鈥淲e are delighted to partner with a business program with similar interests and motivations, especially sharing a unique perspective on how business can be successfully carried out with a value-based sensitivity and outlook that considers more than just dollars and cents,鈥� says Gordon Zerbe, CMU academic vice president. 鈥淔uture leaders, more than ever, will be expected to direct entrepreneurial spirit, but also with a heightened appreciation for social responsibility, sustainability, and stewardship.鈥�

The Collaborative MBA is an accredited online program based on the concept of 鈥�,鈥� emphasizing six values 鈥� spiritual growth, honoring community, leading as service, upholding justice, planning for sustainability and global citizenship.

鈥淟eadership for the common good is a concept that pays attention to the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profits,鈥� said , program director and dean of graduate and professional studies at EMU. 鈥淭he common good is established each time a person, organization or community reaches beyond individual self-interest for the sake of the greater whole.鈥�

The addition of CMU鈥檚 faculty of business experts expands both the vision and resources of the program, Smucker added.

Students are organized in cohorts 鈥� 鈥� and move together through 12 courses that are typically completed in 22-24 months. Nine core courses are augmented by three courses directly related to one of the eight concentration areas: health care management, leadership, accounting and financial management, leading non-profits, conflict transformation, sustainable organizations and intercultural leadership.

Most courses are offered through interactive video conferencing and practical projects. Synchronous interactions delivered through video are complemented by asynchronous learning, in which students contribute and interact on their own time. A one-week international residency provides students with a global perspective and emphasizes interdependency and mutual accountability, values at the heart of today鈥檚 global economy. This approach accommodates different styles of learning, as well as demands of employment and family.

Three institutions affiliated with the 鈥� in Ohio, 草莓社区 in Virginia, and in Indiana 鈥撀爃ave joined forces to launch 鈥溾�� to shape 鈥渢ransformative leaders.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檙e interested in developing authentic leaders who understand that personal, business, organizational, and community existence and success are tied to the sustainability of local and global systems,鈥� said George Lehman, director of the graduate programs in business at Bluffton.

The 36-hour program will focus on 鈥渟kills in entrepreneurship, shared vision development, mutual accountability, financial integrity, continuous innovation, empowerment of people and teams, and systems thinking,鈥� said Michelle Horning, chair of the business department at Goshen.

The program director of The Collaborative MBA is , formerly president of the and board chair of the .

For Smucker, a unique aspect of the new program is addressing 鈥渓eaders鈥� needs for personal and spiritual growth. Almost all of the other MBA programs focus mainly on the usual topics of budgeting, strategic planning, marketing and such.鈥�

The Collaborative MBA will cover these topics too, said Smucker, who will also continue to be graduate dean at 草莓社区. In addition, however, 聽鈥渙ur program will have an explicit orientation toward the well-being of people, community, and planet. We will situate making profits within the context of ethical practices and contribution to the common good.鈥�

Professors at the three partner schools possess a wide range of expertise, permitting Collaborative MBA students to choose among eight concentrations:

• Leadership
• Health Care Management
• Accounting and Financial Management
• Conflict Transformation
• Sustainability
• Intercultural Leadership
• Self-designed

Students will move through the program in cohorts that begin with one week of residential courses at one of the three sponsoring schools and include a week of residency in an international setting, doing practice-based learning. In the other months, coursework will be partly synchronous 鈥� with distance learners joining students and professors via interactive video conferencing 颅鈥� and partly asynchronous, whereby students will pursue projects and interact with professors on a mutually convenient schedule.

While organizers expect to enroll a broad range of students from a variety of backgrounds, including international, Horning said 鈥渁 key target student鈥� is someone holding a full-time job in a small- to medium-sized business or organization, perhaps with family responsibilities, who needs to be able to pursue graduate studies in a flexible manner.

The curriculum is based on the concept of 鈥渓eadership for the common good鈥� which includes values of spirituality, community, leading as service, justice, sustainability, and global citizenship.

