A straight talker with an evangelical flair that betrays his Southern Baptist roots, Posey shared some eye-opening strengths and weaknesses related to his own experience as a student at EMU, and urged the gathered community to answer the call to 鈥渕eet students where they are.鈥�

He ended with four practical questions related to faith formation 鈥� picture Posey saying 鈥淕o get 鈥榚m,鈥� as we all trot to the mound 鈥� that participants carried with them throughout the day鈥檚 panel sessions, presentations and worship.

Recognize and build on your strengths as related to faith formation. Evaluate and understand your weaknesses. Ask how you can more effectively merge your calling with your work. And finally, how can you better mentor young people to lives of faith?

EMU鈥檚 faculty-staff conferences are community gatherings at the beginning and end of the academic year. This spring鈥檚 event focused on 鈥渇ostering faith among students but also among ourselves,鈥� said Professor Marti Eads, who chaired the planning committee with Campus Pastor Brian Martin Burkholder. 鈥淚 hope you leave the day fed and hungry for more.鈥�

Titled 鈥淛ourney Companions: Fostering Faith Formation at EMU,鈥� the theme enabled discussions and development of an objective in EMU鈥檚 strategic plan: to nurture spiritual growth and enhance formational engagement among faculty, staff and students.

鈥淯ndergraduate students in our faith mentoring survey a few years ago expressed eagerness to hear more from faculty and staff about their personal faith journeys and how they navigated doubt, challenge and opportunity,鈥� said Burkholder. 鈥淭his conference gives us a chance to hear from each other about how we鈥檙e doing that in our work on campus and how we might expand opportunities for fellowship and relationship-building into new places and spaces.鈥�

More from Coach Posey

At a time when EMU鈥檚 student population is more diverse than ever 鈥� and that diversity includes culture, religion, race, ethnicity and political beliefs 鈥� Posey pointed out that being open and hospitable to different perspectives is very much a part of faith formation. It was deep relationships with a small number of influential faculty and staff that aided his own spiritual and intellectual development, he said.

Posey talked about the challenges of coming to EMU from Poquoson, a mostly white, upper middle-class community among the many military bases in the Hampton Roads area. A communications major, he said the first person he met outside of the baseball coaching staff was Professor Jerry Holsopple, an experience 鈥渨hich really should have counted as my cross-cultural,鈥� he joked.

鈥淓ven among the baseball team, I heard in those first few months perspectives that differed from mine, and that was a culture shock for me, away from home for the first time, away from my girlfriend, trying to figure out some of the things that come with being at EMU,鈥� he said.

What helped him become more comfortable and get through 鈥渁 rocky first couple of years鈥� was a tight relationship with head coach Jason Stuhlmiller (then a high school special education teacher and now area director for Fellowship of Christian Athletes) and connections with faculty members Holsopple and Deanna Durham 鈥� all mentors who got to know him 鈥渙n my level, on my playing field, in my arena.鈥�

Though he came primarily with an identity and purpose tied to his athletic experience, Posey said that changed over the years, and now he鈥檚 grateful that he chose to stay and 鈥渘ot miss out on experiences that have been really important to who I am today.鈥� There are plenty of students today, ones he coaches and others he knows, who have had a similar difficulty adjusting to the EMU community.

鈥淲hether you agree with why that student is here at EMU or not, you have four years to build a relationship with that person and talk to them about things you鈥檙e passionate about, whether it鈥檚 peacebuilding or social justice,鈥� he said.

One beauty of these opportunities is how they remind us of what matters: in the midst of a losing streak, Posey said a player reached out to him to talk about how God was calling him but he felt unworthy. 鈥淚 want to give my life over to Christ, but how do I reconcile that?鈥澛� he asked.

鈥淚t鈥檚 easy to get lost in our jobs and lost in what we鈥檙e doing and not remember why we鈥檙e here,鈥� Posey said. 鈥淏ut we have to keep that in perspective. I would venture to say that we鈥檙e all here at EMU because we hope to impact young people in a way that contributes to the rest of their life.鈥�

Bringing imagination to course design

In his keynote address via Zoom, , professor of education and director of the Kuyers Institute for Christian Teaching and Learning at Calvin College, challenged faculty to have imagination about their course designs. He told the story of different workers on a construction site, one of whom said he was cutting a stone block and the other which said he was building a cathedral: 鈥淲hat do my students think is happening when they sit in my classroom? What is it they think they are doing?鈥� he asked, and, 鈥淲hat do we think we are teaching in our subject area? What does it contribute to the world? To the Kingdom of God?鈥�

He recounted a call from a former student excited at having lent a willing ear to a German-speaking train rider after remembering what Smith had taught in German class, that the purpose of learning a language is less to speak it than it is to listen.

Pedagogical norms, he said, are simply how things are done in any given era, according to prevailing social norms. These norms often separate course content matter from reality鈥檚 ambiguities that merit curiosity and practicable empathy.

鈥楨xamining assumptions鈥�

After the annual recognition luncheon, five break-out sessions were offered on a variety of topics, including workshops on spiritual practices for mentors, exploring spirituality types in mentoring.

Panel discussions offered insights into faith formation in various programs, including the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding and athletics.

Professor Ann Hershberger and interim director Don Clymer invited shared insights into making faith connections for and with students on travelling on EMU’s required cross-cultural trips.

