Eastern Mennonite University Podcast

Alan and Eleanor Kreider speak on “Noticing” as part of their “Worship and Mission after Christendom” series for the Augsburger Lectureship.  “Our Journey into Worship and Mission” is the theme Alan and Eleanor Kreider bring to the campus community as guests for the Augsburger Lecture series this spring. Alan and Eleanor Kreider The Kreiders bring scholarship, storytelling, and experience to incarnational missiology. The Kreiders spent 30 years in England, where they were directors of the London Mennonite Centre, teaching in Manchester and Oxford. They have experienced a Christendom culture and its withering, which is the framework for their thought about worship and mission; they have seen the relevance of Anabaptist theology and practice. Alan and Eleanor are the co-founders of Anabaptist Network and were popularizers of Anabaptism to ordinary Christians. They believe worship and mission are central concerns, and hold a passion for the integration of the two. Peace, reconciliation, and the Early Church are interests which under-gird their work. Eleanor is co-editor of Take Our Moments and our Days (2011), and also holds degrees in piano performance. Alan and Eleanor have written many books, most recently Worship and Mission After Christendom (Herald Press, 2011). Augsburger Lectureship The Augsburger Lectureship provides resources to annually bring to campus a noted lecturer(s) to address pertinent topics in the area of Christian evangelism and mission for the stimulation and development of a vision for evangelism and missions for the students, faculty and staff of EMU.

Consider what it means to think differently rather than “trying harder” with reflections from Matthew 5:38-42 and John 20:21-22 plus personal narrative. His daughter, Grace, responds with an original song following the message. Jess Engle is married to Naomi and together they have 3 daughters – Anna, an EMU grad teaching in Japan; Grace, a senior at EMU; and Marie, a freshman voice major at Northwestern University near Chicago, IL. Jess taught elementary school for 11 years – 3 years in Luray, VA. He and Naomi graduated from Eastern Mennonite Seminary in 2002. They pastored together at Aurora Mennonite Church in eastern Ohio for 7 years and have pastored at West Clinton Mennonite in western Ohio the last 3 years. Jess loves encouraging young people, sports, exercise, reading fiction. Oh yeah . . . and his dad is Jim Engle at the seminary.  

On his 69th birthday, and approaching retirement,  Don Yoder, Director of Seminary Admissions at EMS, reflects on the calling that brought him to EMS, as well as some of the things he’s learned during his time here. The entire campus community is invited to every chapel worship service on campus. Eastern Mennonite Seminary hosts chapel gatherings in Martin Chapel every Tuesday and Thursday; EMU Campus Ministries hosts chapel gatherings every Wednesday and Friday in Lehman Auditorium. Specifics and occasional changes are noted in individual chapel listings.

A Parent’s Perspective on Collegiate Athletics– This week’s special guest is Jim Smucker, a businessman from Pennsylvania who is spending this semester at EMU teaching and doing research for the business department.  Jim has three children who are, or planning to play collegiate sports.  His son Jordy is a Division I baseball player and Jim shares about his experiences in the recruiting process and making a college choice.  As a former coach at a variety of levels, Jim reflects on the differences between the perspective of a coach and that of a parent.  He also talks about the value of the athletic experience in preparing students for the workplace and the qualities he looks for in hiring employees.  Jim provides a very balanced approach to athletics based on his personal experiences. Inside Athletics is a weekly podcast hosted by Director of Athletics, Dave King. The podcast offers a synopsis of what is happening in EMU athletics, but also delves deeper into how athletics at EMU shapes lives and enhances college educations by positively impacting an athlete’s understanding of self, others, and God. Sports Information Director James De Boer is a regular guest with EMU coaches and athletes making appearances as well.