鈥淚n keeping with our Anabaptist-Christian roots,鈥� said Lehman, 鈥渁ll of us involved in this program have a holistic view on how all of our decisions and actions affect other people, the community, and the world.鈥�

Prospective students can enter the program through the doorway of any of the three sponsoring schools, Bluffton, EMU or Goshen.

For more information on The Collaborative MBA, visit .

Concern over college affordability in the United States is nothing new. The inflation-adjusted average annual cost of tuition, room and board for the country鈥檚 colleges and universities has more than doubled over the past 30 years, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

While the cost of attendance has actually been increasing faster at public universities over the past decade, private institutions are in general still more expensive. The National Center for Education Statistics puts the average annual cost of tuition, room and board at private, not-for-profit American universities at $36,300 for the 2010-2011 academic year.

While the -affiliated colleges and universities aren鈥檛 quite that pricey, they鈥檙e not cheap either. According to online 鈥渟ticker price鈥� figures, the average full cost of attendance this year at the five colleges/universities is $33,714. (The full cost of a 90-credit hour M.Div. degree from the two Mennonite Church USA-affiliated seminaries is currently just over $41,000.)

Price or best fit?

鈥淗igher education as a whole has had to defend its worth and value in today鈥檚 society,鈥� says , director of retention at 草莓社区 (EMU), Harrisonburg, Va. 鈥淲e see more and more students making their choice based on price instead of what鈥檚 a best fit for them.鈥�

When it comes to paying for an education, however, officials at Mennonite educational institutions note that scholarships and financial aid almost always mean that the actual cost of a student鈥檚 education will be less than the sticker price.

Dan Koop Liechty, director of admissions at , notes that cost and affordability decisions are best made after prospective students have applied, been admitted and received financial assistance packages. At this point, students can make decisions based on the bottom-line cost of their educations, which are often much more comparable to attending a public institution than it first appears.

Directly related to the price of higher education is the issue of student debt, which has also been increasing. According to the , 2011 graduates who borrowed to finance their educations finished with an average debt load of $26,600. In the aftermath of the Great Recession, some consider this an unreasonable burden to place on graduates entering an uncertain job market. Others characterize it as a reasonable investment鈥攁bout the cost of a new Toyota Prius鈥攖hat sets college graduates on the path to a much larger payoff.

College degree as an investment

鈥淚t鈥檚 not debt that you鈥檙e using to buy consumables and putting on a credit card with a 21-percent interest rate,鈥� says Ron Headings, vice president for enrollment management and marketing at . 鈥淚t鈥檚 buying you a college degree.鈥�

Headings adds that with prior planning and hard work during college鈥攖o maintain academic scholarships as well as earn income鈥攕tudents and their families can find it 鈥渇airly easy to get out of Bluffton University debt-free.鈥�

Cost and debt aside, getting a college degree clearly remains a smart financial investment for young adults. While estimates vary, many sources now place the average increase in earnings over a 40-year career at or near $1 million compared to workers without a college degree.

Furthermore, faculty, staff and alumni of the five colleges and universities say a degree from one isn鈥檛 just any garden-variety bachelor鈥檚 degree.

Engaged profs, small classes

鈥淎t a larger school, many of the foundational classes are taught by teaching assistants,鈥� says Matthew Schmidt, a 1994 graduate of , North Newton,鈥圞an. 鈥淎t Bethel you have full professors teaching these same classes.鈥�

Schmidt, who lives in Newton, Kan., and is interim director of a clinic providing health services to medically underserved populations, says the small class sizes at Bethel created an interactive environment ideal for collaborative learning.

Additionally, engaged faculty invested in students鈥� well-being and emphases on critical thinking and cross-cultural skills prepare them particularly well for the future.

Strong outcomes

Two of many indications are these:

鈥� From 2006 to 2010, 91 percent of EMU graduates who applied to medical school were accepted, almost double the national acceptance rate of 46 percent.

