After years of listening to many others travel the world and bring their stories home, my turn for an overseas trip came in June. So I felt privileged and grateful to receive travel tips and blessings from those of you who knew I was going. Led by professor Steve Kriss, my class, “Struggle and Hope in Post-Christendom,” spent ten days in the United Kingdom in significant conversations and lectures with at least 30 folks in the Anabaptist Network.

We started in Bristol in the home of Sian and Stuart Murray, our primary instructor. (Some of us know Stuart best as author of The Naked Anabaptist.) Next was Birmingham, where our visit included seeing the new Menno House, a ministry recently relocated from London Mennonite Centre. And Sunday church was a prayer walk with Peace Church through a park that would be a venue for the Olympics.    We ended our sojourn in East London, where we walked with Urban Expression workers in low-income housing estates. Everywhere banners announced London 2012.

“Exegete your neighborhood!”  This is a first, important, often at least year-long step in knowing what shape ministry might take. And only then might one ask, “What kind of space do we need for this ministry?” This question pops up naturally in a context where the selling of “redundant churches” has become a specialty of some real estate agents. The space found might be a house, a street corner, a shared church building, park, pub or other community space – whatever fits the ministry.

In one East London neighborhood, for example, a former garbage dump became a playground where neighbors now mingle daily while their children play. This community-organizing effort has been sustained in an area where over 95% of the residents, including children, do not go to a house of worship on Sunday morning.

So the questions naturally follow: What is church? When should church invite people in, and when should church go out to the people? We learned about table fellowships and table liturgy, simple church, re-cathedraling, and hyphenated Anabaptists.

The UK has only two Mennonite congregations, but the links people of diverse Christian backgrounds through shared core convictions. People meet in study groups, table fellowships, and urban ministries.  They write, discuss, and publish – such as a series of books about church after Christendom. Ekklesia, a faith-and-politics think tank, explores questions of church and state. Some questions sound like ours, but the debate about the 24 bishops in the House of Lords reminded me I was in the UK, not the US. All this occurs with full awareness that church in this culture has moved from the center to the margins.

Spending many hours walking was one way we got the picture. In Birmingham we walked in the Peace Garden at St. Thomas, a church building that was half demolished by bombing in 1940. It was not rebuilt, so that people would not forget. But in 1995 it was redesigned as a peace monument. When the G-8 Summit met there in 1998, world leaders brought messages of peace. These plaques now hang on ruined walls in the garden’s beauty. On prayer pilgrimages in these cities, storytellers often pointed out some visual memory of destruction and rebuilding.

Some people say these are dismal times, and I think they may be right. But among these British adults and children, I felt inspired by the intelligent work infused with commitment. I am intrigued and convinced by their imaginative thinking and long patience. Was it that exposure, or was it the marmalade, meat pie, curry, and the cool British summer that made me think, “If this is what it is to be a ‘naked Anabaptist,’ I want to be one too! “

Heatwole and Hershberger tied for top honors in the Anabaptist research paper contest, sponsored by the . The institute awarded Heatwole and Hershberger first place without knowing one small detail about the duo.

“They didn’t realize we were married until after they had announced the winners,” said Heatwole, who tied the knot with Hershberger in August 2010.

In awarding the couple a first-place tie, the committee stated in its award letter, “We decided to do something that we think has never been done before and may never be done again – award two first-place prizes to two individuals for two very fine papers.”

Heatwole graduated in 2011 with a degree in and now serves as office coordinator in . Her paper, “The Changing Relationship Between and Anabaptism,” allowed her to focus on Anabaptist institutions and “how they negotiate both the social justice and theological motivations for their work.”

I’m drawn to the motivations and methods for development and how they change over time,” said Heatwole. “I examined how MCC’s relationship to the Anabaptist principles has changed over time and highlight similarities in this shift to broader sociological trends of development.”

Hershberger, who graduated from EMU in May 2012 with a degree in and , wrote his paper, “J. Denny Weaver, the Creeds, and Scripture: Thoughts on the Orientation of Anabaptism and Approaches to Theology,” on the differences between Weaver’s approach to scripture and theology and some contemporary approaches.

Hershberger said he wrote his paper in the fall of 2011 for his contemporary theology class.

“I spent a lot of time on atonement theology – thinking about the meaning of Christ’s death – and in particular J. Denny Weaver’s approach to that question, summed up in the book (and phrase) ‘The Nonviolent Atonement.'”

