While empowering the women, the storytelling itself also provides important clues about finding access into these hidden communities, identifying the most likely allies within each community, and understanding the complicated choices the women make in seeking or not seeking help.

“Their courage and resilience are breathtaking,” says Stauffer, assistant professor of at ��ݮ����.

Called “Silent Violence,” the project recently garnered a $10,200 grant from (TJPX), which focuses on individuals and organizations working for effective change through innovative approaches to societal challenges relating to gender, environmental and/or economic justice. TJPX is administered by through the Everence affiliate, Mennonite Foundation.

Six projects were awarded approximately $58,000 from a pool of 15 applicants, according to Joseph Lapp, managing director at the Harrisonburg Everence office.

“The Advisory Committee believes this project is a positive method of vocalizing the silence around domestic violence,” Lapp said. Upon successful completion of the first-year goals, an additional $7,100 will be awarded to complete the project in its second year.

“Vocalizing the silence” is an important and restorative component of this study, Stauffer says. “We are using a strengths-based approach and want to build on and help surface the assets and resilient strategies these women have been developing. They are obviously surviving and going on with their lives. So what can they teach us about the strategies they are using, and the relationships and social support networks they are building?”

The women’s stories are also helping researchers identify “what we’re calling structural holes,” Stauffer continues. “How are our ideologies or institutions complicit? What are the gaps within the system that these women are falling through? These particular groups of women exist under circumstances where protections and services are less likely to reach them.”

Bridget Mullins is among several master’s level students with the who have contributed to the research since the project’s inception. Fluent in Spanish from several years of living in Latin America, Mullins partnered with Cristian Quezada (MA `13 in ) to conduct interviews with many of the Latina women. She’s now preparing to conduct interviews within the two other communities.

“My favorite moment during these interviews is the last question,” she said. “That last question is, ‘What advice would you give to women in a similar situation?’ Their voices shine through. You can see them looking with hindsight and realizing how much they have been through, and drawing on their wisdom to communicate hope to other women who might be living through something similar.”

One important goal of the project is social transformation. Some participants have taken part in circle processes to share and reflect on their experiences or in a facilitated by Cristian and Anita Quezada. Stauffer is also working on other ways to safely share the women’s stories without compromising confidentiality or putting them in danger.

A one-day symposium involving survivor groups, service providers, business, academic, religious and public officials is being planned for next year.

Stauffer notes that the financial commitment from the JustPax Fund is an important affirmation of the need to address micro-level violence and create a place to safely and carefully house these narratives as “sacred stories” of our collective life. She views an arts-based approach as “particularly effective because it unlocks many parts of who we are that would otherwise remain trapped in trauma responses.”

“Our faith tradition is peace-oriented on an international level,” Stauffer says, “and we have focused a lot of time and energy on that kind of macro-violence, but we haven’t been as forthcoming about the violence that is happening within our intimate domains, here at home, and in our communities.

“At the end of the day, if we’re ignoring this type of violence, we’re undermining our peace witness. This project addresses that and helps us see ways that we can surface those stories, validate them and work to address those needs in the families and communities where we live.”

She was born July 22, 1932, in Harrisonburg, the daughter of John R. and Esther Mosemann Mumaw. She grew up in the Park View area, and attended Park School and Eastern Mennonite School and College.

She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in home economics from Eastern Mennonite College, and Master of Science and doctoral degrees in family resource management from Pennsylvania State University. Her doctoral program was supported with a General Foods Fund Fellowship.

Her professional career included teaching positions at Lancaster Mennonite School, Pennsylvania; Eastern Mennonite College (University), Virginia; Goshen College (Indiana); and Oregon State University. She also directed transcultural programs in Jamaica for home economics students. After her retirement she volunteered as an education advisor to Kathmandu University in Nepal.

She was a loyal and contributing member of the American Home Economics Association (now the American Association for Family and Consumer Sciences) and of the state affiliates where she lived (Virginia, Indiana and Oregon). She joined the International Federation for Home Economics in 1967 and was active in leadership roles on the Executive Committee and a program committee. She also was a member of the American Association of University Women and Women in Development organizations.

She was honored with memberships in Phi Kappa Phi, Omicron Nu and the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International. Other honors included the 1985 Indiana Home Economics Association Leader Award, the 1992 Family and Consumer Scientist in Community Service Award by the Oregon FACS, the 1994 Distinguished Faculty Award by the Oregon State Home Economics Alumni Association, and the Alumna of the Year Award 2006 by ��ݮ����.

She was a lifelong member of the Mennonite Church. She attended Harrisonburg Mennonite Church and was an active member of the Open Circle Sunday school class.

