A pioneering coach, co-athletic director, and professor at 91����Ƶ in the 1960s and ’70s—and the youngest daughter of John R. Mumaw, 91����Ƶ’s fourth president from 1948-65—Miriam “Mim” Mumaw ’61, of Arlington, Virginia, passed away on Dec. 5, 2025.

During her tenure at 91����Ƶ (then known as Eastern Mennonite College or EMC), Mumaw coached the school’s first women’s basketball (1966-75), women’s volleyball (1968-79), and field hockey (1970) teams. She achieved the most success with the volleyball team, winning a state championship over James Madison University in 1973 and posting a perfect 21-0 season in 1976. Her overall record with the squad stands at 151-99. Mumaw was inducted into the in 2002. Only three other coaches share that distinction.

Those who were fortunate enough to cross paths with Mumaw, either on 91����Ƶ’s campus or at Washington Community Fellowship (WCF), describe her as a people person who greeted everyone she met with warmth. They speak highly of her meticulous attention to detail, which shone brightly in her volunteer service to WCF and in her career at Gammon & Grange Law Offices, where she worked for more than 40 years. They also remember her for her love of baseball, particularly the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals, and her generosity in sharing her season tickets with others.

Mumaw was a beloved mentor, leader, and friend, known by many for her deep commitment to 91����Ƶ and her congregation.

“She was a titan, a fierce advocate for women in athletics and for 91����Ƶ in general,” said Carrie S Bert, the first woman to serve as 91����Ƶ athletics director.

Dave King ’76, 91����Ƶ’s athletics director for 17 years before Bert, agreed. 

“Mim advocated for the expansion of women’s sports at a time when that wasn’t supported by many in the institution, including her father who had been president of the college,” said King. 

During one of her visits to the 91����Ƶ Athletics Suite, Bert recalled, Mumaw had shared with her how her father, likely reflecting the feelings of the wider church, had opposed the growth in women’s physical activities at 91����Ƶ. “Mim just laughed and said, ‘Well, that wasn’t going to stop me … we just had to agree not to talk about it,’” shared Bert. 

“Mim was always so encouraging of me, both in words of affirmation and in the wonderful way she would squeeze my hand while we chatted,” Bert said. “I could feel her positivity and enduring support in those moments.”

King told the that he first met Mumaw when he arrived as a student in 1972, but “had no idea of the trailblazer she was and the impact she had on women’s sports” until he returned as director of athletics in 2005. “Besides coaching women’s sports and teaching PE classes, her involvement with the Association for Intercollegiate Athletics for Women (AIAW) exposed EMC athletics to the broader collegiate athletic community and elevated the EMC sports programs,” King said.

Growing up in a glass bowl

Mumaw was born on Jan. 14, 1938, in Harrisonburg, the youngest of five daughters, to John R. and Esther Mosemann Mumaw. She was 10 years old when her father, a professor and ordained minister, took office as president, succeeding John L. Stauffer. He would serve in that role for the next 17 years.

“That was an important part of her growing up,” said Byron Peachey, a nephew of Mumaw and longtime 91����Ƶ staff member. “She lived down the road on College Avenue and EMC was an even smaller community than it is now. Everybody knew everybody else’s business. And so for her and her four older sisters, there was a spotlight on them and a set of higher expectations for what they did and how they conducted themselves.”

Mumaw graduated from 91����Ƶ in 1961 with a degree in business education. She then taught business education classes at Iowa Mennonite School for four years.

“That would’ve been an opportunity for her to spread her wings, outside of this glass bowl at 91����Ƶ where everybody knew her,” Peachey said.

In 1964, while Mumaw was in Iowa, her mother died “very suddenly,” Peachey said. She returned to Harrisonburg to care for her father (in 1965, he married Evelyn King, former dean of women for 91����Ƶ, and resigned as president).

Hired by 91����Ƶ’s fifth president (1965-80) Myron S. Augsburger, Mumaw coached the school’s first women’s intercollegiate athletic teams, including women’s basketball, volleyball, and field hockey. 

“That was groundbreaking for EMC,” Peachey said. “She was a real innovator. ‘Trailblazer’ is an overused word, but she truly was one.”

In 1968, after completing her master’s degree at the University of Iowa, Mumaw began teaching accounting and physical education courses at 91����Ƶ. She also served as co-athletic director and co-chair of the physical education department.

Sandy Brownscombe, coach of 91����Ƶ women’s basketball (1978-89), field hockey (1978-93), and men’s volleyball (1991-98) also in the Hall of Honor, said that Mumaw held significant roles at the state, regional, and national levels within the AIAW, which governed women’s college athletics before the NCAA took over in the 1980s.

“Mim was a foundational figure for women’s athletics in Virginia through the AIAW,” Brownscombe said. “She started volleyball in the state of Virginia.”

A life of balance

Brownscombe was finishing her master’s degree coursework at Washington State University in 1978 when she was hired to teach physical education classes and coach the field hockey and women’s basketball teams at 91����Ƶ. Mumaw interviewed her for the job, and was tasked with finding a place for her to live.

“There weren’t any apartments available,” said Brownscombe, “and so that’s how I ended up sharing her house with her that first year I was here.”