Heatwole and Hershberger heard about the contest through a friend and plan to use their combined winnings to buy a new laptop.

“Whatever is left over will go toward rent and groceries,” said Heatwole.

The Sider Institute for Anabaptist, Pietist and Wesleyan Studies facilitates the exploration and interpretation of the three theological traditions that have shaped the “personality” of Messiah College’s founding denomination, the Brethren in Christ Church.

Two world religions, Christianity and Judaism, didn’t have to split the way they did.

That’s the belief of the late Mennonite theologian John Howard Yoder as outlined in his posthumously-published book, “The Jewish-Christian Schism Revisited.”

��ݮ���� will examine Dr. Yoder’s assertions in a one-day seminar to be held Friday, Mar. 16, 2007.

John Howard Yoder

“Yoder declares that for Jesus to be faithful to his ‘divine mandate,’ his coming did not need to mark the beginning of a new, ‘Christian’ religion,” said Ray C. Gingerich, professor emeritus of theology and ethics at EMU and planning coordinator.

“If Yoder, the most influential Anabaptist-Mennonite theologian of the past century, is correct, this book is destined to rank among his most significant theological works. It may well, within the coming decades, overshadow his ‘The Politics of Jesus’ in its significance for both local and global inter-religious peacebuilding,” Dr. Gingerich added.

“This gathering is designed to raise campus and community awareness and to stimulate a timely and much needed conversation around one of the most pressing inter-religious issues of today – How shall the Children of Abraham live together peacefully in the 21st century,” said Gingerich. “We hope this seminar will be a catalyst to organize more extended studies, stimulating our religious and political imaginations to work toward a more peaceful world.”

Keynote speakers for the conference are Peter Ochs, an Orthodox Jew and professor of Judaic studies at the University of Virginia, and Alain Epp Weaver, long-term Mennonite Central Committee representative in Palestine/Israel and specialist in Jewish-Christian dialogue.

In addition to the main input session, several special topics will be presented by EMU faculty members Nancy Heisey, Ted Grimsrud and Gingerich with ample opportunity for questions, open discussion and a “Where to from here?” closing.

The program will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end at 3:30 p.m. The main sessions will be held in Martin Chapel of the seminary building at EMU.

More information on the seminar is available by contacting Ray Gingerich at 540-432-4465.

A new book by an ��ݮ���� professor offers an alternative approach to Christian faith through the beliefs and practices of the Anabaptists, dubbed “the radical wing of the 16th century Protestant Reformation.”

Ted Grimrud’s 262-page work, “Embodying the Way of Jesus: Anabaptist Convictions for the Twenty-First Century” (Wipf and Stock Publishers, Eugene, Ore.) traces the origins and historical expressions of Anabaptist faith and then suggests ways these convictions speak to the contemporary world. He is associate professor of at EMU and an ordained minister in the Mennonite Church USA.

proposes a fourfold approach to interpreting Anabaptist theology, considering themes from the Bible, from the tradition’s history, from present experience and from envisioning a hopeful future. What emerges is an engaging portrait of a living tradition that speaks with urgency and relevance to a world sorely in need of a message of peace, simple living and community.

Grimsrud has taught at EMU since 1996. Before that, he served 10 years as a pastor in Mennonite churches in Arizona, Oregon and South Dakota.” His most recent book – the fifth – is “Transforming the Powers: Peace, Justice, and the Domination System” (2006).

As the drape covering the large painting was removed, the striking colors and rugged tree motif of the framed acrylic-on-canvas art piece registered audience approval.

Some 400 people gathered at ��ݮ���� June 3-5 were celebrating 10 years of a program that, like the tree in the painting, has grown way beyond expectations.

“The remarkable growth of the EMU program is much like a tree rooted in the Earth, weathered and strengthened through experience that will keep it alive for years to come,” the artist, Jude Oudshoorn, said. He is a first-year student in the CJP program from Toronto, Canada.

EMU launched the Conflict Transformation Program in 1994 with two American students, two professors, a box of file folders and an administrative staff member. Ten years later, it has seen more than 2,500 people from 83 countries take one or more of its courses, with 160 of these earning a masters degree or graduate certificate in Conflict Transformation.

The June 3-5 celebration was a spirited mix of reflection on the past decade, recognition to founders and supporters of the internationally- recognized peacebuilding program and worship and music on a peace and reconciliation theme.

