鈥淲hen is it forecast to stop snowing? That鈥檚 one of the things I zero in on,鈥� said , 91短视频 grounds supervisor. Once he knows that, he can begin to develop his strategy for snow removal.

It鈥檚 a difficult task. 鈥淓ven in a 1-inch snow there is a rush-time when they [the administration] want every walk and step cleared. Our campus is 100 acres. If you think about it, a house in Harrisonburg is located on approximately a quarter of an acre. So on campus, we might have 6 or 8 people clearing the equivalent of 400 houses,鈥� he said.

No matter how much snow accumulates, 91短视频 strives to open with minimal delays. However, the more complex the storm is, the more planning is necessary.

Every snowfall Hairston must consider: Is there enough salt? Will additional equipment be needed? Do I have enough manpower?

This week, due to shortages in his normal staff, Hairston hired temporary employees through student owned and operated BruCrew. 鈥淚t is handy to have a temp agency that is familiar with campus and is made up of people we can trust 鈥� I was pleased with how that worked,鈥� Hairston said.

Snow removal is expensive business. Last year, which was a bad year for snow and ice, physical plant budgeted $2,600 for snow removal, but ended up spending $8,300. This year they went toward the middle of those two numbers and budgeted $4,500. As of now, $3,400 of the $4,500 has been spent. 鈥淲e will probably reach our budget,鈥� noted Hairston.

Hairston isn鈥檛 worried. Although they have spent three quarters of their budget, much of that has gone toward the preventive measure of stocking supplies to last them the entire cold season, come what may. This is in direct response to a supply issue they encountered last year. As early as December of 2013 it became clear they might not be able to get more salt until the following summer. 鈥淭hat was a little frightening,鈥� Hairston said.

On snowy days, Hairston has teams working around the clock. He assigns himself to some of the most undesirable shifts. 鈥淭his past storm, I went home at 4 in the afternoon, went to sleep at 5, and came back in at 11:30 p.m.鈥� When he arrived back at campus, he could tell the evening crew had just gone home because the truck was still warm and their clothes were in the dryer.

Night snow removal sounds like lonely, thankless work, but Hairston said it is just part of the job and that workers are able to stay connected through radios.

Besides, there are always humorous occurrences. 鈥淲hen you are running a snow blower, the landscape disappears so you have to make a mental map of where the sidewalks are. You can鈥檛 see anything underneath the snow and occasionally you might encounter something like a newspaper. Generally, the snow blower can handle the Daily News Record – but now, a Washington Post, that will stop it in its tracks.鈥�

The annual (SPI) now consists of four seven-day sessions at 91短视频 that bring together people as diverse as the Syriac Orthodox (Catholic) archbishop of Homs, Syria, Native American peacemakers, and Muslim women from Kenya.

鈥淲e try to create a safe space where people from various sides of a conflict can sit together and talk outside of the conflict zone,鈥� said SPI director , who has worked at SPI since 1999. 鈥淥ver the years we have had Israelis and Palestinians sit and talk about ways to resolve social issues in their countries. We had Hutus and Tutsis work together just years after the genocide in Rwanda and Burundi.

鈥淏ringing people together outside of class is just as important to SPI鈥檚 mission as the classes that are offered,鈥� said Goldberg. 鈥淗aving all these people living in Hillside [dormitory] and eating lunch together creates interesting bonds,鈥� he added, recalling how touched he felt when a Palestinian Muslim woman and her Christian Eastern European roommate prayed together in their room for the end of a terrible crisis in Palestine.

This year, SPI is hosting 200 people from more than 40 countries in four sessions from May 5 to June 13, 2014. In each session, participants must choose one course to take from an array of possibilities, including courses that focus on restorative justice, building peace through the arts, and addressing psychosocial trauma. Participants in the first two SPI sessions included a cohort of Kenyan women enrolled in 91短视频鈥檚 two-year-old and another .