“That was, in my opinion, probably the best thing that ever happened to me,” she added, “because we spent many nights talking with each other, and she would explain to me what it meant to be a Mennonite female athlete. At that point, I was the first non-Mennonite full-time faculty member at 91����Ƶ, so it really was my introduction to Mennonites and to EMC, and she shared that whole faith experience with me. She was like a big sister to me.”

Less than a full year later, in 1979, Mumaw left for a sabbatical year in D.C. at The Fellowship Foundation. It led to her permanent move to the area.

“She felt like she had taken 91����Ƶ athletics to the next stage,” Brownscombe said.

“91����Ƶ women’s sports experienced much success in the 1980s, which I believe was a direct result of Mim’s commitment to developing and expanding sports activities for women,” said King.

Mumaw was a founding member of , a Christ-centered faith community started by President Emeritus Augsburger (its first pastor) and his wife, Esther, in 1981 and affiliated with Mennonite Church USA. Mumaw was an active member of WCF for 43 years and served in many roles, including as presiding deacon, elder, and on the Finance, Human Resources, and Building committees.

“Any time students from WCF were attending 91����Ƶ, Mim always made sure I knew about it,” said Tim Swartzendruber, senior regional advancement director for 91����Ƶ. “She was an admissions ambassador for us, no question.”

In 1982, Mumaw began a long career at Gammon & Grange Law Offices in Tyson’s Corner, where she served as accountant, office manager, and assistant to senior partner. She worked at the firm for more than 40 years.

She often returned to 91����Ƶ and continued to love and support the university. She served on the 91����Ƶ Board of Trustees from 1988-96.

“When I think of Mim, I think of balance,” Brownscombe said. “Her whole life was balanced. She was great as a coach, administrator, teacher, and yet she was so involved in the church, in leadership there, and in her care for people. She was one of those well-rounded people who had it all together.”

“She was always positive, always optimistic,” shared Peachey. “She wanted sports to be fun for young women and for it to be a team experience. I think that was an important value she cultivated, that student-athletes experience team success rather than individual excellence.”

Clockwise from front center: Miriam “Mim” Mumaw ’61, Liz Chase Driver ’86, David Driver ’85, former Orioles player Larry Sheets ’83, and Stephanie Rheinheimer ’13 attend an Orioles baseball game in August 2022. Sheets told writer David Driver for the Augusta Free Press: “Mim was, first and foremost, a wonderful Christian woman, a huge fan of 91����Ƶ, and a huge supporter of my career and then my son’s (Gavin Sheets’) career.” (Photo courtesy of David Driver/AFP)

A connector of people

A devoted fan of the Orioles and Nationals, Mumaw was known to invite family, friends, and anyone else within her orbit to baseball games. While there, she recorded the action with a pencil and paper scorecard. “It was in her DNA to keep track of details,” Peachey said.

As a student, David Driver ’85, former Weather Vane sports editor, narrowly missed the window when Mumaw was on campus. But he and his family became acquainted with her as longtime members of WCF beginning in the late 1980s.

“She was never one to talk about the role she played as a pioneer for women’s athletics at 91����Ƶ, but her love of sports was contagious,” said Driver. “I’m happy to say she made WCF a church with a lot of baseball fans.”

“I know that Carrie Bert benefited greatly from having Mim as a mentor,” Driver added. “Without Mim, there may not have been a Carrie as the first woman to serve as 91����Ƶ athletics director.”

Long after leaving 91����Ƶ, Mumaw continued to invest in its mission and its students. According to Swartzendruber, Mumaw included 91����Ƶ in her estate plans, directing support to two funds established by her parents: the Esther Mosemann Mumaw Memorial Endowed Scholarship, which benefits upperclasswomen of any major, and the John R. Mumaw Endowed Scholarship, which benefits teacher education students.

In 2018, Mumaw coordinated a fundraising effort among past and present members of WCF to increase the ongoing student impact of the Myron S. and Esther K. Augsburger Endowed Scholarship for Urban Ministry. The scholarship, valued at more than $400,000, benefits students at Eastern Mennonite Seminary who plan to serve in an urban setting. 

“Mim tried her hardest to attend every alumni gathering, homecoming, you name it,” Swartzendruber said. “She adored 91����Ƶ. I always got the impression that 91����Ƶ felt like home to her.”

In addition to her parents, Mumaw was preceded in death by her four sisters: Helen Peachey, Grace Mumaw, Catherine Mumaw, and Lois Martin. She is survived by six nieces and nephews, and many beloved great-nieces and great-nephews. 

“She was a single woman, never had children, never married, and so she created a community around her,” Peachey said. “She knew lots of people in lots of different walks of life. When she went to baseball games, people noticed how all the attendants knew her. She knew them all by name. She was always looking for ways to connect people together.”

Thanks to Simone Horst, special collections librarian, for providing the archival images of Mumaw included in this story.

“You can ask me questions later,” she called as she climbed into her friend Robin Lyttle’s car. “Let’s go!”

Allen, who last year published a memoir “The Way It Was, Not the Way It Is” about her experiences in the Newtown area during the 1930s and ’40s, spent the afternoon and evening with 28 students teaching, sharing and interpreting African American history, culture and experience.

This was the beginning of a 2015 article about 91����Ƶ’s local context cross-cultural experience. Doris Harper Allen, who , was a major contributor to that experience. She helped orient students in that class to Harrisonburg’s racial history through her memoir (self-published, 2015), used as a course reading. 