She served as a board member of Mennonite Mutual Aid (now Everence); Mennonite Economic Development Associates; Mennonite Community Association; and many Mennonite church committees. She also served on the boards of Indiana Partners of the Americas: Rio Grande do Sol; the Corvallis-Uzhhorod Sister Cities Association; and Solar Cookers International.

Her hobby as a musician included the role of choral director of the ladies’ sextet and triple trio for the Mennonite Hour Broadcasts; of EMC Ladies’ Chorus; and RMH Nurses’ Glee Club. She sang in many choirs, including the Shenandoah Valley Choral Society, the Eugene Chamber Singers, the Camerata Singers, Goshen Community Chorus and the Kathmandu Chorale. Other hobbies included photography and travel to foreign destinations, including more than 40 countries and all continents.

On Oct. 14, 2005, she married Clair L. Basinger, who survives.

She also is survived by four stepdaughters, Eileen Smith of Waynesboro, Virginia, Carolyn (Al) Wheeler of Stuarts Draft, Virginia, Darlene (Dan) Harman of Weyers Cave, Virginia, and Debbie (Glenn) Bollinger of Bridgewater, Virginia; nine step-grandchildren, Tracy (Jennifer) Smith, Tonya (Merle) Swarey, Rhonda Scott Fitzgerald (Dusty), Ryan (Darby) Deming, Renee (Jason) Miller, Nathan and Zachary Harman, and Andrew and Joshua Bollinger; and 13 step-great-grandchildren, Levi, Jeremy, Aaron, Daniel and Joshua Smith, Seth Swarey, Dakota and Delanie Miller, Tyler Scott, Kolby Powell, Dakota Boyers, Cheyenne and Montana Deming.

Three sisters survive: Grace Mumaw of Harrisonburg, Lois (Emanuel) Martin, also of Harrisonburg, and Miriam Mumaw of Arlington, Virginia. She was preceded in death by a sister, Helen (Laban) Peachey and a stepson-in-law, Cleo Smith. Three nieces and three nephews survive with their families, as do numerous cousins and friends.

A service of celebration took place Tuesday, July 22, 2014 at Harrisonburg Mennonite Church. A private burial will take place at the Lindale Mennonite Church cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Mennonite Central Committee, P.O. Box 500, Akron, PA 17501-0500; or to ��ݮ���� for the Catherine R. Mumaw Endowed Scholarship Fund (for international students), 1200 Park Road, Harrisonburg, VA 22802.

Online condolences can be sent to the family at .

Courtesy of McMullen Funeral Home, July 17, 2014

Three more grandchildren are due to arrive in March, which led Phil and Loretta to talk about striking a new balance between work and family – and its financial implications.

Thinking about money and its role in life is nothing new for Phil, who was asked to serve in a newly created position of elder of financial care at his church in Harrisonburg, Va., because of his experience in financial matters and his willingness to share what he’s learned.

The Helmuths’ daughter, Laura, called in September to say she and her husband, Asa, parents of a 2-year-old girl, are expecting twins. Less than a week later, daughter Annette and her husband, Trey, parents of three children younger than 7, dropped in to say they’re expecting a baby.

News of the upcoming births reminded Phil and Loretta of the first major challenge they faced together, newly married and still in college. Loretta found out she was pregnant, two years earlier than they’d planned. They worked things out, with Phil waiting to finish college until mid-career, taking one class at a time.

Nearly 40 years later, Phil and Loretta enjoy life as nearly-60-year-old grandparents. An empty nest has offered time to bicycle, provide support for their parents and enjoy their four grandchildren when they’re not at ��ݮ����, where Phil is executive director of and director of and Loretta works as secretary/receptionist at the .

“What if Laura needs to be on bed rest again during this pregnancy?” they wonder. “What if Annette’s family needs additional help in March? What can we offer them?”

The process Phil is using to figure out what their decisions will mean financially is one he’s become familiar with in recent years. The economic recession that started in late 2007 led to create the elder role in which Phil agreed to serve.

“The number of families and individuals among us facing financial crises is increasing,” he remembers a member of the pastoral staff telling him. “We’d like to appoint an elder well versed in financial matters to assist in discernment and ongoing support in these situations.” Phil says he knew the question before it was asked. “Would you consider this ministry?”

The answer was “yes.” Phil is passionate about the ways in which spirituality and finances intermingle.

As the economy got worse, Phil became more aware of the need for financial mentoring as he listened to donors’ financial concerns in his role as a fundraiser. Many wondered whether they ever will be able to retire after their savings were depleted.

“I decided I needed to answer some financial questions for our own situation,” Phil explains. “I wanted to know what adjustments Loretta and I needed to make in our family budget to provide flexibility for unexpected life events.”

