Eastern Mennonite University Podcast

Seven students participated in the 2011  C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest on March 25. Each speaker applied the Christian peace position to a contemporary concern in a short speech (8-10 min): Meg Brauckmann, An Embodied Faith, senior Peacebuilding & Development major from Baltimore, MD Jakob zumFelde, Separated from Creation by Asphalt, senior Environmental Science & Chemistry major from Goshen, IN Jossimar Diaz-Castro, Unwanted Aliens: the Jewish and Hispanic Story, sophomore Theology & Philosophy major from Mexico City, Mexico Jessica Sarriot, Hold on, together, senior Peacebuilding & Development major at home everywhere Larisa Zehr, Tell me a story, senior Peacebuilding & Development major from Rochester, MN Chrissy Kreider, Connecting for Compassion, senior Biology major from Mountville, PA CheRae N. Chaney, He Walks Away With a Smile, first-year Theater major from Portsmouth, VA

Being held in the heart and mind of another is essential for healthy connection to each other and with God.  Our ability to form secure attachments is birthed not by getting it right, but from the messiness of rupture and the healing of repair.  It is in the place of living encounter where we bump up against one another and God that we experience the embodied knowing of homecoming. Dr. Annmarie Early serves as Director of the MA in Counseling program at EMU. This chapel is a taste of what is to come at the Conversations on Attachment: Integrating the Science of Love and Spirituality conference held right here at EMU on March 31-April 2.

In this week’s Inside Athletics, Dave and James talk about the “fall feel” of the spring season, with so many teams holding off-season workouts.  They also talk about the current winning streak of the softball team as well as the rest of the spring sports.  Dave then gets philosophical, reminding listeners of the true reason for EMU athletics – to impact lives. Inside Athletics is a weekly podcast hosted by Athletic Director 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.

Speaking on the topic, “Jesus, Son of God and Isa, Son of Mary and Prophet of God: Listening Together to the Divine Word,” Dr. Mahmoud Ayoub compares and contrasts broad aspects of Christian and Muslim Christologies. Dr. Ayoub, Faculty Associate in Shi‘ite Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations at Hartford (Conn) Seminary, is a leading authority in both the scholarship and comparative study of Islam and Muslim-Christian relations, as well as inter-religious dialogue.  His special areas of interest are Shi’ite Islam, comparative religions, interfaith dialogue, and Christian-Muslim relations. Born in South Lebanon, Dr. Ayoub earned a BA in Philosophy at the American University of Beirut, an M.A. in Religious Thought from the University of Pennsylvania and a Ph.D. in History of Religion from Harvard University. Speaking on his decades long career in education, Dr. Ayoub said: My intellectual and spiritual life has been a religious odyssey from Islam – the faith of my birth – to Fundamentalist Protestant Christianity, to Quakerism and back to Islam. Yet in a way I still live this long spiritual journey in my daily life. From Islam I continue to be guided by the Qur’an and the lives of some Sufi saints. Academically and intellectually my thinking has been profoundly influenced by my esteemed mentor, the late Wilfred Cantwell Smith. His books and ideas, but above all, my years under his tutelage have helped me to return to my Islamic heritage, but with a new appreciation and a new critical mind. Smith made me a historian of religion, and the historian of religion lives a life of inner struggle with all reified absolutes. But it is a life that is more precious than all the precious stones of the world. For more information, contact EMU’s Center for Interfaith Engagement: 540-432-5674 , interfaith@emu.edu

Seminary Students share stories from their experiences in Clinical Pastoral Education. Services held in Martin Chapel at Eastern Mennonite Seminary are planned by the Seminary community but open to all.