“Dr. Allen was also a guide of educational learning tours for 91����Ƶ students collaborating with community and church leaders in the historic Northeast Neighborhood of Harrisonburg,” said Professor Deanna Durham, who with her husband Byron Peachey, now academic advocacy advisor, co-taught the local context cross cultural for several summers.

“I loved the enthusiasm and seriousness Dr. Allen shared with our students,” Durham said. “She wanted them to understand her own history both the immense joy and pride she has for this community and the deep harms caused by others. We left our time with her challenged and delighted!”

Allen, who received during JMU’s 2019 commencement, was born in Harrisonburg’s Northeast neighborhood on East Effinger Street in 1927, according to her online biography. Barred from attending James Madison University, then Madison College, due to racial segregation, she worked as a cook for Madison President G. Tyler Miller before enrolling at Marshall University in the early 1970s. In West Virginia, she worked as a teacher before returning to Harrisonburg, where she became involved in her native neighborhood’s revitalization efforts.

“It is with profound sorrow, we share the passing of our oldest trailblazer,” the NAACP said in a statement posted to its Facebook page late Friday. “She left a profound legacy within the city.”

That legacy was recognized last month when James Madison University after her.

 Harper published a second memoir, “Jim Crow in the ‘30s, 40s, 50s and 60s: What was life really like in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County under the Jim Crow laws?” She gives a on her most recent book.

Read and watch tributes from the and

Each semester and summer, 91����Ƶ students spread out across the globe, usually accompanied by faculty and staff who have lived in the area and who, with the help of natives, introduce a perspective into the culture that is far more intimate than just visiting the usual tourist sites. The experience is much more unique than typical study-abroad programs in which students are housed in universities and take traditional academic coursework.

Several graduate programs also offer cross-culturals, including the and , MA in biomedicine [read more and ], and .

View a of 91����Ƶ’s cross-cultural program.

The unforgettable experience of her semester travels in France and the Ivory Coast “still permeates my life 20 years later,” said Carrie Stambaugh Bert at a 2014 . More recently, student Sarah Regan shared that her Central Europe travels “really broadened my view.”

“I learned so much more about things I never even thought about at home, things I never thought existed to know,” she said.

A panel discussion, “Drinking in Knowledge at the Source: 91����Ƶ’s Cross Cultural Program,” at the 2017 faculty-staff conference discussed the origins, goals and changes over the years of one of 91����Ƶ’s most unique programs, which started formally in 1982.

Panelists included:

• is a nursing professor, director of the Humanitarian Action Leadership program and interim cross-cultural program director. She and her husband Jim have led several cross-culturals, most recently to Guatemala and Cuba. The couple spent 10 years in church-sponsored service in Central America.
• , program assistant, has accompanied groups with her husband Brian Martin Burkholder, most recently to Bolivia.
• , emeritus professor of German, was one of the first cross-cultural leaders. His introduction to the cross-cultural experience came with an alternative service tour in Austria with Pax, a program of created in response to the reinstatement of the military draft in the United States after the start of the Korean War. Glick helped to launch Goshen’s Study-Service Term in 1968 and led a year of this program (1969-70) in Guadeloupe, FWI.
•  has led the local context cross-cultural and groups to the U.S./Mexico border, Guatemala and Cuba, often with his wife, Professor Deanna Durham;
• , psychology professor, has led groups to India, where she spent many years as a teenager;
•  is a professor of history and director of the Washington D.C.-based , housed in the Nelson Good House in the Brookland neighborhood. She has also led two groups to Europe.

Audience members included faculty and staff alumni who had experienced cross-culturals themselves as students, faculty and staff trip leaders, prospective leaders, and one faculty member, speaking for many others, who said he was “jealous … When do we get to go?”

Challenging changes: technology and globalization

The first broad theme to be discussed was notable changes over the years. Technology came up several times. Instead of leaving behind their family friends, students have access to phones and computers, which leaders say can be a distraction and even a destabilizing presence.

“It’s difficult for the experience to be an immersive one,” said Brenneman.

This accessibility also impacts parental demands and expectations: “Some parents think that because their child can contact them every day, that they should be talking or Skyping every day, and when they don’t, that becomes a challenge for the student,” one panelist said.

Peachey also mentioned creeping globalization: for example, visiting an American-style mall in Guatemala “can make you think you’re in Bethesda, Maryland.”

At WCSC, Washington D.C.’s rapid gentrification has changed the demographics and diversity of the area. Schmidt, a longtime D.C. resident, points out that when she first started as director in 1999, the city had more than 70 percent African American residents; that number has fallen to just over 50 percent.

She pointed out, though, that the cross-cultural experience is very much shaped by the choices of the leader. For example, one could visit Germany with students, as she did this summer, and completely ignore the current refugee crisis. Her students did not; they interacted with Syrian refugees. “It’s all in how you teach it and what you expose your students to,” she said.

Defining and measuring ‘success’

Professor emeritus Ervie Glick posed a question about measurement of success to his fellow panelists. “There is no test afterwards,” he pointed out, adding that the extensive journaling required of student-travelers often provides a window into unwitnessed and subtle changes to student worldviews.

Burkholder said a “growth in empathy” was a quality she considered to be a favorable measurement. One group of students, when visiting a poor area of a South American city, showed increased awareness of how their presence might be perceived negatively by residents.