SPI faculty offer grounding in both the theory and practice of peacebuilding. Of the 20 faculty members, almost all are practitioners as well as academics. Almost half hold a master鈥檚 degree from 91短视频鈥檚 , under which SPI operates. One of the many notable faculty members teaching this year is international mediator , who has taught at every session of SPI since its founding and has spent much of 2013-14 guiding talks among .

During the first session of SPI, ending May 13, two classes caught the artistic imagination of participants. A new class, 鈥�,鈥� yielded four mini-documentaries on trauma, using art to foster peace, and respect diversity. On the last night of the first session, these documentaries were screened before an enthusiastic audience of more than 50 SPI participants, staff, and faculty.

The buzz created by the documentaries inspired another class 鈥� 鈥溾�� 鈥� to invite others at SPI to experience their healing journey by viewing the many drawings and writings posted on their classroom walls, floors and tables.

This healing gallery explored trauma on a personal level, explained Richard 鈥淩ichy鈥� Bikko, a 2011 91短视频 graduate who now works for in Kenya. Bikko, who has been working with refugees and internally displaced persons, saw the classes鈥� approach to dealing with trauma as a way to connect with people who have lost everything.

Both Bikko and Goldberg emphasized the importance of the warm, collegial relationships between faculty and students in making SPI a special experience. 鈥淭here is an understanding that the faculty teach the students, but at the same time, the students, through their stories and wisdom, also teach each other and the faculty,鈥� said Goldberg.

A team of five undergraduate and graduate students, called 鈥渃ommunity assistants,鈥� smooth the way for SPI participants, especially those from foreign countries, by living in the dorms with the participants and organizing grocery store trips, extra-curricular activities, sporting events, and fun outings. They also guide participants to health care if needed, and otherwise do their best to to make them feel welcome, secure, and at home.

Aaron Erb, a graduate student in peacebuilding who is one of the community assistants, described the 24-hour-a-day experience as being both overwhelming and compelling. The best part of the job? The transformative social interactions taking place on a daily basis, he said.

A number of former SPI participants and colleagues from around the world will be returning to Harrisonburg May 19鈥�23 for a special consultation related to the program. Goldberg described this as an attempt to enhance and increase the types of programs offered by STAR, through an analysis of what has worked in the field.

The students were cited for their 鈥渟ignificant and verifiable impact鈥� on the university and on student life, for their contributions to developing 91短视频’s positive image, for substantial contributions to the Harrisonburg/Rockingham County area and beyond, for their high academic and social standing, and for their embodiment of 91短视频鈥檚 values of Christian discipleship, community, service and .

The blue cord represents the strength of conviction that one person can help to create a better institution or community. The gold cord represents the love of spirit and yearning towards creating a better university environment or community in which all may take part.

The recipients were:

• Christine Baer, a and major from Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania
• Aaron Erb, a peacebuilding & development major from Harrisonburg, Virginia
• Laura Glick, a major from Lancaster, Pennsylvania
• Nicole Groff, a major from Lancaster, Pennsylvania
• Ardi Hermawan, a major from Parsurvan, Indonesia
• Rose Jantzi, a major with an recipient from Harrisonburg, Virginia
• Litza Laboriel, a social work major from Trujillo, Honduras
• Krista Nyce, a major from Harrisonburg, Virginia
• Melody Tobin, a liberal arts major with an elementary education licensure from Harrisonburg, Virginia
• Brandon Waggy, a peacebuilding and development and major from South Bend, Indiana

Spirits were high as the 30 91短视频 students on the 2012 Middle East cross-cultural marched merrily into the Judean desert. Guides had assured them of a short and easy stroll from the Mar Saba monastery to a Bedouin encampment, where a feast supposedly awaited. Spirits remained improbably high as the route wound up and down one rocky, barren hillside after another, and then again and yet again, no end in sight.

At last, the weary, hungry group of students crested a final and particularly treacherous slope to arrive at the Bedouin camp, only to discover that the Bedouins had not quite finished cooking. In fact, they had not even begun; dinner would not be served for some time.

