Faith and works

Brenda Suderman knew how to make people feel comfortable. For a journalist, that character trait is a real strength, and it made people trust and appreciate her.

Whether covering musicals, worship spaces, the effects of pandemic shutdowns, death rituals and practices of different traditions, the discovery of the burial of 2,284 infants in unmarked graves, or any other of the countless topics she wrote about in her four- decade career, Suderman did it with genuine interest and care.

Born and raised in Winkler, Suderman grew up on a farm. Much of her childhood was spent in gardens and sugar beet fields.

Baptized at 16, she became a member of the Winkler Bergthaler Mennonite Church. The restrictions against women at the time contributed to planting the seeds of Suderman’s feminist perspective.

She studied piano, oboe and clarinet. In 1983, she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in theology from Canadian Mennonite Bible College (now Canadian Mennonite University).

In 1984, she obtained an undergraduate degree in history from the University of Winnipeg.

Suderman took to writing early on. She had a column for the local Winkler paper and worked in communications for what is now Mennonite Church Canada. She studied journalism at Carleton University in Ottawa, graduating in 1988 with an honours degree. She worked for a weekly paper in Fort Smith, N.W.T., and later for Portage la Prairie’s daily paper. She did a term assignment at the Winnipeg Free Press, worked for the Canadian Press and as the Manitoba correspondent for The Western Producer.

By 1991, the focus turned to family when she married Bert Siemens. Together they had two children, who remained her pride and joy. She managed to balance parenting and household responsibilities with the demands of freelance writing.

She returned to the Free Press in 2001 to write a weekly family column and then explored the many faiths of Winnipeg for the Saturday faith page.

In 2013, she won the Ihsan award from the Islamic Social Services Association for her contribution to building bridges. Fascinated by the diversity of religious practices, she graduated in 2013 from the University of Winnipeg with a master’s in arts, winning several awards along the way.

Suderman wanted good for everyone and never hesitated to help, giving back to community in every aspect of her life. Committed to nurturing friendships and relationships, she served on the UW Board of Regents, on the board of Canadian Mennonite periodical and was a dedicated volunteer at Home Street Mennonite Church.

She was a founding board member and education co-ordinator for Winnipeg Modern Quilt Guild, made quilts for family and friends and donated many to those in need.

In 2022, her life changed dramatically when her husband died suddenly. She retired in early 2024.

Diagnosed with non-alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver in 2025, she died on Sept. 19 at age 65, while awaiting a transplant.

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Hillary Siemens, the oldest of Suderman’s two children, describes her mother as someone who fostered a wealth of community connections.

“I’ve introduced myself as Brenda’s child in many different settings, including academic, journalistic, Mennonite, and charitable circles,” said Siemens. “More often than not, it elicited warm responses from people familiar with her.

“I appreciated her generosity. She made a lot of baby quilts, often with only a tertiary connection to the newborn. She served on a lot of boards and was active in fundraising for charity. She volunteered at our elementary and high schools. I can remember her staying up late with me to help me edit assignments for school. It’s hard to describe the impact of losing her.”

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Journalist John Longhurst first met Suderman in the late 1980s, when she was writing for the satirical publication Mennonite Distorter.

He recalls innumerable meetings and phone calls with her over the next 40 years. For four years they worked together as freelance religion reporters at the Free Press Religion in the News project.

“She would call me once every two weeks, talk about life, the universe and everything,” Longhurst said.

“She was curious. She wanted to know what people were doing and how things worked. She wanted to present them to readers in a way that was fair and balanced and generous. I appreciated her interest in exploring how faith engaged society. She developed some really deep relationships with people.”

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One of those relationships was with Christine Baronins, president of the Manitoba Multifaith Council.

“Brenda was always personable whenever we spoke, whether on the telephone or in person. I remember our conversations feeling more like I was speaking with a friend than being interviewed by a reporter. She was genuinely interested in people and that’s when her reporter’s instincts truly shone. She had a way of asking thoughtful questions and making astute observations that stayed with me long after our conversations had ended.

“There were no airs with Brenda,” Baronins continued. “She was down to earth, completely approachable and deeply authentic. The work she did as a faith reporter was invaluable in creating space for voices of faith in our province.”

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Writer, spiritual counsellor and educator Shahina Siddiqui has been working to create connections between faith and cultural communities for decades.

Not surprisingly, she had a solid professional rapport with Suderman, which easily became a friendship.

“We used to call each other for a five-minute thing and it ended up being half an hour. No matter how hard a topic we were talking about, she found humour,” Siddiqui said, adding that Suderman innately knew how to put people at ease during interviews.

“She had a corny sense of humour, by the way — not many people knew that side of her. She never let me forget that she was younger than me,” she remembered, chuckling.

“Even if it was not related to the Free Press, we’d be checking in. On Eid, she would send a message. There was never any hesitation on any topic. It was always so easy to talk to her. She would lighten the mood.”

With the loss of her friend, Siddiqui finds gratitude and meaning in a little decorative mat that now adorns her living room table.

“It’s green with different flowers. It’s made with her own hands,” she said of one of the many beautiful items Suderman made and gave as gifts.

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In her farewell column, Suderman wrote: “I believe Winnipeg is a better place when we are curious about each other and take the time to know our neighbours.”

Baronins recognizes that Suderman did exactly that, building bridges of peace and understanding through her stories of faith.

“They remind us that this diversity strengthens our communities, enriches our province and helps create a more just and caring society.”

fpcity@winnipegfreepress.com

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