Stutzman taught at Eastern Mennonite Seminary (EMS) as associate professor of church ministries starting in 1998, and served as academic dean of the seminary from July 2000 to December 2009. He then led Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) as executive director from 2010 until his retirement in 2018. 

He was known by many as a master woodworker, skilled handyman, prolific author, disciplined goal-setter and writer of life-purpose statements, problem solver and mentor, teacher and preacher, and loving husband, father, and grandfather. He is also remembered for his seemingly limitless reserve of energy, his deep commitment to Christ and the church, and the close relationships he formed with those he worked with and served. 

Stutzman died on June 3, 2025, at age 72 from complications following a five-year battle with cancer. A memorial service was held on June 8 at Park View Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, where he was an active member. View a recording of the service, along with the full obituary, on the church’s website here:

“Ervin was deeply committed to the church and to preparing seminary students to serve and lead in pastoral and other roles,” said Dr. Loren Swartzendruber, president of EMU from 2003 to 2016. “He was a gifted administrator who contributed wisdom and energy to the entire university while serving as dean of the seminary. He was also a much-loved professor and mentor to many students.”

Professor Emeritus Lonnie Yoder, who was on the seminary faculty from 1991 to 2021, described Stutzman as a caring administrator and “very supportive dean.” “He was incredibly committed to his role and to the relationships he had with faculty and students,” Yoder said. “He was very purpose-driven. He believed we should all develop life-purpose statements and encouraged all of us to work on them.”

Stutzman himself had written a life-purpose statement that he often referenced, Yoder said. According to an by MC USA, part of Stutzman’s statement read: “In response to God’s love expressed in Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I purpose to follow after God with all my heart … so that God may be glorified in my life at all times and in every way.”

“He was one of the most highly disciplined people I think I’ve ever met,” Yoder said. “I was always amazed at his capacity to do everything that he did.”

Among Stutzman’s contributions to EMS was a $2 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to develop the LEAP (Learning, Experiencing, And Participating) Program. The initiative, which began in 2003, aimed to help high school students hone their leadership skills, explore Christ-centered theological studies and pastoral ministry, and engage in intercultural learning experiences (with travels to countries including Zimbabwe, Jamaica, and Colombia).

“The key was that Ervin, and it was a stroke of genius by him, wanted the program to be characterized by diversity,” Yoder said. “It allowed high school-age youth to get outside their comfort zone and engage with other talented and committed youth. In that sense, I think Ervin was ahead of his time.”

Stutzman was born on April 27, 1953, in an Amish home in Kalona, Iowa, to Emma and Tobias Stutzman. He grew up in Hutchinson, Kansas, where his family moved after his father’s death when Stutzman and his twin, Erma, were just three years old. He was the only one in his family to graduate from high school.

Stutzman received his PhD in rhetoric and communication from Temple University (1993), MA degrees in religion from EMS (1999) and communications from the University of Cincinnati (1979), and a BA in Christian ministries from Cincinnati Bible College (1978).

He wrote several historical novelizations of true Amish stories, including those of his parents’ lives, Emma: A Widow Among the Amish and Tobias of the Amish, and Return to Northkill, a three-book series on the life of his ancestor, Jacob Hochstedler. He also wrote several other books about Mennonite history, life, and thought.

Professor Emeritus Dorothy Jean Weaver, who joined the seminary faculty in 1984 and retired in 2018, noted Stutzman’s productive nature. “The fact that, in the midst of everything else he was doing, he wrote all those books, shows some real commitment and focus,” she said. 

Weaver co-led a 2007 study tour to the Holy Land that Stutzman and his wife, Bonnie, joined and recalled that the couple were part of a small group that climbed the steep slopes of Mount Tabor on foot. “I was always a little worried that Ervin would assume the rest of us had the same level of energy he had,” she said. 

Another vivid memory Weaver has of the former EMS dean is of the beautifully handmade wooden crafts that Ervin and Bonnie gifted seminary faculty and staff each Christmas. One of those gifts, a domed wooden paperweight inscribed with the EMS motif and initialed “ERS ’06,” remains on some office desks in the Seminary Building today nearly 19 years after being given. 

“I think of him being well-placed in this seminary because he was naturally gifted as a strong administrator and he cared ever so deeply about the church,” Weaver said. “He was the right person at the right place.” 

At EMS, Stutzman succeeded George Brunk III ’61, SEM ’64 as dean. He was followed by Dr. Michael King ’76, who became dean in July 2010 after a six-month interim term by Sara Wenger Shenk. Before becoming dean, King, as owner of Cascadia Publishing House, had worked with Stutzman to prepare his book, Tobias of the Amish, for publication. “In that sense, I had a lot of opportunity to get to know him,” King said.

“He was a very hard worker,” King said. “He was passionate about fulfilling his assignments as a leader.”

One of the most challenging roles of the dean’s job is to maintain accreditation with the Association of Theological Schools (EMS has been an accredited member since 1986), as well as the support of the United Methodist Church for training its Methodist students. Both of those accreditations were key to maintaining a student body in numbers high enough for EMS to remain successful and viable.

“During my tenure, I worked closely on both accreditations, always building on the work Ervin had done,” said King, dean of EMS from 2010 to 2017. “I always knew I owed a tremendous debt to the very careful work Ervin had done in setting the stage in prior accreditations.”

While dean, King was an advisory council member of the seminary’s Preaching Institute, a program Stutzman established and chaired that provides pastors and lay leaders with an opportunity to develop their preaching skills. “That was an excellent experience,” King said. “I believe it may be on hiatus at this point, but it was a very valuable program in its day.”

Ervin married Bonita “Bonnie” Lee Haldeman MA ’05 (church leadership) of Manheim, Pennsylvania, in 1974. Together, they served as volunteers for Rosedale Mennonite Missions in Cincinnati for five years.

In 1982, at age 29, Ervin moved with his young family to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and became associate pastor of Mount Joy Mennonite Church, while also serving as the associate director for Home Ministries at Eastern Mennonite Missions. Just 18 months later, he began a half-time role as district overseer for Lancaster Mennonite Conference, and from 1991 to 2000, he served as their conference moderator.

