In what is likely the first Mennonite ministry of its kind, and UMC campus minister Ben Wideman operate almost exclusively on the campus of a massive state university.

Pennsylvania State University is among of the biggest universities in the country, counting more than 46,000 students on its main campus. It has more than 60 student faith groups, but none with Anabaptist distinctives.

“We see this void as peace, justice and faith. There are people tackling peace and justice issues, but not from a faith perspective,” said Wideman, who started a three-year term in October.

Though the church toyed with the idea of calling its project Anabaptist Campus Ministry, a wider vision came into focus: being rooted in the Gospels while inspiring students from all faith traditions.

“There’s this huge movement to the party scene. It’s the easiest way to feel like you belong,” said Wideman, an alumnus of ��ݮ���� in Harrisonburg. “The second easiest way is in the Christian bubble of the evangelical scene. And if you don’t fit into one of those two bubbles, you can feel really, really alone.

“We’ve sort of joked that we hope 3rd Way can fall into that third space with this alternative that is neither ‘a’ nor ‘b’ and a little bit different.”

Though the ministry is still finding its way, Wideman has developed a series of activities in which there may be little or no overlap among the attending students. The Monday night conversation group is different than the Wednesday morning global peace meditation group. Graduate students have a regular pub night or home-cooked meal, and another group gets together for service projects.

The collective partnered this spring with other groups to bring Christian writer and speaker and , an organization that turns guns into other objects, to campus for an event.

“It’s two miles from campus to church, but it may as well be two hours for students who just don’t get off campus very much,” Wideman said. “3rd Way Collective doesn’t do anything at UMC. I am empowered to be on campus 100 percent of my time.”

Wideman produces a podcast called , which interviews students and faculty from diverse theological backgrounds about why peace and justice is important.

Long time coming

One Penn State faculty member with exceptional interest in the collective is Jim Rosenberger, a UMC member who has championed the idea of campus outreach since he and former pastor (now Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary professor) David Miller started organizing Anabaptist Congregations in Secular Education Settings gatherings at Mennonite Church USA conventions eight to 10 years ago. [Rosenberger, a 1968 graduate of EMU, will accept the 2015 Alumnus of the Year award at Homecoming this fall.]

Wideman attended Rosenberger’s workshop at the Phoenix convention two years ago. At the July’s Kansas City convention, they presented together.

A statistics professor, Rosenberger felt the odds were good that Penn State students would be attracted to Anabaptist values.

“We discussed it a few times at the Mennonite Education Agency, but it’s a small agency and it doesn’t have the resources to reach out way beyond to these big university settings where there are just a few Mennonites,” he said. “So we needed an idea that would be more ground-up.”

A small group from UMC kept the idea alive and gathered donors who would contribute resources to get a ministry off the ground. It was a sizable undertaking for a church of about 100 attenders.

“The church was started as an outreach,” Rosenberger said. “We’re 50-plus years in town, but over the years even identifying the Mennonite students on campus has become more difficult with changes to student privacy laws.”

A work in progress

To give a campus minister necessary continuity, UMC gave Wideman a three-year contract.

“We’re still trying to figure out what 3rd Way Collective will be,” Wideman said. “After one year it’s pretty clear we have started to address a need on campus.”

To sustain the vision, Wideman and the church are looking at other partners, be they local non-Mennonite congregations, distant Anabaptists or other groups.

Like starting a business or planting a church, it’s a risky venture, and the result won’t necessarily be more bodies in the pews on Sunday morning.

Rosenberger, who knows a thing or two about statistics, said this kind of success can’t be measured “in an easy, quantitative way.”

“I’ve pointed out that Dick Thomas, the former moderator of Mennonite Church USA, is probably a Mennonite because our congregation existed when he was a Penn State student,” Rosenberger said. “You have to look way down the road to ask if we impact students’ lives.”

 Reprinted with permission from the June 8 issue of

Mullet, a 19-year-old sophomore from Berlin, Ohio, joined fellow students Monday afternoon helping to clean up Blacks Run in Harrisonburg.

The volunteer project was one of more than a dozen events organized by EMU to honor the late civil rights leader on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

“The whole day is really booked,” said Mullet, a biology major. “I think EMU has done a good job promoting what he promoted in his speeches: service.”

The centerpiece of the university’s festivities was a chapel service, led by Christian author and peace activist Shane Claiborne.

During his speech in Lehman Auditorium, he acknowledged that much has been done to promote King’s message of equality and nonviolence worldwide.

“It’s a beautiful thing to celebrate …  but we have a long way to go,” said the 37-year-old Kensington, Pa., resident.

Claiborne challenged those in attendance to take time to act when they see injustice or someone in need. Often, he said, people are too wrapped up in their busy schedules.

Sometimes, Claiborne said, we have to ignore our schedules and answer the call to action.

