“My faith is extremely important to me and was the biggest deciding factor in choosing a college,” said Fitton, a member of Divine Unity Community Church in Harrisonburg. “I didn’t want to go to a big party school, but instead wanted to grow in my faith and use my testimony to inspire others.”

Fitton, who enjoys leading Bible studies, praying over people, and bringing others to Christ, said she’s excited to become a part of EMU campus ministries this fall. “EMU offers campus worship, Bible studies, and more opportunities that you can’t find on other campuses,” she said. “Many players on the volleyball team also openly express their passion for Christ, which is important to me.”

The volleyball star was named Region 1B Player of the Year and received honors as a first team selection at the All-District, All-Region, and All-State levels this past season. She will play for the Royals this fall and said Coach Casey Steinbrecher was another major reason for her choosing EMU. 

“I remember one of my first conversations with him, he just wanted to get to know me outside of volleyball,” Fitton said. “Other coaches wanted to know my interests and that kind of thing, but Casey stuck out to me by wanting to get to know what my family was like, my background, and more before getting to know me as a player.”

When she’s not on the court, she plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree in business management. She said she will graduate high school with a cosmetology license and plans to earn her esthetician license either during or after college. Eventually, she said, she hopes to own and manage her own spa. 

A ‘life-changing’ opportunity

Fitton said her decision to attend EMU “felt right.” When she visited the campus early last year, she was struck by everyone’s friendliness toward her. “Everyone I walked past asked me how I was, without even knowing me,” she said. “The atmosphere on campus is refreshing. It’s quiet and peaceful while also being welcoming.”

She said she looks forward to forming close connections with classmates and professors and taking advantage of EMU’s distinctive intercultural program. “I love to travel and expand my understanding of the world,” Fitton said. “I believe an experience to study abroad is life-changing and opens doors for opportunity. When I visited, I knew EMU was a place I could see myself for the next four years.”

Read more about Reese
: Fitton named Region 1B Player of the Year and headed to EMU
: Luray’s Reese Fitton used faith, love to lead team during special season

Harding and his late wife, Rosemarie, were close friends and colleagues of Martin Luther King Jr., during an era when the Hardings were active members of a Mennonite church.

Walk For Hope unites students from Blue Ridge Community College, Bridgewater College, ��ݮ���� and James Madison University to raise awareness about depression and suicide. The walk and all afternoon activities are free and open to the public. People whose lives have been affected by mental illness, either personally or through friends and family, are especially encouraged to attend.

Organizers predict this year’s event will be especially powerful. The Steel Wheels, which include Eric Brubaker ’01, Brian Dickel ’98, and Jay Lapp, are also bringing that special friend on stage to share the story of his struggles with depression and past abuse, and how he came to make a different, life-saving choice. Keith Morris ’83 is past president and current board member of the , which addresses child sexual abuse in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.

“The prevailing message of the event is hope,” said planning committee member , who mentors EMU students in her positions with and . “It’s really moving to be a part of it, to see everyone supporting each other.”

The event kicks off at 11:30 a.m. with a 2.2-mile walk from JMU’s Memorial Hall in downtown Harrisonburg along High Street/Virginia Avenue to the EMU campus. In the past, walkers and an administrator from each school marched separately to a common location, but this year, in a show of solidarity, all will walk together. Walk For Hope T-shirts, free to pre-registered participants, will be brightly tie-dyed in school colors.

Organizers expect close to 1,000 participants to congregate at EMU’s Thomas Plaza around 12:30 p.m. for an afternoon of music, creativity, and sharing. The concert begins at 1 p.m. Other activities include children’s face-painting and games, drumming, and opportunities to create remembrance art. As in past years, participants can decorate and take home personal garden stones and add squares to the “Symbols of Hope” quilt. This year’s special community project will be decorating large wooden letters that spell “Walk for Hope.”

Since it began in 2012, Walk for Hope has increased in size each year. That growth may come as the result of a tragic fact: Most college students know someone who has suffered from depression or anxiety, contemplated suicide or died by suicide. The second leading cause of death among college students is suicide, according to a 2012 study by the . reports that depression and anxiety are more common among college students than back pain, sinus ailments, and allergies.