鈥淲hen we are forced out of our routines, we have to rethink many things and examine our assumptions,鈥� Clymer said. That makes for many opportunities to plant seeds, Hershberger added.

Their own and session participants鈥� stories bore that out: the student whose host mother prayed for her hemoglobin deficiency, which then was resolved to a degree that without a blood transfusion is medically impossible; the group that found cohesion in protectively encircling a sick classmate who had become ill on a crowded street; the homesick and tired group that, by recounting how they had experienced the presence of God in the last three days, turned their 鈥渕umbling and grumbling to singing.鈥�

The group also gathered ideas for trip leaders to further prepare for and build on faith building experiences, cultivating groups in which students have starkly different faith understandings, and establishing shared resources and activities that have proven effective.

A final 45-minute gathering, hosted by Burkholder and Professor Johonna Turner, invited reflection and sharing.

Christopher Clymer Kurtz contributed to this article.

Read more about and about .

Latino Heritage Month is from mid-September to mid-October, and includes several important days: September 15 is Independence Day for five Central American countries, while September 16 is Mexico鈥檚 independence day and September 18 is Chile鈥檚.

From his experiences living, working and traveling across Mexico and Latin America, Clymer focused on three similarities of Hispanic cultures: personal space and intimacy, the spirit of community and hospitality, tying each to the theme, which he alternately translated as, 鈥淲here two fit, three fit.鈥�

Among those experiences, which Clymer later matched to scripture, was the generosity of neighbors sharing grief after the death of a youth in the community, being offered the only mattress in a home while the hosts slept on reed mats, and a woman who always prepared more food than necessary in anticipation of unforeseen guests.

鈥淎 lot of that was so familiar,鈥� said LSA co-president Ariel聽Barbosa聽afterwards. 鈥淰isiting my dad’s side of family in Brazil this past summer, I felt their sacrifice and hospitality deeply. There was always enough, even when it seemed like there shouldn’t have been.”

Members welcomed the audience afterwards to a gathering in the Campus Center for coffee and pan (sweet bread).

The month-long celebration includes Saturday鈥檚 in Harrisonburg at Hillandale Park. Held annually for the past 19 years, the free day of fun draws thousands of visitors to celebrate the area鈥檚 rich cultural diversity through art, dance, music and food.

Members say they are also concerned and offering support to fellow students and community members who may be uneasy with the current government actions related to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). LSA provides a safe and encouraging place for everyone, said Barbosa, adding that the club is open to all students. [Read EMU president Susan Schultz Huxman’s statement on the rescission of DACA.]

Currently, though, there is special care, consideration and prayers being said for those LSA members and campus community members affected by DACA, she said.

鈥淲e have a responsibility as a student club to walk alongside students who are being affected by the decision to end DACA,鈥� said co-president Anna Messer. 鈥淎s Latino Student Alliance, we want to encourage these students who are finding their footing and building a foundation for their future. We want people to be supported and empowered to thrive as students, athletes, artists and community members. We ask the same of our campus community, to continue to serve as a safe and welcoming home and refuge. ”

Latino Heritage Month closes with the popular and well-attended LSA Banquet, a formal-dress event on Friday, Oct. 6, which has traditionally included food from different cultures, speakers and live music, followed by dancing with a DJ. By necessity, attendance is capped at 200.

LSA meets weekly at 3:30 on Friday afternoons for conversation, planning, comraderie and 鈥渁lways food,鈥� the members say.

The leadership team includes co-presidents Ariel Barbosa, Mario Hern谩ndez, Alejandra Rivera and Anna Messer; secretary Valeria Hern谩ndez; treasurer Drew Diaz; and Gillian Zehr, who handles marketing.

Please stay tuned as we feature retiring faculty (at least those were agreeable to our idea) in the coming weeks. A complete list of 2016 retirees concludes each article. The comment box is open below for those of you who wish to share greetings and memories with Don. He can also be reached at don.clymer@emu.edu or (540) 432-4365.

***

In correspondence with EMU News, doesn鈥檛 once mention that his future plans include continuing to blog after he retires from teaching at 草莓社区, but we hope he does.

On the 鈥�,鈥� Don, a professor of language and the author of three books, offers regular trenchant writings about a variety of topics, ranging from spiritual reflection to memoir-ish mini-essays and cultural criticism. Here readers can read somber reflections on Holy Week, learn that Don is a Phillies fan, and enjoy, vicariously, the Clymer Christmas, a mixture of Swiss, American and Mexican traditions that symbolizes the many cultures he鈥檚 experienced.

Don also maintains a which contains links to published articles and information about his books, including a new release titled 鈥�,鈥� for 6-14 year olds.

Don has taught several languages at EMU for 17 years full time and five years as an adjunct. He also spent five years as director of cross-cultural programs. Among his EMU service, he also spent one year as manager of WEMC, EMU鈥檚 radio station.

His EMU years are just the tip of a larger professional 鈥渋ceberg鈥�: Don had been director of communications for the Virginia Mennonite Conference and Board of Missions, and a professor at Hesston College before landing in Harrisonburg. He has a total of 35 years in higher education.

The crossroads of his wide-ranging interests are where languages, communication, cross-cultural relationships and spiritual formation come together; visit or his eponymously named and you get the sense that the nature of his explorations are more like a round-about than an intersection.