He decided to develop a spreadsheet. “I wanted to see the numbers,” he recalls. He looked at his income and projected to see what the numbers would look like when he and Loretta are 65. “I then did the same with savings.”

Phil then came up with a retirement budget to satisfy the question of whether he and Loretta could live off the amounts on the spreadsheet. Phil’s spreadsheet experience was an eye-opener, a new way of looking at life.

“In working with the spreadsheet,” Phil said, “I learned exactly what our current financial situation is, and I could estimate how much we’d needed if we wanted to retire.”

As elder of financial care, Phil invites people who seek his help to share their financial situations. For many people, the invitation demands something extremely difficult — laying bare the financial burdens they carry. Chris and Beth*, a couple in their early 30s who are active members of PVMC, had been married for 10 years when they realized they were headed for a financial crisis they couldn’t handle.

“The worst thing was the secrecy,” Beth says now. “Money had such power over us, and our lives were filled with so much shame and disappointment.”

Several unexpected events in their lives were compounded by a few decisions that turned sour. Beth and Chris fell into a pattern of trying to hide their financial problems from everyone, even from each other.

“We’d quit talking about finances,” Chris says. “It just wasn’t worth the fights, the blame and shame those conversations inevitably elicited.”

By the time they agreed to meet with Phil, they realized they needed someone to help them talk through finances in the same way some couples need a marriage counselor.

Phil is clear about his role – he explores with people their individual situations and identifies resources so they can make healthy decisions. He relies on using the spreadsheet, simple and clear. Another tool he’s used is counseling provided by through Everence.

For Beth and Chris, the confidential, anonymous LSS counseling via telephone – along with Phil’s help – changed their lives.

“I’d kept hoping for something miraculous, a couple thousand dollars,” Chris smiles. “But I realize now winning the lottery wouldn’t have made a difference in our lives. We needed something deeper than a miracle.” Phil offered them suggestions for planning ahead and for budgeting, then ways to convert these concepts into day-to-day practices.

“He made himself available to us in a non-judgmental and caring way, which made it possible for us to communicate with each other,” Beth said. “He offered hope and affirmation where there was none.”

“Working with both LSS and Phil has been a bit like having cheerleaders,” Chris said. “They’ve been supportive, sending us notes, offering prayers on our behalf and checking in to see how we’re doing.”

Beth smiles as she sets aside the past to focus on the present.

“Living with accountability hasn’t been easy,” she said, “but we’ve made so much progress.” They’re now in the process of closing on their first house, their debt-to-income ratio looks good and their credit rating is solid. As Phil reflected on the couple’s progress, he said, “The thing I love most about my role is the opportunity to provide a voice of hope in the midst of despair.”

This is the miracle.

Article is courtesy of . Gloria Diener of Harrisonburg attends Park View Mennonite Church, where she serves on the elder team with Phil Helmuth.

*Not their real names

Spaces are filling up fast for this year’s School for Leadership Training (SLT) January 16-18, 2012 at Eastern Mennonite Seminary. Plenary speaker Walter Brueggemann, and workshops on the theme “God and Mammon: Reframing Stewardship Amidst Abundance, Scarcity and Conflict” are contributing to an unprecedented number of early registrations.

“With the economy, jobs and money on the top of nearly everyone’s mind, and a great scholar like Brueggemann, this is a timely event,” said Linda Alley, coordinator for SLT.

Brueggemann, professor emeritus at Columbia Theological Seminary, is a prolific author and has written more than 50 books, hundreds of articles, and several commentaries on books of the Bible. He is also a minister of the United Church of Christ. Brueggemann has a ThD from Union Theological Seminary, New York and a PhD from St. Louis University.

“What we do with our money and how that connects to our faith is so vital,” said Alley. “Church budgets are stretched, individual’s budgets are stretched, and we often wonder how that connects with our faith.”

There will be 15 workshops and include a range of topics from living more with less, and preaching on money to faith in work settings.

Several of the workshops will be led by Everence Financial staff. “With our emphasis on faith and finance, this was the perfect opportunity for us to partner with Eastern Mennonite” said Joseph Lapp, managing director of Everence’s Harrisonburg office.

“Sometimes it seems there is a gap between the business world and the church,” said Michael King, EMS dean. “Our hope is Christian business leaders and church leaders will converse deeply about how our handling of money flows out of or impacts our faith.”

The SLT training workshop is the collaborative work of Eastern Mennonite Seminary, the master in business administration program at ��ݮ���� and Everence.

Christian business leaders, stewardship and financial officers in the church, pastors and lay leaders are encouraged to attend this three-day event. Group discounts are available for multiple members from the same church, business or organization when they register together.

For more information or to register visit .