“As I recall, he once joked that he lived his adult life in decades,” Yoder said. “He was involved in Lancaster Mennonite Conference for a decade, and then EMS for a decade, and then MC USA for a decade, approximately.”

Bonnie, who supported Ervin as his wife for 51 years, described him as “everyone’s dream of a husband—he would do whatever needed to get done.” At their home just a handful of blocks from campus, Ervin built all the cabinets, countertops, bookshelves, and furniture. She said he spent six months creating a 290-page, leather-bound book of journal entries, photos, and reflections as a gift for their 50th anniversary. “He was always teaching himself new skills,” she said.

“He was a visionary,” she said, “a big-picture person.”

In their retirement, Ervin and Bonnie biked thousands of miles on their e-bikes and traveled the country in their RV. Before he died, he wrote a yet-unpublished memoir.

“He was nourished by being outdoors, eating good food, regular church attendance, a spiritual life of prayer and contemplation, and keeping peace with fellow people,” Bonnie said. “He was a man of integrity.”

Ervin was preceded in death by his son Daniel Tobias Stutzman. His beloved spouse Bonita survives, as do two children: Emma Ruth (Stutzman) Dawson (Iowa City, Iowa), along with her sons Felix Tobias Dawson and Caius Lysander Dawson, and Benjamin Lee Stutzman and his wife Andrea Joy (Kniss) Stutzman (Harrisonburg, VA), along with their children Eva René Stutzman and Evan Rafael Stutzman. His twin Erma Mae (Stutzman) Yoder (Ephrata, PA) is his only surviving sibling.

Portions of this article are from the on Ervin Stutzman. 

In a Facebook post about his passing, the shared that Augsburger had been diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer on Oct. 23. He died peacefully at his California home surrounded by family and loved ones on Oct. 30, the post reads.

A memorial service for Augsburger will be held at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 19, at La Verne Church of the Brethren in La Verne, California. 

Augsburger was recognized as an authority in the fields of pastoral care, counseling and reconciliation. He was a prolific writer, penning more than 20 books including Conflict Mediation Across Cultures (1992), The Freedom of Forgiveness (1988) and Sustaining Love: Healing and Growth in the Passages of Marriage (1989). He authored the popular Caring Enough series of books, beginning with Caring Enough to Confront: How to Transform Conflict with Compassion and Grace in 1980. His feature articles have appeared in more than 100 different periodicals. 

Former Eastern Mennonite Seminary (EMS) Professor Lonnie Yoder, associate dean of the seminary from 2010 to 2016, called Augsburger a pioneer in the field. 

 “If he didn’t write the first book, it was among the first in pastoral counseling in terms of culture: Pastoral Counseling Across Cultures (1986),” Yoder said. “He was at the forefront of that dimension of pastoral counseling, which is now complete with lots of work. He was one of the first to recognize that when you do counseling, cultural context is really important.”

Augsburger also was known by many for his voice. From 1961 to 1975, listeners across the country tuned in to hear him speak and promote the Gospel on The Mennonite Hour radio program, which was based in Harrisonburg. His productions won 10 awards for creative religious broadcasting.

“His style focused on the Anabaptist evangelical response to the social concerns of the day: war and peace, racism and interpersonal relationships. Witty turns of language and thought held attention and conveyed truth” (). 

Augsburger held a bachelor of arts degree with a major in Bible from Eastern Mennonite College (EMC) and a bachelor of divinity degree from EMS. He received a PhD from the Claremont School of Theology in Southern California.

His brother, Myron, was a professor of theology at EMC and led the college and seminary as its fifth president from 1965 to 1980. Another brother of his, Aaron Donald “A. Don,” graduated from EMC and EMS and taught in the field of Christian education at the school.

Augsburger was a pastor at Trissels Mennonite Church in Broadway, Virginia, from 1963 to 1971. He taught at Northern Baptist Seminary near Chicago and at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart, Indiana, before joining Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He served as professor emeritus of pastoral care and counseling at Fuller from 1990 to 2018. He and his wife Leann pastored Peace Mennonite Fellowship, a church in Claremont, California. 

In a , Fuller Theological Seminary touted Augsburger’s work as a dedicated minister of the Mennonite Church and as a diplomat of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors. 

“Augsburger’s impact reached far beyond the classroom,” it reads. “He taught counseling, led workshops internationally, and provided supervision and therapy, embodying the principles he espoused in his teachings.”

‘A communicator of outstanding ability’

George Brunk III ’61, SEM ’64, was a year behind Augsburger at EMC and EMS but the two were close friends. The duo sang “shoulder to shoulder” in choral groups as bass singers, Brunk said.

“He was a person of multiple talents,” Brunk said. “He was always a prominent voice in whatever setting he was in.”

Brunk would later serve as a professor at EMS and as dean of the seminary from 1977 to 1999. Although Augsburger was not employed by Eastern Mennonite, he would often return to campus for speaking engagements. 

“He was a communicator of outstanding ability,” Brunk said. “He had an ability to grasp onto big ideas, but he gave attention to communicating those ideas and to applying them in practical ways to life.”

Yoder, a former professor of pastoral care and counseling at EMS, recalled Augsburger speaking at the School for Leadership Training — now called Shalom Academy — at the seminary a few decades ago.

“He did an amazing job of connecting with students,” Yoder said. “He was obviously a very brilliant individual, but he could communicate in a way that people understood.”

When EMS Professor Tim Reardon, who received his PhD from Fuller, was a pastor at Pasadena Mennonite Church in California, he asked Augsburger for help resolving a conflict within the congregation.

“He was a great resource for understanding reconciliation issues,” Reardon said.

He lauded Augsburger’s support for members of the LGBTQ+ community in the Pacific Southwest Mennonite Conference, and spoke highly of him as a mentor. 

“He was such a loving, genuine and honest person,” Reardon said. “His family loved him so much. It’s hard to imagine he’s gone.”

