草莓社区

Bible students are different now than they were in the 1990s when was a student at 草莓社区 (EMU). Students now, says Dula, chair, want to 鈥渆xperiment鈥� with what it means to be church and 鈥渄ig deep into the meaning of Anabaptism, even if they don鈥檛 know it by that name.鈥�

鈥淭here are more options out there for today鈥檚 students,鈥� says Dula. 鈥淩ather than joining a traditional church structure, they sometimes choose to search for something even more Anabaptist.鈥�

The emerging church movement and New Monasticism have created alternatives to traditional church that draw from and can inform an Anabaptist perspective, says Dula, a 1992 graduate.

鈥淣ew Monasticism focuses on prayer, communal life and reaching out to the poor… Ideas that are rooted in the Christian tradition, but in a way Anabaptists can recognize as their own. It is an interesting time to teach and think about Anabaptism.鈥�

Embracing the change

Instead of resisting alternatives to traditional worship, Dula and , a 1981 EMU graduate and Bible and religion instructor, see an opportunity to embrace alternatives and use them to engage and inform students.

鈥淥ur goal is to equip students to engage in shaping the future of the church,鈥� said Schrock-Hurst, who also serves as co-pastor at Immanuel Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, Va. 鈥淎ll these ideas are available to this generation and we can create space for them to explore and figure out what works in their faith journeys.鈥�

贰惭鲍鈥檚 Bible and religion department tries to continually learn from students, says Dula. 鈥淢any of them are way out ahead of us as teachers.鈥� We want to be a 鈥渕eeting place,鈥� he notes, where Mennonite and students from diverse backgrounds can share ideas on faith and God鈥檚 calling in their lives.

鈥淪ome of our best students enter EMU without a background in Anabaptism or the Mennonite church,鈥� said Dula. 鈥淭hey find here, however, a space to own, appropriate and transform what they learn in our classrooms in ways that manage to be thoroughly Anabaptist.鈥�

, professor of Bible and religion added, 鈥淚 find that sometimes the students who are not from Mennonite backgrounds add a kind of new-discovery freshness when they embrace the peace position. Other times, we get challenges to pacifist assumptions born out of different ways of thinking about the Bible and Christianity.鈥�

More than a classroom

贰惭鲍鈥檚 provides an alternative classroom for many Bible and religion students with profound results. The experience, led by , professor of culture and mission and his wife, , showcases the history of the Bible while exploring current conflicts. Students are immersed in language and cultural studies while living in Palestine and Jerusalem.

After spending a semester in the Middle East, senior Jamie Hiner, from Culpeper, Va., observed, 鈥淚 can connect to the stories [of the Bible] on a completely different level. I understand who Jesus was on a human level, and I have a connection to the land, people and cultures.鈥�

In addition to the Middle East cross-cultural program, EMU is the only higher-education institution offering a major in . , associate professor of , says that while Catholics and Protestants have a long academic tradition in philosophy, Anabaptists are important contributors 鈥渂ecause our own history of having been marginalized, our understanding of concrete embodied community, and our commitment to peace and reconciliation.鈥�

Senior Ben Bailey, from Simsbury, Conn., found his knowledge of the Bible to be 鈥渓imited compared to my peers at EMU.鈥� A double-major in and , Bailey says his studies have provided him with a 鈥渃omprehensive base knowledge to build upon.

鈥淚 continually feel the need to understand and question the Bible and theology on a deeper level.鈥�

Hiner, a major with a minor in , added, 鈥淚鈥檝e learned so much from personal relationships with my professors. I love having real conversations with them outside the classroom.鈥�

Looking ahead

Bible and religion department faculty envision their department鈥檚 influence expanding across campus and in the community through dialogue with campus ministries and local churches. Interest in the department鈥檚 is growing as opportunities to explore internships outside of 鈥渢raditional鈥� pastoring arise. The very definition of 鈥減astor鈥� and 鈥渃hurch鈥� is changing; students are interested in how they intersect with these concepts.

“Students have an advantage with on campus, in addition to and numerous Mennonite churches nearby to integrate and connect with pastors, leaders and teachers,” Schrock-Hurst says.

Dula agrees, adding, 鈥淭he goal is to make the discussion and debates that occur in our classrooms become the heart and soul of campus. This will encourage growth not only in the department and across campus, but in the broader church.鈥