Rose Byler, a senior major from Goshen, Ind., won first place with her speech, “Living into the Tension: Social Services and Systemic Change.” Byler discussed how her profession can both empower individuals and tackle systemic issues.

“I challenge us to use our gifts to empower individuals, communities and policy making bodies in ways that confront systemic injustice and shift toward sustainable change. We must not forget the end goal,” Byler said.

As first-place winner, Byler receives a cash prize and entry in the bi-national competition with winners from other Mennonite-rooted colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The bi-national winner will be announced in the fall.

Julia Schmidt, a junior from Pandora, Ohio, who is majoring in in addition to , was first runner-up with her speech, 鈥淗olding Dignity in the Community of Faith.鈥� Her speech focused on responses to difference and conflict in the church, articulating “how the concept of dignity can transform the way we live in relationship as a community of faith.”

“Looking back on my two experiences [in Ohio and Texas], I believe that dignity was the difference,” said Schmidt. “Now, I don’t think people in (my first church example) were bad people, or they meant to harm each other in the way they did. However, the church did not understand dignity, and how dignity is essential to all humans, and especially when attempting to be a community of Christ.”

Taylor Weidman, a junior from Chambersburg, Pa., who is triple-majoring in , and , was second runner-up with his speech, 鈥淒issimilarity is Hope.鈥� Weidman spoke about his story of dyslexia and the recognition of dissimilarities in the world.

“As a community dedicated to peace, we must not use or internalize the methods of measurement or conformity,” Weidman said. “As a community of learners and teachers, we cannot let ourselves become reduced to merely cogs in a system of compulsion鈥︹��

The annual oratorical event, open to students in Mennonite and Brethren in Christ universities and colleges in Canada and the United States, is administered by Peace and Justice Ministries of U.S.

Each speaker applied the Christian peace position to a contemporary concern in an 8-10 minute address.

The contest was established in 1974 in honor of the late C. Henry Smith, a Mennonite historian and professor at Goshen College and Bluffton University.

Other 2012 contestants

• Thomas Millary, 鈥淎 Pluralistic Realm: Towards a Theology of Peace鈥�
• Joel Nofziger, 鈥淐onfession as a Restorative Practice in the Church鈥�
• Sarah Schoenhals, 鈥淛ustice from Generation to Generation鈥�
• Jamila Witmer, 鈥淗is Dream is our Command: Breaking Stereotypes through Integration鈥�

鈥淭here are more options out there for today鈥檚 students,鈥� says Dula. 鈥淩ather than joining a traditional church structure, they sometimes choose to search for something even more Anabaptist.鈥�

The emerging church movement and New Monasticism have created alternatives to traditional church that draw from and can inform an Anabaptist perspective, says Dula, a 1992 graduate.

鈥淣ew Monasticism focuses on prayer, communal life and reaching out to the poor… Ideas that are rooted in the Christian tradition, but in a way Anabaptists can recognize as their own. It is an interesting time to teach and think about Anabaptism.鈥�

Embracing the change

Instead of resisting alternatives to traditional worship, Dula and , a 1981 EMU graduate and Bible and religion instructor, see an opportunity to embrace alternatives and use them to engage and inform students.

鈥淥ur goal is to equip students to engage in shaping the future of the church,鈥� said Schrock-Hurst, who also serves as co-pastor at Immanuel Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, Va. 鈥淎ll these ideas are available to this generation and we can create space for them to explore and figure out what works in their faith journeys.鈥�

贰惭鲍鈥檚 Bible and religion department tries to continually learn from students, says Dula. 鈥淢any of them are way out ahead of us as teachers.鈥� We want to be a 鈥渕eeting place,鈥� he notes, where Mennonite and students from diverse backgrounds can share ideas on faith and God鈥檚 calling in their lives.

鈥淪ome of our best students enter EMU without a background in Anabaptism or the Mennonite church,鈥� said Dula. 鈥淭hey find here, however, a space to own, appropriate and transform what they learn in our classrooms in ways that manage to be thoroughly Anabaptist.鈥�

, professor of Bible and religion added, 鈥淚 find that sometimes the students who are not from Mennonite backgrounds add a kind of new-discovery freshness when they embrace the peace position. Other times, we get challenges to pacifist assumptions born out of different ways of thinking about the Bible and Christianity.鈥�

More than a classroom

贰惭鲍鈥檚 provides an alternative classroom for many Bible and religion students with profound results. The experience, led by , professor of culture and mission and his wife, , showcases the history of the Bible while exploring current conflicts. Students are immersed in language and cultural studies while living in Palestine and Jerusalem.