鈥� At Bethel, 95 percent of social work graduates pass their licensing exams on the first attempt, compared with a national pass rate of 78 percent.

鈥淚n a rapidly changing and highly specialized job market, a liberal arts college degree provides an essential foundation for the basic skills that are needed in a dynamic economic environment,鈥� says John D. Roth, the author of Teaching that Transforms: Why Anabaptist-Mennonite Education Matters and a professor of history at Goshen College. 鈥淪o education at Goshen College is 鈥榳orth it鈥� for straightforward economic reasons alone.鈥�

But the financial case for the value of a Mennonite college, university or seminary education only tells part of the story.

Education that transforms

Back on the financial aid page: 鈥淭he key is to think of [education] in terms of value. While the cost of college may initially be a bit of a shock, step back, take a deep breath and think about the experiences and lifelong advantages a Hesston education provides.鈥� This appeal to the value of a Mennonite education is an extremely important part of the argument.

鈥淎s Anabaptists, we are part of a tradition that measures worth in more than monetary terms,鈥� says Rachel Swartzendruber Miller, vice president of admissions and financial aid at Hesston. 鈥淢ennonite colleges and universities not only offer course credits and degrees, we provide transformational opportunities for our students to fully discover themselves and their place in God鈥檚 mission in the world.鈥�

Graduates of these schools frequently point to impossible-to-quantify personal growth as one of the most important parts of their educations there.

鈥淎ttending Goshen College was a seminal time in my development,鈥� says Peter Eash-Scott, a 1999 graduate, now a stay-at-home dad in Newton 鈥淚t probably is one of the most influential things that has informed who I am, what I value and who I strive to be.鈥�

Shared, reinforced values

Spending four years in a learning environment surrounded by people who held similar values, Eash-Scott adds, provided 鈥渁 safe place to explore my faith and challenge my understanding of God, myself and the faith community,鈥� both in and out of the classroom.

Close, caring relationships between students and faculty often are another important aspect of an education at a Mennonite institution.

鈥淭he faculty and staff here are part of our community,鈥� says Clark Oswald, associate director of admissions at Bethel. 鈥淲e care for our neighbors. That鈥檚 something as Mennonites that we learn in church growing up, and at Bethel we do that. 鈥� There鈥檚 just kind of this underlying sense of 鈥榳e鈥檙e in this together.鈥� 鈥�

Michelle Roth-Cline, a 2000 graduate of EMU, called the mentoring role of faculty 鈥渁bsolutely invaluable.鈥� Now a pediatric ethicist for the , Roth-Cline says her education at EMU prepared her for medical school as well as her classmates coming from Ivy League and other prestigious schools. At the same time, what she learned about building relationships has served her equally well.

Learning to care for people

鈥�I learned more about how to care for other people at EMU than I did in medical school. Simply knowing how to care for other people in this way has opened all kinds of doors both personally and professionally that I never would have imagined possible when I was choosing a college,鈥� Roth-Cline says.

Leah Roeschley, a 2011 graduate of Bluffton, says her education there set the stage for her own spiritual growth. The opportunity to explore Mennonite faith and spirituality, combined with 鈥渟pace to ask questions [and] space to access and receive counsel鈥� allows students to 鈥渃laim a faith that is truly their own,鈥� she says.

鈥淢y Mennonite education was worth it because my college experience was bracketed with values that resonated with me,鈥� says Roeschley, a registered dietitian in Bloomington, Ill. 鈥淭hose values were in the background of everything I did at Bluffton. 鈥� I left not only fully equipped for the field of dietetics, but I also left with 鈥� a deeper understanding of who I was.鈥�

A related role played by Mennonite higher education is the development of future church leaders and members.

Developing leaders

鈥�There is strong and long-standing research that shows that students who graduate from a Mennonite college are far more likely to participate after college in a Mennonite congregation, our denominational service agencies and leadership positions in the denominational structures. Mennonite higher education is not only a great value for students, we are of great value to our denomination,鈥� says Koop Liechty, the admissions director at Goshen.

