Frieda Claassen Scholarship

Frieda Claassen Scholarship

The Frieda Claassen Scholarship was founded in 2019 to support students a Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) as they prepare for ministry and leadership in the church. The scholarship provides funds to any AMBS student with financial need.

All qualified students are eligible to apply and will be considered. When applicants do not meet the preferred criteria, the scholarship may be awarded to other students who demonstrate financial need and alignment with the purposes of the fund.

As of June 30, 2025, the scholarship's market value was $49,581. The earnings are paid out annually to cover approximately 17% of tuition.

Support Frieda’s scholarship

Click the big “Give Now!” button to give in U.S. dollars. If you’d like to give in Canadian dollars, click here.

If you prefer to donate by check, please make it payable to “AMBS,” note "Frieda Claassen Scholarship" in the memo line, and mail it to 3003 Benham Ave., Elkhart, IN 46517.

More about Frieda

Frieda Claassen was a secretary at the Mennonite Biblical Seminary, one of two predecessor seminaries of AMBS, since its beginnings in 1947 in Chicago, Illinois. She wrote to family members in Beatrice, Nebraska with everyday experiences she shared with the people she worked with at the 4614 Woodlawn Avenue address, including S.F. and Sylvia Pannabecker, Erland and Winifred Waltner, Harry and Olga Martens, C.J. and Wilma Dyck, Orlando and Joan Schmidt, and Leland and Bertha Harder. Frieda continued to work at AMBS and was actively involved in Hively Avenue Mennonite Church in Elkhart, Indiana, until her retirement in 1982. She then relocated “back home” to Beatrice, Nebraska and was active in Beatrice Mennonite Church until she passed away in 1996 at the age of 79.

The following is part of a tribute written by Frieda’s niece, Barbara Kaufman, at her 1996 Memorial Service:

“De page is all, De love is not.” This is how Aunt Frieda would end her letters. She used words in many ways, as misspelling a word for efficiency in her personal writings. Enough became Enuf. She used words for humor, as in the poems she wrote for her nieces and nephews to say at family celebrations. She used words for encouragement, as in “Way to Go.”

Aunt Frieda used words of thanksgiving and praise to God. She underlined passages in her Bible with the word “Rejoice.” When her mother was unable to read, Frieda recorded letters and Mennonite Weekly Review articles and sent them to her.

Along with her words were serving actions. At Hively Mennonite Church, she served as treasurer many years. For company at her table, she served zemels or strawberry pie or homemade pizza. If she knew your favorite snack, your birthday gift might be a can of cashews or a box of chocolates. For the last months of her life, hugs and warm hand squeezes were ways she thanked those who cared for her—her sisters, cousins, friends, therapists, nurses, and cleaning ladies.

So to my Aunt Frieda, I quote back, “De page is all. De love is not.”

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