During the weekend, participants attended an interactive workshop and an intense one-woman play by Israeli-American actress Noa Baum, a “concert of peace and justice songs” by noted musician John McCutcheon and selected from some 15 special interest workshops on topics ranging from restorative justice and trauma healing to responses to the 9/ll tragedy.

During a celebration dinner Saturday evening, the program officially changed names from Conflict Transformation Program (CTP) to the .

, CJP co-director, said the change was made “because we’ve developed rapidly into a multi-pronged program and this name better reflects who we are.

“The term, conflict transformation, often raised more questions than it answered,” Zimmerman said. “But most people readily understand peace and justice, and peacebuilding is an active process at the heart of our program that we work at together.”

John Paul Lederach, one of the founders of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) at EMU, uses a Tibetan song bowl as an illustration in a dinner meeting address to open the tenth anniversary celebration.
Photo by Jim Bishop

Zimmerman said that the “incredible growth” of what is now CJP presents a problem – “It’s difficult to keep growing, given our limited current office and classroom space, coupled to the pressing need to increase scholarships for worthy students with limited financial resources.”

At a Saturday brunch, a number of long-time donors to the program who attended the celebration heard expressions of appreciation from current CJP students from eight countries who have received financial assistance.

student Sara Kauffman Brown, born and raised in South Africa and currently working in a mental health program with traumatized people in Sierra Leone, said the Summer Peacebuilding Program “brings people from around the world together in an intense experience in community. We look after each other and leave with a feeling of support for our work.”

“I’m committed to this program that helps persons from other countries receive training to return to their homelands or other places and work in peace initiatives,” said Dwight Hartman of Harrisonburg. “I feel it deserves to expand as much as possible to develop better attitudes between countries.”

CJP benefactors Herb and Sarah Bucher Myers of Mt. Joy, Pa., both EMU alumni, support the program because they believe it is “making a difference” in applying Anabaptist principles to build a better world. “As we hear how students in the program are connecting with hurting people, we feel it is privilege to support this effort,” Myers said. The couple’s daughter, , is a CJP administrative assistant.

EMU President reflected on the center’s mission in the closing session Sunday morning held at Park View Mennonite Church.

“The Apostle Paul in II Corinthians 5 calls us to become ambassadors for the cause of Christ,” Dr. Swartzendruber said. “We are given the ministry of reconciliation, to God and to each other through our common bonds as members of the human community.

“I am passionate about peacemaking because it is, for me, the logical extension of what I believe it means to be a follower of Jesus,” the president said. “I can’t picture the Jesus I follow as the pilot of an F-16 dropping bombs on his enemies. It’s a real stretch to imagine Jesus on the safe end of an assault rifle. I can’t read the Sermon on the Mount and believe that Jesus meant that for another time and place or only for those set apart as ‘religious.’

“It may seem crystal clear to us that to be in authentic relationship with Christ requires us to be reconcilers. But it is painfully clear that such a passion is a minority world view, not a perspective that is regularly celebrated in many of our communities.

“We can be passionate, but we change the world one conversation at a time,” Swartzendruber declared. “And, that requires us to be in authentic relationship with the other.

“This tenth anniversary celebration has been a wonderful event,” he said in closing. “God has done a marvelous thing among us and for that we are grateful. As we go from this place, filled with passion and enthusiasm, renewed for the task of peacebuilding, let us do so in joy and with hope.”

The service included the premiere of a song written and sung by three students in the M.A. in peacebuilding program.

Ferdinand Waweka Djayerombe from the Congo, Laura A. Schildt from the United States and Hind Ghorayeb from Lebanon gave an enthusiastic rendition of “Journey” in appreciation for their experiences at EMU and as a celebration gift.

Two schools, one a Bible school in the eastern Caribbean and the other a university in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, joined hands and hearts in an experiment that could develop into something more permanent.

Moira R. Rogers, an associate professor of Spanish at ��ݮ����, taught an "Introduction to Anabaptist Theology" class the week of Nov. 22-26 at the Seminario Anabautista del Caribe in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

The seminar discussed the distinctive elements of an Anabaptist approach to theological reflection. Although recognizing the broad range of radical movements that the term "Anabaptist" refers to in 16th century Europe, the emphasis was on a critical reflection on what it means to respond to the current contextual challenges facing the participants from the perspective of Anabaptist emphases to Christian faith. The week-long class included dialogue with other contemporary Latin American theological traditions that seek to respond to local challenges.

"Laboring in the heat forced me to seek strength, patience and imagination to design and facilitate each evening in a creative, challenging way," Dr. Rogers said. "I am grateful for the students’ openness to the reading,
reflection, writing, and discussion assignments.