Brenneman shared an anecdote of two students who became lost in Kolkutta —“one of the safest cities in Asia” — and eventually, using broken Hindi, found their way back, exhilarated by their new-found confidence.

Within a day of arriving at WCSC, Schmidt says students are sent on a scavenger hunt around the nation’s capital, using any combination of public transportation to visit known and not-so-known places. The tradition builds confidence in a very tangible way.

“In our culture, there’s not enough opportunities for proving themselves and taking risks and having an adventure,” said Peachey, theorizing about what makes the cross-cultural program such a transformational experience for undergraduate students. “I think that’s one of the big draws.”

More on 91����Ƶ’s cross-cultural program

• Visit a to see the program’s history of travel and immersion around the world.
• Learn more about 91����Ƶ’s cross-cultural requirement and visit the cross-cultural blog.
• Read more about to Europe, Bolivia, Navajo Nation and Spain.
• The explored Anabaptist and Reformation history, with special attention to women’s history and to sites in Austria.
• The first in fall 2016, led by Professor and his wife Amanda, attended 35 plays, visited 38 theaters, and produced their own dramatic piece about the different stages of cultural integration.

The final blessing, offered by Undergraduate Campus Pastor , included a prayer for each attendee, the students from all faiths and backgrounds who would begin arriving on campus that day, and — in acknowledgement of — for courage to confront “systems of racism that destroy rather than build the Kingdom of God.”

This year’s theme — “Expanding the Legacy, Enlarging the Tent” — emphasized integrating 91����Ƶ’s history and traditions with a vision for its second century; the conference also officially launched 91����Ƶ’s celebrations.

Strong vision

President donned three different types of eyewear during her keynote address to illustrate the “special kind of seeing we do in Anabaptist Mennonite schools … more clearly, deeply and widely.” [Listen to the .]

91����Ƶ is well-poised with “strong vision and high purpose” for the future, she said.

Merging perspectives of hindsight and foresight with Anabaptist-inspired insight, she noted 91����Ƶ’s strong and vibrant historic legacy; a robust, holistic and distinctive education that includes cross-cultural study and faith formation; and a cohesive, faith-filled community of faculty and staff.

“We have just begun to promote a vibrant future of counter-cultural Mennonite education, one that prepares our students for relevant and in-demand careers and meaningful spiritual lives shaped by the reconciling love of Jesus,” Huxman said.

While praising 91����Ƶ’s entrepreneurial spirit, epitomized in pioneering professor emeritus and philanthropist Margaret “Speedy” Martin Gehman and Alumnus of the Year , Huxman noted new academic offerings: the program, offered collaboratively with Goshen (Indiana) College, as well as the new four-year and a neuroscience minor.

Approximately 380 new and returning employees participated. The fall semester begins Monday, Aug. 28.

 Many voices

A panel of respondents to Huxman’s speech included , , and . The final session of storytelling, a much-loved tradition, included , , , and .

Special guest Donald B. Kraybill provided a one-hour preview of his forthcoming Centennial history, 91����Ƶ: One Hundred Years of Counter-Cultural Education (Penn State Press, 2017) to be released at the Oct. 13-15 .

Four breakout sessions highlighted influential programs, themes and concepts:

• — Professors and traced the history of racial-ethnic diversity at 91����Ƶ, with special attention to current diversity trends and shifting paradigms. They asked, “How could and should paradigms and power structures shift? How can and should our new diversity help us more fully understand and realize the radical nature of our Anabaptist values?” Click here to .

• Drinking in Knowledge at the Source: 91����Ƶ’s Cross Cultural Program — A panel of five experienced cross-cultural program leaders discussed one of 91����Ƶ’s most unique academic programs and included , professor and interim cross-cultural program director; , program assistant; , emeritus professor; , cross-cultural leader and adjunct instructor; and professors and .
• Creating a Beloved Community at 91����Ƶ: Organizational Culture as Blessing and Barrier — Professor discussed culture and sub-culture identities as both assets and liabilities. He invited the group to list both blessings and barriers to 91����Ƶ’s culture (and multiple sub cultures), noting that you must first understand your own organizational culture before you can interpret for — and thus fully integrate — newcomers.
• “Thy Word is Truth”: Old Song, New Tune — Professor , associate dean of Eastern Mennonite Seminary, and Professor discussed “word” and “truth” as the biblical writer imagined these words, and engaged with ways that the motto speaks to 91����Ƶ at 100 years.

In a recent blog post, Payne reflected her own growth as she ‘mimicks’ her experienced guides and then steps off on her own.

As a child, I played follow the leader. I mimicked the actions of others for fun.

As a college student, I find myself in a very similar situation. This cross-cultural is an extreme game of follow the leader.

Our leaders, Kim and Seth, model how to function in contemporary Europe. They guide us through cities and on public transportation. They gladly share their wisdom and calm our nerves. We follow. We learn by example.

These times of mimicking prepare us for times of independence. Almost daily we are given opportunities to explore or assignments to find specific locations. This is when the roles reverse. My peers and I will take turns directing, learning through practice.

Although this ever-changing game of follow the leader is fun and challenging, it has a specific focus. We are tracing the paths of our Anabaptist roots.

Besides the “Radical Europe” tour of Anabaptist sites in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, 91����Ƶ cross-cultural groups are in Bolivia, the Navajo Nation and Spain.