Among his fondest memories of his time at EMU, he says, are 鈥渓eading various student groups on their semester-long cross-cultural programs鈥� and 鈥渨orking with a number of students as an unofficial mentor related to matters of spirituality and their relationship with God.鈥� Both of these opportunities have been extremely rewarding, he says, as he feels 鈥渓ike I have made a significant impact on their lives.鈥�

Don鈥檚 immediate future plans include spending a year in Switzerland, the native country of his wife, Esther Reichenbach Clymer. He鈥檒l also lead spiritual formation workshops for Bienenberg Mennonite Bible School in Liestal, close to Basel, Switzerland (Don鈥檚 most recent degree was a Master of Arts in Church Leadership from in 2008).

He has a few writing projects on the agenda, as well as work on the English translation of a Swiss German play.

鈥淚 may also be involved in volunteering with some refugee organizations,鈥� he says.

And hopefully, blogging about it all.

Other retiring faculty and staff

Also retiring are the following faculty and staff (position listed is most recent held): , administrative assistant for events, director of the Summer Institute for Spiritual Formation and of the Congregational Resource Center, Eastern Mennonite Seminary, 27 years; Spencer Cowles, Department of Business, 27 years; Jan Gerber, Information Officer, 23 years; , Master鈥檚 in Counseling graduate program, 39 years; Ted Grimsrud, Department of Bible and Religion, 20 years; Betty Hertzler, postal supervisor, 41 years; , director of the physical plant, 28 years; Roman Miller, Master鈥檚 in Biomedicine graduate program, 31 years; Jack Rutt, special projects support, 17 years; and , Education graduate program director at EMU Lancaster, 17 years.

Their friendship actually began with LSA, which makes for four long years of learning and growing together, most commonly communicating 鈥渋n Spanglish,鈥� they say. Though each has held formal leadership positions in the club, in reality 鈥渢here is no hierarchy,鈥� says one.

• Meet Ana Cruz, of New Market, Virginia, who plans a career in elementary school . She鈥檚 calm and cool under pressure, and always willing to represent the group at meetings. When tensions rise, she is always the one to break the ice.
• Fernanda 鈥淔er鈥� Hernandez, a senior major, is from Honduras. 鈥淔er is the most organized and detail-oriented of us all,鈥� says one of her friends. 鈥淲e would throw ideas out and the next meeting she鈥檇 have a plan.鈥�
• Paola Diaz, from McGaheysville, Virginia, is a major, double minoring in psychology and coaching. A consummate networker who is well-known in the local community, she鈥檚 鈥渁ll about the connections.鈥�
• And there鈥檚 Rebecca Cardwell, from Maryland, who is a and TESOL major, who has been 鈥渨elcomed with open arms鈥� into the Latino community, she says. Her strength is a contagious enthusiasm that provides momentum. 鈥淲e always say that her heart is definitely Hispanic,鈥� says club advisor Maria Esther Showalter, a native of Bolivia.

The four friends have been 鈥渇abulous leaders,鈥� says , director of . 鈥淭hey have grown in confidence, learned to stand up when the situation warrants, to manage conflict effectively and persevered when things did not work out 鈥� they show this leadership not just on campus, but in their churches and communities, too.鈥�

Latinos 鈥榤ore than just immigrants鈥�

When the foursome joined LSA, the club had only a few members and was coming off a stretch in which activities of the club revolved around political activism in favor of immigration reform. With the support and encouragement of Susannah Lepley, the four women decided to emphasize Latino culture in all its breadth and diversity. Since 2014, , who teaches in the , has continued to support and 鈥渆mpower us as student-leaders to make choices,鈥� said Rebecca.

Latino culture, they decided, would be a meeting point for EMU鈥檚 Latino students, most of whom were local commuters, and the broader EMU community.

鈥淲hile the DREAM Act and immigration reform are important, we didn鈥檛 want to be defined by that. We are more than just immigrants,鈥� says Fernanda. 鈥淲e wanted to show what our culture is like 鈥� food and culture and bright colors 鈥� We really wanted to change the focus.鈥�

Banquet grows annually

Latino Heritage Month, which falls in September, provided a natural focus for the club鈥檚 events, which includes a chapel service, always followed by caf茅 con pan dulce (coffee with sweet bread); a welcome luncheon; movie screenings; and other activities, the most successful of which has been an annual banquet.

Staging the banquet was the first major event for the then-sophomore leaders, who underestimated the crowd and the amount of work involved. Fernanda says the four chefs 鈥渄id all the cooking for 100 people at my house.鈥� Then they rushed it all to EMU, arriving with the smells of plantains and chicken clinging to their clothes.

鈥淚n the recent years we have catered the Pollo a la Braza, pl谩tanos fritos, pupusas, flan, tres leches, and other side dishes from local Hispanic restaurants,鈥� says Maria Esther Showalter, 鈥渂ut many students also volunteer to cook. We always think we will have enough food but we always have more students than we expect.鈥�

With music, storytelling and post-dinner salsa dancing, the event has grown every year, with a crowd of about 180 attending the 2015 event.

This year, LSA partnered with two departments to host Chilean-American writer . They also helped during the Noche Bohemia, which showcases the creativity and language skills of Spanish language learners in a fun, supportive environment.

Volunteering has also been a part of the club鈥檚 efforts: they鈥檝e set up a Christmas program with Skyline Literacy and worked with a multicultural family literacy program in Washington D.C.