Stan Maclin GC ’01 (ministry studies), the community organizer, pastor, educator, and tireless advocate for racial and social justice in Harrisonburg, Virginia, and beyond, died Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2021, at age 67. 

Today [Sunday] and Monday, ��ݮ���� honors Martin Luther King Jr. Day, an that Maclin played an influential role in helping to create and sustain.

“He was one of the giants whose shoulders we stand upon in this struggle for Justice and Truth,” said planning committee chair Celeste Thomas, director of multicultural student services and senior advisor to the president on diversity and inclusion, who worked with Maclin on several events over the years. “To loosely quote Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., he was definitely ‘a drum major for change.’ He will be sorely missed especially during this time of the year. He would be with us on Monday if he were still among us.”

Maclin’s many achievements include , creating the People’s Equality Commission of the Shenandoah Valley, and leading the charge to . He was dedicated to preserving . This summer, he organized , and to facilitate dialogue between local residents and authorities in the criminal justice system. Just last month, he spoke of in Harrisonburg.

Maclin was a well-known and respected community leader: His passing has been covered in the and .

He was also a great friend to EMU. To local media, he mentioned moving to the area to attend the seminary. Professor Lonnie Yoder recalls that shortly after his arrival, Maclin requested a tour to help him get to know the community. The two men spent some hours driving around Harrisonburg, with Yoder “telling stories, pointing out key institutions and landmarks, sharing my take on the historical, cultural, and religious dynamics of this community.”

Yoder calls the experience a “holy moment” for him, and it’s a story that is particularly poignant because it captures a moment of deep witness of who Stan Maclin was, how he valued learning and knowing a community, seeing with clear eyes and an open heart, and moved toward change with a deep devotion to involving and sharing with others in that radical work.

In the years since, Maclin helped to provide the same experience to EMU students. He helped to start the first Martin Luther King Day Celebration on campus in 2013, and continued to open the minds of students and other EMU community members in attendance at  MLK Day talks and tours each year. 

In 2018 and 2019, Maclin worked with second-year graduate students at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding on their “Community Grounding Day” orientation for new students. He hosted a day-long tour that explored the social, historical, economic, cultural and environmental realities of the city from a social justice perspective, said Amy Knorr, practice director at CJP.

He invited many graduate students to connect to and join organizations, movements and gatherings for social justice. In his leadership positions with Faith in Action and Virginia Organizing, particularly, Knorr says Maclin encouraged and opened doors to CJP student engagement and collaboration.

“A hero for justice has fallen,” said Professor Carl Stauffer, who first met Maclin in 1991 when they pastored and worked together in Richmond. Stauffer later worked with Maclin in the Martin Luther King Jr. Way Coalition and spoke at a number of local peace rallies Maclin organized. 

“As I often say, it was Stan who raised me up in the ministry of the Church, and the work of racial justice, reconciliation, and community development,” Stauffer said. “He was a brother, mentor and friend. He will be sorely missed by so many people around the world, in the Church nationally, and right here in the City of Harrisonburg. Stan was always focused on the local — he was a man of action, committed to social justice and community organizing wherever he found himself. Stan was determined to work for, and live into a better world. He made Harrisonburg a better place. He has left us an important legacy of justice, reconciliation, and bridge-building across all divisions in our society. May we carry on his mantle with grace and integrity.”

Below, we’ve collected a few memories from other EMU faculty and staff who worked with Maclin over the years. 

I first got to know Stan when he invited me to contribute to the advocacy for the street renaming effort and I served gladly under his leadership. He invited my contributions toward this effort out of his deep respect for what he experienced at EMU. I, in turn, invited his involvement with planning and facilitating MLK Day of Service and Learning at EMU. It was a good partnership for many years. 

– Brian Martin Burkholder, campus pastor

Stan was not only a community activist but I would count him as a friend. He was a member of the MLK Jr. Committee and unselfishly gave of his time and talent to the students, myself and EMU. He conducted tours of the Harriet Tubman museum and co-lead the Barbershop Talks during the MLK Jr. Celebration. He was dedicated to and passionate about making sure that the next generation was aware of the activists from slavery through civil rights and present day that paved the way for us to have the liberties that we have in this country. He was one of the giants whose shoulders we stand upon in this struggle for Justice and Truth. To loosely quote Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., “He was definitely a drum major for change.” He will be sorely missed especially during this time of the year. He would be with us on Monday if he were still among us.

– Celeste Thomas, director of multicultural student services and senior adviser to the president for diversity and inclusion

When he moved to Harrisonburg many years ago, he expressed a need to be introduced to the Harrisonburg community. I remember taking an entire afternoon to literally drive Stan around the city of Harrisonburg telling stories, pointing out key institutions and landmarks, sharing my take on the historical, cultural, and religious dynamics of this community, etc. It was a holy moment for me and I hope it was as well for Stan.

– Professor Lonnie Yoder, Eastern Mennonite Seminary

Stan was committed to and especially active in being a bridge builder between the so-called campus and community, more broadly. He not only engaged students, but has also invited faculty and staff in various community events and initiatives as well – including the King street renaming taskforce, annual celebrations of Dr. King, and other community events. I benefited from his outreach, hospitality and bridge building within six months of my move to Harrisonburg, and know that there are others of us for whom he served as a mentor in many respects, and who have connections that predate their time in/at Harrrisonburg, EMU and CJP.

– Professor Johonna Turner, co-director of the Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice

More MLK Day media coverage

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Register here.

The series is an outgrowth of an April 1 online gathering that drew 32 pastors, including 22 alumni, representing Mennonite Church USA, the Church of the Brethren, Presbyterian Church USA and United Methodist Church. 

The first session on April 15 focused on pastoral care and included a facilitated discussion on grief/loss without physical presence, caring for others from a distance, and caring for ourselves

April 29: Spiritual formation for pastoral resilience

• Signs of pastoral fatigue, spiritual practices to sustain the pastor

May 13: Understanding trauma and secondary trauma

• Supporting front-line responders and recognizing secondary trauma

May 27: Theological questions during anxious times

• Support for navigating theological issues associated with the pandemic

June 10: Ethical issues of medical care

• Issues of access, justice and understanding the medical system during the pandemic

June 24: Biblical resources for despair and hope

• Biblical literature that gives voice to human despair and theologically responsible use of scripture for hope in life and death

Facilitators are drawn from seminary professors, clinical pastoral education staff and the seminary’s large group of alumni working in ministry.

