Jordan Luther ’15, Christopher Lehman ’15, Briana Nolt ’15 and rising senior Ryan Swartzentruber participated in the May 9鈥�19 trek, which started in Augusta County and ended in Norfolk. Riders also came from James Madison University, University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Mary Washington, Christopher Newport University and the College of William and Mary.

A controversial project

The 550-mile interstate natural gas pipeline is to be constructed by Dominion Resources, a Richmond-based energy company. The pipeline would start in North Carolina, span Virginia and end in West Virginia.

The bikers roughly followed a segment of the pipeline鈥檚 proposed route. Along the way, they met and spoke with landowners and community activists who have raised concerns about the pipeline.

Those against the pipeline argue that its construction would be . They are also concerned about the possibility of gas leakage, which could endanger Virginia鈥檚 residents and wildlife. A found that from July 2013 to November 2014, 372 oil and gas pipeline leaks, spills and other incidents led to 20 deaths, 117 injuries and more than $256 million in damages.

Proponents of the pipeline maintain that the pipeline would by creating jobs and providing access to reliable, low-cost natural gas. Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, , said the pipeline will allow Dominion to shut down old coal plants. 鈥淭his is a lot less emissions,” said McAuliffe during a unveiling the pipeline plan. “So what we鈥檙e doing鈥s great for the environment.”

Witnessing the human impact

EMU students first became aware of the resistance ride when Luther sent out an email to students in a bike maintenance class advertising the resistance ride as a fun way to participate in a bike tour and activism at the same time.

Swartzentruber decided to participate when he learned that the pipeline would run through some of his favorite mountain biking trails in George Washington National Forest. 鈥淚 chose to do this ride to protect the mountains that have given me countless hours of joy,鈥� he said.

Although Swartzentruber was initially skeptical as to whether the tour would be effective, the communities 鈥渕et us with such gratitude and repeatedly told us how our actions rejuvenated their fight against this pipeline,鈥� he said.

Nolt also was moved by the impact the ride had on people along the way. She 鈥渟aw tears in people鈥檚 eyes as they welcomed us into their community.鈥�

The cyclists arrived in Richmond on May 15 in time for Dominion Riverrock, an outdoor sports and music festival sponsored by the very company tasked with the construction of the pipeline. That night during a live performance, the bikers stood on a bridge above the stage holding cardboard letters adorned with Christmas lights that spelled 鈥淒ominion: No Pipeline.鈥�

鈥淎s we held up our letters, I looked over the edge to see camera flashes twinkle throughout the crowd,鈥� said Swartzentruber. 鈥淗opefully our actions will at least spark some conversations.鈥�

The students have gone their separate ways for the summer but with strong connections to those they met during the bike ride.

鈥淚 am excited about keeping the connections open with these schools, as it looks like more events will take shape in the near future,鈥� said Nolt.

鈥淐olbert said precisely what I think about cynicism nine years ago,鈥� Dionne, a syndicated columnist for The Washington Post, told the crowd. 鈥淐ynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it鈥檚 the farthest thing from it.

鈥淐ynics always say 鈥榥o,鈥� but saying 鈥榶es鈥� begins things. Saying 鈥榶es鈥� is how things grow,鈥� he continued. 鈥淐ynicism isn鈥檛 realism, because realism accepts people as they are.鈥�

Hundreds of students and thousands of family members and friends crowded into Yoder Arena at EMU to watch the university鈥檚 97th annual commencement ceremony.

A total of 486 degrees and certificates were handed out. Of those 486, 370 were undergraduate degrees 鈥� including 139 adult degrees 鈥� 106 were graduate degrees and 10 were certificates in pastoral ministry studies. . A total of .

EMU also awarded a posthumous honorary degree on behalf of Ruth C. Jones of Verona, who died in June at the age of 40 while enrolled in the adult degree completion program.

Jones was finishing a bachelor鈥檚 of science in nursing and was employed at Augusta Health, where she had worked for 15 years. Her husband, Nicholas, received her diploma on her behalf.

Throngs of people filled the 3,600-capacity arena, packing the bleachers and seats on the floor, the track circling above the arena and a theater that showed a live broadcast of the ceremony.

Dionne, 63, who also is a professor in the Foundations of Democracy and Culture at Georgetown University, titled his address 鈥淐ynicism Isn鈥檛 Realism: Letting Joy Surprise You.鈥� In it, he highlighted what he said is the importance of finding the good in everything and everyone, staying humble and continuing to learn.

Remember, Dionne told members of the graduating class, you can always learn something from everyone.

