{"id":6701,"date":"2017-11-28T07:46:02","date_gmt":"2017-11-28T13:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/?p=6701"},"modified":"2017-11-30T09:52:27","modified_gmt":"2017-11-30T15:52:27","slug":"endowment-for-cmu-scholarship-honouring-mennonite-leader-reaches-100000","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/2017\/endowment-for-cmu-scholarship-honouring-mennonite-leader-reaches-100000\/","title":{"rendered":"Endowment for CMU scholarship honouring Mennonite leader reaches $100,000"},"content":{"rendered":"

Donor\u00a0reflects on why he and his family give their financial support to CMU<\/i><\/span><\/h3>\n

The endowment for a Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) scholarship honouring a Russian Mennonite scholar whose life was cut tragically short has reached six figures.<\/p>\n

\"Ted<\/a>
Ted Fransen presents a cheque to CMU President Dr. Cheryl Pauls, bringing the endowment for the Jacob A. Rempel Memorial Scholarship to $100,000. Fransen is one of Rempel\u2019s grandsons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Ted Fransen presented a cheque to CMU President Dr. Cheryl Pauls in September, bringing the endowment for the Jacob A. Rempel Memorial Scholarship to $100,000. Fransen is one of Rempel\u2019s grandsons.<\/p>\n

The scholarship awards $5,000 annually to a student pursuing a Master\u2019s degree in CMU\u2019s Graduate School of Theology and Ministry.<\/p>\n

Seeing the endowment reach the $100,000-mark is satisfying, Fransen said, noting that every branch of his grandfather\u2019s family has contributed to the scholarship since it was established in 2000.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel a sense of tremendous satisfaction that the legacy of our grandfather has had that kind of impact, where people in our family believe so strongly that the legacy needs to be remembered and memorialized,\u201d Fransen said. \u201cI feel just an overwhelming sense of gratitude.\u201d<\/p>\n

CMU shares that gratitude, said Abram Bergen, Development Associate.<\/p>\n

\u201cCMU is thankful to the family of Jacob A. Rempel for their generous support of the university,\u201d Bergen said. \u201cI have watched this endowment increase by $60,000 over the past decade, and the earnings now provide a substantial scholarship.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen the impact this scholarship has had as recipients have taken on significant roles in church and community after graduating from CMU,\u201d Bergen added. \u201cWhen the award is significant\u2014$5,000 in this case\u2014<\/span>it makes a lot of difference to a student who is able to then focus more fully on their studies, rather than think about how they\u2019re going to pay for their tuition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fransen and his extended family created the scholarship to honour the memory and legacy of Rempel, a leader of the Mennonite churches of Ukraine\/Russia.<\/p>\n

Rempel started out as a poor stable boy but eventually became a university professor.<\/p>\n

He did this with an enduring faith as he followed God\u2019s leading hand, applied his own abilities, and was encouraged by the generous financial assistance of a wealthy supporter.<\/p>\n

\"Jacob<\/a>
Jacob A. Rempel Memorial Scholarship recipient Joshua Nightingale (right) is thankful to Ted Fransen (left) and his family.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Rempel\u2019s life was cut short on Sept. 11, 1941 when he was executed for his beliefs under Joseph Stalin\u2019s dictatorship.<\/p>\n

Rempel\u2019s family is grateful that someone noticed a \u201cdiamond in the rough\u201d in that stable boy and provided the means for his education.<\/p>\n

Through the Jacob A. Rempel Memorial Scholarship, the family wishes to encourage students who show academic promise and a strong interest and aptitude for church ministry.<\/p>\n

Joshua Nightingale, who is completing his Master\u2019s degree during the 2017-18 school year, is the most recent recipient of the scholarship.<\/p>\n

Nightingale said he appreciates the money he received.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt meant that I didn\u2019t have to work this past summer and could focus on writing my thesis,\u201d said Nightingale, whose thesis wrestles with the presence and absence of God for those who have experienced trauma.<\/p>\n

Nightingale hopes to eventually go on to doctoral studies.<\/p>\n

\"CMU<\/a>
CMU donor Ted Fransen (from left) stands with Karl Koop, Director of the Graduate School of Theology and Ministry; Joshua Nightingale, graduate student at CMU; Abram Bergen, Development Associate; and Cheryl Pauls, President of CMU.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Fransen said he feels a warm sense of appreciation meeting and hearing from students like Nightingale who have benefited from the scholarship, as well as a sense of optimism that the future is in good hands.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are well-meaning, purposeful, intelligent people who are honouring the wishes of the scholarship and moving forward in theological studies,\u201d Fransen said. \u201cIn other words, the scholarship is doing its job: it\u2019s encouraging young men and women of faith to pursue theological studies so that they can serve the church.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fransen added that he appreciates CMU for continuing to provide an excellent theological program.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a sense of alignment between the purpose of the scholarship, the legacy of our grandfather, and the purpose of CMU,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a great alignment.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n

If you’d like support CMU, please visit\u00a0<\/em>www.cmu.ca\/donate<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Donor\u00a0reflects on why he and his family give their financial support to CMU The endowment for a Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) scholarship honouring a Russian Mennonite scholar whose life was cut tragically short has reached six figures. Ted Fransen presented a cheque to CMU President Dr. Cheryl Pauls in September, bringing the endowment for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6702,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[156],"tags":[907,906,474],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6701"}],"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=6701"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6701\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6742,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6701\/revisions\/6742"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6702"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cmu.ca\/media_archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}