In August, two such courses on the Gospel of Luke/Book of Acts and the psychology of religion – each met for an intensive week of 20 hours of class time, with the remainder of coursework unfolding over seven additional weeks of online interaction. An additional course, on formation in missional leadership, is underway online and will complete its face-to-face component in October.

“We are turning more and more often to a hybrid format for course offerings,” said Nancy Heisey, associate seminary dean. “Many of our students live at a distance or are working full time, yet value the opportunity for face-to-face learning as well.”

The Luke/Acts class brought students from five states, including Adam Stultz, who is pursuing an MDiv while serving as a full-time associate pastor at Summerdean Church of the Brethren in Roanoke, Virginia.

“I think a deep understanding of these books will also be helpful for preaching and teaching,” he said. “I like the fact that this course only requires me to be away from my family and my congregational duties for five days on campus, then I have the flexibility to complete the coursework on my own schedule.”

Donna Becker, a volunteer chaplain and employee at Landis Homes Retirement Community in Lititz, Pennsylvania, took the class to “learn better ways to interpret and understand these books so I can interpret and teach them in my ministry context,” she said.

The hybrid course format has pros and cons, she said.

“I liked being in class for the first week, getting to know my classmates and the professor in person and interacting with the texts with others,” she said. While she will miss that in-person interaction, she said, it is the online component that “makes it possible for me to take the course.”

For Professor Lonnie Yoder, teaching hybrid courses – the psychology of religion class is his seventh hybrid course since 2015 – means adapting content and pedagogy to two different modes in what he describes as an “improvisational dance” that he has found fulfilling.

For the initial intensive week, he focuses on building community through personal, active engagement through mini-lectures, small group work, video clips, music and more. Often students will, without prompting, bring food to share with the class, and spend breaks during sessions connecting with each other in the lounge.

The subsequent online component allows more time for students to engage with various texts. Yoder creates a short introductory video for each week’s assignment, and grades and returns student work promptly in order to keep students engaged.

That engagement is key to having “good energy” in the class, he said.

With love in action as the guiding theme of the 2017 , several ��ݮ���� and Eastern Mennonite Seminary faculty and staff are sharing their research and wisdom at the Orlando, Florida, event.

Among the featured speakers to address youth is Assistant Professor of Social Work Melody Pannell, who wrote in a , “I sense a strong call for the church to continue shifting our response to injustice.”

She continues: Instead of showing love with just our words, we must begin speaking truth to power and taking deliberate and sustainable action in love. “Love is a Verb” is more than just a “theme.” This is a call to a higher level of discipleship and a deeper willingness to sacrifice ourselves and embody the love of Jesus Christ. It is a call to “lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters” in a way that utilizes our collective and individual power, influence and resources to dismantle gender discrimination, address historical harms and resist structural racism.

Pannell, who was born and raised in Harlem, New York City, grew up attending Seventh Avenue Mennonite Church in Harlem and attended ��ݮ����. After graduating in 1997, she worked and earned both a Masters in Social Work and a Master of Divinity degree.

At the conference, Pannell shares her personal story and the challenges of finding and living in her own “” in a presentation for youth, as well as three other presentations on sexualization and healthy sexuality, a restorative approach to broken boundaries in congregational life, and her work as founder of Destiny’s Daughters Empowerment Ministry.

Other presenters include:

• , director of athletics and author of “,” speaking to both adults and youth about living and playing with a healthy balance;
• , professor at EMS, speaking to youth about decision-making for the future and the relationship of sports and faith;
• , associate dean at EMS and professor of Bible and religion at EMU, on “Mine, Ours, and Yours: Taking Care of Stuff”;
• , professor of education, pairing with Lorraine Stutzman Amstutz, restorative justice coordinator for Mennonite Central Committee, to host two sessions for youth on restorative justice for difficult conversations and the basics of circle processes.

Among the featured speakers were alumni Lisa Cameron ’99, director of empowerment services at the YWCA Lancaster, and Phil Kniss ’82, MDiv ’95, pastor at Park View Mennonite Church, as well as two authors who have spoken at EMU, and .

Other faculty, staff and student involvement

Numerous EMU faculty, staff and students are at the convention as delegates for church-wide business sessions representing their home congregations, or as youth group sponsors from their home congregations. These include , undergraduate academic dean, representing Park View Mennonite Church; Ronda Rittenhouse, assistant to the undergraduate dean and youth sponsor for Lindale Mennonite Church, and others.

President is taking part in activities and will bring greetings to an alumni gathering hosted by Jeff Shank, director of alumni and parent engagement. More than 175 EMU and Eastern Mennonite Seminary graduates have registered for the reunion.

Leah Wenger, a sophomore, played a key role in planning this year’s new program for youth. The goal of “Step Up” is to prepare and launch young people into future involvement as denominational delegates and church leaders who are involved with the broader church. Read more .

Shana Peachy Boshart ’86 led the planning for the Step Up program; she is an EMU board of trustee member  and Conference Minister for Christian Formation and Youth Ministry for the denomination’s Central Plains Mennonite Conference.

Senior Nicole Litwiller is representing EMU at the , a “gathering to imagine an Anabaptist future for Mennonite Church USA.” , affiliate associate professor at EMU’s , is facilitating the summit.

Collaborative Mennonite higher ed branding

happening with our neighbors,” said Professor during ’s School for Leadership Training. “In the 21st century, we don’t need to travel 6,000 miles to meet others, ethnic others, racial others. We just need to open our doors or walk down the hall. We could do better to love our literal neighbors, those people closest to us.”

Evans’ point, made during a panel presentation on the themes of “neighboring” and “othering,” drew nods from listeners in Martin Chapel – all of whom had come to the two-day workshop to deepen knowledge and explore engagement with the diversities of politics, culture and theology in today’s modern church and culture.

