“Hope in this Time and Place”  Reflections on Psalm 22 by Eastern Mennonite Seminary student Suzy Kanode.

“Attending to God,” reflections on Isaiah 42 by Janeen Bertsche Johnson, campus pastor of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminaries, Elkhart, IN.

Matthew Hunsberger takes us on a musical journey through the weeks of advent and Christmas in a single University Chapel.  Other participants include Brian Martin Burkholder (candle lighter); Elizabeth Resto and Anali Martin (readers); David Berry (piano); Sara Halteman (violin); and Katie Derstine, Ranene Schrock, Selah Shenk, and Jessica Hostetler (women’s vocal quartet).

Dr. Andrea Dalton Saner, Assistant Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew Language at EMS, addresses Chapel Gathering around Psalm 88 and Romans 8:18-39.

Context: Romans 8 is not an Advent text, but perhaps it could be. Advent is a season of waiting–perhaps of groaning–and repenting, preparing ourselves to be awake and ready for the coming of our Lord.  We wait with the prophets, who longed for the redemption of Israel, and we wait in our own time for Christ’s next coming. In this season, remember that for which we hope: the coming glory, about to be revealed in us. In this season, as we wait, let us search out the Spirit, the firstfruits of that glory, who empowers us to live into the image of the one who is coming.

What is the connection between Coates, Hope and the Bible? Hear the thoughts of Professor Kevin Seidel as part of the Common Read (Between the World and Me) Chapel Series. Emulate opens the chapel with music.

 serves as Associate Professor of Language and Literature. A native of California, Seidel came to EMU from the University of Virginia, where he received his Ph.D. in English Literature and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. He is working on a book project that uses original research on the eighteenth-century English Bible to open up new ways of thinking about the history of the English novel. He is also actively involved in Scriptural Reasoning. His teaching and scholarship both explore the changing relationship between religion, secularism, and literature.

Movements of Faith, Geography of Hope
(Genesis 4:12-16, Hebrews. 11:8-10, 13-16)

Linford Stutzman, Director of John Coffman Center and BLESS program
Eric Trinka, EMS Alum, Catholic University PhD student and collaborator with the BLESS program

Human history is a story of movements – migrations, invasions, escapes, captivities and trade.The biblical story is no exception for scripture is shaped by movements that are motivated by desperation and hopelessness, but also faith and hope. As such, the biblical story offers an alternative perspective to the fear that permeates our culture.

Dorothy Jean Weaver, Professor of New Testament, Eastern Mennonite Seminary shares “Hope in the World of Herod and His Clan: Matthew 2:1-23 for the Real World”

Dr. Fred Kniss, EMU Provost and Seminary Interim Dean, opens the Seminary Fall 2017 Semester with his convocation address: Whispering Hope in a Time of Chaos.

Psalm 3310-22 and Romans 5:1-5

Sarah Payne,
“The Painful Practice of Hope”

Students in the seminary’s  program complete Capstone Integration Projects across the two semesters of their senior year. During the fall semester, they negotiate with the professors in the Formation in Missional Leadership class the design of their projects. They then complete their projects in the spring, producing a final paper and making a public presentation.

Phil Kanagy,
“Invitation to Hope: Pastoral Leadership in Anxious Times”

Students in the seminary’s  program complete Capstone Integration Projects across the two semesters of their senior year. During the fall semester, they negotiate with the professors in the Formation in Missional Leadership class the design of their projects. They then complete their projects in the spring, producing a final paper and making a public presentation.

In Chapel Gathering at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, Andrea Yoder and lead a song service focusing on moving from Lament to Trust and hope.