鈥淭he smartest people on this Earth are never, ever the know-it-alls,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he truly ingenious people 鈥β� are constantly amazed by how little they know.鈥�

He also took time to acknowledge the sacrifice and help from parents in guiding their children to graduation.

鈥淚 always disliked the phrase 鈥榮elf-made,鈥欌�� he said. 鈥淣one of us is self-made. It鈥檚 a biological and spiritual absurdity.鈥�

Other speakers included Najla El Mangoush, a master鈥檚 graduate from Benghazi, Libya, in the university鈥檚 conflict transformation program; Kimberly Groff, a graduate from Ephrata, Pa., in the adult degree completion program; and undergraduate students Emily Shenk, of Goshen, Ind., and Jordan Luther, of Martinsville.

Speaking to the class, Luther compared the new graduates to a box of crayons.

鈥淪ome of us came from five minutes away down the road while others grew up 5,000 miles away,鈥� he said. 鈥淥ur identities are like a 64-box of crayons, filled with subtlety, diversity and compassion; colors to create portraits of peace and transcendence in your community and in your world.鈥�

Dionne graduated with a bachelor of arts degree from Harvard University and a doctorate from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. In addition to writing columns for The Washington Post and serving as a professor at Georgetown University, he is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He lives in Bethesda, Md., with his wife and three kids.

Before concluding his speech, Dionne said to the roomful of graduates: 鈥淐ommencement is the beginning and not an end. Never stop learning.鈥�

Courtesy of the Daily News Record, April 27, 2015

More from commencement weekend:

Then, again, this is a Christian university that says it is 鈥渓ike no other.鈥�

The week was intended to encourage both interfaith dialogue and intercultural awareness, said , EMU鈥檚 director of and .

Events included a lecture on Muslim prayer practices, a 叠补丑谩鈥櫭� devotional, worship services conducted in the Orthodox, Mennonite, and Methodist traditions, a lecture on Jewish faith practices on death and dying, an interactive faith talkback, and an international food festival.

The week opened Friday, Sept. 12, with the Islam-themed talk, sponsored by . 鈥淩eligions are the most important part of our cultures,鈥� said , at the beginning of his hour-long lecture about the history of Islam, basic Islamic beliefs, and what the ritual Islamic prayer practice (Salat) looks and sounds like.

Lectures, prayers, incense, music

Monday morning, a mostly different group of EMU community members gathered into a tight circle in the EMU Discipleship Center. The facilitator, senior Julie Huffer, welcomed the group and briefly explained how the 叠补丑谩鈥櫭� devotional would run. Several participants were given yellow strips of paper containing portions of a single scriptural passage. Like Akrami, Huffer took time to explain the basic history and beliefs of 叠补丑谩鈥櫭璼 before moving into the main part of her program, which included hearing the words on the yellow strips, experiencing silence and prayer, and listening to music from a 叠补丑谩鈥櫭� artist, before breaking for refreshments.

Rabbi Joe Blair鈥檚 explanation of Jewish practices on death and dying was both interesting and educational on Monday afternoon. 鈥淚 learned that the Jewish tradition has a specific process of honoring the souls that have passed and honoring the family that has lost them,鈥� said Huffer. 鈥淚t was interesting because I didn鈥檛 know that in Judaism they have such a specific process.鈥�

Held in Martin Chapel, both the Mennonite and Methodist worship services 鈥� Tuesday and Thursday, respectively 鈥� were sponsored by the , which is accredited by both denominations. They both included hymns, a short message on church history, and what a typical service looks like.

The thurible emitted a faint waft of incense as the priest swung it back and forth in front of the makeshift altar he was blessing in Lehman Auditorium on Wednesday. Although he later explained that his church, , was affiliated with a 鈥渟imple鈥� branch of Orthodox Christianity, the beautiful icons, heavy, ornately embroidered priest-robes, and formal blessing ceremony seemed mysterious and involved to eyes used to 鈥減lain鈥� Mennonite worship practices.

Eye-opening for students

鈥淚t was eye-opening and refreshing to participate and experience another faith tradition,鈥� said senior Philip Yoder, raised Mennonite. 鈥淚 never realized they codified their faith tradition in the 10th century, and they have been worshiping the same way ever since. Even though the practices were old, they infused the service with heartfelt prayers for the students and professors at EMU, and that was pretty cool.鈥�

On Thursday evening, around 50 people gathered in to view the Faces of EMU Exhibit and participate in an 鈥渋nteractive faith talk-back.鈥� The evening included playing get-acquainted games, circulating through the exhibit, chatting, writing impressions on a large sheet of newsprint, and watching a short movie about the two largest minority groups on campus, Hindus and Muslims (from the series on the YouTube channel SoulPancake).