Raising awareness and providing support are two goals of the , which co-sponsors Walk for Hope and also funds an innovative mentoring program at EMU called CoachLink. The program began after Austin Frazier, a junior at James Madison University, died in 2009 after a long battle with bipolar disorder.

“This CoachLink program and Walk for Hope were concepts presented to local colleges by his father, Bibb Frazier,” says Hostetler, one of five coaches in the CoachLink program. “Both are ways to honor Austin’s memory, to acknowledge that there is hope for all those who experience the effects of depression and suicidal thoughts, and to provide support and resources to students who may need it.” Bibb Frazier is the owner of the nearby , which supplied limestone seen on EMU’s buildings and grounds.

In 2010, CoachLink began with 15 students and three mentors. Now five coaches are paired with more than 50 students, some of whom probably would never see a counselor because of “stigma and anxiety or past history,” says coach Crystal Horning, a counselor with more than 25 years experience in the mental health field. “The informality of our meeting places and the kind of supportive relationship we have is almost more freeing, I think, for a student to talk about really challenging issues.”

Hostetler says Walk for Hope has successfully created a similar informal and positive atmosphere for educating and raising awareness. “From that first year, we wanted the focus to be on hope,” she said. “We wanted to create the right atmosphere that is comfortable, so people feel free to walk for someone they’ve lost or someone who considered suicide, but didn’t do it. We wanted people to leave feeling hopeful and comfortable talking about depression and suicide, because it’s not something people talk about or admit they’ve struggled with.”

The event is co-sponsored by the Austin Frazier Memorial Fund, EMU, JMU, Bridgewater College, and Sentara RMH Behavioral Health.

To receive a free t-shirt, pre-register at .

Arbogast is survived by her husband Chris Arbogast and two sons, Bryce and Collin. She is the daughter of Vera (Lambert) Moore of Harrisonburg and the late Richard Moore.

Arbogast worked at EMU for 15 years in custodial services and was well known and popular around campus. She was a regular at EMU’s twice weekly chapels in Lehman Auditorium.

Evie King, supervisor of custodial services, said Arbogast had a caring heart and inspired her coworkers to embrace life as she battled for her own. “She constantly reached out to those around her,” said King, “and was quick to offer help to her team members and to other custodial teams when they were swamped with extra work.”

has scheduled a campus memorial service  at 7 p.m. on  Dec. 4 in Pam’s familiar surroundings of Lehman Auditorium. Memorial contributions may be made to the Bridgewater Fire Department, 304 North Main St., Bridgewater, Va., 22812.

Online condolences may be sent to the family at .

EMU’s information on grief and support resources is available .

At a Jan. 12, 8:30 p.m., , Guyton’s topic will be “Contentiously Mennonite: My Journeys in Anabaptism.” At a on Jan. 16, at 10 a.m., Guyton will speak on attaining dreams by squarely facing old fears and putting hope in Christ, even when it seems risky, as King did.

Guyton also knows about taking risks. He started his adult life on a proven path to success by first earning his bachelor’s degree at the prestigious United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs and then serving as a U.S. Air Force officer stationed in Norfolk, Va.

Somewhere in his journey, however, he began to feel that Jesus was calling him to be “subversive and radical” in his witnessing of the Gospel and to question America’s glorification of power, wealth and violence.

Influenced by his future wife Cyndi, Guyton became deeply involved in a Mennonite church in Hampton, Va., Calvary Community Church. He became a conscientious objector and withdrew from the military in 1998. For 17 years Guyton held various ministry roles in Calvary, including youth pastor. By 2006, Calvary had the largest membership of any Mennonite church in the United States. Calvary is led and largely populated by African Americans.

In 2009, Guyton joined the staff of . He now works from San Antonio, Texas, as the church’s national director of constituent resources.

