A new endowment in support of psychology majors at ��ݮ���� honors three exemplary emeritus professors. Kim Gingerich Brenneman ‘85, Galen Lehman ‘73, and Judy Mullet ‘73 have 101 years of service between them at EMU.

The endowment honors the transformative impact of their teaching, scholarship and advising on hundreds of EMU students, but also supports the continued studies of new generations of students.

“It is an honor to have my name on the psychology endowment, especially with two other brilliant psychology faculty whom I know have made huge differences in the lives of EMU students,” said Brenneman. 

This scholarship is the first of its kind for psychology majors at EMU. Full-time psychology students in their first year at EMU will qualify as recipients, and students of African, Hispanic, Asian and Native American descent will be given priority.

Dennis Showalter ‘73, who graduated alongside Lehman and Mullet, saw an opportunity to create it.

“I decided that a psychology scholarship was definitely needed,” Showalter says. “Our EMC 45th reunion was coming up, so I reached out to the 10 psychology majors from the class of 1973, to see if they would partner with me in securing the scholarship.” 

Lehman and Mullet joined Showalter and Gretchen Maust ‘73, administrative assistant for the Visual and Communication Arts Department, to help establish the endowment. They then invited Brenneman, who was eager to join the team. But the coalition still needed to name the scholarship.

Each professor was “too humble to want it to be named after him or herself, so we named it after all of them,” says Showalter. 

They’re seeking $10,000 in financial support through EMU’s new crowdfunding platform, which has recently helped fund the Matt Garber Endowed Scholarship and MJ Sharp Peace & Justice Endowed Scholarship, both in honor of young alumni who have passed away.

“Endowments such as these affirm, energize and invite students to more deeply commit to a community of explorers and travelers in one of the newest disciplines in higher education,” says Mullet. “As a faculty member in the department I sought to live what we explored together both in and out of classrooms. The richness of one-to-one conversations were ‘holy moments’ that I cherish to this day. I’m honored to support ongoing ‘holy moments’ at EMU through this scholarship.”

Legacies live on through students and colleagues

All three former faculty have left indelible marks on the program through their tenure. Maust is proud of how far the department has come since she was a student.

“I am delighted to see our current psych majors challenged to explore all sorts of career options. I’m most excited about the new art therapy concentration which prepares our grads for advanced degrees in art therapy and the collaboration between our undergrad psych program and the graduate Master in Counseling program,” Maust says.

Lehman, having joined the faculty in 1973, brought some of the earliest improvements to the program, including Apple II computers, and renovating the formerly dirt-floor Suter Science Center basement into instructional and collaboration space.

Mullet, in addition to teaching psychology, also directed the Honors program, taught undergraduate and graduate courses in education, and co-founded and co-led Student Kairos Place, a week-long gathering of EMU undergraduate writers. 

She had a reputation as an excellent listener and mentor with deep compassion for her students.

“Judy Mullet is one of the kindest, and without a doubt the most affirming, persons I have ever known,” said Joshua Kanagy ‘13, a mental health counselor at Morrison Child and Family Services in Portland, Oregon. “Judy has a remarkable knack for recognizing and encouraging her students’ talents, and she was instrumental in my own decision to become a counselor. I am a gentler, more vulnerable, and more hopeful human being because of her.”

Brenneman, respected for her academic rigor, also led many cross-cultural trips to India over the years. And she was skilled at putting her colleagues and students at ease. 

“Her ability to always treat me with the highest respect for both who I am and the emotions that tag along with me has had an impact that will last throughout my entire life,” said Emily Suttles ‘16. “I have met many people who are good listeners, but she definitely tops the list, and I continue to strive to be that same type of listener for other people.”

Ultimately, Brenneman hopes to provide “a bit of financial relief” for tomorrow’s psychology students. “I hope it also shows that we are committed to encouraging the next generation of psychologists academically as well as financially.”

A lot, for the 47 children from grades 1-6 attending June’s Interfaith Peace Camp — a collaboration by ��ݮ����’s Center for Interfaith Engagement with local faith communities. “At the heart of peacebuilding is relationship building,” notes a statement of the camp’s purpose.

Following its 2011 theme, “Earth Care-People Care,” campers learned about sustainable living on visits to Jewish, Christian and Muslim places of worship, as well as the New Community Project (NCP) mini-farm in north Harrisonburg.

The morning at NCP – where attractions include the abovementioned dessert-producing workout device – immersed kids in aspects of sustainability that, incidentally, proved fun:

Painting the recycling shed (and each others’ faces). Shaking sand and clay on a tarp to prepare for making a cob oven. Setting out cucumber plants. Staining hands picking mulberries for ice-cream topping.

As the mulberry mix boiled over a small cylindrical stove, children took turns working the churn from the stationary tandem bike – a local invention.

