Two Eastern Mennonite Seminary alumni have created a blog and web magazine to provide a forum for young adults who are committed to staying in the institutional church but want to discuss what that means.

"Work and Hope: Finding Christ in the Church" was created by Jeremy Yoder, a 2010 graduate currently living in Baltimore, Md., and Laura Lehman Amstutz, a 2006 alumna, a Harrisonburg resident. Both completed the three-year master of divinity degree program.

Perspectives on faith, heritage and more

Their blog and quarterly online magazine will attempt to bring together various young adult perspectives about the church.

The first issue of the magazine was launched July 20 and focused on the theme, "Why am I [still] Mennonite" or in the case of one writer "Why am I [still] Brethren."

Six contributors address this question, citing family connections, ethical understandings and a commitment to a heritage and theology that makes sense to them.

Work and Hope

"We chose ‘Work and Hope’ for the blog’s title because are the words in the inscription on many editions of the ‘Martyrs Mirror,’ the historical account of Anabaptist martyrs," said Yoder. "It also signifies the perseverance we believe the church needs to survive."

"We feel like there’s been much emphasis on that segment of our generation who is leaving the church," Amstutz added. "We wanted to create a place for those of us who are staying to discuss what that means for us."

About the editors

Amstutz and Yoder are hoping to attract a wide cross-section of writers for the quarterly magazine from across the Anabaptist-Mennonite faith tradition and perspective.

The editors, Yoder and Amstutz, will also be blogging regularly about other topics related and tangential to their commitment to the church.

Yoder is currently looking for a ministry position within a Mennonite congregation. Amstutz is admissions associate and communication coordinator for Eastern Mennonite Seminary.

Vernon Jantzi has been named to coordinate a feasibility process toward the potential establishment of a Center for the Study of Abrahamic Traditions (CSAT) at EMU.

The appointment was announced by EMU President Loren Swartzendruber.

Dr. Jantzi, professor emeritus of sociology, taught at EMU more than 30 years, most recently at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP), a graduate program he helped to establish. He has extensive experience in international development and peacebuilding work.

In his new position, Jantzi will lead a study to determine the feasibility, shape and scope of the projected Center. The process will build on two years of work by an ad-hoc advisory group made up of representatives from EMU administration, Eastern Mennonite Seminary, CJP, Bible and religion and history departments.

Jantzi will coordinate consultations with EMU faculty/staff and external stakeholders such as Mennonite mission and relief agencies, denominational leaders and similar centers around the world.

“EMU envisions that such a Center would help to shape the university’s thought and action in a post-Cold War, post-9/11 world in which religion and politics may either serve our quest for reconciliation or detract from it,” Dr. Swartzendruber said.

“The Center would provide a setting where practitioners and scholars belonging to the three Abrahamic faith traditions – Judaism, Islam and Christianity – could collaborate in research, training, learning and relations that further peace, just development, security, and wholeness in North America and in the rest of the world.”

“I believe that Anabaptists bring a precious gift to the table in the meeting of Christians, Muslims and Jews,” said David W. Shenk, global consultant with Eastern Mennonite Missions, Salunga, Pa. “My hope is that the Abrahamic Studies Center EMU is considering can nurture that gift and equip many for faithfully learning and sharing around that table.”

Funding for the feasibility process and ultimately for a Center will come from sources external to the university.