\/a>
Ayla Manning, 2nd year student at CMU<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although she had intended to come for only one year, Manning has since decided to pursue her full degree at CMU. A second year Communications & Media major, Manning learned about CMU through Westgate Mennonite Collegiate, which she attended for grades 10-12.<\/p>\n

Manning, who doesn\u2019t come form a Mennonite background and is an atheist, says CMU is a great place to \u201ctalk about faith, religion, beliefs, and why people think and live the way they do.\u201d<\/p>\n

She says she hasn\u2019t felt pressured to \u201cthink one way or act one way.\u201d Being surrounded by people who live their lives in a way that mirrors what they think about has encouraged Manning to think about her own perspectives and beliefs.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing in a religious environment hasn\u2019t caused me to become religious, but to think about the way I live my life and why I live my life in this way,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

For those who wonder about attending CMU and are not from a Mennonite or Christian background, Manning encourages a visit to \u201csee people in their everyday school lives, because that\u2019s pretty much how it\u2019s going to be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having an open mind and being prepared for others to have different beliefs is also important, she says. \u201cBased on my experience, you\u2019ll never feel pressure, shame, or being left out.\u201d<\/p>\n

As one of CMU\u2019s commuter assistants, Manning helps make life easier for students who commute to CMU. Organizing monthly events and being available to answer questions or provide some assistance during times of crisis are some of the services commuter assistants provide. Manning is also a member of Committee Council, which includes representatives from all areas of life at CMU.<\/p>\n

While she hadn\u2019t anticipated studying at CMU, Manning expresses appreciation for the atmosphere and people on campus. \u201cPeople are really nice and make an effort to reach out,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

By Ellen Paulley, Writer & Social Media Coordinator<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ayla Manning initially wasn\u2019t sure she\u2019d want to study at Canadian Mennonite University (CMU). But attending CMU on a Campus Visit Day helped change her mind. \u201cI interacted with the professors who would be teaching me, which hadn\u2019t happened at any other schools,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was a sign of how the relationships between students […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[156,170],"tags":[581,168,131,290],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4797"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4797"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4797\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4799,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4797\/revisions\/4799"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4797"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4797"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4797"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}