Learn more about the STEP program and EMS at: www.emu.edu/lancaster/seminary/step

Her experience reflects the new ways and new places that education takes place these days for EMU students, including , , grant-funded research and practicums, and being part of a cohort at a site to which EMU faculty come for classes.

Enns, from Winnipeg, Canada, lived in the nation’s capital at . While taking two courses at the center, she worked at , an interfaith coalition that seeks to end anti-Muslim sentiment in the U.S. As an intern with the organization, she used her experience as co-editor of , EMU’s student newspaper, to produce a bi-weekly newsletter, compile fact sheets, and otherwise pitch in on the group’s various initiatives.

An internship through EMU’s Washington center is more than just a taste of real-world work and an opportunity to develop contacts, ideas, and credentials for life after college. It’s also a launching point for deeper examination of the relationship between faith, values, and career.

“How do we as Mennonites engage the state, and how much do we build our alternative systems?” asked Enns, whose great-grandparents were part of the mass migration of Mennonites from Russia to North America during the turbulent years after the Bolshevik Revolution.

What relationship, exactly, should a person of faith hold toward advocacy in a secular environment, she wonders. Doesn’t faith like hers, one that prescribes action on behalf of “the least among us,” require this sort of entanglement with the wider world? But does this very entanglement with the wider world undermine the foundations of her faith?

Enns doesn’t have answers to her questions yet, but she knows she would like to continue doing faith-based advocacy after she graduates this spring. In fact, her plans at this point are to join .

During her four-year career at EMU, Enns took advantage of other non-traditional ways of learning.

Soon after she arrived on campus as a first-year student, she took an optional field trip with her Restorative Justice and Trauma class to a penitentiary, where she participated in three days of a Quaker-developed “Alternatives to Violence Program” with inmates.

In her sophomore year, Enns satisfied EMU’s cross-cultural requirement by creating her own semester-long study experience in the African nation of Chad, where her parents were serving with .

For 10 weeks between her junior and senior years, Enns was part of a offered at EMU that gives college students a chance to be an intern, mentored by a pastor, in a congregational  setting. Her assignment was at .

EMU offers a variety of other new ways and places for students to pursue their education.

More and more graduate students are taking their courses online, usually studying from their homes. The was the first unit at EMU to offer distance learning, and now most of EMU’s also offer courses online.

Nurses who are studying for a master’s degree in nursing leadership and management don’t have to come to campus very often (or to .).  The program is designed for working nurses who need to maintain family commitments and remain on the job. Jeanette Nisly ’96, for example, is and raising two children with her Guatemalan husband.

Sometimes the students are surprised to see that online learning actually offers more interaction with class members and professors than a traditional classroom. A faculty advisor provides ongoing support for students and helps with logistics, technology questions, and other issues. Students also receive support from staff, graduate writing tutors, and library staff.

Other non-traditional learning opportunities at EMU:

• , which offers a mix of study through the annual Summer Peacebuilding Institute at EMU and experiences in the students’ home countries. The first group, in 2012, included 12 women from Africa and the South Pacific. They were selected from more than 100 applications. Funds for the program are provided by USAID and the German development organization, EED/Bread for the World.

• . The latest example, announced in February, is a $20,000 grant from the United Service Foundation that will send eight undergraduates to foreign locations (Colombia and Iran in 2013), supervised by an EMU-linked mentor. The grants are for peacebuilding and development majors, who are required to complete off-campus practicums.

• . Many of the students enrolled in EMU’s programs run from Lancaster, Pa., don’t actually go to classes at the center’s facility in a business park. Students in the pastoral studies program, for example, attend classes this spring at Lancaster Mennonite Conference offices or sites in Philadelphia, Hatfield, and Morgantown. The three-year program, called , is for new pastors or prospective pastors.

• Taking trauma courses all over the world. In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, established a program to help community leaders deal with the trauma of disasters and conflict. Called , the program has trained more than 7,000 people worldwide. The training seminars take place at EMU, across the United States, and all over the world in places like Lebanon, Haiti, and Mexico.

“Starting two cohorts of STEP students in one year signals another adventure for us,” remarked , STEP program director. “We are very pleased to see how STEP is addressing the urgent need for basic high-quality pastoral training of those in congregational leadership.”

Designed for adult learners in part-time study, the STEP program focuses on ministry practice, coupled with assignments and teaching by experienced pastors, to form the basis for a lively learning community.

Each of the three years of STEP yields 10 undergraduate credits at ˛ÝÝ®ÉçÇř (EMU). Classes meet on Saturdays, once a month, with students coming from Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Ohio.

STEP will hold its sixth annual graduation on May 12 for a cohort of students completing the three-year, part-time program.

The STEP pastoral training program emerged in 2004 in response to the need to provide more flexible, non-traditional Anabaptist ministry preparation. The program first expanded from its Lancaster, Pa. base in 2010 by working together with Anabaptist congregations in Philadelphia.

STEP is jointly owned by EMU and .

http://emu.edu/lancaster/seminary/step

, a private foundation in New Holland, Pa., sent a check for $21,000 for EMS Lancaster’s program in Philadelphia.