The Maundy Thursday Chapel Gathering in the Seminary centers around the rituals of Footwashing and Communion, followed by the traditional Thursday Lenten Lunch.  In this podcast, Dr. Mark Thiessen Nation offers a meditation related to the experience of footwashing. The entire campus community is invited to every chapel worship service on campus. Eastern Mennonite Seminary hosts chapel gatherings in Martin Chapel every Tuesday and Thursday; EMU Campus Ministries hosts chapel gatherings every Wednesday and Friday in Lehman Auditorium. Specifics and occasional changes are noted in individual chapel listings.

“An Invitation for Discrimination! The Covenant of Umar” The Covenant of Umar is a treaty that was concluded between the Caliph Umar ibn al-Khattab and Sophronius, the Patriarch of Jerusalem. Ghanem has translated this treaty and researched how it can be used as an example of Muslim-Christian relations. He also talks about his pilgrimage from English teacher to peacebuilder. A Fulbright scholar, Ghanem joined the EMU community from his position as assistant professor in the English Department at Damascus University. He will earn a masters degree in conflict transformation from CJP this summer. Ghanem earned a bachelors degree in English literature and a diploma in English translation from Damascus University. He is also an English language tutor at Syrian Virtual University. For more info contact: Center for Interfaith Engagement, 540-432-4674 or email interfaith@emu.edu www.emu.edu/interfaith

Consider the focused teaching of Jesus in his final week on earth– after he entered Jerusalem yet before he was arrested. Matthew 24:1-26:13 is presented as storytelling by members of the Shenandoah Valley Biblical Storytellers. Biblical storytellers: David Downey, Judy Wilfong, Kathy Thompson, Robert Alley and Barbara Moyer Lehman.  

The act of writing is a kind of naming. When we give name to our lives with honesty and humility, we enter the possibility of discovering connections which could lead us to better imagine the amazing immensities and intimacies of life. Jean Janzen from Fresno,California claims Harrisonburg as a second home since she taught poetry writing here. She offered a six-week intensive course seven times from 1989 to 2001. She also taught at Fresno Pacific University. Jean received a master’s degree from Fresno State University where she studied with Peter Everwine and Philip Levine. She has six collections of poems, a book of essays based on the Menno Simons lectures given at Bethel College, and a forthcoming book of essays on faith and writing titled “Entering the Wild.” Jean is married to Louis Janzen, a retired pediatrician, and has four children and seven grandchildren. She is on campus as part of the Mennonite/s Writing Conference.

In this week’s “Inside Athletics” podcast, Dave and James chit chat a bit about the weather (actually, rain and rain outs of some of our outdoor events.)  Men’s volleyball gets some attention as the Royals head into their important CVC Weekend at Juniata.  And Dave elaborates on some recent discussions he has had with the Loyal Royals and coaching candidates on big picture topics. Inside Athletics is a weekly podcast hosted by Director of Athletics, Dave King. The podcast offers a synopsis of what is happening in EMU athletics, but also delves deeper into how athletics at EMU shapes lives and enhances college educations by positively impacting an athlete’s understanding of self, others, and God. Sports Information Director James De Boer is a regular guest with EMU coaches and athletes making appearances as well.

As part of EMU’s visiting pastor program, Mark Schloneger is on campus this week to interact with students, faculty and staff. Mark is the pastor of Springdale Mennonite Church, Waynesboro, VA, and he as a 2005 graduate of Eastern Mennonite Seminary. The entire campus community is invited to every chapel worship service on campus. Eastern Mennonite Seminary hosts chapel gatherings in Martin Chapel every Tuesday and Thursday; EMU Campus Ministries hosts chapel gatherings every Wednesday and Friday in Lehman Auditorium. Specifics and occasional changes are noted in individual chapel listings.