Approximately 240 pastors and lay leaders from 16 states attended. At least eight denominations were represented: Brethren in Christ, Church of the Brethren, Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ, Mennonite Church USA, United Methodist, Lutheran and Unitarian Universalist. The event included four keynote addresses, workshops and a seminary faculty panel addressing the theme of “Yearning to Get Along … And Stay True to Ourselves.”

‘It is not enough to stay silent’

Participants ranged from veteran pastors to seminary students to laypeople such as Janelle Clark, of Newport News, Virginia, who is contemplating seminary studies. Pastor Sandy Drescher-Lehman has attended for the past seven years, anticipating by January, the need for collegial connection, spiritual sustenance and reflection “on where I was when I came last year — spiritually, emotionally and vocationally — and comparing that to my current place in the world.”

“As a white person living and working in a multicultural neighborhood,” Cynthia Lapp, pastor at Hyattsville Mennonite Church in Hyattsville, came to learn “more about racism and the ways white privilege functions … It is not enough to stay silent. Racism will not just fade away; we must act and speak.”

“I came to help uncover and discover what is often hidden in our racialized society and to consider how these forces of racialization are forming and shaping us as a church,” said John Stolzfus, Franconia Conference youth minister and campus pastor for Dock Mennonite Academy.

Reflecting after the event, Stolzfus questions: “How can we as leaders empty ourselves of our privilege and power in the self-emptying way of Christ in order to embody the incarnational love of God? To the extent in which we are not able to see or understand the suffering and struggle of the immigrant, racial minority, foreigner, sexual minority, or anyone who may be different from us reveals the poverty of our relationships. We need to be in proximity to and stand next to those who are “other” in order to truly be a neighbor.

With opportunities for worship, reflection and prayer in the midst of education, many came away with more questions than answers.

Mick Sommers, lead pastor at Ridgeview Mennonite Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was “sobered by the realization that generations of attitudes and structure within the church will likely not be altered in a short span of time … I recognize within myself the need for a constant awareness and intentional mindfulness to counteract what has been my own socialization about race and power.”

Inequality and the ‘whitened Jesus’

, of Duke University Divinity School, and , of Messiah College, offered three extensive keynotes on the subjects of a practical theology of inequality, power and unity and the whitened Jesus, respectively.

Cleveland, a social psychologist, talked about the socialization of racism, the current politics of victimhood and related both concepts to Jesus’s statements and actions as a marginalized and oppressed person.

“If you looked to see where Jesus was socially located in every single one of his actions, how he emptied himself of his influence, platform and power … you’ll probably be astounded,” she said. “Jesus was always using his voice to make a point about what our relationships should be.”

Hart drew from history and culture to highlight the ubiquity of the “white European Jesus fixed in our places of worship,” an image that “bolsters a social system organized around racial hierarchy. “

While lifting up the constructed image of the blonde, Nordic and explicitly non-Jewish Jesus, Hart asked, “Where do we go with that image … to recover our Gentile identity? None of us have a copyright on Christianity or Jesus … Let us remember that it is someone else’s story that shapes our lives.”

Selected seminars summarized

A complete list of seminars is available .

Understanding the ‘other’ through the mirror/window of popular culture with Benjamin Bixler, PhD student, Drew University.

Bixler began with a clip of Kendrick Lamar’s Grammy Awards performance of “The Blacker The Berry,” in which the rapper and dancers, dressed as convicts, perform in the setting of a jail. Bixler discussed popular culture (movies, novels, music, etc.) as a way of engagement with “the other” on several levels: not only does the alternate world and characters offer alternate perspectives and provoke empathy, but the people who are discussing, analyzing or critiquing the work are also learning about themselves and each other.

Rebirth of a White Nation, with Dr. David Evans, EMS professor.

Evans facilitated discussions about white racial identity, a brief history of race in the United States, and the characteristics or qualities of “good white people” before asking the question “How might following Jesus be consistent or inconsistent with pursuing white status?”

“Race is national discipleship that teaches us the values we must have in order to belong to a certain status or group,” Evans says. “These values rival what Jesus calls us to be or to become … If we’ve been discipled into white nationalism, and no one was born white, then we’ve been converted into something that we need to be converted out of.”

How Do You Measure Life Change? The Role of Data and Measurements in Community Engagement with Wes Furlong, director of church development, EVANA network.

• Churches often take an input-focused approach to thinking about social/service work (e.g. pounds of food gather for food drive) rather than thinking carefully about outputs and desired impact.
• Serving communities, at its best, begins with careful work to fully understand context, strengths and assets and to ensure that all actors are involved.
• Those involved in social/service work need to avoid the temptation of taking a short-term or transaction view to their efforts and instead strive to take a systems view with a focus on the long-term.

Seeking the Peace of the City, with Dr. Johonna Turner, EMU professor, and Julian Turner, graduate student.

The Turners, both raised in the Washington D.C. area, also lived and worked there until moving to Harrisonburg. Johonna Turner was a public school teacher involved in peacebuilding and empowerment work with youth, while Julian Turner worked in social services, specifically with HIV-AIDS patients. The Turners led discussions, framed by Jeremiah 29.7, about perceptions of the choices inner-city citizens make and the visualization of a more peaceful and harmonious city. This was conjoined to a scriptural exploration of compassion as modeled by Jesus, leading to a model for action in connection, lamentation and amplification. Presenters emphasized that care and consideration for voices of all citizens, whether urban dweller or rural folk, because “we are all connected.”

Panel: Navigating the move from ‘other’ to ‘neighbor’ in the context of theological education.

A panel of seminary faculty — including Dr. Kevin Clark, Dr. David Evans, Dr. Lonnie Yoder, Dr. Andrea Saner, Dr. Emily Peck McClain, Dr. Kenton Derstine and Dr. Dorothy Jean Weaver — discussed the role of theological education and cross-cultural engagement in shaping the move from ‘other’ to ‘neighbor’ in students and communities; how society defines each of these terms; and issues of power and privilege in the seminary classroom.

