Mennonite Graduate School in Europe

In contrast to last year’s corona inhibited version, for this year’s Mennonite Graduate School in Europe we could meet in-person during the weekend of 3-5 February. I thoroughly enjoyed this weekend. During three days, we shared some wonderful presentations and reflections with a group of twenty to thirty researchers. The beautiful Mennorode Conference Hotel set the peaceful scene, and in between the presentations I shared a walk through its beautiful woods with two other participants. The food and the rooms, generously provided by the Mennonite Seminary Amsterdam, were altogether fantastic, and I am grateful to have been invited.

The Graduate School served as a safe space to pick each other’s brains and provide everyone’s researches with feedback. Throughout the whole Saturday, I enjoyed the presentations of about eight researchers, with two of them joining us through the wonders of the Internet all the way from Colombia. I found it quite liberating to see how differently everyone constructed their respective researches, as it showed me that there is not one single ‘right’ way to do research. The whole weekend was intensely intellectually enriching for me, both for the thesis I am currently completing for my Master’s in ‘Peace, Trauma & Religion’, and for potential research afterwards. Apart from the presentations, I think what contributed to the underlying feeling of community most were the morning and evening prayers. Refreshing moments of silence and meditation embraced the day, connecting us not just as researchers but also as believers and searchers.

Written by: Thirza Snoek, Master Student Peace, Trauma & Religion