Nancy Heisey, PhD and M.J. Heisey, PhD, present on “Mademoiselle Miss Elsie: Relief Work and Pilgrimage in Southern France, 1938-1948.” Nancy is EMU vice president and undergraduate academic dean and M.J. is an associate professor of history at SUNY Potsdam. *Note: The powerpoint slideshow can be downloaded by clicking the small icon to the left of the words “Powerpoint Slides” below

James Akerson, Beldor Mennonite Church: Restoring a History and Building on Strengths Robert Russo, Missional Church Planting in Appalachia–focus on gen-x subculture Phil Showers, From the Past will come the Future Students in the seminary’s Master of Divinity 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. These podcasts are of students’ public presentations.

Seven students participated in the 2012  C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest on March 26. Each speaker applied the Christian peace position to a contemporary concern in a short speech (8-10 min): Sarah Schoenhals, Justice from Generation to Generation,  Senior Social Work major from Archbold, OH Joel Nofziger, Confession as a Restorative Practice in the Church, Junior History and Peacebuilding & Development major from Lancaster, PA Taylor Weidman, Dissimilarity is Hope” Junior Peacebuilding & Develoment, Environmental Sustainability, nad Economics major from Chambersburg, PA Jamila Witmer, His Dream is our Command: Breaking Stereotypes through Integration, Senior Liberal Arts major from Lancaster, PA Rose Byler, Living into the Tension: Social Services and Systemic Change, Senior Social Work major from Goshen, IN Thomas Millary, Pluralistic Realm: Toward a Theology of Peace, First-year Pecaebuilding & Development and Philosophy & Theology major from Dillsburg, PA Julia Schmidt, Holding Dignity in the Community of Faith, Junior History and Philosophy & Theology major from Pandora, OH  

Teaching as a Christian in an Islamic University: How this contributes to Interfaith Engagement Phil Enns, former MCC worker at the Islamic University of Indonesia, talks about his experiences teaching in Yogyakarta and relating to his Muslim co-workers. This forum is jointly sponsored by MCC/CIE/ACRS. For more info contact: Center for Interfaith Engagement, 540-432-4674 or email interfaith@emu.edu www.emu.edu/interfaith

Eric LeCompte is hosted on campus by the Washington Community Scholars’ Center. The global economy has become interconnected and increasingly faces global crisis. Which fast must we seek now? We must renew our call to Jubilee, work towards equity between local and global communities, cancel unjust debt, and create mechanisms and guidelines to cultivate right relationships. One way to do this is to continue to work in the global Jubilee movement – with past successes in unjust debt cancellation for the world’s most impoverished, and winning reforms to the international financial system, the Jubilee USA network is working for solutions to the international debt crisis and a real jubilee. Learn about the global jubilee movement and current efforts to enact transformed lending practices, tax justice, and an implementation of what an international bankruptcy court could do to pave the way towards eradication of poverty. Engage with these complex issues and be ready to join the Jubilee movement for global economic justice! ——- Eric LeCompte is the Executive Director of Jubilee USA Network and represents a civil society coalition of 75 US member organizations, 200 faith communities and 50 Jubilee global partners. Jubilee USA Network has won critical global financial reforms and more than 100 billion dollars in debt relief for the world’s poorest countries so the money could be reinvested in social infrastructure. Following the tragic 2010 Haiti earthquake, Jubilee USA Network worked with The Administration, US Treasury and a bipartisan coalition in Congress to cancel the 1.2 billion dollars of Haitian debt. Eric leads a network that includes relief, environmental, human rights and religious organizations and he currently focuses on development in relationship to the international debt crisis. The 75 member groups include The AFL-CIO, American Jewish World Service, The New Evangelical Partnership for the Common Good, The leadership of Catholic Religious Orders and The Episcopal, Presbyterian, Methodist, Lutheran, Unitarian Universalist and United Church of Christ Churches. He serves on expert working groups to the United Nations Committee on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and The United Nations High Commission on Human Rights. Eric has 15 years of experience working with faith based organizations to impact global policy on poverty, conflict and human rights. Eric is a graduate of the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University, where he received degrees in Peace Studies and Sociology. He was named a Pax Christi Ambassador and he is the former National Council Chair of Pax Christi USA.