• The Bolivia group is led by Brian Martin Burkholder, campus pastor, and Linda Martin Burkholder, cross-cultural program assistant.
• The Navajo Nation group is led by Gloria Rhodes, chair of the applied social sciences department, and Jim Yoder, biology professor.
• The Spain group is led by Professor Adriana Rojas, of the language and literature department, her husband Patrick Campbell, and Barbara Byer, the department’s administrative assistant.

The 91����Ƶ cross-cultural experience, which has been part of the curriculum for more than 30 years, is very different from the typical “study abroad” program. Approximately 68 percent of all 91����Ƶ graduates go on an international cross-cultural trip; the remaining students fulfill the cross-cultural requirement exploring the vast diversity here in the United States. Most graduates name their cross-cultural experience as a significant part of their 91����Ƶ education.

Trips are led by faculty members who have deep roots in the countries and communities where groups travel. As an example of these deep roots, nearly 20 faculty and staff are “Third Culture Kids,” who spent significant years of their youth in another country/countries. Some 20 countries on six different continents are represented tin these experiences. Most 91����Ƶ faculty and staff have also lived and worked abroad for significant periods of time.

Upcoming cross-cultural trips include:

• Israel/Palestine, fall 2018, with Bill Goldberg, director of the Summer Peacebuilding Insitute, and Lisa Schirch, research professor at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding;
• Guatemala and Cuba, spring 2018, with Byron Peachey, academic advocacy program adviser, and Lisa King, instructor in the nursing department;
• India, spring 2018, Kim G. Brenneman, psychology professor, and her husband, Bob Brenneman;
• Kenya, summer 2018, with Roxy Allen Kioko, professor of business, and her husband, Felix Kioko;
• Paraguay, summer 2018, with Greta Anne Herin, professor of biology, and Laura Yoder, professor of nursing;
• Marginal(ized) Europe: Bulgaria and Greece, summer 2018, with Andrew White, professor of English, and his wife, Daria White;
• Lithuania, summer 2018, with Jerry Holsopple, professor in the visual and communication arts department;
• , offered each semester in Washington D.C. allows for immersion into urban culture, while acquiring valuable work experience in an internship.

“You can ask me questions later,” she called as she climbed into her friend Robin Lyttle’s car. “Let’s go!”

Allen, who last year published a memoir “The Way It Was, Not the Way It Is” about her experiences in the Newtown area during the 1930s and ’40s, spent the evening with 28 students teaching, sharing and interpreting African American history, culture and experience.

Why a cross-cultural course in Harrisonburg, Virginia?

The “Local Context” cross-cultural course is just one way 91����Ƶ students can fulfill the university’s . While many students choose the traditional semester-long international travel, other students find that a semester living at the (WCSC) and interning in Washington D.C. fits their needs. There are also shorter trips that work better for students with less flexible schedules, including and the local cross-cultural experience.

“If it wasn’t for the program, there’s no way I could have completed the requirement,” said Kristy Wertz as the group left the Lucy F. Simms Continuing Education Center. A nursing student, full-time patient care technician at Rockingham Memorial Hospital, wife and mother, Wertz noted the impracticality of leaving her family and job behind for a full semester, or even three weeks.

“Here I’m learning about the wide variety of populations that live in Harrisonburg, and the resources available to them. As a nurse, it’s crucial that I know how to best serve my patients. Like the parenting program we just saw,” she said, pointing back at the Simms Center. “How great was that?”

Outside Broad Street Mennonite Church, one of several historic Mennonite church plants in the northeast neighborhood, the group was greeted by Harold Huber. Huber, who began attending Broad Street in 1968 and at various times has served as administrator, secretary, trustee and historian to the congregation, passed around photos of the congregation’s early years. Allen hooted when she spotted her ten-year-old self in one of the pictures. A clutch of students gathered about her as she pointed out the bright-faced young girl.

, assistant professor of applied social sciences, and her husband are teaching the course this summer. The group is divided into two sections for classroom discussions and folded into one group for field trips. Durham first led a local cross-cultural in 2007; this is her fifth time teaching the course.

Like all cross-cultural trip leaders who escort students on trips, the couple are experienced inter-cultural navigators. Before coming to 91����Ƶ, they spent years living and working in inner-city Washington D.C. as well as four years with Mennonite Central Committee in El Salvador. Peachey has led several cross-cultural trips to Guatemala, Cuba and Mexico, including one during the previous spring semester.

The most transformative aspect of the course, Durham says, is that students living in the Shenandoah Valley begin to think of their home differently. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had students say, ‘I had no idea this place, this community, this challenge…existed right here!’” she said, gesturing at the front of First Baptist Church, where the group had just listened to Judge Anthony Bailey give an impromptu talk on his role in the local justice system. “In some ways, the students in the Local Context course have a more difficult time settling back into a comfort zone once finished with their cross-cultural because it’s right in their face every day.”

Reflecting on the difference between groups that go abroad and those that stay close to home, Peachey pointed out that there are many benefits in the experience of global travel. “However,” he added, “there is great value in deeper learning about the people and places that surround you on a daily basis. Becoming familiar with various immigrant populations, learning about how Harrisonburg has grown and changed over the past half-century, these are experiences that will help these students greatly post-graduation, in their work, and how they approach interacting and engaging with the communities they are a part of.”