The sun was sinking fast, along with the temperature, and one could easily imagine serious discontent breaking out among the tired and now twice-deceived college students. Yet their moods stayed bright while they passed the time until dinner, chattering in small groups, entertaining themselves with complicated word games invented during their long hours of travel over the past weeks, rushing around with their cameras to photograph the haunting orange twilight on the rocky Judean hillsides they鈥檇 just straggled across.

There existed a special sort of intimacy in and among the group, a bond already formed through previous quintessential cross-cultural moments like this that can鈥檛 really be replicated anywhere back on campus. You have to be tired and sore and famished and stranded in the distant wastes of the Judean desert to experience and grow from this sort of thing 鈥� to be confronted with petty hardships, to weigh these against the real and persistent hardships of Palestinian life that you鈥檝e spent the last month observing and participating in 鈥� and so to decide to enjoy this unexpected hour with friends before dinner rather than pout about an afternoon that鈥檚 gone off script.

And so went the group鈥檚 last night in Palestine, roughly at the half-way point of a trip that began in turbulent Cairo and ended in peaceful Rome, with significant focus on Biblical history, early Christianity, Jewish and Arab culture, and the ongoing conflicts in the Holy Land. The following morning would mark a significant transition, when a bus ride of a few short miles would carry them from the Palestinian town of Beit Sahour to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel 鈥� on the other side of a tall concrete barrier with a name, purpose and symbolism that depend entirely on who鈥檚 talking about them.

Bridging the Concrete Barrier

Having spent the previous three weeks living with host families in Beit Sahour, while studying Palestinian culture and issues, the difficulties of life under Israeli occupation loomed large in the students鈥� minds that night. The existence of suffering in the world was no longer an abstraction; their new Palestinian friends鈥� determination to celebrate life rather than despair had become an inspiration. The students acknowledged their ignorance about the region before they had come to see it for themselves, and wondered how they鈥檇 talk about it once they got back home without sounding like 鈥渃razy activists.鈥�

鈥淣o matter who you get in conversation with [in Palestine], they鈥檒l bring up the occupation and how it affects their life. You can鈥檛 talk about any other issues without talking about that issue,鈥� said Dan Sigmans 鈥�12. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 just not talk about it.鈥�

Days earlier, the group had visited Hebron, where Jewish settlements in the heart of the West Bank鈥檚 largest city exist as a volatile microcosm of the larger conflict between Jews and Arabs. After touring the city with Christian Peacemaker Teams volunteers, who support non-violent Palestinian resistance to Israeli occupation, several students met a Jewish settler studying to become a rabbi, who was eager to share his own very different take on life and purpose and justice in Hebron.

鈥淭hat was the first time I realized how elusive truth was going to be on this trip,鈥� said Aaron Erb 鈥�14.

Bridgett Brunea 鈥�14 said the rabbinical student鈥檚 enthusiasm for sharing his story revealed a human side to the settlers 鈥� and cast the conflict between the two into even more ambiguous light.

鈥淭hey have lives and families and hopes and dreams,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut they鈥檙e doing these awful things to the Palestinians.鈥�

Did Americans Do This Too?

On a different trip to Efrat, another Jewish settlement in the West Bank, the students met with a settler originally from Chicago who confronted them with the disconcerting observation that they too are settlers 鈥� isn鈥檛 the whole United States built on stolen land? Unable to offer any sort of reasonable rebuttal, the group had arrived at another waypoint of the Middle East cross-cultural: silent confusion.

鈥淚t鈥檚 hard for you to comprehend everything. It鈥檚 so emotionally draining,鈥� said Hannah Swartz 鈥�14.

There had been many such classic moments, and there would be more. They鈥檇 been through the lows, such as the unexpected necessity of crossing the Gulf of Aqaba on a ferry packed with hundreds of men from the region, when divergent cultural assumptions about gender and sexuality left 91短视频鈥檚 females feeling vulnerable. They鈥檇 been through the highs: the friendships they鈥檇 developed with their host families; the friendships they鈥檇 developed with one another; the time in Jordan when they鈥檇 sung a song together in a resonant stone chamber carved millennia earlier in the cliffs of Petra.