Part of Guyton’s responsibilities is giving leadership to anti-racism work within the Mennonite Church. “As our church seeks to become anti-racist, the dominant group must have accountability to the racial/ethnic constituency in the decision making process,” says Guyton.

A dynamic personality, Guyton has spoken to thousands of youth and adults in the United States, Jamaica, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Ghana. He holds a master’s degree in education from Regent University. The Guytons are the parents of a 14-year-old daughter and a 10-year-old son.

Tribute Weekend

In addition to Guyton, EMU will hold an ongoing multimedia presentation from Friday, Jan. 13 – Monday, Jan. 16., in front of the student life suite on the second floor of University Commons.

All events are open to the public.

Truman H. Brunk, 79, a former campus pastor, died Friday, Oct. 8, at Rockingham Memorial Hospital in Harrisonburg, Va.

Brunk was born May 19, 1931 in Washington, D.C., the son of the late Truman and Ruth Smith Brunk. He grew up in the Denbigh community of Newport News, Va.

Brunk joined the EMU faculty in 1965 following his ordination and served as campus pastor 12 years. He was chair of the renovation committee for major renovations to Lehman Auditorium in the mid-1970’s. Brunk then served briefly as director of college relations, overseeing the areas of church, alumni and media relations and annual and special giving.

Brunk will be remembered by many for his leadership in the “miracle library drive” of early December, 1969, working with EMU students who raised $111,000 in four days of fund-raising to rescue the threatened building project. The Sadie Hartzler library was completed and dedicated in the fall of 1971.

“Truman Brunk was a very special brother among us, highly regarded by faculty and students for his gracious understanding and caring spirit,” said Myron S. Augsburger, who became EMU president in 1965.

Brunk was the first faculty member Dr. Augsburger hired that year. “I thank God for his service at EMU and for his extended ministry in a series of significant pastorates. Many have been blessed by knowing him as a friend and an enriching brother.”

Brunk is survived by his wife of 58 years, Elizabeth (Betty) Shenk Brunk; a daughter, Kathleen Brunk Isaacs of Morrisville, N.C.; a son, Donald Wayne Brunk of Souderton, Pa.; four grandchildren and two great- grandchildren.

He is also survived by two sisters, Evelyn Hertzler of Newport News and Sandra Steiner of Harrisonburg, and a nephew, Steve Brydge of Harrisonburg. A sister, Margaret “Peggy” Brydge, is deceased.

A 1964 EMU graduate, Brunk went on to earn a master of divinity degree from Eastern Mennonite Seminary in 1969. He also studied at Union Theological Seminary, New York, Winona Lake (Ind.) School of Theology and Union Theological Seminary, Richmond.

Following his service at EMU, Brunk served as pastor at Akron (PA) Mennonite Church; Blooming Glen (PA) Mennonite Church; Warwick River Mennonite Church, Newport News, Va.; and as associate pastor at Harrisonburg Mennonite Church. With his wife, Betty, they were interim pastors at Neffsville Mennonite Church, Lancaster, Pa.; and Landisville (PA) Mennonite Church.

Brunk was the author of two books of stories growing out of 40 years of pastoring and mentoring – That Amazing Junk-Man (2007) and The Singing Junk-Man (2010), published by Cascadia Publishing House, Telford, Pa.

A memorial service was held Sunday, Oct. 10, at Lindale Mennonite Church with internment in the Lindale church cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to Eastern Mennonite Seminary, 1200 Park Road, Harrisonburg, VA 22802.

By Tom Mitchell, Daily News-Record

One of the earliest uses of Tom Sine’s creativity turned heads – and cars.

Sine spoke Wednesday at ��ݮ����’s Lehman Auditorium (listen to the podcast). He recalled for his audience how, as a college student in Portland, Ore., he and some friends piled into the back of an old hearse that a member of the group had just bought, and rattled the nerves of fellow motorists.

Tom and Christine Sine

“We stopped really fast at an intersection, and every one of us in the back tumbled out of that hearse,” Sine said. “One driver ran off the road and I think another swallowed his cigarette.”