“Will we survive?” asked King. “I believe yes. Here we are despite millennia of catastrophes. But will our lives, communities, institutions, structures, countries, planet be recognizable?”

King’s convocation address, titled “After the boxes are packed,” encouraged listeners to think about the signs of hope found in the midst of fear. Drawn from the third chapter of Lamentations, King noted that both fear and hope are found in our landscape today, just as for the writer in Lamentations.

Reflecting on the death of his mother-in-law this summer and his own parents’ death in 2010, King discussed the boxes left behind by these elders and the ways that small gestures brought hope in the midst of the grief he experienced.

King asked, “Knowing others will someday be left with nothing but our boxes, which fragments of ‘the Lord as our portion’ do we hope they find there?”

For faculty, staff and some students, this convocation highlights the 2016-17 school year as one of many transitions. This year King will be combining his role as seminary dean with a new role as dean of graduate and professional programs. Professor  has begun as associate dean, replacing Professor , who held the role for six years. [Read more about this administrative transition.]

Denominational fluctuations have caused seminary enrollment to fall to a national low and EMS is not immune to these changes, King said.

And yet, he added, there are signs of hope. This year’s incoming class includes pastors, counselors, educators and many others seeking to follow God’s call to seminary and ministry in various contexts.

For example, Pablo Hernandez, from Honduras, is resuming studies at EMS after five years away. Hernandez needed to return to his home country after his first year to attend to family members with health issues. He has finally returned to complete his degree, bringing his family with him.

“Pablo’s return to EMS to study is just one of the many signs of hope I see in our students,” said , associate director of admissions, development and church relations. “Other students have moved across the country, entered a career in retirement, or simply took the next important step in God’s call.”

Convocation concluded with faculty, staff, new and returning students reflecting on the question: “If ‘you can’t take it with you’, if our labors of love eventually wither away, in what do we place our hope?”

At (EMS), both have received opportunities to engage the full range of their talents. , a professor at EMS since 1991, concluded six years as the seminary’s associate dean on June 15. , a faculty member in ��ݮ����’s since 1999, will take over the position Aug. 15 while continuing to teach.

“I’ve always felt that my primary calling is teaching, although it took me a long time to get to it,” says Heisey, who didn’t pursue her doctorate until she was in her forties. “But I feel like I have a really strong experience background in administration, so I’ll be working from that. My friends tell me one of my biggest problems is not saying no.”

Heisey is former president of Mennonite World Conference and spent 15 years in leadership at Mennonite Central Committee. She also served three years as undergraduate dean at EMU.

That journey, plus serving on many search committees over the years, underscored for her the importance of having women in the often male-dominated field of administrative leadership. The opportunity to bring that perspective to the seminary helped her to say yes when the call came.

Yoder is glad she did.

“I am delighted to see Nancy move into this role,” Yoder says. “To diversify the seminary leadership in this way, I’m delighted, and that it is Nancy adds to this delight because of the experience and leadership gifts she brings.”

Yoder continues part-time teaching

Yoder was half-time as associate dean and half-time teaching courses in pastoral care and counseling and leadership since 2010. He continues as part-time EMS faculty in 2016-2017, teaching two courses per semester. Some will be on campus and some will be hybrid courses or distance learning, a model he helped to pioneer at EMU. (“He’s been the face of distance learning at EMU for a long time,” says Heisey—who had Yoder for a class while completing her Master of Divinity at EMS.)

While he is eager to have more time “relishing the role of being a grandparent” and doing non-academic reading and additional congregational consulting work, Yoder has appreciated the experience of being associate dean.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed this work,” Yoder says. “I appreciate the diverse kinds of involvement required by the role. Any day is different. You never know what might come through the door or over the phone or by email. I’ve loved juggling all of that.”

A new team of administrators

Heisey, meanwhile, will spend three-eighths of her time in the seminary associate dean role after the transition, while continuing to teach about five courses per year with the remaining time. She already has been accustomed to balancing teaching with other tasks, as she has been serving as director of the EMU Core Program. She will swap that duty for the intriguing new seminary responsibilities.

“I enjoy getting creative,” Heisey says. “A curriculum is defined, but a lot of students’ lives are not that defined. It’s a challenge to uphold academic credibility but also take student needs into account. I like working on that.”

Heisey will also be joined by  and in a expected to actively link seminary and grad school programs. King, former vice president and seminary dean, will add to his portfolio leadership of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies. Cockley will be the graduate school associate dean.

Cohesiveness, responsive curriculum a ‘Gospel imperative’

Heisey’s joint responsibilities will also continue to strengthen the bridge between EMS, the Bible and Religion Department and the rest of the university, now a much more cohesive bond than in past decades. Yoder helped that process, serving as the first president of the newly formed Faculty Senate in 2006. The seminary has continued to be represented on that body ever since and has made other connections.

“We’ve come a long way,” Yoder says.

Looking ahead, both teacher-administrators see an important role for EMS even as the broader seminary world changes rapidly.

Yoder notes that recent hires have included two professors from the United Methodist Church–the seminary is an for training of candidates for UMC ordination–and students represent a wide spectrum of voices and backgrounds.

“It’s important to maintain a distinct identity as a Anabaptist-Mennonite seminary and at the same time have a warm and broad embrace of the diverse individuals interested in theological education,” he says.

Curriculum will also have to change to meet the needs of new students, Heisey adds.

“I’m very convinced that what is going to be needed for church leadership going forward is not going to look like what it has looked like,” Heisey says. “The models are not bad models, but the world around us is shifting and changing dramatically, while academic structures tend to move very slowly. So let’s get creative! What do Gospel-oriented communities need in their leadership? How do we facilitate that?”

If anyone can do it, though, Heisey is convinced that EMU can.

“There are Gospel imperatives in which we are participating,” Heisey says. “This place is just really important.”

“Dietrich Bonhoeffer: Life, Theology and Witness” will explore the extraordinary witness of Bonhoeffer in the midst of Nazi Germany. , PhD, who will teach the course, has spent many years researching Bonhoeffer and the impact of his writings on the Christian church.