Mark R. Wenger, director of pastoral ministries at EMS Lancaster, had a goal of raising $45,000 to provide scholarships for 15 participants in the STEP program. The check from USF and generous gifts from several other families and congregations allowed Wenger to raise $50,383.

This fund will provide participants with $1000 scholarship for each of their three years in the STEP program.

The STEP program (Study and Training for Effective Pastoral ministry), a partnership between Lancaster Mennonite Conference and ˛ÝÝ®ÉçÇř, provides training for people who are licensed for pastoral ministry or who have been encouraged to consider pastoral work, but may not have had college, Bible school, or seminary.

Fund provides needed scholarships

“When we choose to move part of the STEP program to Philadelphia we were aware that urban congregations often have more limited financial resources compared to suburban and rural churches,” Wenger said.

“However, these congregations are also vital and active churches and it’s important to me to provide pastoral leadership training to their leaders,” he continued. “This is the growing edge of the Mennonite Church.”

Diversity adds to program

Sixteen students are enrolled in the STEP program in Philadelphia. For over half of them, English is a second language. There are 3 Ethiopian students, 2 Indonesian students, 4 Hispanic/Latino students and 2 Asian students with a 12 men and four women ratio in the class.

“This is by far the most diverse group I have ever sought to teach or lead,” said Wenger, adding:  “It is scary and exciting, and I also believe it is the future of the global church. I also sometimes feel like it’s a rehearsal for heaven, when people of all nations will be gathered together.”

According to their website, “The United Service Foundation is rooted in the Anabaptist Christian tradition and seeks to grow the Kingdom of God by building and facilitating strong families and communities that practice love, learning, forgiveness, and justice. United Service Foundation is a private foundation of the Edith M. and Victor F. Weaver family, established in 1969. Family members have historical connections with the Mennonite Church.”

This cohort is a move by the seminary to offer pastoral training to urban and racially and ethnically diverse pastors.

Students from EMS Pennsylvania’s 2010 STEP cohort Khon Tran (right) and Luc Pham (left).

"This is a big deal for us," said EMS at Lancaster director Mark R. Wenger. "EMU is responding to dynamic church growth, community outreach and ministry in Philadelphia."

STEP appeals to Philadelphia pastors

Every year since STEP began in 2004 church leaders from Philadelphia have participated in the program. Previously they drove to Lancaster each month.

"Moving STEP to Philadelphia fits with my vision for taking high quality pastoral training as close to the congregation as possible," Dr. Wenger said.

Karen Jantzi, adjunct instructor at Temple University and member of Oxford Circle Mennonite Church, served on the advisory committee for the STEP Philadelphia cohort. She will also be an instructor in the program.

Program nurtures urban leadership

"I believe that everyone needs to have an introduction to basic theology and biblical studies," said Dr. Jantzi. "I’m excited about this program because it indicates that the Pennsylvania conferences and the denomination understand the importance of nurturing leadership within the city."

The advisory committee, made up of pastors and leaders in Philadelphia, helped Wenger and EMS determine the feasibility of starting a cohort in the city. They also helped shape the program to make it relevant to the urban context.

Wenger is expecting 8-15 persons for this year’s cohort in Philadelphia. Participants will be Anglo, African-American, Indonesian, Vietnamese and Latino. While most will be from urban settings, at least one pastor from a rural congregation will join them.

Cohort will focus on urban context

"The sociological study by Conrad Kanagy titled ‘Roadsigns for the Journey’ spoke about racial/ethnic congregations being the growing edge of the denomination. This is what I’m observing in Philadelphia," said Wenger.

Working in an urban setting will have some challenges," he continued. "One is that many of these congregations don’t have the resources that more rural congregations have to help educate their pastors."

To help with affordability, Wenger is raising money to provide $1,000 scholarships for each participant.

The STEP program (Study and Training for Effective Pastoral ministry), a partnership between Lancaster Mennonite Conference and ˛ÝÝ®ÉçÇř, provides training for people who are licensed for pastoral ministry or who have been encouraged to consider pastoral work, but may not have had college, Bible school, or seminary. For more information on the STEP program, contact Mark Wenger at 717-397-5190 or by email at wengermr@emu.edu

EMU’s Study and Training in Effective Pastoral Ministry (STEP) program will hold its second annual graduation at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 24, in the West Bethany Chapel at Landis Homes, 1001 E. Oregon Rd., Lititz, Pa.

University Provost Beryl H. Brubaker will address the graduates on the topic, “Lessons Learned.”

Mark R. Wenger, director of the STEP program, will preside and confer certificates on the seven members of the STEP class of 2008. STEP graduates receive a certificate in pastoral ministry from EMU.

The STEP program is intended to train leaders for congregational ministry. Most of the students are bi-vocational pastors without a college degree. The program meets in cohort format, with groups meeting one Saturday a month, September-May for three years.

The commencement service is open to the public.

For more information call Julie Siegfried at (717) 397-5190.