And they鈥檇 experienced the incredible weirdness of cross-cultural exchange: while climbing Mount Sinai, the group happened upon a band of Korean pilgrims singing a Korean rendition of “How Great Thou Art.” Several of the students joined them with American-style harmony in the chilly winter air on the slopes of a remote Egyptian mountain.

Aiming for Relationships

By mid-morning the following day, the bus had dropped the group off along a busy street just below Jaffa Gate and the yellowed stone walls of Jerusalem鈥檚 Old City. Weighed down with backpacks and suitcases, they shuffled uncertainly down the sidewalk toward Jerusalem University College, where they would spend the next weeks of their trip studying Biblical history and geography. The bus roared off into traffic, the crowds on the sidewalk bustled around and through them, and a new moment had begun.

At this point in the trip it was tempting, said several students, to be judgmental, to not approach the people they鈥檇 encounter on this second half of their trip with open hearts and minds. It would be tempting, but they knew it would be wrong. They鈥檇 come to listen and learn, and they had been warned this might not be easy.

鈥淢y job isn鈥檛 to choose sides right now,鈥� said Morgan Porter 鈥�13, shortly after her arrival in Jerusalem.

As the group settled into their new surroundings, the phrase 鈥淲hat Would Jesus Do?鈥� occurred to Brunea with new meaning and urgency. Jesus would approach 鈥渢he other side鈥� with love, she said, and she would try to do the same.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a really awesome challenge for my faith. . . . I鈥檓 looking forward to the chance, to hear their stories and to recognize that this [land] is their home, too,鈥� she said.

The group began its stay at Jerusalem University College with morning classes and afternoon tours of the Old City, later traveling throughout Israel to visit other significant Biblical sites. Following a period of free travel, they returned to Jerusalem to begin studying Judaism and contemporary Jewish issues, this time based at the Ecce Homo convent inside the Old City walls. A number of students identified their stay at Ecce Homo as the highlight of the trip鈥檚 second half, when their classes were regularly interrupted by ear-splitting calls to prayer from a nearby minaret. From the convent roof, they could see the grey dome of the Al-Aqsa mosque, perched on Temple Mount directly above the Western Wall, overlooked from the east by the Mount of Olives.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like no other place in the world,鈥� said Sigmans.

On the Trail of Jesus

Later stops on the trip included a stay at a kibbutz in the Galilee and a four-day, 40-mile hike along the Jesus Trail (a trail tracing Jesus鈥� footsteps from Nazareth to Capernaum, co-founded by David 鈥�04 — who was on the 2002 Middle East cross-cultural — and Moaz Inon, an Israeli friend of his). The cross-cultural concluded with study of early Christianity in Greece and Italy, before returning to 91短视频 in late April.

As she had expected, Brunea found it difficult at points to sympathize with Israeli perspectives on the conflict. At the same time, she was surprised to encounter numerous Israelis hoping to find a just and peaceable solution to the problem.

鈥淚t was really energizing to learn how many people there are really working for good change,鈥� she said.

Looking back on the entire cross-cultural, Swartz recalled her surprise at the hospitality Palestinians extended to her as an American, even as they criticized her government鈥檚 role in supporting Israel鈥檚 occupation of Palestine. During the second half of the trip, she realized that she also needed to separate individual Israelis from the actions of their government and military.

鈥淧eople have been willing to forgive my 鈥楢merican-ness鈥�, so I should be willing to forgive Israelis for what their government has done,鈥� said Swartz.

This emphasis on individual relationships emerged as a major lesson for the students on the trip. After their return, several described newfound appreciation for human connections that exist between people and defy stereotypes, and that create a foundation of respect between people, even when they disagree with each other.

鈥淚 may not always like what people do to one another . . . but you have to be willing to see the humanness of [everybody],鈥� Brunea said.

This was just one of several lessons with broad life implications the students brought home with them. After looking down on Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives and hiking from Nazareth to the Sea of Galilee, and standing on the shore where Jesus called his first disciples, they read the Bible with new eyes and a vivid understanding of its physical setting. Likewise, the region and its place in today鈥檚 world have come alive. Their ears perk up when a story from the Middle East comes on the radio; they read stories in the newspaper with greater interest and understanding.