, director of admissions at (EMS), says that study at a Mennonite seminary puts Anabaptist 鈥渢heology, history, polity and biblical understandings鈥� at the center of the curriculum. At a non-Mennonite school, she adds, these topics鈥攌ey in the development of church leaders鈥攚ould often be relegated to electives.

Ron Guengerich, a 1974 graduate of (AMBS), says his education gave him a lifelong love of scholarship and the church while bringing the Bible alive as 鈥渁 challenging and transforming 鈥榳ord.鈥� 鈥� Now the pastor of Silverwood Mennonite Church in Goshen, he says he left well prepared for work within the church and eager to continue advanced study of the Old Testament.

Given the relatively low pay offered to people entering church leadership and ministry positions, Amstutz says EMS is concerned with the growing cost of attendance and believes all levels of the denomination need to 鈥渇ind ways to help support students financially.鈥�

There is also a converse question of worth to consider: What would be the price of not having strong educational institutions?

鈥淚t鈥檚 impossible to put a money value on effective and visionary leadership for the church,鈥� says Sara Wenger Shenk, president of AMBS. 鈥淢ost of us don鈥檛 get it that healthy communities thrive 鈥� because they have compassionate, competent and confident leaders.鈥�

Building community

鈥淭hank God for those who remember that the cost of ignorance and immaturity given full sway in local congregations is far greater than an investment in those who are ready to become masters of the craft,鈥� she says.

According to those interviewed for this article, the sum of an educational experience at a Mennonite educational institution is greater than its individual parts, with academic growth and personal development building upon and informing each other.

鈥淲e feel very strongly about our value and the high quality of education that we provide to our students,鈥� says Good. His statement is echoed by his counterparts at other institutions. 鈥淎t EMU, students receive an education in which they are challenged to move beyond their comfort zone, to think critically about the world around them, to strengthen their core values and beliefs and to be leaders and forces for change and justice in their communities.鈥�

Courtesy The Mennonite, Jan. 1, 2013

, , and have each signed a memo of understanding with 草莓社区鈥檚 (EMU) . Each college/university has agreed to do an initial screening of students who apply to the institution and then recommend IEP to those who could benefit from the one-semester, or more, English language immersion experience.

Two years ago, IEP Director approached MEA Senior Director with the idea of making IEP available to the other Mennonite colleges/universities. Moyer was excited about the potential for this type of collaboration and encouraged Roth to pursue the idea.

Over a period of time, Roth met individually with admissions, enrollment and academic staff of the four colleges/universities.

鈥淚 believe very strongly in Mennonite education and the work MEA does to bring educators together. I was grateful for the opportunity to share how IEP could work on their behalf and was pleased by their openness and eagerness to work together,鈥� said Roth.

Moyer believes that this collaboration among Mennonite higher education is one that our missional church can also celebrate.

鈥淭he world community is relating in new ways; there is an openness to learn from each other,鈥� said Moyer.聽鈥淭he Anabaptist view of God’s love for all people is being modeled in relationships that go beyond our borders. The faith and values that Mennonite education teaches is significant for our neighbors both near and far.鈥�

EMU鈥檚 IEP began in 1989 to support its international students who needed English language skills in order to study in an American academic setting. Classes focus on language skills of listening, speaking, reading, writing and grammar through cultural immersion and much personal attention. The program emphasizes the value of cultural diversity even as it helps students understand North American academic rules, methods of study and expectations. Currently, 45 to 55 students, representing 15 to 20 different countries, are enrolled in each IEP session.

Read more…

A former vice president and academic dean at EMU will return to serve as interim provost for the 2008-09 school year.

EMU President Loren Swartzendruber announced that Dr. Lee F. Snyder will begin serving Aug. 25 in the second highest administrative post at the university.