When NCP director Tom Benevento dumped a compost bucket of aging kitchen refuse, he heard shouts of “Eeeew!” After covering it with weeds, he pointed to an older batch. “It’s starting to turn,” he indicated. “It also used to look grody.” The children – some experienced gardeners, others not – observed nature’s work on compost’s scent and appearance.

They hoped to make brownies. A volunteer led a discussion exploring, “How are brownies like fossil fuels?” NCP’s homemade sun oven – a glass-covered box employing tin panels – read 225 degrees. Brownies required about 350.

This summer’s peace camp – in its fourth year – had 40 slots, but demand entailed adding a few while turning some away. It’s all volunteer-run, with expenses supported by fees and donations.

“Every year it’s gotten better,” said camp administrator Gretchen Maust. She and co-director Lynette Mast noted diversity has increased as relationships have grown. This year, five children from Harrisonburg’s relatively small Beth El Congregation attended the weeklong day camp, with remaining attendance coming about equally from Christian denominations and the Islamic Association of the Shenandoah Valley.

One afternoon, campers Matthew Bacheller, Lauren Gumm and Abbie Menard gathered beside EMU’s fountain to remove and sort petals from cut flowers. They’d just visited and had lunch at the Harrisonburg mosque. “They have really soft carpet,” Lauren recalled, adding, “It’s always fascinating to learn about other religions.” She also liked the lentil soup.

Abbie had asked why Muslim women wear head coverings. “It’s because women are like jewels,” explained Matthew – whose sister, junior counselor Adara Bacheller, wore a bright purple hijab.

Earlier, the group had visited Beth El, where member and camper Hannah David reported they lunched on gefilte fish, latkes and “a noodle food.” She appreciated visiting the mosque and churches.

Beth El member and local educator Ron Ornstein, on guitar, led campers in garden-song sessions.

“We’re hosting, but in a way, each group is hosting,” said EMU art professor Cyndi Gusler, who facilitated construction of a rangoli around the fountain.

A rangoli, camper Fiza Afridi explained, is a creation originating in India that “welcomes people. It makes them feel happy.”

After children created rangolis on paper, Gusler incorporated their design elements – a splash; lotus; flower petals; spiral; nautilus – into a master drawing for chalking on the sidewalk.

Next came colors, textures and aromas.

Children encircled the fountain with a green ring made from plantain and seedpods. Chrysanthemums, blue coneflowers and red and yellow roses came from a florist’s still-colorful discards. In addition to those petals, children – mostly using only hands – neatly filled the chalked outlines for blossoms and leaves with flour, rice, ground coffee and curry.

While the peace camp focuses on Abrahamic faiths, this year, Gusler used art representing other traditions. Hence the rangoli, often used in Hindu celebrations, which also embodies the earth-care theme.

“Rangoli is a festival art,” she explained. “People walk through it and carry the spices on their feet. It’s meant to be very transient, to blow away and just go back to the earth.”

That mostly happened within a few days, but friendships – seeds of peace – would endure.

———–

Chris Edwards is a free-lance writer from Harrisonburg.

Children at the 2009 Interfaith Peace Camp enjoyed learning to knot comforters as part of a service project.

Hosted by EMU’s new Center for Interfaith Engagement, Abraham’s Tent, campers will focus on building friendships and understanding across the Abrahamic faith traditions.

The ‘Abrahamic faiths’

The "Abrahamic faiths," Judaism, Christianity and Islam, all claim the Old Testament figure Abraham as a major patriarch in their monotheistic religions which all worship the same God.

Participating groups

Members from The Islamic Association of Shenandoah Valley (IASV), Beth El Congregation, Trinity Presbyterian Church, Valley Friends Meeting, Park View Mennonite Church and Shalom Mennonite Congregation, with administrative support from Abraham’s Tent, are organizing and sponsoring the camp for rising first- through sixth-graders from the Valley.

During a group gathering time, the children fashioned trees from pipe cleaners which became part of an on-going project throughout the week.

Interfaith Peace Camp was first launched as a three-day pilot program in 2008. Children, parents and community members, gave such overwhelmingly positive feedback that last year’s camp was expanded from three to five days and involved more faith communities in the planning, according to Vesna Hart, co-chair of the peace camp planning committee.

Tools that transform conflict

This year’s camp curriculum will pair stories and lessons from the three Abrahamic faith communities with practical conflict transformation skills, Hart said.

"With so much misinformation surrounding all three of the Abrahamic faiths, it’s important to teach tools that will help to dispel common myths without damaging new relationships that emerge from interfaith opportunities," she added.

Zeinab Hassouna of the IASV noted that by teaching children skills to handle interfaith conflict, this will encourage parents, other family members and friends to be more openly engaged on topics that might tend to be sensitive.