Sine and his wife, Christine, spoke for 45 minutes at Lehman about how today’s college students can use that kind of imagination for good in a troubled world. The couple’s joint talk was part of fall Spiritual Life Week, which began Monday and runs through Friday at EMU.

The Sines are also founders of Mustard Seed Associates, a nonprofit multidenominational alliance headquartered in Seattle that consists of Christians from throughout the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

The goal of Mustard Seed Associates is to spur people to help others at home and abroad and, like the biblical mustard seed, bear the fruit of change in the world.

Less Means More

The Sines urged students to turn the world’s financially fragile times into a chance to help others through service that meets the needs of the less fortunate.

Tom and Christine Sine gather with students in the campus center after chapel to discuss their ideas. (listen to the podcast of their chapel talk on “Life after EMU.”)

Due largely to a poor economy, today’s young adults may have less materially than their parents, Tom Sine said. Such monetary limits, he added, may enable young adults to find joy in other ways.

“We’re trying to help college people consider using their lives more to make a difference than a living,” he said.

Such prompting competes with what Christine Sine calls a “consumer culture” that promotes self-indulgence. But a surprising portion of young adults aren’t so materialistic, she said.

“We are finding a number of young people in their 20s and 30s who really question the values of the consumer culture,” Sine said.

Tom Sine, 73, teaches at a Seattle seminary and Australian-born Christine, 59, works as an international health-care consultant. Both have authored numerous books on purposeful living.

Students at EMU applauded the Sines’ address.

“I like their idea about new churches getting people involved with God,” said Alejandra Gutierrez, 18, an EMU freshman who lives in Bridgewater and is a native of Colombia.

Aaron Yutzy, 21, an EMU senior from Timberville, said a cross-cultural trip he took to Central America last year taught him compassion for those outside the U.S., but added he is still assessing life after college.

“I’m not yet sure how I’m going to fit [service to others] into my life,” Yutzy said.

A Popular Choice

EMU campus pastors Brian Martin Burkholder and Julie Haushalter said EMU invited the Sines to speak after a survey showed students wanted a Spiritual Life Week conducted on the theme, Following Jesus With Our Lives.

“The students wanted [to hear] a significant voice that integrated faith with life,” Burkholder said.

For all its attention on EMU’s students, Spiritual Life Week retains a community focus, say organizers, who add that EMU reaches out to the Harrisonburg community with such service projects as home repairs and visits to the elderly.

“Almost all of our Spiritual Life Week events are open to the public,” Haushalter said.

Read more…

EMU Counseling Services in the student life division is available to support EMU students and staff touched by this and similar events. Located in the Wellness Suite of the University Commons, counselors are available throughout the school week. Call 540-432-4317 for more information or to make an appointment.

Campus pastors are also available for care and support. On Friday, campus pastor Brian Martin Burkholder e-mailed EMU students, writing “Let’s be in prayer and offer support in various ways for the students, faculty and staff of NIU. In light of this tragedy, if you … are in need of support, please be in touch with campus pastors or the counseling center staff.”

Also on Friday EMU President Loren Swartzendruber sent a letter of condolence to NIU President John Peters, writing:

“The thoughts and prayers of the faculty, staff and students of EMU have been with you and your campus since learning of the tragic shooting that took place on your campus on Thursday. Please know that I am personally praying for you as you provide leadership during this very important and difficult time. You have modeled grace under enormous pressure for all of us as institutional presidents. May God continue to grant you much strength for the days and weeks ahead!”

Check the for more information.

Campus pastors, campus ministers and chaplains from several Mennonite colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada met at ��ݮ���� Feb. 28 and March 1, 2007 for mutual support and sharing.

EMU President Loren Swartzendruber and Vice President for Student Life Ken L. Nafziger welcomed the group to campus.

Agenda included receiving updates from campus ministries on each campus, exploring programmatic approaches and meeting with student leaders.

Topics discussed included spirituality, apathy, alcohol use and abuse, sexuality, diversity and hospitality.

The group worshiped in university chapel and seminary chapel and prayed for each other in a closing service.