Worldlier Outlook

鈥淚 feel like I care more about the world in general,鈥� Swartz said.

A certain jadedness and frustration also accompanied the group home. The seeming intractability of conflict in the Middle East, and the toll it continues to exact on the people who live there, left the group feeling exhausted, even tempted at times to allow the easy rhythms of life at home to push their challenging and complicated experience from their minds.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to go back to where I was before I took this trip . . . but at the same time, how do you not feel so emotionally drained?鈥� asked Swartz.

Before Porter spent a semester in the Middle East, she vaguely felt she wanted to be involved in 鈥渟aving the world.鈥� A few months in a particularly messy and tormented part of the world, though, led her to reevaluate the idea.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 have to save the world,鈥� Porter said. 鈥淚 can focus on [saving] one thing and be okay with it.鈥�

Days after the group鈥檚 return 鈥� a frenzied time of graduations and goodbyes atop the stress of readjustment to life at home after a cross-cultural 鈥� Ellen Roth 鈥�13 said she expects the experience will remain a lifelong influence. Seated in the coffee shop on campus, she said she has no idea whether her future life or work will involve her directly with the people and places she visited in the Middle East. She鈥檚 certain, though, that broader themes from the trip 鈥� appreciation for听the simpler lifestyles of the people she met along the way, heightened sensitivity to injustice, new awareness of the effects of American policies elsewhere in the world 鈥� will guide her in the future.

鈥淚 definitely want it to influence how I conduct my life,鈥� Roth said. 鈥淭here are so many things [in my life] I want to reconsider.鈥�

鈥� By Andrew Jenner ’04. Read about his conflicted reactions to his 2002 Middle East cross-cultural.

Keynote speaker , an 91短视频 professor internationally known for her work, asked the 100 conference participants to craft a confession of their faith, informed by 500 years of peacemaking experience. The resultant statement reached fruition on Feb. 24, exactly 487 years from the day that the Schleitheim Confession was issued.

The original document represented 鈥渁 watershed articulation of certain Anabaptist distinctives,鈥� wrote C. Arnold Snyder, in the of the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online.

The Shenandoah Confession 鈥� printed below 鈥� encompasses themes of love and compassion as well as calls to radical nonviolent action. 鈥淚t heavily stresses the peace principles that set the Anabaptists apart from many other faith streams,鈥� said professor , adding that it was 鈥渄rafted in group process and finalized by a student-led committee.鈥�

The document follows in the tradition of 鈥渟peaking boldly鈥� as part of the 鈥減riesthood of all believers,鈥� said senior Evan Knappenberger. He led the process through a half-dozen drafts, working with seniors Jacob Landis, Aaron Erb, Christine Baer and Krista Nyce. (Baer and Nyce also organized the conference.) Knappenberger said Heisey, Schirch and other 91短视频 faculty members significantly contributed to the process.

The Shenandoah Confession consists of 11 articles comprising 1,668 words. 91短视频 Bible and religion professor calls its language 鈥渞obustly theological.鈥�

鈥淭he same spirit of radical community still hangs in the air, waiting for the right moment to spark something new,鈥� said Knappenberger.

The Intercollegiate Peace Fellowship of Mennonite and Affiliated Colleges aims to “promote the cause of biblical nonresistance by providing various channels for sharing ideas among the college peace groups,” according to its 1953 constitution. Its annual conference rotates among host institutions.

听* * *

The Shenandoah Confession

Presented this 24^th day of February, 2014, on behalf of those gathered in Christ at the Intercollegiate Peace Fellowship of Anabaptist colleges meeting at 91短视频, to our various communities around the world. Written by participants with inspiration from previous Anabaptist confessions of faith.

Preface.

May peace, fellowship, patience and the truth of the love of God be with all who love God.听 Beloved brothers and sisters in the Lord, may the care of the good shepherd and the strength of the lamb who was slain sustain you in your efforts to recognize God鈥檚 Kingdom which, according to the most holy teacher and savior, Jesus of Nazareth, exists among and within all creation and is the source of life everywhere.