Club now more present to first-years, Latino community

One result of the club鈥檚 successful banquet was an invitation from to take over the mixer for first-years on the final night of orientation. Instead of square dancing, LSA teaches salsa dancing. Rebecca says one student who saw her on campus recognized her and said he met all his friends that night.

鈥淟SA is part of what first-year students see and participate in when they arrive on campus that first week,鈥� Rebecca said. 鈥淔irst-years see a diverse community here. Then we carry that awareness through into Latino Heritage Month. It鈥檚 been really important and helpful to have that presence from the start of the school year.鈥�

鈥淲e鈥檝e come a long way from when we started, when the Latino community really wasn鈥檛 represented on our campus in a strong, visible way,鈥� says Fernanda. 鈥淐onnecting with our Latino students, who are often commuters who are working and many are first-generation college students, has also been very meaningful to us. We want to nurture Latinos coming here, because even if you grow up in the States, you might not feel comfortable here on campus.鈥�

Paola says by being present and sharing their stories, some of which involve overcoming prejudice, there is growing potential for LSA members to nurture and support first-generation college students.

Among a host of other possible activities to get involved with, LSA has been their main interest over the years, the women say, because they have made an important difference in the campus community.

鈥淲e have chosen to invest time in LSA because we want to grow together, and we want to share our love for our culture and build cultural competency on the campus,鈥� Ana says. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been able to do that, but also support our other groups, like International Student Organization and Black Student Union, so that we all have representation.鈥�

They鈥檙e leaving EMU with many accomplishments to celebrate besides the foundation they鈥檝e laid for LSA. Two of the four seniors have one more semester on campus, which means they will all be present for the celebrations, as damas de honor, at Paola鈥檚 fall 2016 wedding.

LSA meets Tuesdays at noon for informal conversation in the dining hall, and also from 3:30-4:30 p.m. on Fridays in the Multicultural Student Services office.

That gift of sharing is all the more meaningful, Clymer writes, because this is the last Senior Seminar he will teach. Clymer, a professor of language and literature, will retire at the end of the spring 2016 semester. He came to EMU in 2001 as cross-cultural director after teaching at Hesston College and working as director of communications for Virginia Mennonite Conference and Board of Missions. In 2006, he returned to the classroom.

The post, from Don’s blog “,” was shared around campus and on Facebook.

***

Henri Nouwen, prolific Catholic author of books on spirituality, frequently made the case for telling yourself: 鈥淵ou are beloved of God.鈥� Over his short life, Nouwen struggled mightily with believing that he indeed was beloved of God. It was because of sharing from his deepest and darkest self in total vulnerability that he connected with millions of people around the world. Pastors of all denominations listed him as the person most read after the Bible.

In a course that I teach with a colleague on dealing with suffering and loss, at the end of the year, during our final exam, we have students face each other in inside/outside circles, look each other directly in the eye, and state to each other: 鈥淵ou are beloved of God.鈥� They continue moving to several other students around the circle, then we open it up to anyone. It has a powerful effect. It is almost magical. There is laughter, there are hugs and there are tears.

I have become convinced that our U.S. American culture teaches us to be self-loathing. We get messages from everywhere that we are not good-looking enough, not talented enough, not intelligent enough, not wealthy enough, not spiritual enough. We always compare ourselves with those who excel in the areas where we feel lacking; we never look at those who have less in any given category. The result is thinking that we can never measure up. The advertising industry is astute in capitalizing on this self-hate by providing us with products that will, according to their pitch, make us all the things that we are not.

The magic of the phrase 鈥淵ou are beloved of God,鈥� as we do it in our class, comes about because it is given freely as a gift. The eyes are a window into the soul, and looking into each other鈥檚 eyes while stating this simple phrase goes directly to the soul. It connects on a very deep level. It helps us to realize that in God鈥檚 eyes, we don鈥檛 have to measure up to any artificial cultural standard. He loves us as we are.

We had 43 students in our course. It is part of the general education program at 草莓社区 where I teach. It is called the Senior Seminar, and during the semester, they are to review their faith development, their cross-cultural experience and their vocational calling while at EMU.

For their final, we asked them to reflect on what they had learned in the course, and what they will take with them as they graduate. I was overwhelmed with the gift of love I received from their reflections. Since I will be retiring after this academic year, this is the last time I will be teaching the course. I will forever treasure this gift to me.

Here are a few snapshots of their final reflections:

• 鈥淚 learned that I don鈥檛 have to fix someone鈥檚 pain, that being present with them in silence is enough.鈥�
• 鈥淚 will never forget the phrase 鈥榟urt people hurt people.鈥� I am hurt and I now realize how I am hurting others.鈥�
• 鈥淚 became aware of the poison of unforgiveness. I have had to forgive someone who wronged me.鈥�
• 鈥淚 learned that there are many areas in my life that I need to let go. I cannot always be in control.鈥�
• 鈥淚 learned that community and our 鈥榗loud of witnesses鈥� is very important in dealing with our pain.鈥�
• 鈥淚 will always remember that I am beloved of God.鈥�

Variations on these statements were repeated numerous times.

What touched me the most, however, were the statements made about their faith. Nearly a half-dozen students said that they returned to a lost faith through the course. One said that she was afraid to talk about her faith thinking that she would be rejected, but she felt affirmed in her unusual spirituality through the course. Most said that their faith was strengthened, that they wanted to commit to deeper spiritual practices like prayer, Bible study, walks in nature and sitting in silence.