Senior Jordan Luther said 鈥渋t was neat鈥� to move beyond the Christian majority on campus and have his eyes opened to the religious minorities in the EMU community.

Popular food festival

By far, the most-attended event of the week was Friday鈥檚 International Food Fest and Games. This is perhaps to be expected since the time of the event did not conflict with classes or most work-study schedules, and the email reminder sent out by Lepley encouraged people to 鈥渂ring your taste buds鈥� to partake of enticingly described international foods.

Over 30 vendors prepared food that represented cultures in Saudi Arabia, Korea, Nepal, Kenya and Italy, among others. Students, faculty, staff and other community members intermingled together over what could be described as 鈥渁 diverse fellowship of believers鈥� or 鈥渋nterfaith communion.鈥� With the Food Fest, the organizers of International Education Week showcased the different faith traditions present at EMU in a common space where everyone could laugh, break bread and celebrate their diversity.

The week was organized in conjunction with EMU鈥檚 International Student Organization, led by junior聽聽of Somali origin and senior Sun Ju Lee of South Korea; the , led by Carmen Witmer; the , represented by ; Cross Cultural Programs, represented by , and , led by

The policy has to do with how people working with MCC talk about their host countries when they go overseas. They are to refrain from comments that would offend or jeopardize their local partners and hurt the dignity of the people. MCC also urges its workers to respect the local culture and to refuse to reinforce stereotypes.

鈥淚 agree with the intent of the policy,鈥� said Stauffer, a major from Lebanon, Pennsylvania, 鈥渂ut sometimes I think MCC goes too far.鈥�

For two months during the summer of 2013, Stauffer was an intern with MCC in Honduras, which has the highest murder rate in the world. The American media portrays it as a violent country of drug traffickers that sends its children fleeing to the United States.

In Honduras, Stauffer wrote in his blog about the different ways he had noticed violence in that country. He mentioned the dilapidated housing in Honduras, writing that 鈥減overty like this is not unrelated to violent crime.鈥� He also wrote about his direct experiences with violence in the country.

Before posting his blog, Stauffer had MCC staff in Honduras review it. They asked him to remove the references to the houses and the violence. 鈥淚 understood about the housing because it violated dignity. But I didn鈥檛 like that they wanted to censor what I said about violence, because I was trying to relate my experiences with violence in order to break down the dominant narrative of violence,鈥� he said.

A few months later, back on campus, Stauffer signed up for the annual C. Henry Smith Oratorical Contest for students at Mennonite colleges in the United States and Canada. The student was to apply the Christian peace position to a contemporary concern in 1,500 words or less, speaking for 8-10 minutes.

Stauffer decided to write and speak about the dangers of avoiding difficult discussions about violence, inspired by his experience in Honduras. He also drew on a TED talk that has been reference frequently by MCC workers. It was by in which she decried the dominant cultural narratives.

In Honduras, MCC wanted to fight the dominant narrative that the country was a violent place. 鈥淏ut in this case, where I couldn鈥檛 even talk about violence, MCC had similarly adopted a single story to compensate against the dominant narrative,鈥� Stauffer said.

Stauffer鈥檚 speech, titled 鈥�,鈥� won first place at EMU last March. He received $250. The two runners up for EMU were senior major Chris Yoder and senior major Jordan Luther. The other contestants were first-year student Sara Caitlin Neubert and junior Chris Parks.

鈥淚 am grateful for students like Seth who not only are willing to serve with MCC but are also then able to begin to process that experience in an academic setting,鈥� said , an EMU professor who currently chairs the MCC U.S. board. She and her husband also served previously with MCC in Central America.

Stauffer鈥檚 winning speech at EMU was videotaped and sent to three judges who work in peace and justice ministries at MCC U.S. and MCC Canada 鈥� Sue Eagle, Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz and Ewuare Osayande.

The winners were announced in late August. In addition to Stauffer in second place were Abby Deaton of Goshen College in first place and Mary Schrag of Bluffton University in third place. Stauffer received a $225 cash prize and a $200 scholarship to a peace conference or seminar.

Stauffer plans to graduate from EMU in spring 2015. After a 鈥済ap year鈥� of work and study in Harrisonburg, he hopes to enroll in law school.

Stauffer, a second-year major from Lebanon, Pa., delved into the dangers of avoiding difficult discussions about violence in some areas where works. 鈥淚 think it is important for MCC to consider what ability they have to be subversive to violence by communicating about it in a more helpful way,鈥� said Stauffer.