Peachey also noted that students on the recent Guatemala trip, which started on the U.S.-Mexico border, learned about the political clashes of immigration policy and reform and explored the personal struggles of those affected by immigration. “Those same struggles are happening right here in Harrisonburg,” said Peachey. “We just need to be willing to see them.”

A rich and surprising diversity

Additional field trips bring students on explorations into the rich diversity of the Shenandoah Valley. The African-American focus continues with trips to Zenda, a community started by former slaves in Rockingham County, and to the Franklin Street African-American Art Gallery. The gallery visit is hosted by owner , founder and director of the at James Madison University. (Luminaries in the African-American poetry world flock to conferences and poetry summits hosted by Furious Flower, and the center offers a slate of workshops, readings, slams and lectures.)

Students also discuss immigration issues with Harrisonburg resident ’07, a nationally-known activist for DREAM Act immigration reform who founded the youth-led National Immigrant Youth Alliance.

One Friday, the students meet with Dr. Mohamed 91����Ƶabl at the mosque, the only place in the region for Muslims to worship. Friday prayers draw a diverse group of Muslims from around the world, with Sunni and Shia participating together.

Students also delve into the Old Order Mennonite culture, with a visit to a home for meal, accompanied by professor and Mennonite historian Nate Yoder.

At the end of the tour, the group enjoyed a meal of barbecue and deviled eggs prepared by the congregation of John Wesley Methodist Church. Allen stood in the center of the room and fielded questions from the students. They listened attentively as she described growing up in Newtown and her involvement in the civil rights movement, and how she found herself just feet away from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the 1963 March on Washington as he delivered his famous words.

“Having Doris talk to us was one of the best parts of the night,” said student Kaitlin Roadcap. “This program is teaching me to be more culturally receptive, and has really opened my eyes to the diversity in this area. I have lived here my entire life and am finally realizing just how much I didn’t know.”

Daryl Bert, vice president for finance, opened chapel by praising the tireless efforts of Bruce Emmerson, food services director for Pioneer Catering, which operates 52 kitchens nationwide.  Emmerson, who was named Pioneer’s “rookie of the year,” in 2007 and “director of the year,” in 2011, has continuously improved the quality of services that are offered to the students, faculty, staff and visitors of 91����Ƶ, said Bert.

“I have appreciated how seriously Bruce takes feedback from our community by personally, wittily and publicly responding to feedback cards in the cafeteria,” said Bert. “I am always amazed at how quickly Bruce implements themes from the survey forms into the food service experience in the cafeteria…

“I believe this attention to quality is validated by the large number of faculty and staff that join students in the cafeteria for lunch on a daily basis.”

Byron Peachey, associate campus pastor, said: “Anytime I’ve needed to work with Bruce or Ramona [Lantz] with special catering needs or events, they are adaptable and easy to work with, willing to take on special events such as the Late Night Breakfast… The food is always consistently delicious and varied.”

91����Ƶ routinely hosts outside groups, conferences and youth camps over the summer which adds to Emmerson’s schedule. LeDayne McLeese Polaski, program coordinator for the Baptist Peace Fellowship also praised the work of Emmerson and Matthew Hunsberger, Lehman Auditorium facility technician, in a written statement to Bert.

After stating that her Fellowship puts 91����Ƶ at the top of the list, Polaski added: “I would be remiss if I did not mention the excellent work of Matt Hunsberger and Bruce Emmerson… They are true professionals who go above and beyond the call of duty to provide excellent service.”

Below is a list of students who were honored at the chapel ceremony for academics, athletics and community service.

Fall Season

Men’s Cross Country:

Dan Nafziger: ODAC Athlete of the Week (Sept. 1-5), All-ODAC Second Team, All-South/Southeast Region First Team, NCAA National Championships participant

Field Hockey:

Nicole Bencsik: All-ODAC Second Team

Jenessa Derstine: All-ODAC Third Team

Valerie Landis: ODAC All-Tournament Team, All-ODAC First Team

Adriana Santiago: ODAC All-Tournament Team, All-ODAC First Team

Men’s Soccer:

Barkot Akalu: All-ODAC Third Team

Kevin Chico: ODAC All-Tournament Team, All-ODAC First Team

Ryan Eshleman: ODAC All-Tournament Team, CoSIDA Capital One Academic All-District Team, All-ODAC First Team

Mitchell Leap: ODAC Player of the Week (Sept. 19-25), ODAC Player of the Week (Oct. 3-9), ODAC Player of the Week (Oct. 24-30), All-ODAC First Team

Brent Yoder:    All-ODAC Third Team

Women’s Cross Country:

Katie Eckman: All-ODAC Second Team

Women’s Volleyball:

Tabitha Bowman: CUA Guetle All-Invitational Team

Brittany Childress: 91����Ƶ Hampton Inn & Sleep Inn All-Invitational Team

Winter Season

Men’s Basketball:

Owen Longacre: Marymount Tip-Off Tournament All-Tournament Team

Women’s Basketball:

Raiven Patterson: 91����Ƶ Tip-Off Classic Most Outstanding Player

Kala Yoders: All-91����Ƶ Tip-Off Classic Team

Intensive English Program

Fanty Polanco

Maria Pena

Jihoo Park

Academic Support Center-Tutors

Stacy Kinkaid

Haleigh Hershberger

Lyubov Slashcheva

Kennedy Center/American College Theater Festival nominations

Elizabeth Gannaway

Julia King

Justin Rittenhouse (alternate)