Dear brothers and sisters, we who have been assembled for the 2014 Intercollegiate Peace Fellowship Conference, in the Lord at Eastern Mennonite Seminary in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, make known to all that we have been united in the spirit of fellowship to the common goal of building the peace of a loving and merciful God.听 The articles to which we confess ourselves we announce here in the spirit of those Anabaptist brothers and sisters who before us made confession together at Schleitheim on the 24^th day of February in the year 1527, and Dordrecht in 1632, including the various conclusions that have been amended to it by the church since.听 As those dear brothers and sisters made formal confession into a foundational action of the Anabaptist church, so let us confess ourselves in the hopes of a new and prophetic life in Immanuel, who is God with us.

The eleven articles of confession.

The articles of our confession are as follows.

1.听听听听 Confession of faith in Christ as the foundation of peace.

2.听听听听 Love as the root of all things.

3.听听听听 The call of the spirit of God to all for radical pacifist action.

4.听听听听 Acceptance of the truth of the full humanity of all God鈥檚 children.

5.听听听听 Inclusion as the guiding principle of action within the spirit.

6.听听听听 Accountability of historical wrongs, especially colonialisms.

7.听听听听 An abiding desire to participate in resilient and just economies.

8.听听听听 The full and unflinching engagement of creative faculties of believers in service of peace.

9.听听听听 Embrace of lives of radical simplicity following the truth of God鈥檚 peace on Earth.

10.听 Commitment to deep listening and dialogue as the prophetic intention of Christian pacifism.

11.听 Recognition of failures and continued re-commitment to our principles within community.

Explication of articles.

Confession of faith in Christ as the foundation of peace.听 We confess our faith in the peace of Christ that surpasses understanding, and our dedication to the principled peace of the Lord and savior Jesus who taught a bold humility. 听We embrace the faith even as we work for the good of all people, including people with whom we disagree, or people of other faiths, and even those who proclaim themselves our enemies and seek to do us harm.听 We seek the realization of the one we follow, Jesus, that the good of all is the work of servants; and in the tradition of him who laid down his life for all people, we embrace our identities as his followers knowing well the consequences of the burden of the cross.听 We admit that there can be no higher calling than the gospel call to nonviolent action in accordance with the will of the Holy Spirit, and the imminent fullness of the kingdom of the lamb, who does justice with mercy.

Love as the root of all things.听 Being created in the spirit of love, and saved by the love of Jesus who is our redeemed example of love, we here confess that love to be at the heart of all things.听 We confess to loving ourselves and others without the world鈥檚 judgment and vanities; we commit to loving the earth and protecting God鈥檚 gift of life, the spirit of God itself, and our enemies and neighbors, in praise and thanksgiving.听 We also confess our belief that our love must be one that challenges those around us to become better followers of Jesus.听 Love must be mission, holding others accountable and building them up.听 True love, we hold, calls people to action in its embodiment and by its very example.

The call of the spirit of God to all for radical pacifist action.听 听This gospel call to act as servants we confess to be the central tenant of the Christian faith.听 Peace is the vocation of all things made by a just and good creator, we believe. 听Peace shapes our daily lives and actions whether or not we are aware of it; it is our intention to practice this peace conscientiously around the world and amongst neighbors.听 The spirit of God calls all God鈥檚 life back to God, clothed in the raiment of nonviolence, worshiping the wonderful counselor who does justice and loves mercy.听 We confess that we seek to build institutions upon the shoulders of Christ, the servant who yearns for right relationship among the children of God.

Acceptance of the truth of the full humanity of all God鈥檚 children.听 We affirm all brothers and sisters to be equal in Christ.听 We call for the full privileges and rights of Christ to be granted them without delay.听 We honor the power and beauty of all life, and seek to enter relationship with it, not avoiding but rather walking toward conflict in the spirit of peace and fellowship.听 Along with this, we confess that our communities must become places of deep healing, sustainable praxis, nonviolent education and radical acceptance, where brothers and sisters can seek their identities in Christ freely, without fear of prejudice or categorical pre-judgement.