Over the nine years that I have taught this course, there have been many satisfying moments. There聽 have also been ugly moments, perhaps to be expected in a required course. Yet today鈥檚 final exercise will forever be etched in my mind as one of the most positive outcomes I have experienced. Thank you, students, for this wonderful gift of love. 鈥淵ou are beloved of God!鈥�

“I love Americans,” Pedro announced to the small group gathered for the Wednesday evening Bible study. “I love your music, your language, your people.”

My wife, Esther, and I were leading a group of 18 EMU students聽and were visiting a small Mennonite congregation on the north side of sprawling Mexico City.

They were hosting us during Holy Week for a time of working, worshiping and playing together.

I was immediately put off by Pedro’s announcement. His speech was slurred, his eyes glazed over, and he wore beads around his neck and on his wrists while stuffing white ear buds in his ears. Often I had been accosted by similar statements and people in my years of learning and serving in Latin America. What was his agenda? He had to have one, I assumed, because he was too effusive, and I was pretty sure he was inebriated.

The following day the church had planned a day for the group of us to enjoy the many activities available in Chapultepec Park in central Mexico City. There were museums, a zoo, a castle, rowboats and an amusement park, to name a few. We were to divide into groups and chose our activity. At the end of the Bible study, the pastor asked for a show of hands of those who were willing and able to accompany us for the excursion. Pedro was the first one to raise his hand.

After a wonderfully harrowing ride navigating Mexico City鈥檚 public transportation system with a walk, two bus transfers and the metro, we emerged out of the bowels of the subway system into the bright, crisp air of the park. Five students along with Esther and me, chose the zoo. So did Pedro. Probably with the same misgivings about Pedro that I had, the five students hurriedly dashed off to the entrance of the zoo, disappearing among the multitudes. Esther and I were stuck with Pedro. Three hours until we were to reunite with the rest of the group for the next activity. Three hours with Pedro. I dreaded every minute.

The human tendency is to prejudge someone by their outward appearance. This is where the word “prejudice” comes from. We decide what someone is like by their race, their age, their sex or any of a number of other factors without bothering to get to know them. My prejudgment of Pedro was that he was a drunk and would be a difficult person to relate to because he “had an agenda” and probably wanted something from me. I didn’t want to be bothered by him. By prejudging him before getting to know him, I denied his God-image and likeness. By so doing, I reduced him to something less than human.

I was not the only one to prejudge Pedro. “I made a quick judgment about him as being someone I did not want to relate to, and I did not want anything to do with him,” wrote one of my students in her journal. “I was judging him for what I saw and the little I knew of him.” Because of the scene at the Bible study, I’m sure many of our students felt the same way.

God knows our tendency to judge a person by how they look on the outside, so when Samuel was looking for a king to replace Saul, God warned him: 鈥淒o not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart鈥� (1 Samuel 16:7 NIV).

Israel had already been fooled by a tall and handsome Saul, the man who had the stereotypical physique of a king but the heart of a pagan. Even in spite of this disaster, Samuel looked for these same qualities in the sons of Jesse. He had to be straightened out by God. What is in one鈥檚 heart is more important than the way one looks.

Paul, in acknowledging his own prejudices before he had an encounter with the Risen Christ, writes in 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 (CEV), “We are careful not to judge people by what they seem to be,” or, as聽The Message聽puts it, “by what they have or how they look.” I certainly judged Pedro by the way he seemed to be and the way he looked, I聽 didn’t look at his heart.

As Esther, Pedro and I proceeded through the zoo, Pedro wanted to know the English name of every animal we came across. We became friendlier as the day wore on, enjoying his unbounded, childlike enthusiasm for all the animals and their English equivalents.

We decided to leave the zoo and have lunch together. As we ate, he told us his long, torturous story. He was studying biology at the university when he got into a bad crowd and started doing drugs. Up to that point he was doing well enough that he had several offers to continue his academic career in graduate studies or to work with some government agencies; offers that would have set him financially for life.

The deeper he got into the drug scene, however, the more distracted he became from his studies. It wasn’t long until he had to live on the streets full-time to support his habit. He dropped out of school and had never returned. What had been a promising career was left shattered on the rubbish heap beside a pile of syringes. He tried to earn a living selling candy and chewing gum from a portable stand he carried through his neighborhood.

After many failed rehabilitation programs, he wandered into an evangelical church and accepted Christ. He had been clean for over a year when we met him. “The only thing that saved me was Christ,” he testified. Because of his abuse of all sorts of drugs, his brain was fried. This explained his slurred speech and his halting behavior鈥攎aking us jump to the conclusion that he was drunk.

The passage from 2 Corinthians 5 continues, “Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new.” Other versions call this a “new creation.” In spite of his outward appearance, Pedro was a new creation. He had a new heart. Before I got to know his story, I could only see his outward appearance.

Pedro accompanied our entourage from EMU everywhere we went. As the week wore on, he endeared himself not only to Esther and me but to all the students. When we went to see the reenactment of Jesus鈥� trial and crucifixion in his gang-infested neighborhood on Good Friday, Pedro led the way. Everywhere people greeted him.

Since we were with him, in spite of sticking out like sore gringo thumbs, we felt safe and in good hands. He was the first to give out specially prepared invitations to attend his church in his neighborhood. His own transformed life was an even more powerful testimony to his old friends.