She succeeds Dr. Beryl H. Brubaker, who is retiring this summer after 37 years as a faculty member and administrator.

The provost gives overall guidance to the undergraduate and graduate academic programs of the university as well as Eastern Mennonite Seminary, various auxiliary programs and the Adult Degree Completion Program.

"I am pleased that Dr. Snyder will serve in this interim role at EMU," Swartzendruber said. "She brings a wealth of experience to the responsibilities she will carry."

Academic Background

Snyder was vice president and academic dean of EMU for 12 years before becoming president of Bluffton (Ohio) University, where she served with distinction from 1996 until retiring on July 31, 2006.

Snyder joined the EMU faculty in 1974 and taught part time in the humanities and in English while serving as an assistant in the dean’s office, 1974-82.

A native of Harrisburg, Ore., Snyder attended EMU for one year and earned a B.A. degree from the University of Oregon.

Later she received an MA in English literature and linguistics from James Madison University and a PhD in American and Victorian literature from the University of Oregon.

Her doctoral work focused on the writings of contemporary California writer Joan Didion.

Global Interests

Lee and her husband, Delbert W. Snyder, taught in Nigeria, 1965-68. Her many board and association assignments include: chair of the China Educational Exchange Board, 1989-95; chair, executive Board of Mennonite Church USA and moderator, Mennonite Health Services Alliance board of directors, 2006-present and current chair.

Assignments in Africa, Asia and Latin America have contributed to her interest in global issues and international education.

Snyder and her husband again reside in Harrisonburg, Va.

The Bluffton team hangs their heads in prayer Sunday before the game against EMU in Sarasota, Fla. (Photo courtesy of Lima [Ohio] News)

It was a day of remembering, a day of baseball, a day of new beginnings.

As the Bluffton University baseball team gathered at home plate before taking the field Sunday, Mar. 2, a crowd of 200 cheered, glad to see the team begin a new season, hoping that now a year after the tragic bus crash, maybe the young men can move forward.

Yet, the day was not without remembering the five teammates who will never take the field again.

“I think about them every day,” said junior pitcher Matt Perkins, of Convoy. “You see things that remind you and I think they are up in heaven watching us every game. … I think they are very much a part of the team.”

Bluffton took on EMU on Sunday, the same game the teams were to play on the day the bus crashed in Atlanta, killing players Tyler Williams, of Lima, Scott Harmon, of Elida, David Betts, of Bryan, Cody Holp, of Arcanum, and Zachary Arend, of Oakwood. The bus driver and wife, Jerome “Jerry” and Jean Niemeyer, of Columbus Grove, also died.

When the team arrived at Sarasota Christian School, many of their family members were already waiting. Many greeted each other with hugs. Mary Miller, of LaPort, Ind., had a big hug for her grandson, assistant coach Todd Miller.

Miller was in Florida last year and was expecting to have dinner with her grandson the day of the accident. Miller was thrown from the bus before the bus plunged below.

“There are a lot of memories today, and thankfulness that they are still here,” she said.

Game of Hope, New Beginnings

In opening remarks just moments before the first pitch, Bluffton President James Harder described the game as one of hope and new beginnings, and one played in memory of the five players lost.

Eastern Mennonite President Loren Swartzendruber led a prayer before the game.

“Today we celebrate hope even as we invite your continued healing touch,” he prayed.

Bluffton was the first to score and led the game 3-1 going into the ninth inning. Eastern Mennonite came back to win in the bottom of the ninth. Solemn players, a few who sat in the dugout staring out onto the field, proved the team was there to win.

Players knelt in prayer together before the game, much like they did before the first game following the accident. While thoughts of their lost teammates remain with them, Sunday was very much about baseball and beginning the season.

“We were just happy to be given the opportunity to come out and play today,” said sophomore outfielder Cody McPherson, of Northwood, adding that the five players are always on their minds and in their hearts.