After spending a semester in the Middle East, senior Jamie Hiner, from Culpeper, Va., observed, 鈥淚 can connect to the stories [of the Bible] on a completely different level. I understand who Jesus was on a human level, and I have a connection to the land, people and cultures.鈥�

In addition to the Middle East cross-cultural program, EMU is the only higher-education institution offering a major in . , associate professor of , says that while Catholics and Protestants have a long academic tradition in philosophy, Anabaptists are important contributors 鈥渂ecause our own history of having been marginalized, our understanding of concrete embodied community, and our commitment to peace and reconciliation.鈥�

Senior Ben Bailey, from Simsbury, Conn., found his knowledge of the Bible to be 鈥渓imited compared to my peers at EMU.鈥� A double-major in and , Bailey says his studies have provided him with a 鈥渃omprehensive base knowledge to build upon.

鈥淚 continually feel the need to understand and question the Bible and theology on a deeper level.鈥�

Hiner, a major with a minor in , added, 鈥淚鈥檝e learned so much from personal relationships with my professors. I love having real conversations with them outside the classroom.鈥�

Looking ahead

Bible and religion department faculty envision their department鈥檚 influence expanding across campus and in the community through dialogue with campus ministries and local churches. Interest in the department鈥檚 is growing as opportunities to explore internships outside of 鈥渢raditional鈥� pastoring arise. The very definition of 鈥減astor鈥� and 鈥渃hurch鈥� is changing; students are interested in how they intersect with these concepts.

“Students have an advantage with on campus, in addition to and numerous Mennonite churches nearby to integrate and connect with pastors, leaders and teachers,” Schrock-Hurst says.

Dula agrees, adding, 鈥淭he goal is to make the discussion and debates that occur in our classrooms become the heart and soul of campus. This will encourage growth not only in the department and across campus, but in the broader church.鈥�

Keith Graber Miller, professor of Bible, religion and philosophy at Goshen (Ind.) College, will speak Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 28-29, on the theme, “Embodying Sexual Wholeness in a Broken World.”

Miller will open the series 10 a.m. Wednesday with a university chapel presentation “On Loving Sexuality and Living Faithfully.”

At 6 p.m. that day, he will focus on “Negotiating the Young Adult Sexual Landscape” in Martin Chapel of the seminary building.

A “talk back” will follow at 9 p.m. in the Common Grounds Coffeehouse of the University Commons. Miller will recap his evening talk and speak briefly on pornographic seductions with opportunity for questions and responses.

Miller will continue the series 9:30 a.m. Thursday in Martin Chapel with the topic, “Sexuality in the Ministering Person.” He will conclude with a luncheon talk at noon Thursday in the west dining room of the university cafeteria (Northlawn ground floor) on “Emerging Sexuality Themes: Listening to the EMU Campus Community.”

Miller’s specialty areas at Goshen College include contemporary Christian ethics, religion and politics, religion and sexuality and adoption and childhood issues. He has written four books and speaks frequently in congregations and at conferences on these and other topics. He has co-led Goshen’s SST (Study-Travel Term) semesters with his spouse Ann in Cambodia, Cuba and Costa Rica, China and the Dominican Republic.

He has a BA degree from Franklin (Ind.) College, an MDiv from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, and a PhD from Emory University.

“Keith Graber Miller is uniquely gifted and prepared to guide our campus-wide conversations on sexuality,” said Brian Martin Burkholder, EMU campus pastor. “He brings a wealth of experience engaging the themes and dynamics of sexuality with young adults both in the classroom and as a faculty mentor.”

The series is sponsored by EMU Campus Ministries and is open to the public free of charge.

For more information, call 540-432-4115.

Nicholas Wolterstorff, professor emeritus of philosophy at Yale University and currently a visiting professor at the University of Virginia, will give two lectures on "justice" Thursday, Nov. 13, at Martin Chapel of the seminary building.

The first presentation, at 3:30 p.m., will be, "Why Are Christians Suspicious of Justice?" Dr. William Hawk, professor of philosophy at James Madison University, will respond, followed by open discussion.

The second, at 7 p.m., will be, "Re-Thinking Love in the New Testament." Dr. Ted Grimsrud, professor of theology and peace studies at EMU, will give a response, followed by open discussion.

Wolterstorff, a well-known Christian philosopher, has written numerous books on philosophy of religion, political philosophy, aesthetics, education and grief. His most recent book is "Justice: Rights and Wrongs" (Princeton University Press, 2008).

One of his most poignant works is "Lament for a Son," written as a response to the loss of his 25-year-old son in a mountain climbing accident. His reflections in the wake of that tragedy are deeply personal, expressed with a prayerful anguish with which most bereaved parents will identify. In the book, Wolterstorff refuses to turn from the "demonic awfulness" of death and, as he moves faithfully through grief, discovers new meaning in the Beatitudes, together with a new understanding of a suffering God.

Wolterstorff received his BA from Calvin College in 1953 and his PhD in philosophy from Harvard University in 1956. Prior to retirement, he wasNoah Porter Professor of Philosophical Theology. Before that, he taught for 30 years at his alma mater, Calvin College.