“As I started to hear his story, I started to understand him more and not have a total fear of him,” wrote the same student. “His story is a powerful [one] and shows what Jesus can do in people鈥檚 lives. I wish I hadn鈥檛 judged Pedro so quickly.” Another student gave Pedro his English-Spanish Bible. Pedro鈥檚 face radiated his gratitude. We were slowly beginning to see his heart, to see his God-image, to see his new creation.

When we left Mexico some three weeks after our time with this fascinating and hospitable Mennonite church, Pedro was among the people to show up at the airport to bid us farewell. Many of the church members brought parting gifts. Pedro brought his candy stand and passed out candies to the group with his huge, toothless smile.

Our final church service together was Easter Sunday. During that service, we circulated around all the members of the church greeting them with the phrase, “Christ is risen,鈥� to which the other responded, “He is risen indeed.” When I came to Pedro and looked him directly in his eyes, an emotion came over me, and I said to him, “Christ is risen, and I see him in your face.” This was the same face that I had rejected just a few days earlier. Without hesitation, he replied, 鈥淵es, I was dead and now I am alive. I have risen from the dead like Christ.鈥� I could not hold back the tears as I hugged him. Pedro was a new creation. So was I.

Don Clymer teaches Spanish and humanities at EMU, Harrisonburg, Va., and leads cross-cultural seminars to Guatemala and Mexico. He also serves on the pastoral care team at Lindale Mennonite Church where he is a member.

This article is reprinted courtesy of , April issue.

But executives at , the publishing branch of Harrisonburg-based Mennomedia, believe they’ve tapped into the next genre in Anabaptist literature: the memoir.

They’ve been on a mission to publish such novels, which is why they backed books such as Harrisonburg actor ‘ book, 2012 title “Laughter Is Sacred Space,” and Friendly City-based author ‘s 2013 memoir, titled “Blush,” last year. And that’s why the publisher has picked up ‘s latest book, “Bonnet Strings: An Amish Woman’s Ties to Two Worlds.”

“I’m thinking that the next phase or the next genre might be those of us who have lived the life or are living the life of Amish or Mennonite writing our own story,” Furlong said.

“There’s been so much out there about the Amish that’s just so false. I’m thinking it’s time for the true stories to come out.”

Saloma’s Story

Furlong, 56, left the security of her Amish community in Ohio at the age of 20. She headed for Burlington, a city she had only been introduced to in her history books, and secured her dream job as a waitress at a Pizza Hut.

“The first book [`Why I Left the Amish’] basically takes the reader to the point where I left the Amish for the first time,” Furlong explained. ” `Bonnet Strings’ picks up pretty much where that one left off.”

While she was in Burlington, Furlong made plans to enroll in college courses and met David, the man she would later marry, whom she began dating in the winter of 1978.

But it wasn’t long before a vanload of her family and friends showed up unannounced at her front door, with full intent of returning her to the Amish community.

“I basically did not want to find out what would happen if I resisted,” she said, explaining that she then returned to her hometown for almost three years before she left again.

“In the meantime, David did not give up wanting to communicate with me,” she added.

When she did leave the community again, it was David who picked her up in his truck. A year and a half later, the two married.

“The book is basically a story about being torn between my two worlds, but it contains a love story, as well,” Furlong said. “It basically leaves off when David and I got married.”

David wrote three of the book’s chapters and joins his wife during her presentations of the novel. The couple will return to 草莓社区 to discuss the book March 25; Furlong first came to the university to discuss “Why I Left The Amish” in March 2013.

This year, the event will take place at 4 p.m. in the Strite conference room, 105, in the Campus Center at EMU. , another author who has been published by Herald Press, will introduce Furlong.

A Speedy Process

Amy Gingerich, editorial director for Herald Press, was so convinced that “Bonnet Strings” would be the perfect installment in the publisher’s string of Anabaptist memoirs that she fast-tracked the process of buying Furlong’s book.

Last July, on a Friday evening, Showalter mentioned to Gingerich that Furlong was planning to self-publish the memoir; by Sunday, Gingerich had set up a time to talk with the now western Massachusetts-based author.

“Typically, we kind of dance around with an offer for a few weeks,” Gingerich explained. “But I was really excited about this book. I said to Saloma. … `I want to get this thing sewed up Monday.’ ”

However, there was a slight complicating factor.

Gingerich was nine months pregnant and expecting her baby that Thursday.

“By Thursday, which was my due date, [Furlong] signed,” Gingerich said, laughing. “I went into labor Thursday night.”

Furlong then wrote the second half of her novel during September.

“I saw a lot of beautiful autumn days go by my window,” she jokes now.

The book was released Feb. 3, the day before a documentary featuring Furlong aired on PBS American Experience, called “The Amish Shunned.” She also had a lead role in a film simply titled “The Amish,” produced by the same company in 2012.

Gingerich explained the new novel’s universal appeal this way: “Whether or not you grew up Amish, I think all of us have to deal with questions of belonging.”

For more information on Furlong and “Bonnet Strings,” visit or .

Courtesy of the Daily News Record, March 22, 2014

“This is the second year we’ve hosted ‘Noche Bohemia’ or Spanish night, and hope to make it an annual tradition,” said , assistant professor in the . “This event allows the students in our upper-level classes to showcase their skills.”

In addition to student participation, language assistants will be doing folkloric dances from their countries of origin 鈥� Colombia and Honduras 鈥� and the language professors will be singing and emceeing the event.