The team left from Detroit on Saturday and arrived by plane in Fort Myers, around 8 p.m. The team’s first game of the Gene Cusic Classic is this afternoon. Players admit that leaving Saturday was tough and traveling brought some anxiety.

‘Integrity of the team’

“I just think that being here and being here as a team just shows the integrity of the team and shows how much we like to play,” said McPherson, who started the scoring off with a solo home run in the second inning.

Coach James Grandey said team meetings in the last few days have been about baseball, playing with confidence and being aggressive on the base paths.

“We’re excited to be here today, to be back on the field and being healthy,” he said, saying it never crossed his mind that the team would not return to Florida.

As he has much of the past year, Grandey spoke of his amazing team, both his players now and those five who didn’t survive the crash.

“They are five of the best people you will ever meet. They come from great families and they are dearly missed,” he said. “They are with us every day.”

Eastern Mennonite baseball players were also thinking about those players Sunday.

‘Honor those who have passed’

“What better way to honor those who have passed than to honor what they would have done. They would have come out here and they would have given everything they had,” said Eastern Mennonite senior and third baseman, Jameson Jarvis.

Many of the fans wore Bluffton shirts, caps and “Bluffton Remembers” wristbands. Like most any game, they cheered for their Beavers, and even moaned a little when they didn’t agree with the umpire’s call.

All were glad to see the team back on the field.

“It’s exciting. It really is a new beginning,” said Wapakoneta’s Gwynne Freytag, mother of senior pitcher Brandon Freytag. She wore a button with Brandon’s picture and “Bluffton mom” shirt. “They love to play baseball and it’s nice to see them out there.”

“It is a sad day, but yet a happy day,” former Bluffton football coach Carlin Carpenter said, saying it’s nice that the players have been “able to regroup and enjoy life like they are supposed to at this age.”

Parents in the Stands

Sitting in the stands Sunday made Dee Roberts feel grateful. Her son, junior pitcher and first baseman Steve Roberts, of West Salem, was on the bus last year.

“It is pretty amazing to see how these guys have pulled together, stayed together and continued to move forward through all of this,” her husband, Bill Roberts, added.

Mary Ann Moore, of Elida, couldn’t help but think about the parents who lost their children a year ago. Her sons, player Tony Moore, and then-coach Jason Moore, both survived the crash.

“I’m happy to see the boys out there playing because I think that really helps them,” she said. “Once they step out on the field I think they can sort of forget everything else.”

One person in the crowd first met the team a year ago as many of the injured came through the doors of Grady Memorial Hospital. Dr. Jeffrey Salomone, a surgeon at Grady, had trouble finding the words to answer why he needed to come to the game. It’s the same reason he flew to Bluffton to catch a game last season.

“There was a certain bond that developed,” he said from behind the Beaver’s dugout. “I want to see good come to these guys and see them succeed. They have come through a horrendous situation and they are obviously very resilient.

Eighteen Bluffton students took a break from building homes in Florida with Habitat for Humanity to support the team.

“These guys need emotional support,” sophomore Cyrus Weigand, of Akron, said. “I think the first step in healing is to embrace the tragedy and then move past it. We want to be here for them.”

Many from the university traveled to be with the team, there for support and perhaps to help in their own healing.

“I wanted to see this game happen,” said Eric Fulcomer, vice president of enrollment and student life. “This is a big event in the life of the baseball team to play this game. There is nowhere else I want to be.”

——–
Beth L. Jokinen is a staff writer with the , from which this story is reprinted with permission.

In the truest sense, 草莓社区 and its Ohio-based sister school, Bluffton University, are like family.

Folks at these two Mennonite-affiliated schools know the same people, tell the same jokes, sing the same hymns and preach the same doctrine. Although 460 miles apart, many of these Mennonites have lived in both Bluffton and Harrisonburg because the two schools regularly swap professors, administrators and faculty.

Unfortunately, EMU officials and coaches say, it was tragedy not tranquility that recently strengthened the friendship of the companion schools.