Inclusion as the guiding principle of action within the spirit.听 We confess that the guiding principle of prophetic action within the will of the spirit is one of active inclusion. 听In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, nor male and female.听 All people, created in the image of God, are unconditionally welcomed to God鈥檚 table and to God鈥檚 salvation.

Accountability of historical wrong, especially colonialisms.听 We hereby pledge solidarity and yield up positions of leadership to those communities who have been historically marginalized.听 We seek to affirm their leadership and support peace and nonviolence education by upholding the principles of peacebuilding in our own local and historical contexts.听 As North American Anabaptists, we confess our need to challenge and reform our own government and lay out peacebuilding alternatives to violence and war.

An abiding desire to participate in resilient and just economies.听 We see that our world suffers from a lack of care for God鈥檚 living environment, and we grieve the lack of our participation in an economy that is environmentally sustainable and socially just. 听We confess our desire to support local enterprise, invest prudently in clean energy, and remain mindful of our impact on and our role within God鈥檚 loving creation. 听We seek to embrace trickle-up change, and we commit to imagining innovative communities along these principles near to our homes, even as we seek God鈥檚 peace farther from our immediate spheres of influence.

The full and unflinching engagement of creative faculties of believers in service of peace.听 We confess that we look for creative engagement within our hearts and communities in order to nonviolently pursue restorative justice in the name of a righteous God of wholeness. Violence stifles creative impulses and inhibits our ability to seek the peace of God. 听We believe in appealing for peace to the creativity of the Spirit, which is that of Jesus, and of the one who sent him.

Embrace of lives of radical simplicity following the truth of God鈥檚 peace on Earth.听 In order to focus our lives to the call of God鈥檚 peace on Earth, we hereby uphold the life of the servant Christ in its simplicity and mission-orientation as the model for all conscientious human activity.听 We seek to affirm the intentional community of believers without excluding other brothers and sisters, and we disavow egotistical ambition as a basis for peace and faith work.听 We recognize the impossibility of following two masters, and chose to follow the way of peace despite the possibilities of worldly poverty which can sometimes overshadow it.

Commitment to deep listening and dialogue as the prophetic intention of Christian pacifism.听 We assert principles of right relationship to neighbor, enemy and self to be the following: deep listening as a means of connection and dialogue; openness to change of identity and opinion; mutual transformation in partnership and in the spirit of the creator; deep reflection before action; and nonviolence.

Recognition of failures and continued re-commitment to our principles within community.听 We confess that we have at times failed to embody the principles of community.听 With contrition we earnestly implore God鈥檚 forgiveness.听 We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves, we have not honored God鈥檚 creation, and we have often left the work of peace undone.听 Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us recognize our many vanities, our mindless consumerisms. Let us hereby recommit ourselves to the principles of Christian pacifism, the articles of confession above, and the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth in the way of nonviolence.

听Postlude.

Brothers and sisters in God, we most earnestly confess these points to you in hope that they move in your hearts, and excite within you a desire to confess them also.听 May your roots 鈥� watered in the innocence and strength of the lamb of God 鈥� nourish your spirits and give you rest and joy.听 Also may your wings 鈥� lifted by the breath of the Holy Spirit 鈥� shield you in the protection of the most high and allow you to walk and not grow faint, to run and not become weary, to soar as eagles.听 May the peace of God be with you now and always, and may the teachings of the Prince of Peace guide you to the realization of God鈥檚 presence among us.听 Amen.

鈥淭his program has added so much depth to my college experience,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 in awe of the relationships I鈥檝e formed across class levels within honors. These relationships have cemented my appreciation of 91短视频 as a place filled with wonderfully curious and compassionate people.鈥�

Intellectually stimulating, supportive relationships are the foundation of the at 91短视频. Launched in 1993 with five students, the program started its third decade in 2013 with 32 incoming students.

