May 24th

Wedler Graduates from Seminary: Congratulations!

Wedler graduates from seminary

ELKHART, Indiana (Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary) — Adela Friesen Wedler of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, graduated from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS), Elkhart, Indiana, on April 30, 2022, with a Graduate Certificate in Theological Studies. She plans to continue volunteering in her congregation and in area churches, seeking to apply her seminary learnings there.

Wedler previously earned a Bachelor of Education with a major in Music from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, and a Licentiate in Music in Piano Performance from the Western Board of Music, also at the University of Alberta. Her home congregation is First Mennonite Church of Edmonton, a congregation of Mennonite Church Alberta of Mennonite Church Canada. She is married to Mel Wedler; they have two married adult children and five grandsons.

 “Christian theology, Christian and specifically Anabaptist history, and Christian worship have always been a love of mine, and I have studied on my own through working with the church, reading and attending workshops,” she said. “When I retired from teaching, I had the opportunity to study these in a more formal setting [at AMBS].”

 Wedler planned to complete most of her seminary courses online and to come to campus for a semester or short-term course, but due to COVID-19, she had to complete all of her coursework online.

 “It has been so interesting getting to know others from around the world as we have studied and discussed together,” she reflected. “The courses reinforced what I knew, but more importantly, they led me to look at things in a new way and made me realize how much more there was to learn (and still is to learn!). A special thank-you to the professors who made me feel so welcome as a ‘mature student.’”

 Twenty-one graduates were honored during the April 30 Commencement Service, which was held in the seminary’s Chapel of the Sermon on the Mount and livestreamed. César García, MA, of Bogotá, Colombia, General Secretary of Mennonite World Conference, gave the commencement address. The livestream recording is available at ambs.edu/graduation.

 Eight graduates earned a Master of Divinity; five earned a Master of Arts: Theology and Peace Studies; and three earned a Master of Arts in Christian Formation. One student became the first to graduate with a Master of Arts: Theology and Global Anabaptism, a program launched by AMBS in 2019. Four students received a Graduate Certificate in Theological Studies.

 The graduating class comprised 14 women and seven men from seven countries — Canada, Ethiopia, Honduras, Indonesia, Nigeria, Tanzania and the United States. Ten of the graduates completed part or all of their seminary studies at a distance through the Master of Divinity Connect program, the MA: Theology and Global Anabaptism program or the Graduate Certificate.

 Four of the graduates are serving in pastoral ministry roles or are seeking pastoral assignments; five are serving a church organization or institution; four plan to pursue further graduate studies; two are serving in psychiatry or social work; and two will continue to volunteer in ministry and advocacy. Five graduates are discerning future options for mission, service, advocacy and/or volunteer work.

Located in Elkhart, Indiana, Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary is a learning community with an Anabaptist vision, offering theological education for learners both on campus and at a distance, including a wide array of lifelong learning programs — all with the goal of educating followers of Jesus Christ to be leaders for God’s reconciling mission in the world. ambs.edu

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—Annette Brill Bergstresser, AMBS