First Mennonite Woman in Alberta ordained as a Minister of the Gospel

“Ordained Minister” was not among Linda Neufeld’s dreams for a future career. When she graduated from high school in 1959, she writes:

"I am about to graduate from grade 12. What to do now?"

Well, for young women at this time there seemed to be only three options – nurse, secretary, and teacher.

"The first two had no appeal for me, so (partly by default) I considered teaching.  Another factor in weighing my options was that my family was too poor to fund further education. It just so happened that a provincial bursary was available for the one-year program at Teachers’ College.  So off I was."

2025 Student Bursary Application Reflection

To an extent, I’ll never really understand Canadian Mennonite University. Of course, I understand the value of living in dorms, the proximity to new people that facilitates rapid development of relationships. Of course, I understand the wide breadth of courses that invites so many people with so many different dreams.

IW Companion of the Month - October 2025

Learn more and pray for Friends of Grace network in Thailand - the International Witness Global Companion for October.

2025 Student Bursary Application Reflection

I took a class this past year called Art of Worship. In this course, we deconstructed various aspects of Christian worship—such as singing, preaching, imagery, community, and prayer—to examine how these practices either aid or hinder our ability to connect spiritually.

In Kind

In the summer of 2024, we began to receive in kind donations of fresh fruit and vegetables. These donations have made a huge difference on our camp grocery bills. And we as camp staff have felt supported by the donations themselves, and by the many, many people who chipped in to grow the produce, receive and store it along the way, pick it up, deliver it, prep and serve it, and later, return the empty bins.

I'm back!

As a Valaqua Staffer, of 20 years now, summer means something different for me than it does for most people. Camp summers are intense, chaotic, and awesome. However, they hold very little time for sitting in the shade with a book or enjoying a quiet evening with friends.