WINNIPEG
Nina Schroeder, Gil Dueck and Andrew Dyck are the 2014 recipients of the Mennonite Brethren Historical Commission’s first MB studies project grants. Each award comes with a grant of $2,500. The selection committee chose from a strong field of applicants working on projects of historical and theological interest to Mennonite Brethren around the world.
Schroeder is a member of the River East MB Church, Winnipeg, and a PhD student at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont. Her project title is Picturing Anabaptism: Mennonites and the Art Market in the Dutch Golden Age. Schroeder is exploring 17th-century Mennonite artistic engagement and how it contributed to Anabaptist cultural and religious heritage. She hopes the project “will shed new light on a period of Anabaptist history that has many fascinating parallels with the current urban Mennonite experience in North America.”
Dueck teaches at Bethany College, Hepburn, Sask., and is a PhD candidate at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, Netherlands. His project title is Faith Development in Emerging Adulthood: Toward a Developmental Theological Anthropology. Dueck is pairing theological engagement with the question of faith development among emerging adults, paying particular attention to the Canadian Mennonite Brethren context. He hopes “this research can both fill an existing ‘developmental gap’ in the theological anthropology of the Canadian Mennonite Brethren church, while affirming and clarifying its historic emphasis on personal, experiential faith.”
Dyck teaches at Canadian Mennonite University, Winnipeg, and is also a PhD candidate at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, Netherlands. His project title is The Place of Contemplative Practices within the Spirituality of Canadian Mennonite Brethren. Dyck is making a detailed description of the spiritual life of Mennonite Brethren over the past 165 years, including ways in which Mennonite Brethren have appropriated practices from other Christian groups. He hopes the project will promote “engagements marked by generosity, discernment and integrity among people of diverse Christian traditions.”
The Historical Commission is pleased to make these awards, noting that these projects represent the kind of work that it wants to support, encourage and fund.
The MB studies project grants are made possible with support from U.S. and Canadian Mennonite Brethren Churches. See www.mbhistory.org for information on these awards and other research grants and internships offered by the MB Historical Commission.
—Jon Isaak, executive secretary, Mennonite Brethren Historical Commission
