Seven candles were lit at an April 29 memorial service in Martin Chapel at 91短视频鈥攐ne for Michael Jesse 鈥淢.J.鈥� Sharp 鈥�05 and one for each of his colleagues, some like Sharp confirmed dead, others still missing, in the Kasai-Central province area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Sharp was on a U.N. mission when he was kidnapped March 12, 2017. He was collecting information about the use of child soldiers and massacres of unarmed civilians. The group also sought dialogue– as Sharp had in his previous position as Eastern Congo Coordinator for Mennonite Central Committee– with stakeholders to promote peaceful solutions to country鈥檚 long conflict. The information would help the UN Group of Experts on the Congo advise the U.N. Security Council.
91短视频 will honor Sharp, his commitment to peacemaking and his life of service with a special recognition during the 2017 . at a Homecoming Celebration Saturday, Oct. 14, at 11 a.m. in Lehman Auditorium and the Sunday, Oct. 15, worship service at 10:30 a.m., also in Lehman Auditorium.
鈥淢.J. was remembered for his sharp wit, keen mind, restless spirit, tenacious belief in nonviolent means for resolving conflict, and for following Jesus in being fully with the people with whom he was living or visiting,鈥� said Brian Martin Burkholder, 91短视频 campus pastor. Burkholder attended Sharp鈥檚 memorial service in Hesston, Kansas, in mid-April and facilitated the campus service during Commencement weekend.
鈥淗e knew his work held danger,鈥� said Burkholder. 鈥滺e was willing to take risks because he was convinced that working toward facilitating the resolution of conflict would build capacity for peace in the midst of violence. In short, he embodied peacemaking as a faith informed ethic and a way of life both personally and professionally.鈥�
The recognition will memorialize an 91短视频 alumnus who fully answered a call, said his former professor Judy Mullet, a person 鈥渨hose life invites us to do the same, to step into complexity with full acknowledgement of the risks, but also with faith and with every resource at hand in the moment.鈥�
At the April ceremony, Mullet shared the last email she received from Sharp. 鈥淚 want to work in crisis zones,鈥� he told her. 鈥淢y experiences in Iraq, Afghanistan and Israel/Palestine over the last couple of years have made it clear to me that this is where I need to be.鈥� He planned to work on a doctorate so that he could teach 鈥渁fter the need to work in war zones subsides.鈥�
She noted the tension in his life 鈥� and in all of our lives 鈥� 鈥渂etween where you want to be and where you need to be,鈥� between a calling and the risks of that calling.
After graduating with a degree in history and a minor in German, Sharp worked for three years with the Military Counseling Network in Germany. He then earned an MA in peace studies and conflict resolution at Philipps-Universit盲t Marburg in Germany. From 2012 to 2015, he worked for MCC in the Congo, and became a contract employee as an Armed Group Expert for the UN later that year.
His home in North America was in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is survived by parents John and Michele Sharp, and two sisters.
罢丑别听Michael J. 鈥淢.J.鈥� Sharp Peace and Justice Endowed Scholarship has been established to support students from Africa in graduate studies in conflict transformation at 91短视频鈥檚 Center for Justice and Peacebuilding. To contribute in M.J.鈥檚 memory, visit听/giving/endow/mjsharp
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