On Friday, a Bluffton charter bus full of baseball players plunged off an interstate ramp in Atlanta. The crash killed six people

Hear Jim Bishop read this essay.

“EMU – Bluffton baseball game cancelled.”

This notice in small type on the Saturday calendar of my local newspaper might normally attract little notice.

But on this occasion, the words jumped out at me as a jarring reminder that what should have been a celebrative, albeit competitive, time of fun in the Florida sun instead denoted a bleak, horrific reality.

For the previous 24 hours, stories had emerged non-stop from Atlanta, Ga., of the Friday morning crash of a charter bus carrying 35 passengers from Bluffton (Ohio) University to Florida. The accident left luggage, sports equipment and bodies scattered across lanes of I-75. The bus was en route to Sarasota, Fla., to play 草莓社区 (EMU) in a baseball double-header the next day.

Four players, the bus driver and his wife were killed, and many others were injured, some critically. Many members of the EMU community immediately became part of the story, not only because the schools were about to face each other in baseball, but because EMU and Bluffton are sister Mennonite universities, with shared values and multiple family connections.

EMU baseball captain Jameson Jarvis told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “This should help show each and every individual we’re not promised tomorrow . . . We’re not promised 10 minutes from now.” He showed the newspaper reporter the rim of his baseball hat where he wears Psalms 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God.”

Yet who of those who boarded that bus, thought this would be their last road trip on planet Earth? Why were certain ones taken while others walked away more emotionally than physically scarred?

It’s at such times, as puzzling, seemingly unfair and devastating as they are, that human beings have opportunity to exhibit their full potential, experience their finest hour. The outpouring of empathy and support has been incredible, from AirTran’s offer of free transportation to flowers and messages left at the site of the accident.

Statements of solidarity were quickly issued by sister Mennonite school Goshen (Ind.) College, from Mennonite Education Agency and Mennonite Church USA. Campus ministries staff at EMU sent resource materials to Bluffton, Ohio, and to Sarasota, Fla., for use in grief services held there, while persons from the Mennonite community in Atlanta moved in to assist medical personnel with aid and comfort.

Third-cousin Johnny Crist, lead pastor of the Atlanta Vineyard congregation who attended Eastern Mennonite Seminary in the mid 1970s, was the first clergy person to arrive at the hospital caring for the majority of the casualties.

“I was able to tend to and pray with nearly all the injured players,” Johnny told me in an e-mail. “Later Friday afternoon, I was asked to join the disaster team at the downtown hotel for police and medical briefings and to care for the arriving families.

“On Saturday, I led the team of the four families who lost their sons to the crash site &mdash a moving experience. I prayed with all the families there. Later, I escorted two of the victim’s parents and families to view their son’s bodies at a local funeral home, likely the most difficult day of their lives. Again, they asked me to pray with them at the bedsides of the deceased.”

At a March 4 church service in a Sarasota Mennonite church attended by EMU’s baseball team and many more mourners, EMU President Loren Swartzendruber said, “It is possible to embrace a theology that celebrates the presence of God in every moment and experience of life, without believing that God causes such tragedies.

“We are fully human, and we live in a world that is far from perfect. We get sick. We get old, and some have the good fortune to get older than others,” said Dr. Swartzendruber. “We are victims of others’ mistakes.”

But, he added, “the words of Romans 8 should always be in our repertoire of responses &mdash ‘For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.'”

Among the things that keep me committed to an Anabaptist-Mennonite understanding of faith and practice is the priority given to demonstrating caring and community &mdash being priests at each other’s elbow, if you will &mdash that permeates who we are as a people and makes me “proud” to be a member of this “minority group” within the larger Christian landscape. We may not have a corner on this quality, but it is one of our basic convictions.

In the wake of this and other crises that persons around us are facing, may we all rededicate ourselves to weep with those who weep, mourn with those who mourn and, yes, laugh with those who laugh.