The huge investment 91短视频 makes in this program was on full display during Honors Weekend, Feb. 7-8. Sixty-nine high school seniors admitted to 91短视频 next year, with GPA and standardized test scores that qualify them for the honors scholarship of $15,000 per year for four years, traveled to the Harrisonburg (Va.) campus. Some flew from Arizona and Wisconsin; others walked from the adjacent neighborhood of Park View.

They were hosted by honors students, interacted with faculty members who lead the program, and began to envision their honors experience at 91短视频. 鈥淭his program lives or dies on student enthusiasm. Our students sell it to other students,鈥� said professor , PhD, who has directed the program since 2011.

Later entrance into program now possible

During the weekend, 56 honors-qualified students competed to be chosen one of two Yoder Scholars, who receive full-ride scholarships. Yoder Scholars are selected on the basis of their essay question responses, interviews, and interactions during honors weekend. The group from which the scholars were drawn averaged 1285 on their SATs (in critical reading and math), 29.5 on their ACTs, and 4.1 for their GPAs.

The honors program is no longer just a reward for high school performance. It is now a voluntary academic minor, and its acceptance thresholds are more inclusive. First- and second-year students who demonstrate high levels of academic achievement (but whose high school numbers did not qualify them for the honors scholarship) can apply for the program as well.

When she entered 91短视频, junior Becca Longenecker鈥檚 combined SAT scores and GPA were slightly below the qualifying threshold for an honors scholarship. Yet her strong academic performance in her first years at 91短视频 gave her the confidence to apply for the honors minor in her sophomore year, and she was accepted.

Connecting to highly motivated students

鈥淭he program has helped me connect with faculty here and at other schools,鈥� says Longenecker. 鈥淚t鈥檚 also connected me with other students who have the same vigor and enthusiasm for education that I do. The program is always looking for students like me who are missed on the first round of selection to expand the program and improve the experience for the students in the program.鈥�

鈥淲hat I tell parents and students who are considering the value of 91短视频鈥檚 Honors Program,鈥� says , PhD, director of , 鈥渋s that we鈥檙e making a four-year commitment that goes beyond financial. Our goal is to educate the whole person, preparing them to lead in whatever field their gifts take them.鈥�

Junior honors student Holly Jensen appreciates the 鈥渂ackbone鈥� courses of the program. 鈥淔reshmen take a class called Ruling Ideas, which explores different disciplines and the ideas that 鈥榬ule鈥� those disciplines. From biology to mass media, we learn how people in those disciplines work with the central ideas of their fields.鈥�

Throughout the program, Jensen notes that students are exposed to classes outside their majors and to interests outside their chosen fields.

As an 91短视频 honors student (graduating in 2005), Good has seen the program from the inside. He says, 鈥淭he Honors Program takes a holistic look at student growth that goes beyond just academics to include an education that also challenges students personally, socially, and spiritually. Students expand their worldview and learn to think critically about the world around them. This comprehensive preparation leads to great successes for our students in graduate school, their careers, and as leaders in their communities.鈥�

Applause for honors approach

A majority of honors graduates responding to a 2009 alumni survey 鈥渟trongly agreed鈥� with the following statements about the program:

鈥� The honors program helped me more consciously develop a worldview.

鈥� The courses I took within the Honors program increased my overall learning at 91短视频.

鈥� The honors scholarship influenced my decision to come to 91短视频.

鈥� The honors program deepened my quality of thought and insight as evidenced by critical thinking.

One described the first-year seminar experience as 鈥渟tepping into a buffet of ideas. It was intoxicating at times.鈥�

鈥淥ur Worldview senior seminar was very meaningful,鈥� wrote another alumnus. 鈥淣ever before and not since have I seen such true displays of humanity in an academic setting.鈥�

Forty-two percent of the survey respondents indicated an educational track beyond their undergraduate degree.

Sawin champions preparing students for a wide range of academic and vocational futures: 鈥淩ather than teaching a specific set of skills for a specific content area, our goal is to prepare students to research and write about anything. With the honors program, we鈥檙e creating a liberal arts curriculum on steroids.鈥