“Psychology of Religious Experience” will be taught by , PhD, professor of pastoral care and counseling. This course will examine spiritual and religious realities from a psychological perspective. Topics to be considered include spiritual and religious experiences in childhood and adulthood, death, conversion, mysticism, and prayer, as well as the social and political dimensions of faith experience.

“Race and Religion in American” will explore how nation, race and religion form identity. , PhD, assistant professor of history and mission, will help participants discover ways that racial, religious, and national histories haunt our lives, churches, and communities in the present.

EMS keeps its online courses small, usually capping registration at 12 students, to allow for maximum course interaction between students and faculty. Courses are set up in weekly units, allowing students the flexibility to do course work on their own schedules. Participation audit is an option for online courses that are not at capacity.

The seminary is offering four online courses each semester this year. To learn more about our online courses or to register visit: 

That is what attracted Matthew Stearn, who just finished his first year in the program. “EMU was the only university that I could find that could provide me with both an MDiv focused in missions and an MBA focused in non-profit leadership,” he said.

“Mennonites have a strong tradition of service outside the church building, and the MBA program at EMU focuses on and ethical business practices that line up with the Mennonite faith.”

The dual degree provides students with the theological, biblical and practical preparation for ministry, as well as the business leadership theory and skills that typify the MBA degree.

“People who get graduate degrees will be in leadership in an organization somewhere, no matter what their field,” said , director of the MBA program. “The EMU MBA program focuses on critical skills and philosophy for leadership that serve the common good.”

Stearn agrees. “Business and church don’t normally find a meeting ground. There is a gap in the ministerial training that many pastors receive. Churches still have business elements that need to be addressed, and businesses can benefit from the ethical concerns brought up by those with theological training.”

Stearn views making money at all costs to be an unhealthy model. “Utilizing education in both theological training and business training can help remedy that situation.”

Stearn hopes to use his dual degree to either work with existing non-profits or create his own non-profit. He wants to develop new ways of creating and sustaining sources of income beyond donations.

“I’m very interested in the ‘farm to table’ movement because it includes many different levels and areas of employment,” he said, noting its products benefit those consuming fresh produce, while also generating profits for the producer-organization. “My goal is to make nonprofit organizations less dependent on donations that are strongly tied to a volatile economy.”

Eastern Mennonite Seminary offers two additional dual degree programs, one with the and the other with the .

“Dual degree programs with the seminary offer the possibility of either training for bi-vocational ministry, or training for ministry that overlaps with non-profit leadership, professional counseling, or conflict transformation,” said , associate dean of Eastern Mennonite Seminary, who was instrumental in developing the newest program. “Being part of a university with thriving graduate programs allows us to offer these unique options.”

This was the recurrent theme of the at , Jan. 21-23, which was titled “Imagine Church as Healing Space.” The event attracted over 270 participants and resource persons who sought to “hear, hold, and hope” amid mental health challenges. are online.

Hosted and planned by EMS, the event felt historic: multiple participants said this was the first time in a public church context they had felt part of the group, not in spite of but because of their depression, anxiety, bipolar diagnosis, schizophrenia, and more. This was the first time they had felt normalized, not stigmatized, with their journey held in love, not primarily met with silence or marginalization. We see that experience, so easy to report but so rarely experienced, as a key gift the 2013 SLT offered.

Hearing from those with mental and those who love them

A second gift was space to tell and hear the pain mental illness causes both its sufferers and those who love them. Earl and Pat Martin offered searingly moving glimpses of their journey through their son Hans Martin’s development of symptoms of schizo-affective disorder.

Earl shared journal entries he had written during the sleepless nights after Hans was first hospitalized. In these contemporary psalms of lament, Earl raged at a pitiless God who treats his creatures like vermin, snapping off their limbs, leaving them soaked in their own blood. Earl railed at this God as the sick one who should get treatment for insanity. He reported that after he stopped writing of his own volition, spent, his pen kept going and offered words from God, who said that God’s own son was in fact in treatment and was the roommate in a neighboring bed whom Earl had feared would hurt Hans.

Not a cheap hope

A third gift was hope. This was not a cheap hope. Many at SLT, from participants through resource persons, told of confronting the anguish caused by suicide. To name just one example, in a laughter-yet-tear-stirring blending of drama and storytelling, told of his journey through his comedy partner Lee Eshleman’s battle with depression and of how the suicide to which it drove Lee so shattered Ted’s own life and career that years have gone into rebuilding. Yet precisely in this heartrendingly open naming of the torment, Ted offered hope—hope for himself and hope for those still grieving the loss of their own loved ones.

Hope was also movingly offered through stories of persons seeking to live recovery-focused lives even amid the diagnosed illnesses once thought to be themselves virtual death or at least imprisonment-in-miserable-conditions sentences. John Otenasek, himself a “consumer,” as he put it, in recovery, led a panel of men (including Hans Martin) and women who told of enduring addictions, joblessness, homelessness, and more. Yet they also spoke of finding hope—often from peers confronting their own illnesses—enabling them to live meaningful and even joy-tinged lives while navigating ongoing bi-polar episodes or hearing voices.

And hope was offered when Tilda Norberg modeled what can happen when we attend to the “God icons” in our lives and dreams. She risked a live Gestalt pastoral counseling session with a courageous Sherill Hostetter. Drawing on insights from one of Sherill’s recent dreams, Norberg led Sherill in working through how her mother’s undiagnosed and untreated mental illness had affected her as a child and even now as a leader.  She more fully claimed her own empowered voice as a recently ordained minister and congregational consultant.

Recovery, love and acceptance

Fittingly enough, just days after the 2013 SLT concluded, the New York Times published on Jan. 27, 2013 by Elyn R. Saks, diagnosed with schizophrenia yet a successful law professor at the University of Southern California. As did many at SLT influenced by the recovery movement in mental health, Saks stressed, “An approach that looks for individual strengths, in addition to considering symptoms, could help dispel the pessimism surrounding mental illness. Finding ‘the wellness within the illness,’ as one person with schizophrenia said, should be a therapeutic goal.”

