President Loren E. Swartzendruber will confer 403 degrees – 302 undergraduate, 87 graduate, 3 associate degrees and 11 graduate certificates – on members of the graduating class of 2007. Last year, EMU awarded 405 degrees.

Lee F. Snyder

The former president of Bluffton (Ohio) University, Lee F. Snyder, will give the commencement address on the theme, “A Road or a Path?” Dr. Snyder was vice president and academic dean of EMU for 12 years before accepting the Bluffton presidency in 1996 and serving there until retiring on July 31, 2006.

Snyder’s work with the Mennonite Church has ranged from congregational involvements to a term of service in Nigeria to denominational leadership assignments, including serving as moderator of Mennonite Church USA, 1999-2001. International assignments in Africa, Asia and Latin America have contributed to her interest in global issues and international education.

Back in Harrisonburg

A native of Harrisburg, Ore., Snyder attended EMU for one year and earned a B.A. degree from the University of Oregon. Later she received an MA in English literature and linguistics from James Madison University and a PhD in American and Victorian literature from the University of Oregon. Her doctoral work focused on the writings of contemporary California writer Joan Didion.

Snyder and her husband Delbert W. Snyder again reside in Harrisonburg, Va.

During the ceremony, “graduates’ perspectives” will be given by Timothy Shenk, a liberal arts major from Harrisonburg, and Elizabeth Heavener, a liberal arts major from Telford, Pa.

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Jay B. Landis

The seniors have elected Jay B. Landis, professor of English, to be speaker for the baccalaureate service to be held 7 p.m. Saturday, Apr. 28, in Lehman Auditorium. Dr. Landis plans to retire this summer after teaching several generations of students for 50 years.

Undergraduate senior class co-presidents Joy Shaiebly, a health and physical education major from Lancaster, Pa., and Kendal Swartzendruber, a liberal arts and special education major from Keezletown, Va., will give the class salutation.

EMU music students will give a short concert in Lehman Auditorium immediately following the baccalaureate service.

President and Mrs. Swartzendruber will host a reception for the graduates and their families at 9 p.m. Apr. 28 in the Campus Center Greeting Hall.

In case of rain, commencement exercises will be held in the Yoder Arena of University Commons, which can accommodate 3,600 people. An announcement to that effect will be made by 11 a.m. that day on WEMC, 91.7 FM, and other area radio stations.

Want to worship to the tune of hip-hop music? Celebrate Jesus’ love through dance? Silently pray while focused on candle light? Have a traditional hymn sing?

All this and more takes place regularly at ²ÝÝ®ÉçÇø.

Worship expression at EMU is as varied as the student body, where 22 percent of the population is "diverse," counting African-American, Hispanic, international and multi-ethnic students.

To meet their needs, the campus ministry team makes a point of collaborating with students to develop and lead worship in a variety of ways.

"North American Mennonites are known for their hymns sung in a cappella four-part harmony," says campus pastor Brian Martin Burkholder. "But as the church has grown around the world, Mennonites have incorporated other worship styles. We recognize that there are many ways of tuning into the Holy Spirit."

‘Vibrant Worship’

University chapel services Wednesday and Friday mornings in Lehman Auditorium "lay the foundation for vibrant worship," says Martin Burkholder. Eastern Mennonite Seminary also holds weekly chapels that incorporate diverse worship styles and themes.

From there, the options fan out – including a series of Wednesday night gatherings ranging from traditional hymn singing to high-energy gospel to meditative, all student-planned and led.

EMU senior Kristen Swartley helps lead a Taize service held the third Wednesday each month, in which she often plays the flute.

"Taize services offer something different – a more restful, reflective service that requires persons to be quiet and to listen for God’s voice," said Swartley, a junior music major from Cedar Falls, Iowa. "I think something like this is needed in a busy college atmosphere."

‘Gospel 808’ and prayer meetings

Another monthly Wednesday night offering is "Gospel 808" that junior Joseph Macon helps organize. Macon, a business administration major from Philadelphia, helps line up persons to lead the service that may vary in style from contemporary gospel to more "choir-type" gospel music. Macon often accompanies singers on drum set.

Other alternatives include a Thursday evening gathering for worship led by EMU sophomore William (Billy) Seidel and prayer meetings in Northlawn residence hall.

On Sunday mornings, students fan out into churches in the surrounding community for worship. Many students attend more traditional congregations and others find meaning at churches like The Table, Resurrection Fellowship, a house church that meets on campus and Aletheia, a local church plant geared towards college students.

‘Celebration’ and Bible studies

"Celebration" is a student-led song, prayer and praise worship service held 9 p.m. each Sunday in Martin Chapel of the seminary building and open to everyone.

Student-led Bible study groups keep springing up. This spring semester, senior Timothy Shenk and senior Cheryl Heatwole are facilitating weekly inductive Bible studies on the Gospel of Mark. Shenk notes that it "requires the efforts of every participant to make the scriptures come alive."

Shenk, a senior liberal arts major from Harrisonburg, said students gather early Thursday morning in his Parkwood Apartment for a light breakfast, followed by what he termed a "communal discovery of the biblical text."

"This method was used at the Urbana missions convention that I attended last December," Shenk said. "The emphasis is on observation – reading a portion of text – usually individually, then often discussed with one other person, then returning to the larger group for interpretation and application. It’s exciting."

Shenk and Heatwole are nudging their study group through a half chapter a week, and since it’s unlikely they’ll finish the entire book by semester’s end, "We hope this opportunity will continue beyond that," he said.

Purposeful Prayer

Last fall, Shenk helped initiate a response to the fighting between Israel and Lebanon they called "Prayerfully Sleeping on the Hill." Students camped out on the hill overlooking campus, prayed about and discussed the conflict and ended up writing letters to refugee children.

The group moved to the nearby Discipleship Center when the weather turned colder and continued the observance until the semester ended.

So what’s next? Martin Burkholder would like to "help students reflect theologically on the lyrics of songs they use.

"Do the songs we sing reflect our theology or do we simply like how they sound?" he asks. "We give students a lot of freedom in what is used in worship, and I don’t want to quench the spirit in any way, but reflecting seriously on what we sing will help bring greater authenticity and integrity to all our worship."