The Society Behind the Work

Pax House Society is a non-profit, inter-Mennonite organization rooted in the Christian tradition and dedicated to cultivating communities of faith, learning, and shared life.

Formerly known as the Pacific Centre for Discipleship Association (PCDA), the Society has been serving students and the wider community in British Columbia since 1986. Today, it functions as the umbrella organization supporting Pax House, PeaceBridge Institute, and Abendmusik.

At its core, Pax House Society exists to help people integrate faith with everyday life—through housing, community, scholarship, and public engagement.

People sitting around a wooden table in a meeting, discussing documents and using tablets.

Our Values

These commitments shape how we live together, how we lead, and how we engage the world. Rooted in the Anabaptist Mennonite tradition and the teachings of Jesus, they guide how Pax House Society practices faith in daily life through hospitality, peace, humility, service, and shared life.

Peacemaking

Continuing the legacy of the Anabaptist tradition, we see peacemaking as a central calling. We seek to be people who pursue reconciliation in the midst of conflict—whether relational, societal, or global.We are committed to justice, nonviolence, and the ongoing work of healing, and we carry this into our studies, relationships, and sense of vocation.
Six young people sitting around a table with books and a laptop, engaged in a discussion.

Hospitality

We create spaces of welcome for students, friends, and the wider community. Much of our life together is shaped around the table—sharing food, conversation, and presence. Hospitality, for us, is not just an act but a posture. The table is always expanding.

Simplicity

In contrast to a culture of consumption, we seek to live with intention and restraint.We value simplicity as a way of caring for creation, sharing resources generously, and focusing on what matters most—even when we have little ourselves.

Service

We serve one another, the broader university community, and our global neighbours through practical, everyday action. Grounded in humility and grace, we also commit to shared leadership—recognizing gifts rather than hierarchy, and valuing contribution over status, age, or gender.
Three young volunteers sorting clothes into a cardboard box labeled Donations outdoors.

Mission & Purpose

Pax House Society exists to cultivate communities where faith is practiced, learning is integrated with life, and individuals are formed for lives of service, peace, and purpose through the cultivating of our four values. We carry out this mission by fostering Christian discipleship, supporting scholarship, creating spaces for community and belonging, and providing affordable housing.

Through our programs and partnerships, we seek to bridge faith and contemporary life—equipping individuals to engage thoughtfully with the world around them.

Students walking and talking outside a modern building named Pax House in a tree-lined campus setting.

Purposes of the Society

The purposes of Pax House Society are as follows:

  1. To promote Christian faith and discipleship.
  2. To foster Christian community and fellowship.
  3. To support Christian scholarship.
  4. To facilitate the study of the Anabaptist Mennonite Heritage.
  5. To assist in the integration of faith and contemporary life style.
  6. To provide affordable housing for low and modest income households.

  7. To purchase, sell, lease and hold such property, equipment and materials as are deemed necessary to accomplish the above purposes.

Our History

Explore how Pax House Society has grown from its early days as the Pacific Centre for Discipleship Association into its ongoing work of cultivating faith, hospitality, and peace at Menno Hall in 2026.

Learn MoreExplore the History