As President Swartzendruber has said on several occasions &mdash “A community that cannot laugh together will never know how to cry together.”

This is indeed a time to cry as many pick up the pieces. And, farther on down the road, there will again be laughter.

———-
Jim Bishop is public information officer at 草莓社区.

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Eighteen faculty members from undergrad Bible and religion programs in colleges related to Mennonite Church USA met on campus Sept. 25 and 26.

At this first meeting of faculty representing the five institutions now relating to MCUSA, conversation focused on mission, academic work and church relations. The group also spent time in worship and fellowship.

Speaking from personal experiences, five faculty addressed the topic, “Standing with one foot in the Church and one foot in the Academy: My experiences as a Bible/Theology/Religion/Philosophy professor in an MCUSA school.” Duane Friesen, Bethel College; J. Denny Weaver, Bluffton University; Nancy R. Heisey, EMU; Marion Bontrager, Hesston College and Keith Graber Miller, Goshen College, made presentations.

In a Sunday morning worship led by Hesston professor Michelle Hershberger, participants meditated on the story of Jesus teaching in the temple from John 7 and created symbols of their questions for God. A brainstorming session raised possibilities for facilitated student exchanges among schools, further gatherings to focus concretely on pedagogical questions and the idea of a published collection of participants

The first art exhibit of the fall semester will feature recent ceramics by Gregg Luginbuhl from Bluffton (OH) University.

Luginbuhl is professor of art and chair of the art department at Bluffton, where he teaches ceramics, sculpture, 3-D design and photography.

The exhibit will open Sunday, Sept. 5, with a reception for the artist 2:30-4 p.m. in the gallery on third floor of EMU’s .

The mix of sculptural forms to be displayed embraces a variety of approaches to the ceramic process: raku fired wall sculpture and free-standing forms, soda fired stoneware and porcelain vessels and cone 10 fired functional porcelain and stoneware.

Included in the show are wall plate sculptures which begin from a low wheel-thrown plate. Evolving from the energy of the potters’ whorl, clay slabs, textural stampings, coils, lattice, and graphic elements are added to the rim of the plates to create an ephemeral combination of form, color, texture, and movement. The titles of these works "are intended to evoke a variety of poetic associations and questions," Luginbuhl said.

Detail from "Farm Bureau," polychrome earthenware Photo Credit: Jerry Anthony

At 7 p.m. that day, Luginbuhl will give the C. Henry Smith Peace Lecture, "Mennonite College and University Artists Depict Peace," in room 123 of the seminary building at EMU. The illustrated presentation explores the art and thought of 15 artists and their vision of peace and peacemaking.

The 80 art works included in the presentation are from Bethel College, N. Newton, Kan.; Bluffton University; Goshen College, Goshen, Ind.; and EMU. Artists from EMU include and former instructor Scott Jost.

"My study seeks to discover how peace church theology is reflected in the work of Mennonite faculty artists and if they are, in any sense, spokespersons for peace through the process and products of their art activities," Luginbuhl stated.

The 45-minute Power Point lecture will give opportunity for audience questions. Admission to the program is free.

The annual C. Henry Smith Peace Lecture is named for the late C. Henry Smith, a prominent educator and pioneer in the comprehensive study and recorded history of Mennonites in America. Dr. Smith was dean at Goshen (IN) College, 1908-1913, then served at Bluffton as head of the history department from 1914 until his retirement in 1946.

Luginbuhl earned a B.A. degree from Bluffton and an MFA degree from the University of Montana. He has exhibited pottery and ceramic sculpture in regional and national exhibitions, receiving many awards for his work. An installation of eight ceramic plates with modeled imagery, "The Creation Series," and two bronze sculptures, "Jonah and the Whale" and "The Last First Draft," are permanently displayed on the Bluffton University campus.

Luginbuhl’s exhibit at EMU will be open for viewing daily during regular library hours through Oct. 1 free of charge.