Six students share portions of their speeches prepared for the C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest.  The full speeches will be delivered on Friday evening in Martin Chapel for the contest. * Meg Brauckmann, An Embodied Faith, senior Peacebuilding & Development major from Baltimore, MD * CheRae N. Chaney, He Walks Away With a Smile, first-year Theater major from Portsmouth, VA * Jossimar Diaz-Castro, Unwanted Aliens: the Jewish and Hispanic Story, sophomore Theology & Philosophy major from Mexico City, Mexico * Chrissy Kreider, Connecting for Compassion, senior Biology major from Mountville, PA * Jessica Sarriot, Hold on, together, senior Peacebuilding & Development major at home everywhere * Jakob zumFelde, Separated from Creation by Asphalt, senior Environmental Science & Chemistry major from Goshen, IN  

In this service of Holy Communion, Seminary Student Tom Reynolds shares reflections on the story of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well. Services held in Martin Chapel at Eastern Mennonite Seminary are planned by the Seminary community but open to all.

Grieving the loss of a loved one can stay with us for years. Everyone’s grief is unique and every loss is unique so there isn’t any “right” way to grieve. There also isn’t any magic word that heals right away. Steve believes that grieving is a process that needs to include connecting personally with God and others to be able to move forward. In this chapel, he talks about what he’s learned to be helpful when giving and receiving support during these very difficult times in our lives. Steve Swartzendruber graduated from EMU in 2000 with a Liberal Arts degree and from Eastern Mennonite Seminary in 2005 with a Master of Divinity. In 2007, he completed a one year chaplain residency at the Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. and currently serves as a Hospice Chaplain.

In this edition of “Inside Athletics“, Dave and James give a quick recap of some of the postseason awards coming in from the winter sports before expanding on the spring sports. Topics include the new bat rules instated by the NCAA this season and the excitement EMU’s spring sports generate. “Inside Athletics” is a weekly podcast hosted by Athletic Director 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.

Dr. Courtney Bender, associate professor of Religion, Columbia University presents the last of this year’s monthly Colloquium lectures with her lecture entitled “Spirituality in the American Grain: From Shoveling Fog to Power Spots.”  The lecture is followed by a time for Q & A.  The monthly Colloquium lectures are planned and sponsored by the office of the provost.  Contact provost@emu.edu for more info.

In 1992 Ted Swartz graduated from seminary and began a ministry that took him, not to a pulpit in a congregation, but to audiences across the U.S. and beyond. The first 20 years of this work included the creation of Ted & Lee TheaterWorks with Lee Eshleman and development of plays such as Armadillo Shorts, Fish-Eyes, Creation Chronicles, Live at Jacob’s Ladder and DoveTale. Since Lee’s death in May, 2007, Ted has been writing and performing new plays with a number of other artists. Ted lives in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Rev. Daniel L. Garrett is Adjunct Assistant Professor of United Methodist Studies.  In this chapel, he draws from Matthew 4:1-11 and guides the gathered community to reflect upon their own baptisms Services held in Martin Chapel at Eastern Mennonite Seminary are planned by the Seminary community but open to all.

Jonathan Larson shares a necklace of stories about a passionate Christian peacebuilder (Dan Terry), especially at the interface with Islam and with Afghan culture.  This chapel also includes  a time of sending for Spring Break Y-Trip groups. Jonathan Larson and his wife, Mary Kay, grew up in India where they were classmates at Woodstock School. Following university studies in America, they served as Mennonite workers first in NE Congo, and later in Botswana where they raised their three daughters. Jonathan is a teacher, writer, storyteller, and pastor, recently in Africa’s fastest growing city, Gaborone, Botswana at the epicenter of the world HIV epidemic. He is fluent in four languages and has close friendships spanning the globe. Among his academic interests are the dynamics of oral cultures and the power of language and story to awaken the imagination. He is currently based in Atlanta, where Mary Kay now works at the Centers for Disease Control.

In this edition of “Inside Athletics“, Dave and James talk about the men’s volleyball and indoor track seasons, as they near their end.  They also touch on baseball and softball, which are just getting into high gear.  The guys wrap up the podcast discussing the D-III Men’s Basketball NCAA Tournament and try to unpack some of the reasons why the selection committee passed over the Runnin Royals for an at-large berth.  There will NOT be a podcast next week (March 11) as EMU will be on its Spring Break. “Inside Athletics” is a weekly podcast hosted by Athletic Director 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.

Mental health is a journey – a journey of darkness and light with dynamics of wrestling with God and self. Sara Beachy and Amanda Grace Lewis share from their journeys intermixed with scripture and prayer.