Students Share Musical Gifts at Menno Office Coffee House

Winnipeg, Manitoba – Every year around Valentine’s Day, the Menno Office Charcuterie and Coffee House brings together students, their families, alumni and supporters of Menno Office to enjoy each other’s company with good food and music in a warm, inviting setting.

Menno Office, a University of Manitoba chaplaincy ministry located in Room 525 University Centre, offers an Anabaptist Christian presence in a space where students feel safe, welcomed and accepted as they experience God’s loving invitation to discover and follow Jesus.

“The coffee house gives students a platform to showcase their gifts and share something of the warm and welcoming energy and atmosphere that they experience in Menno Office with a wider audience,” says Chaplain Mark von Kampen. “And this annual event helps get the word out about our campus ministry to potential new students and also to potential new supporters and partners that make this work possible.”

This year, the annual fund-raising event took place February 8 at Morrow Gospel Church in Winnipeg. The music, along with the decorations, the warm and receptive response of the audience and the charcuterie hosted by Doris Penner and other volunteers from Landmark, reflects the gifts and affirming spirit of students, their families and friends and the Menno Office community.

Menno Office is supported by Inter Mennonite Chaplaincy Association (IMCA), a partnership of Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference and Mennonite Church Manitoba. It also receives prayer and financial support from congregations and individuals who value the opportunity to be active partners in a ministry that nurtures Christian faith and community among students at a critical stage of their development.

“At a time when many churches lament that there are fewer young people in their pews, Menno Office helps the church step into the everyday world of university students and walk alongside them as they process the daily challenges of school, life and relationships from a Christian faith perspective,” says von Kampen.

To become an active partner in this ministry and to learn more about Menno Office visit mennooffice.ca.

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This article was originally published

in The Recorder Vol. 62 No. 2