“The audience will be able to participate in singing a Spanish folksong at the beginning, and dancing salsa at the end of the program,” said Clymer.

Admission to the event is free.

For more information contact Don Clymer at don.clymer@emu.edu.

The faces of the flight attendants tensed up as we entered the plane. We were on the last leg of a semester-abroad sojourn through Guatemala and Mexico鈥�18 college students and their two leaders. We must have presented an interesting spectacle.

Knowing that at the end of the flight many friends and loved ones were waiting to receive us after a four-month absence, the students were especially keyed up. Added to their enthusiasm, many wore splashy tourist T-shirts, and some tried to fit oversized Mexican sombreros and colorful Guatemalan hammocks into the overhead compartments. We were all sporting golden tans from our days in the tropics. No doubt the attendants were thinking, More loud, obnoxious college students returning from their spring break debauchery in Canc煤n. Why were we assigned to this flight?
As we were deplaning, one of those previously anxious flight attendants remarked to one of my students: 鈥淭his was the best-behaved group of college students I have ever served on a plane. Where are you from?鈥�

鈥湶葺缜�*,鈥� the student said.

The Great Commission from Matthew 28:19 tells us: 鈥淕o therefore and make disciples of all nations.鈥� The Greek word translated here 鈥済o,鈥� in the command form, could just as easily be translated, 鈥渁s you go鈥� (see As You Go: The Old Mission in a New Day by John Howard Yoder, Herald Press, 1961). This commission has been used over the centuries to define the missionary task of the church and of each individual. Most often it is viewed as proclamation, the preaching of the Word, or direct one-on-one sharing of the story of salvation. The stereotype of this proclamation is an individual approaching another with the question, 鈥淎re you saved?鈥�

Too seldom is there an emphasis on our individual Christian lives as proclamation 鈥渁s we go鈥� about our daily activities. But individuals are not the only ones to give such proclamation. The church is a 鈥渃ity on the hill.鈥� The church is assumed to be a community on the go, a pilgrim people passing through this life making disciples along the way. As it goes about its activities, the community of faith is being carefully observed. So it was with my student group鈥攐ur temporary community of faith for a semester.

When we had orientation with the students accompanying us, I did not tell them they were going to be missionaries. As they prepared to go, they did not think they were going to be testifying to their faith explicitly as explained above. I did tell them that wherever they went their behavior would reflect the image others had of their country, their families, their church and their school. I emphasized that they should be good ambassadors of all the 鈥渃ultural spaces鈥� they represent. It鈥檚 not that we didn鈥檛 take our Christian commitment seriously. We met weekly for worship. As part of their weekly journal assignments they were to reflect on where they experienced God and what had drawn them away from God. The idea was to confirm that in spite of all the poverty and oppression we were learning about and seeing in person, God is still present and active.

We also reflected regularly on David Smith鈥檚 book Learning from the Stranger: Christian Faith and Cultural Diversity (Eerdmans, 2009), learning how to respect other people who had strange customs, a strange language and strange foods. Smith does a great job of showing how this respect for the stranger is part of Christian discipleship. But being missionaries? I鈥檓 sorry to say, the thought rarely entered my head until we heard the stories that followed us.

For five weeks our group studied at the University of the Americas Puebla (UDLAP), a secular university in Puebla, Mexico. As we went about our activities we were constantly asked, 鈥淲ho are the Mennonites?鈥� Most Mexicans think of Mennonites as men with straw hats and overalls selling cheese on street corners, referring to the 60,000 Old Colony Mennonites living in their country. We had ample opportunity to express our faith with our colleagues, host families and Mexican friends. We discovered many people who shared our faith and commitment to seeking God鈥檚 presence in our lives among both Catholics and Evangelicals, in spite of the preponderantly secularized university world in which we studied. However, it was not these individual encounters, as meaningful as they were, that became the earmark of our stay. Instead it was the proclamation of the gospel given by the group, this temporary community of faith, as we went about our business along the way, evidenced in the story of the airline attendant.

We took two courses and did community ser颅vice while staying at the university. Two Mexican professors taught our students, one on Mexican history and culture and the other a Spanish conversation course. The history course was a three-hour course, four days a week, completely in Spanish. Because of varied levels of Spanish and interest and the amount of time spent in the classroom, many students became overtly restless and disengaged. I chided them several times, reminding them about being good ambassadors, and asked them to be more respectful of the professor. Maybe because of the Spanish overload, many suffered acute homesickness.

While studying at UDLAP, our students stayed with host families. Many of the homes had kept hundreds of U.S. students before ours. Because of this, and because of the socioeconomic situation of most of the families, with a few exceptions, our students felt like guests rather than part of the family, as they had hoped. This caused some murmuring and restlessness among them, leading to more homesickness. Once again I had to remind them of their responsibility to be good representatives of the 鈥渃ultural spaces鈥� they came from.

At the end of our stay, the university held a special ceremony for us. The host families, professors and others who had helped facilitate our stay were all invited. After the perfunctory speeches were over and certificates handed out, one after another of the host parents came to me. 鈥淵our students were the best we ever hosted,鈥� they said. 鈥淲e never had to worry what time they would come home or if they would come home at all.鈥�

After most of the host families had gone, the two professors approached me. 鈥淚t was a pleasure to teach your students,鈥� one said. 鈥淭hey were so respectful and attentive,鈥� said the other. I couldn鈥檛 believe my ears. 鈥淧robably the best group of U.S. students we have ever taught,鈥� they both chimed in. By now I am reeling. What I thought needed rectification was experienced as superior respect. As we were going about our activities at the university and with our families, we were silently proclaiming the gospel.

