Homily: John and Michel Sharp (Parents of Michael J. Sharp ’05)

Worship Leaders: Jane Hoober Peifer, ’75, MDV ’98, Les Horning ’86, MDV ’98

Music Leader: Benjamin Bergey ’11

Honoree Introductions: Louise Otto Hostetter ’79, Jeff Shank ’94

Honorees: Chester ’36 and Sara Jane ’42 Wenger, Michael J. Sharp ’05, Anxo Perez ’97, Leonard Dow ’87, Laura Rosenberger ’03

Musicians: Maria Zehr ’11, David Berry, Katie Derstine ’05, Matthew Hunsberger ’02, Heidi King ’12, Fred Flores-Cano ’19

Gospel Choir: Ariel Barbosa ’20, Tae Dews ’19, Oksana Kittrell ’17, Justin Odom ’20, Bruce Cypress ’19, Matej Gligorevic ’19, Earnest Kiah ’21

Willow Run: Jon Bishop ’17, Perry Blosser ’18, Joseph Harder ’20

Changing the World One Life at a Time

John and Michele Sharp share reflections from the life and calling of their son, , recipient of the 2017 EMU Life Service Award, who was killed while on a United Nations peacemaking mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo in March 2017.

John Sharp teaches history and Bible at Hesston College, is a storyteller and author. Among his books: A School on the Prairie: A Centennial History of Hesston College, My Calling to Fulfill: the Orie O. Miller Story, and most recently, The Bible as Story: An Introduction to Biblical Literature, written with colleagues Marion Bontrager and Michele Hershberger.

Michele Miller Sharp launched her career in education and moved into the medical field working in family practice for the past 20 years as a physician assistant and more recently in clinic administration as Director of Clinical Excellence.

John and Michele are the parents of two married daughters, Erin & Laura and a son, MJ, as well as the grandparents of three absolutely adorable grandchildren, Oscar, Lucy & Jesse.

and the EMU Chamber Singers lead this service of worship during Homecoming 2016 in which this year’s Alumni Award recipients reflect on Micah 6:8.

“He has told you, O mortal, what is good;
ĚýĚýĚýĚýand what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
ĚýĚýĚýĚýand to walk humbly with your God?“

Enjoy the rich sounds of alumni vocal groups Shekinah, Good Company, Bellaccord, and current student group, Emulate, under the direction of Dr. Ryan Keebaugh, assistant professor of music.

2016 EMU Distinguished Service Award recipients share from their service and leadership roles engaging therapy work with distressed families and individuals at Gould Farm for the past 35 years. 2016 Young Alum of the Year recipient, shares about her work in through video. Emulate offers several musical selections.

and the EMU Chamber Singers lead the Homecoming Congregation in a service of worship and hearing the stories of this year’s alumni award honorees.

Martin Histand ’05 reflects on his experiences at EMU and with and how they informed working with Project Peanut Butter – a program addressing global malnutrition in children. Histand is being honored as Young Alum of the Year.

During his time as a student and upon graduation from EMU in 2005, Martin Histand has been a champion of the marginalized and voiceless. He has an inherent gift to connect with people across cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic divides in a genuine way that is vitally needed in our world today. Graduating as a licensed teacher, Martin chose to spend the year following his graduation working for Mennonite Central Committee in Ethiopia where he was able to use both his cross-cultural gifts and teaching abilities. Over the years, Martin has worked at , a non-profit organization based out of St. Louis that works to address the global problem of malnutrition in children. Beginning as a worker for Project Peanut Butter through Mennonite Voluntary Service, Martin excelled in his role and continued in full-time employment as Project Manager and now Operations Manager. His work has been focused in Malawi and Sierra Leone and more recently getting Project Peanut Butter’s new factory in Ghana running from the ground up. He oversaw the project from obtaining the facility, to getting all necessary machinery and equipment ready, to ensuring the local staff had proper training and support.

While stateside, Martin resides in St. Louis biking to work daily and attending St. Louis Mennonite Church. Late in 2014 he participated in several of the peaceful rallies around St. Louis promoting racial equality and social justice after the Michael Brown shooting and the Ferguson grand jury decision.

Russell James Pyle ’03, psychotherapist and PhD student in counselor education at the University of New Mexico, presents on Buddhist psychology.

From Russell:

“With the rise of the mindfulness movement in psychotherapy, there has been a renewed interest in the wisdom psychology of Buddhism. Buddhist principles can be beneficial to the process of healing for patients with a variety of mental health symptoms. This presentation [identifies] those principles and subsequent interventions as well as how they have been employed in my work with recently released ex-offenders.”

Chapel:

Still in her 20s, Isabel Castillo ’07 is already a nationally recognized leader of the immigration-law reform movement in the United States. She was the commencement speaker at the University of San Francisco, was called one of “the 21 brave thinkers of 2011” by Atlantic magazine, and was featured prominently in the New York Times.

EMU alumni from classes ending in ‘2 and ‘7 gather in Lehman Auditorium for welcome and comments prior to the individual class reunions and photos.  The video shown at this presentation can be viewed on .

Linford Stutzman interviews Rami Kassis, drawing out stories and themes from years of working with EMU students visiting and learning in the Middle East with the cross-cultural program. Rami Kassis serves as Executive Director of the Alternative Tourism Group Study Center in Beit Sahour, Palestine. Linford Stutzman serves as Professor of Culture and Mission in the EMU Bible & Religion Department.

Lucy Camel, of SEMILLA/CASAS in Guatemala, also brings greetings and shares a few words. This chapel contributes to celebrating 30 years of the cross-cultural program during homecoming weekend with the theme, “Crossing Borders, Coming Home.”

Carolyn Stauffer is Assistant Professor in the Applied Social Sciences Department.

Doug Hostetter serves as the Mennonite Central Committee Representative to the United Nations and is a EMU alumnus. Doug is the 1966 class president.

Leymah Gbowee is a social activist and alumnus of the EMU Center for Justice and Peacebuilding. She is the 2011 EMU Alumna of the Year and was recently awarded a .