“Allow space for interruption,” he said.

Before ending the service, he played a recording his friend made of Iraqi youths singing “We Shall Overcome” in Arabic.

“It’s absolutely magical,” he said. “We pray that we shall overcome one day.”

Throughout the day, the university hosted a variety of events, including the reading of King’s “letter from Birmingham Jail,” and service projects.

While the campus has celebrated MLK Day in the past, Brian Burkholder, campus pastor, said this year the university expanded its efforts to help build relationships with the community.

“Martin Luther King’s legacy connects deeply with the values, mission and vision of EMU …  the call for justice …  for peace building,” Burkholder said.

Courtesy Daily News Record, Jan. 22, 2013

[Editor’s note: EMU freelance writer Steve Shenk also published an article on Shane Claiborne and MLK Day of Service and Learning which can be found on the .]

In addition, EMU is teaming up with the and the for the first annual .

“Shane Claiborne and the planned cultural learning and community service events will guide us in relating the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. to Christian faith and our contemporary culture,” said , campus pastor.

In addition to university chapel, Claiborne will also speak on Monday at 4:30 p.m., in Lehman Auditorium.

Betsy Hay, executive director of United Way, said the organization is thrilled to be partnering with EMU for a “profound community observance.”

“Many United Way ideals are rooted in the civil rights movement championed by Dr. King,” said Hay. “We look forward to raising awareness about those ideals through special MLK Day service projects and agency tours.”

About Shane Claiborne

A prolific public speaker, Claiborne travels extensively around the world, spreading his message about peacemaking, social justice and Jesus. Claiborne’s ministry experience includes a 10-week stint working alongside Mother Teresa in Calcutta and three weeks in Baghdad with the Iraq Peace Team.

Claiborne is the author of several books, including, The Irresistible Revolution, Jesus for President, and Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers. His work has been featured by National Public Radio, CNN, Fox News and the Wall Street Journal.

He is a founding partner of , an intentional faith-based community in inner-city Philadelphia that looks to connect radical faith communities around the world.

Day of service and learning on Monday, Jan. 21

All events are free and open to the public. Those interested in attending should meet at the event location.

11 a.m. – Empowering Low-Income Persons for Legal Justice

Visit with John Whitfield, executive director of , and Tim Ruebke, executive director of , to discuss issues of economic and legal justice facing low-income members of our local community. Learn how these agencies are empowering people to improve their lives.

Tour Host: United Way of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County

Location: Blue Ridge Legal Services; 204 N. High Street, Harrisonburg

11 a.m. – Partnering To Provide Basic Needs for Our Neighbors

Visit with Keith Gnagey, executive director of the , to discuss issues of health care for low-income working adults in our community. Learn about the challenges and solutions of affordable, accessible healthcare and how agencies partner to provide care.

Tour Host: United Way of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County

Location: Harrisonburg Rockingham Free Clinic; 25 W. Water Street, Harrisonburg

11 a.m. – Creating Non-Violent Homes and Communities

Visit with Candy Phillips, executive director of , and Luanne Bender Long, executive director of the , to discuss issues of domestic violence in our community.

Tour Host: United Way of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County

Location: Center for Marriage and Family Counseling; 96 Campbell Street, Harrisonburg

1:30 p.m. – A Historic Tour of Newtown (now called Northeast Neighborhood)

Visit the early freed-slave settlement of Newtown and hear stories about the historic Lucy Simms School, Coletta Harris’ 100-year old house, Bethel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church and the Newtown Cemetery.

Tour Host: Karen Thomas and Stan Maclin of Northeast Neighborhood, Rev. Royster from Bethel AME Church.

Location: Our Community Place – 17 E. Johnson Street, Harrisonburg

2:30 p.m. – Come Across the Bridge

Engage with black community leaders from the Northeast Neighborhood Association at Tyrone Sprague’s downtown barbershop for lively dialogue around oppression and new forms of peacemaking in the 21st century. You can get a haircut, too, compliments of campus ministries from 2:30-4 p.m.

Host: Stan Maclin of the Harriet Tubman Cultural Center

Location: Meet in front of the downtown Jess’ Quick Lunch – 222 South Main Street, Harrisonburg (barbershop is located on sixth floor)

More info

Admission to all programs is free. For more information on activities related to Dr. King observances, or for a full schedule of events, visit the or call campus ministries at 540-432-4115.

On June 20, 2007, a seven-alarm fire consumed an abandoned warehouse (pictured above) in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood. The Simple Way Community Center was destroyed as well as at least eight nearby homes. (Information from The Simple Way web site: http://www.thesimpleway.org/.)

We grieve the losses this community is experiencing as a result of this devastating fire.

See details and opportunities to offer support here in a letter from EMU President Loren Swartzendruber.