Exploring other cultures

Camp activities will utilize large and small group work including recreational, artistic, dramatic and musical activities. Other opportunities to promote interfaith understanding and peacebuilding will come through sharing of cultural foods and open time for exploration and inquiry.

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday of Interfaith Peace Camp week, field trips are scheduled to Beth El synagogue, the IASV mosque and to Trinity Presbyterian Church. Campers and family members will gather Thursday evening for a potluck to celebrate interfaith peacemaking and share their experiences.

More info

For more information or to schedule an interview with a planning committee member, contact Gretchen Maust at 540-432-4674 or gretchen.maust@emu.edu or Vesna Hart at vesna.hart@gmail.com

The highly engaging Drs. Akrami, Rasoulipour and Mousavian emphasized the eager willingness of many Iranians to promote interfaith dialogue among ‘people of the book’ who share a common heritage as Children of Abraham. Their visit to the EMU campus was jointly sponsored by Abraham’s Tent and Mennonite Central Committee. (Photo by Jim Bishop)

Jointly sponsored by Abraham’s Tent and Mennonite Central Committee, the visit included meetings with top school administrators, personnel from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding and an afternoon forum on the topic, “Why Faith-based Peacebuilding is Important.”

Importance of interfaith dialogue

An active proponent of interfaith dialog, Dr. Rasoulipour works closely with the Center for Interreligious Dialogue in Tehran where he formerly served as director. In recent years he has been instrumental in arranging MCC learning tours to Iran.

Two Iranian colleagues, Dr. Seyed Mousavian and Dr. Amir Akrami, both professors of philosophy and religion in Iran, were able to join Dr. Rasoulipour for the EMU meetings.

The late afternoon forum drew an unexpectedly large group of about 100 persons.

East Coast learning tour

Ed Martin, formerly of MCC, helped to organize an East Coast tour for the three interfaith dialogue proponents. Their visit included meetings in Charlottesville, Washington, DC., and Cambridge, Mass.

Dr. Rasoulipour has spent the past year as a visiting professor at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Ind., and returned to his teaching post in Tehran on June 5.

Prior to the forum, Dr. Rasoulipour talks with Robert Lee, retired Mennonite Mission Network missionary who worked with his wife, Nancy, for many years in Japan. (Photo by Jim Bishop)

“We feel highly honored by Dr. Rasoulipour’s visit and his willingness to not only lecture on this important topic but to share his personal commitment to interfaith dialogue,” said Gretchen H. Maust, associate director of Abraham’s Tent.

“It’s important for us to know that the Iranian people long to build relationships and welcome opportunities to debate our differences so we can grow in respectful understanding of each other,” she added.

Learn more

• Abraham’s Tent: A Center for Interfaith Engagement at EMU
• Center for Justice and Peacebuilding
• Undergraduate peacebuilding and development studies

Christmas will be a bit more special for some 40 needy area children, thanks to the efforts of a group of ��ݮ���� Students.

The EMU community responded to an annual appeal from the with more than $1,500 in contributions, about $300 more than last year. Around 15 students, mostly social work majors, purchased clothing and toys from local retail outlets and wrapped the gifts.

Student organizers worked from names and “wish lists” of children sponsored for special services by the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Department of Social Services. The group hoped to raise $1,200 this year. When that goal was surpassed, students were able to include 15 additional gifts to fulfill a request that came in later from the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program.

Erika Detweiler (l.) and Kristi Wenger wrap and label presents that will be delivered to Harrisonburg-Rockingham Department of Social Services and to Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Harrisonburg.
Photo by Jim Bishop

According to Gretchen H. Maust, EMU’s social work and sociology department office coordinator who manages the project, “People across campus actually began asking about the project before fliers were ready to send out.

“Most sociology and social work majors are involved with human service agencies as part of class requirements,” Maust noted, adding: “This service project offers a tangible way for students to help meet the needs they learn about in class and makes the Christmas holidays happier and less stressful for a number of local families.”

“I’m pleased with the response from fellow students to this project,” said EMU senior Jason Gerig of Albany, Ore., who helped organize this year’s effort under the auspices of the student organization, Social Work is People (SWIP).

“I was astounded that we were able to raise the amount of money we did,” added Alex Brodt, a senior from Silver Spring, Md. “The EMU community really pulled together, and it’s great to know that we’re helping to put smiles on some kids’ faces.”

“It’s fun to work at this with fellow students,” said senior Kristi Wenger from Waynesboro, Va. “We received gift ideas with the children’s names, so so we know they’ll receive items they can use.”

The presents were delivered in time for distribution at the Social Service department’s annual “Visit With Santa” Christmas party on Dec. 9.