Moira Rogers enjoys a discussion with class members.

"I’m refreshed to have witnessed the Spirit empowering students to engage their ministries with new strength and vision," Rogers said. "Many in the group expressed appreciation for the experience and said that they gained renewed possibilities for their work and ministries."

Ervin R. Stutzman, academic dean at , spent Thanksgiving weekend visiting the class and talking with students at the seminary in Santo Domingo. He came away impressed, almost overwhelmed, with what he saw and heard.

Dr. Stutzman noted that the seminar class "had a rich mixture of ethnicities that is typical in the Dominican Republic," with nearly an equal number of men and women. Several students are bi-vocational pastors, he said, and nearly all are lay leaders and teachers in local churches representing two Mennonite conferences and the Church of the Brethren.

"Most of the students are professionals who have had no Anabaptist education or pastoral training," Stutzman added. "They are highly motivated learners." Students will earn one hour of academic credit from EMS if they fulfill all the assignments satisfactorily.

Class members continue theological discussions during a break in study.

"From my observation, the course was characterized by vigorous participation, both as a full group and in small group discussion," he said. Early in the week, Moira proposed a break time in the midst of the three-hour class, but the students preferred to use the time for discussion each evening."

"I listened as the students and two board members poured out their hearts to me," Stutzman said. "They deeply desire and are praying that we will offer an entire course of study in several cohorts of up to 25 students each. I

On one occasion, when asked which commandments in the scriptures were most important, Christ responded, “Love God with your heart, mind, soul and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.”

On Wednesday morning Sept. 1, the first day of the fall semester classes at ��ݮ����, President Loren E. Swartzendruber outlined what this might mean for the campus community.

“As a Christian university in the Anabaptist tradition, with roots deep in the liberal arts, we intend to love God with heart, mind, soul, and strength,” Swartzendruber told students, faculty and staff in an opening convocation address. “We dare to say that our love for God is expressed holistically. We aim for balance in our approach to faith.

“Someone has suggested that if we love God with only a part of our personalities, we will in turn only receive a part of what God wants to be for us,” Swartzendruber said.

To love God with our whole being, he continued, means “to love with your heart, the center of your emotions; your soul, the essence of one’s spiritual being; your mind, the intellect; and your strength.

“Loving God with our hearts is perhaps the easiest of the four ways Christ identifies to love God,” he said. “It is our culture

EMS has announced the winners of the Linden M. Wenger Anabaptist Studies Award.

EMS students Aram L. DiGennaro and Andrea N. (Annie) Lengacher received first and second prize, respectively, in the contest that honors Linden M. Wenger, the first acting dean of the seminary.

DiGennaro

The meeting, called by EMS dean Ervin R. Stutzman and June Alliman Yoder, professor of preaching at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, explored common professional interests in the teaching of homiletics.

“This seemed the right time to hold this meeting,” said Dr. Stutzman. “The 2004 School for Leadership Training held Jan. 19-22 at EMS focused on strengthing preaching and a new book, ‘Anabaptist Preaching: A Conversation Between Pulpit, Pew, and Bible,’ edited by David B. Greiser and Michael A. King is being released.”

(Standing, l. to r.): John R. Martin, Allan Rudy Froese, John H. Neufeld, June Alliman Yoder, Ervin R. Stutzman, Palmeer Becker, Mark R. Wenger. (Seated, l. to r.): David Greiser, Ryan Ahlgrim, Pieter Post, Daniel Hertzler, James Waltner. Photo by Jim Bishop

The dean said that along with the encouragement that comes from collegial interaction, “we discussed curriculum, grading, student feedback and brainstormed ways to equip preachers beyond the seminary classroom.”

The group explored the possible formation of a gathering for Anabaptist teachers of preaching and decided to continue meeting on a regular basis, likely once a year in conjunction with other larger gatherings.

“The overarching purpose for formation of such a group is to raise the level of preaching across churches in the Anabaptist tradition,” Stutzman said. “We believe that, over time, this group can make a significant contribution to that end.

“Our vision is to expand our services to equip persons in district conferences or other settings so they can provide preachers in their respective areas with practical instruction or feedback on sermons,” he added.

“This group will not attempt to replace our membership in professional societies on homiletics,” Stutzman noted. “Rather, it would serve as a pedagogical supplement. There are few places where teachers can ‘talk shop’ about classroom practice.”