The annual C. Henry Smith Oratorical Contest brings together students from Mennonite and Brethren in Christ colleges and universities in the United States and Canada to speak on contemporary issues from a Christian perspective. Winners at each school move on the intercollegiate portion of the contest for cash awards and conference scholarships.

Stauffer鈥檚 speech drew inspiration from ideas put forth in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie鈥檚 TED talk, 鈥�.鈥� In that talk, Adichie speaks of painful experiences she has had coming to terms with others’ perceptions of her, and her perceptions of them based on the dominant cultural narrative. To her, these single stories were fraught with inaccuracy and unhelpful stereotypes; getting beyond them allowed her to more fully experience the world.

Stauffer summarized Adichie鈥檚 point by noting that one story is never enough. But ignoring one particular story among many also has its pitfalls. As an example, he cited MCC censorship of a blog post he wrote about violence he witnessed last summer, while volunteering for the organization in Honduras. MCC, he said, didn鈥檛 want to reinforce the perception of Honduras as a violent place. 鈥淚n some ways, just talking about violence will reinforce popular assumptions,鈥� Stauffer said. 鈥淏ut in this case, MCC had similarly adopted a single story to compensate against the dominant narrative.鈥�

After a lengthy discussion, a three-judge panel, including EMU professors and , and Jennifer Davis Sensenig, a local Mennonite pastor, deemed Stauffer鈥檚 speech the best of the five entered in the contest.

The judges evaluated each speaker on topic, content, conclusion, delivery, introduction and originality. After the speeches, , organizer and emcee of the event, thanked all the student participants for their courage and their insight, and expressed her relief at not having to judge such an outstanding group.

The judges awarded Stauffer the first spot and also recognized two runners up, Chris Yoder, a senior major, and Jordan Luther, a senior majoring in . Yoder spoke about cultural adaptability in the context of cross-cultural experiences, while Luther gave a speech about the challenges and social stigmas associated with accent.

Rounding out the five speakers was first-year Sara Caitlin Neubert, who investigated issues of body image and the role of the church in promoting positive self-image. Chris Parks, a junior, drew the first speaking position of the evening and made an appeal for acceptance and equality titled “Dreaming a New America.”

Stauffer will receive $250 and entry to the intercollegiate portion of the contest.

Last year鈥檚 winner of the C. Henry Smith Oratorical Contest at EMU was Emily Harnish. She placed third at the binational contest with her speech, 鈥淟essons from the Hymnal in an Election Season.鈥�

Students are encouraged to teach, preach, provide pastoral visitation, participate in administrative meetings and learn about the day-to-day challenges and joys of serving as a pastor,” said Carmen Schrock-Hurst, instructor in the Bible and religion department and EMU director of the Ministry Inquiry Program (MIP).

Participating students

Jordan Luther, a junior Biblical studies major from Martinsville, Va., is interning at Wellman Mennonite Church in Wellman, Iowa.

Andrea De Avila, a senior psychology and Biblical studies double-major from Victoria, Tamaulipas Mexico, is interning with West Union Mennonite Church in Parnell, Iowa. In addition to her MIP internship, De Avila will serve as youth worship leader at the Mennonite Church USA convention in Phoenix, Ariz.

Nathaniel McKnight, a sophomore social work major from Gaithersburg, Md., is serving as pastoral intern at James Street Mennonite in Lancaster, Pa.

Jacob Landis, a 2013 graduate of Hesston College, is participating in an MIP internship program in Scottdale, Pa. Landis will be a transfer student at EMU in the fall.

In addition, Matthew Naugle, a junior congregation & youth ministries and peacebuilding & development double-major from Forest, Va., is participating in a ministry internship with RISE (a United Methodist church plant) in Harrisonburg. Naugle’s placement is not officially within the scope of聽 the MIP program, but it’s supported in part by a grant from Haverim, EMU’s Bible and religion alumni organization, “in recognition that many students create and serve in significant ministry internships that are beyond the scope of Mennonite Church USA’s MIP program.”

Hands-on experience

At the completion of their 11-week placement, students in the MIP program receive funds to apply toward their education at a Mennonite college. In addition to Mennonite Church USA, funding comes from EMU, the host congregation and conference, and the student鈥檚 sending congregation and conference.

“A significant part of the learning comes from the gift of time that the supervising pastors give to serve as mentors and guides for the learning process,” said Schrock-Hurst. “Many MIP students will serve the broader church in ongoing leadership roles.”

For more information on the Ministry Inquiry Program, visit .