The lectures, sponsored by EMU’s Bible and religion department and the EM Provost’s office, are free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Ted Grimsrud, 432-4464; email: grimsrud@emu.edu.

Norman Wirzba, professor and chair of the philosophy department at Georgetown College, Georgetown, Ky., will give a guest lecture on “Recovering the Sabbath for Everyday,” 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 7, in Martin Chapel of the seminary building at 草莓社区.

Dr. Wirzba teaches courses in philosophy, environmental ethics and theology and is the author of several books, including “Living the Sabbath: Discovering the Rhythms of Rest and Delight,” published by Brazos Press.

Wirzba will also present the first of fall semester 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, in room 104 of the Suter Science Center. He will speak on “Gratitude as the Basis for Environmental Ethics.”

In his talk, Wirzba will suggest that all the work and resources spent on environment issues in recent decades hasn’t led to major progress in terms of social and political action. The speaker plans to lift up a “disposition of gratitude,” using an agrarian approach, as effective way of bringing about change.

Refreshments will be served 15 minutes prior to the seminar.

Wirzba has taught at Georgetown College since 1995. His areas of specialization include 19th and 20th century continental philosophy and religious thought, environmental philosophy and theology, environmental ethics and agrarian studies.

His books include “The Essential Agrarian Reader: The Future of Culture, Community and the Land” (University Press of Kentucky, 2004) and “The Art of the Commonplace: Wendell Berry’s Agrarian Essays” (Counterpoint Press, 2002).

Admission to both presentations is free; for more information call 432-4168.

Linden M. Wenger, 92, a veteran pastor/bishop and professor emeritus of philosophy at , died Sunday, Dec. 18, at Oak Lea Nursing Home where he was a resident.

Wenger taught and philosophy courses on the undergraduate level and at the seminary from 1955 until his retirement in 1978. He also carried a full slate of responsibilities in Virginia Mennonite Conference.

During his tenure, Wenger was acting dean of the seminary, 1965-67, assistant to EMU President Myron S. Augsburger, 1967-70, director of field education, 1972-78, and seminary registrar, 1974-78.

Wenger was born Dec. 26, 1912 in Edom, Va., and was the son of the late Oscar E. and Bessie P. Heatwole Wenger.

On June 1, 1941, he married the former Esther Huber, who preceded him in death on May 17, 2003.

Surviving are two sons, Harold C. and J. Lowell Wenger; a daughter, Linda Kay Wenger, and their spouses; two sisters, four grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Wenger was ordained in 1945 as pastor of the Mt. Hermon Mennonite Church, where he served with his wife Esther for 10 years. He was ordained bishop/ overseer of several Mennonite churches in the Highlands area of Virginia and West Virginia in 1959.

He earned A.B. and Th.B. degrees from EMU, a B.D. and Th.M. degree from Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Va., and did research on Mennonite church-building in the Miami area while a visiting fellow at Princeton (NJ) Theological Seminary in 1971-72.

He held a number of churchwide offices over the years and had been a member of the board of the Virginia Mennonite Conference Center, chair of the Virginia Conference Visitor Center committee and headed the Older Adults Ministries committee of Virginia Conference.

Wenger wrote "Climbing Down the Ladder," an autobiographical book about retirement, in 1993. In 1997, he released a second book, "Fifty Years in Northern District of Virginia Mennonite Conference," which recounts the effects of change in that geographic area of the church in the mid-20th century, 1945-1995.

Funeral services will be held Dec. 22 at Lindale Mennonite Church where Wenger was a member, with burial in the Lindale cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Linden M. and Esther H. Wenger Scholarship Fund c/o Virginia Mennonite Conference, 901 Parkwood Drive, Harrisonburg, VA 22802 or to the Linden M. and Esther H. Wenger Seminary Scholarship for students attending EMS from Meserete Kristos Church of Ethiopia.

Eighteen faculty members from undergrad Bible and religion programs in colleges related to Mennonite Church USA met on campus Sept. 25 and 26.

At this first meeting of faculty representing the five institutions now relating to MCUSA, conversation focused on mission, academic work and church relations. The group also spent time in worship and fellowship.

Speaking from personal experiences, five faculty addressed the topic, “Standing with one foot in the Church and one foot in the Academy: My experiences as a Bible/Theology/Religion/Philosophy professor in an MCUSA school.” Duane Friesen, Bethel College; J. Denny Weaver, Bluffton University; Nancy R. Heisey, EMU; Marion Bontrager, Hesston College and Keith Graber Miller, Goshen College, made presentations.

In a Sunday morning worship led by Hesston professor Michelle Hershberger, participants meditated on the story of Jesus teaching in the temple from John 7 and created symbols of their questions for God. A brainstorming session raised possibilities for facilitated student exchanges among schools, further gatherings to focus concretely on pedagogical questions and the idea of a published collection of participants