In a conclusion that movingly echoes the convictions SLT participants took with them, Saks reported: “’Every person has a unique gift or unique self to bring to the world,’ said one of our study’s participants. She expressed the reality that those of us who have schizophrenia and other mental illnesses want what everyone wants: in the words of Sigmund Freud, to work and to love.”

Claiming our stories

When we checked with the Martins to make sure our references to their stories were acceptable, Pat said, “One of the SLT statements that stuck with me, spoken by either Joan or Ijeoma Achara that first night, pulled us all into the common task of being human: ‘Recovery is about claiming one’s story. The tools are the same for all of us whether struggling with mental illness or an overwhelming job.’” At EMS we’ll continue to ponder how, whatever the details of our stories may be, we help each other claim them.

 —Joan K. King is senior integration consultant, The National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, and owner of Joan K. King Consulting and Counseling LLC. is dean of Eastern Mennonite Seminary and a vice president of ��ݮ����.

For one, her family owned a business that employed her when no one else likely would. But the proper medications, a supportive network and her church all played integral roles in her comeback, Miller said.

So for Miller, of Wauseon, Ohio, the return to her alma mater this week made perfect sense.

She’s one of nearly 300 attending ’s , which started Monday and wraps up today. She’s one who understands the importance of relationships to people living with mental illness.

The conference addresses how the church can be a healing space for mental illness.

For Miller, the patchwork story told during one Tuesday presentation hit close to home.

, professor of pastoral care at EMS, read the story of one fictional but realistic “Charlie,” who started showing signs of bipolar disorder when he was in high school. Despite his and his family’s best efforts to stay “normal” during his lifelong battle against the illness, fellow churchgoers, family members and friends began to shy away from him.

, director of at ��ݮ����, said that’s exactly what they shouldn’t do.

“Yes, a mental disorder means something is out of order, but the person at [its] core is not out of order,” she said. “Focus on the whole person and know they are there and need your relationship to continue.”

Comer added that you don’t have to be a therapist or doctor to help someone with mental illness.

“Step alongside them, not in front or behind them,” she said. “By stepping into the mud, the mud changes, their experience changes.”

Comer warned against thinking that a mental illness is something to solve or that someone with a mental disorder will get back to his or her former self.

“Life will not get back to the way it used to be,” she said. “All involved must get used to a new normal.”

She reminded those in the audience that having a mental disorder doesn’t imply a character flaw or mean that the sufferer is being punished. Also, mental illness affects many more people in a community than just those who have it, and every person should be tending to his or her own mental health, she added.

Holding a mental health-centered conference is a step in the right direction, according to Miller.

“It’s a group of people that I know want to be here and want to help,” she said.

Courtesy Daily News Record, Jan. 24, 2013

“Our goal is to help church leaders and congregations become healthy sources of support for both the individuals and their family and friends.”

The January 21-23 event, titled “Imagining the Church as Healing Space: To Hear, To Hold, To Hope,” will help leaders explore the role of congregations in providing space for those with mental illness, as well as families and friends who play a supportive role with these individuals.

Speakers will share from their personal journeys and offer ways to hold brokenness and faith in tension in the midst of the challenges of mental illness.

Michael and Joan King and Ijeoma Achara will speak Monday evening on “An invitation to hear, to hold, to hope” in a plenary session open to the public. Michael is dean of Eastern Mennonite Seminary. Joan is a counselor and senior integration consultant for the . Achara is a consultant for state and local governments and health care providers on developing recovery-oriented systems of care for those with mental health issues.

Tuesday morning, Tilda Norberg, author and founder of Gestalt Pastoral Care, will lead an experiential session on “Gestalt Pastoral Care: A New Approach to the Ministry of Healing.”

Tuesday morning, , professor of pastoral care at EMS, and , director of , will lead the group in a session titled “It takes a healthy village: 5 things to know about mental illness,” giving participants basic information about mental health and mental illness issues.

Tuesday evening, John Otenasek, executive director of a non-profit center for healing and recovery, will lead a panel of individuals who will share personal stories of the journey through the extreme emotional states of what our society labels “mental illness.”

Wednesday morning, Ted Swartz, founder of , will perform “Laughter Is Sacred Space,” a show based on his experiences with his acting partner Lee Eshleman, who committed suicide in 2007.

Workshops will explore various aspects of the ways congregations can support individuals with mental illness and their families in healthy and sustainable ways.

Pre-registration is necessary for all events except Monday evening. For more information or to register, visit .

“EMS collaboration with other graduate programs places seminary learning in the thick of the cross-disciplinary studies needed to make sense of today’s complex and fast-changing world,” said seminary dean Michael A. King.

“Biblical, theological and church studies are still the seminary’s foundational disciplines,” King stated, “but seminary studies unfold within the crosscurrents of cultural, social, scientific and interfaith studies as well as many other disciplines. At its best, this collaboration will make seminary studies thoroughly interdisciplinary.”

Seminary on a university campus

EMS has the advantage of being a seminary on a larger university campus. For students, this provides opportunity to experience a rich campus life while taking advantage of other graduate-level offerings.

EMS has long had with both the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding and Master of Arts in Counseling program at EMU. Now, EMS is working on collaboration with the Masters in Business Administration program and strengthening ties to other graduate and undergraduate programs.

“The various collaborative efforts with graduate programs provide a unique opportunity for students to focus on both theological studies and other areas of interest on one campus,” said Dr. Lonnie D. Yoder, associate seminary dean. “It generates possibilities for creative and integrative academic work and practical training.”

Collaboration with MBA

Collaboration with the MBA program has resulted in working together to plan the an annual training program for pastors and church leaders. The theme, “God and Mammon: Rethinking Stewardship,” will provide resources for Christian business leaders as well as church leaders.  Everence (formerly Mennonite Mutual Aid), and Mennonite Economic Development Association (MEDA) will also be involved in shaping the theme and content. Theologian Walter Brueggemann will be the keynote speaker.

Seminary dean Michael A. King and associate dean Lonnie Yoder began their second full semester leading EMS in January this year.