Jamie Hiner (stage manager)

Pastoral Assistant Recognition

Mitchell Stutzman – 1.5 years as pastoral assistant

Nursing Department Outstanding Service Award

Rebekah [last name omitted on request]

Student Government Association

Hannah Patterson, Senator

Joel Choi, Senator

Louise Babikow, Senator

Brittney Wenger, Senator

Katrina Goering, Senator

Daniel Sigmans, Treasurer

Nels Åkerson, c0-President

One of the most heated issues in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia where we live is the debate surrounding policies and attitudes towards immigrants, undocumented workers, and the crossing of national borders. We wanted to focus on our connectedness as human beings and explore the resources of Christian faith in how to welcome the stranger in our midst. Many of our local neighbors here in Harrisonburg have come from Mexico and Central America to work in our poultry plants, landscaping, construction and the service sector.  We see them in our classrooms, grocery stores, at soccer games and in our churches and we struggle to know how best to welcome them and how to engage the many faith, policy, human rights and economic implications of immigration.

Frontera de Cristo provided us with many meaningful conversations, visits, and experiences which pushed us to move beyond an “us” versus “them” construct, to a “we are all in this together” and how can WE as U.S. citizens take responsibility for OUR wall, the violence, the deaths, the flow of people, the grief, and desperate need for reconciliation and peace. What part will we play in the transformation of our borderlands?

“Learning on the ground” in a community with 20 91����Ƶ students best fits our teaching pedagogy. We encourage written reflection, struggle, and deep personal and spiritual wrestling with the questions we encounter. But this struggle isn’t just for our students. We found ourselves fully engaged in thinking, rethinking, discerning and asking God for insight about the complexity of our borders and the policies and varied interests that compete for attention. As Anabaptists with a strong peace position, we often found ourselves asking “What would it take or look like to “secure a peace accord” here at our very own border?”

Frontera de Cristo’s ministries and connections on both sides of the border as well as their relationships with those who are often in conflict with one another was a most encouraging sign for us. As a group, we moved back and forth across the border about eight different times. The land itself has no natural barrier. We were often struck by the division the wall itself artificially imposes on the landscape. And we were challenged to reflect on the Ephesians passage which affirms that Christ has broken down the dividing walls between peoples.

Moving from one side to the other hearing stories of those who have been hurt and wounded by policy and police, then hearing the policymaker and border patrol agent talk about their own fears and concern for security reminded us that we have so much more in common in our deepest hearts desires. We all long for economic security, safety for our children, educational opportunities and relationships that transcend language, ethnicity, race. Yet we live in a world where boundaries separate and create deep divides. The words to the song, O Healing River come to mind as we consider the border area…

O healing river, send down your waters
Send down your waters upon this land
O healing river, send down your waters
And wash the blood from off the sand
This land is parching, this land is burning
No seed is growing in the barren ground

O healing river, send down your waters
O healing river, send your waters down.

Our initial ten days of the semester we were hosted by Frontera de Cristo in Aqua Prieta and Douglas, and there could not have been a better way to begin our semester. We heard about the many sides of border challenges and realized that for every issue there is a human face, a family, a community, a congregation who grieves and rejoices as news travels from both sides of the U.S./Mexico border. We were especially moved by the vigil that occurs every Tuesday evening in Douglas naming those who have died in the surrounding county. Having spent four years in El Salvador after the civil war, we know the importance of closure and having some remains to bury for a family. This vigil reminded us that dignity can be shared through ritual and that grief can be carried by the gathered community, for those named and for those whose bodies were no identificado, unidentifiable. Silence filled our debriefing as tears filled our eyes…how do we work together for a border where no one is left alone to die in the desert? How do we promote a world where families do not feel forced to take great risks in order to survive?

And for the final 10 days of our semester of learning we were hosted by families (socios) in Salvador Urbina, Chiapas. We stayed in family homes, tried many new foods, hiked through coffee plots of cooperative members, learned the complex process of preparing coffee beans for roasting, and gained a much deeper knowledge of the economics of coffee growing and production. A cup of coffee will never look the same after this experience. Walking up the steep mountainsides and watching all the work it takes to care for one plant of coffee makes us value the growers within the cooperative, Café Justo, and their careful work that brings us a robust, strong, flavorful cup of coffee.

The Spirit of God’s work for love and justice flows like water,
Like never-ending streams:
Comforting the wounded;
Calling those who have wounded to repentance;
Challenging traditions which are rigid and violent;
Envisioning new relationships where every voice is heard.
O Healing River, send down your waters!

                                    –Women’s Inter-church Council of Canada

On Nov. 14, 190 people gathered at the Eastern Mennonite High School dining hall for a program and dinner to remember and to honor the godly legacy of John R., Esther M. and Evelyn K. Mumaw.

Former 91����Ƶ presidents Myron S. Augsburger and Joseph L. Lapp and current president Loren Swartzendruber honored their predecessor John R. Mumaw at a ‘Celebration of Ministry’ event. Photo by Steve Carpenter

John R. married Esther Mosemann in 1928 and together they raised five daughters – Helen, Grace, Catherine, Lois and Miriam, in Harrisonburg, Va. John R. possessed exceptional leadership gifts. He went on to become the fourth president of the former Eastern Mennonite College, 1948-1965, served twice as moderator of the Mennonite Church, 1961-63 and 1969-71, and led Virginia Mennonite Conference as moderator, 1968-1974.