The testimony of the group didn鈥檛 stop with our presence in secular settings. A Mennonite church in Mexico City hosted us for the week leading up to Easter. We lived with them, shared meals with them, attended six worship services with them, including a baptism, worked with them painting their church and had fun with them visiting interesting parts of Mexico City. As our visit neared its end, the pastor, a longtime friend of mine, confided in me that the members of his church were reluctant to host us.

Many felt that their homes would not live up to the standards that coddled U.S. teenagers expected. Some had been burned by hosting U.S. teenagers who spent more time dancing in discos than worshiping with them in church. Some had experienced U.S. visitors arrogantly pushing their view of faith onto them.

The relationships we developed during that week profoundly changed people on both sides of the cultural divide. When my group left Mexico, a full three weeks after our visit with this church, a whole entourage of former skeptics, including all the hosting families, came to see us off at the airport, showering us with departure gifts and love. 鈥淭hank you for living with us, for eating and praying with us,鈥� they said. 鈥淔or wanting to get to know us and how we practice our faith in Mexico, for encouraging us.鈥� There were few dry eyes at this farewell.

As we went about our pilgrimage through Mexico, our temporary community of faith proclaimed the gospel with its actions. Who are the Menno颅nites? They are those lovely young adults whom we met as they sojourned among us. Who were those young adults who were different from any others we encountered? They are those Menno颅nite students who respect us and want to learn from us.

鈥淧reach the gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.鈥� This familiar quote is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi. More likely this is what he said: 鈥淚t is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.鈥� Our temporary community of faith left its mark on those it encountered. In its own special way, it bore witness to the gospel as it walked along. How is your community of faith proclaiming the gospel as it goes? Is it preaching or is it walking?

The president of 草莓社区 was about to give a welcoming address at the opening convocation of second semester Wednesday morning, Jan. 10.

But before that happened, the chair of the EMU board of trustees, Susan E. Godshall, came to the podium and gave Loren Swartzendruber an official “call” to a second four-year term of office. That term will begin July 1, 2007.

“I’m pleased to announce that Loren Swartzendruber has accepted reappointment to a second term as EMU president,” Godshall told the assembly. “We are grateful for his leadership and vision, for his deep commitment to God, the church and Anabaptist understandings, for his effective relationships within the EMU community and with a wide constituency off campus, for his advocacy of EMU and Mennonite education, for his leadership in finance and fundraising, for his collaborative approach to work and for his sense of humor to lighten the load,” she said.

“Loren, may God, who has called you to this task, provide you with joy and strength in it,” Godshall added, as the audience gave an ovation.

Strong Affirmation at Review

The EMU trustees and the board of directors of Mennonite Education Agency (MEA) formed a presidential review committee last spring in the third year of Swartzendruber’s first term. Drawing from some 184 responses from across the church, the committee reported strong affirmation for the president’s leadership.

Swartzendruber became EMU’s eighth president on Jan. 1, 2004 and was inaugurated on Mar. 27 that year. Before that, he served 10 years as president of Hesston College, a two-year Mennonite school in Hesston, Kan.

The Kalona, Iowa, native earned a bachelor of arts degree in liberal arts at EMU in 1976 and served as an associate director of admissions at EMU and par-time associate campus pastor. He received a master of divinity degree from Eastern Mennonite Seminary in 1979 and a doctor of ministry degree in church leadership in 2000 from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Ordained to the Christian ministry in 1975, he was pastor of Salford Mennonite Church, Harleysville, Pa., 1978-83, then served 10 years as associate executive secretary of the former Mennonite Board of Education, now Mennonite Education Agency.

Swartzendruber focused his convocation remarks on the words of Micah 6:8, which appears in the university’s mission statement.

‘Right Living’ Includes Worship

“Micah’s call to ‘walk humbly with God’ is consistent with other Old Testament texts and with the words of Jesus and others in the New Testament,” he said. “It’s impossible to segregate authentic worship from faithful living. It’s also the reality that ‘right living’ – doing justice, loving mercy – cannot long be sustained without engaging in acts of worship.

“At EMU, we dare to declare that the purpose of this education is to equip every graduate to serve others,” Swartzendruber stated. “The essential question that should dominate our inquiry and our interactions with others is not, ‘who am I”?, important as that is in the maturation process.

“The more transformative questions are, ‘Who is God and what is God calling me – and us – to be?'”

Brian Martin Burkholder, campus pastor, leads a prayer for the EMU cross-cultural groups who will spend second semester in study seminars in India and Guatemala and Mexico. Photo by Jim Bishop

The president noted that commencement is less than four months away, and that many in the audience will receive an undergraduate or graduate degree from the university on that special occasion.

“From there, you will scatter across the globe, not as completed, fully formed seekers of God, but to join the nearly 16,000 other alumni as people on a journey – to continue walking humbly with God,” Swartzendruber said.

The convocation ended with a prayer of commissioning for two student groups who will leave campus later this week for semester-long cross-cultural study programs. Kim G. Brenneman, associate professor of psychology, and husband Bob Brenneman are leading 24 students to India. Don Clymer, assistant professor in the language and literature department, and wife Esther Clymer are leading 20 students to Guatemala and Mexico.