Pastoral skill and vision

During the evening, many spoke of John R’s pastoral skill, vision and administrative ability. Nancy Hopkins-Garriss, executive director of Pleasant View Homes, Inc., recounted how he started Pleasant View as a place for adults with developmental disabilities. Ron Yoder, CEO of Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community, recalled how John R. gave vision to the expansion of VMRC, while Dr. Linford Gehman cited his leadership as executive secretary of Mennonite Medical Association,1969-79.

Sprinkled in were stories of Esther and Evelyn’s service to the church given independently of and alongside their husband. Esther died suddenly in 1964. One year later, John R. then 91����Ƶ president, married Evelyn King, the college’s dean of women.

Byron Peachey

Byron Peachey, a campus minister at 91����Ƶ and John and Esther’s grandson, emceed the evening. His mother Helen, died in 2000 and was the only Mumaw daughter not present. Byron read a remembrance from Hubert and Mildred Pellman. They recalled Esther winning a game of Scrabble, then looking at John with a mischievous smile and saying, "…and I didn’t even go to college."

Lee M. Yoder, president of his 91����Ƶ class under John’s tenure, recalled presenting a demand for a forum to express student opinions. John R. acquiesced and provided a prominent display board. The only problem – it was completely enclosed in glass. The only way to get something posted was to go through the dean of students and the president’s son-in-law, Laban Peachey.

Another commented how effective John R. was in dealing with his critics by referencing his constituency. On one occasion the moderator of VMC approached him with an issue. John R. replied "You meet on campus in assembly once a year. I work with this community every day. I cannot do what you ask."

Later, 91����Ƶ’s current president Loren Swartzendruber jokingly commented, "Tonight I learned a lot from John R. about how to deal effectively with both VMC’s moderator and student class presidents." Swartzendruber also shared reflections on taking a homiletics course with Mumaw as a seminary student in 1973. Mumaw expected all sermons to be written in manuscript form, saying, "The Holy Spirit is present in the study as well as in the pulpit."

All three surviving present or former presidents of 91����Ƶ – Myron Augsburger, Joe Lapp and Loren Swartzendruber, along with former 91����Ƶ interim president Beryl H. Brubaker – were present to honor one of their own. 91����Ƶ helped sponsor the event along with VMRC, PV Inc., and Dr. Gehman.

This was Virginia Mennonite Conference’s 10th Celebration of Ministry banquet. In addition to honoring a remarkable man and his family, it raised funds for VMC and established a ministerial training and trust fund for the theological education of pastors in the Potomac District of VMC.

Steve Carpenter is conference coordinator of Virginia Mennonite Conference.

Thirty 91����Ƶ students were commissioned during a chapel service Friday, Jan. 11 for a semester of study and learning in the Middle East and embarked later the same day.

It is the fifth time for Linford L. Stutzman, associate professor of culture and mission at Eastern Mennonite Seminary, and Janet M. Stutzman, former director of alumni/parent relations at 91����Ƶ, to lead a cross-cultural program to the Middle East.

The group will live and study in Israel and the West Bank, immersing themselves in the ancient/modern world of Jews, Christians and Muslims.

Earlier, 19 91����Ƶ students received a prayer of sending on Jan. 9 in the opening convocation of second semester prior to leaving the next day on a semester-long cross-cultural study program in Mexico and Guatemala led by Byron J. Peachey and his spouse Deanna Durham.

Byron J. Peachey’s call to pastoral ministry, forged over several decades, was publicly recognized in a chapel service Wednesday, Jan. 26, at 91����Ƶ.

Peachey was licensed to the ministry for his continuing role as associate campus pastor. He is a member of the team, formed in August, 2003, that includes Brian Martin Burkholder and Julie A. Haushalter.

Prior to the installation ceremony, persons close to Peachey told stories, laced with humor, that were pivotal in shaping his call to ministry – Laban Peachey, Peachey’s father; Johann Zimmerman, who worked closely with Peachey in urban ministry in Washington, D.C.; and Deanna Durham, Peachey’s spouse. They met in Washington in 1983.

"God has a special twinkle in His eye today as we celebrate Byron’s readiness to do God’s work," said Haushalter in opening the service.

Items that symbolize Peachey’s life and special interests appeared on the platform – books by Catholic writer Thomas Merton (meditation as spiritual discipline), a cross from El Salvador (peace and justice concerns) and an old wooden pitchfork (his farming background and adherence to a theology of the land).

Peachey, of Harrisonburg, was interim campus pastor at 91����Ƶ during the 2002-03 school year. Earlier, he served four years as co-director of the

Brian Martin Burkholder was ordained as 91����Ƶ campus pastor in a service held Sunday evening, June 13, at Community Mennonite Church, Harrisonburg, Va.

Truman H. Brunk, Jr., overseer in the Harrisonburg district of Virginia Mennonite Conference; Ray Hurst, co-pastor of Community Mennonite Church; and Loren E. Swartzendruber, 91����Ƶ president, officiated at the service that included special music and storytelling.

In August 2003 Burkholder joined 91����Ƶ’s campus ministries team, which includes Byron J. Peachey and Julie A. Haushalter as associate campus pastors. The trio gives leadership to university chapel programming and other campus ministries events, works with students designated as pastoral and ministry assistants, helps students examine the relationship between their faith commitments and their life