The service was co-sponsored by Eastern Mennonite Seminary and led by graduate students Makinto and Mukarabe Makinto-Inandava. It included musical selections from Makinto, as well as the 91短视频 Gospel Choir led by Kay Pettus ’25, and biblical readings from Mukarabe.

Reflections on Easter were shared by English Professor Dr. Kevin Seidel, who teaches and writes about the changing relationship between religion, secularism, and literature. His message, titled 鈥淲omen Explain Things to Me: A Sermon on Luke 24,” focused not so much on Jesus’ bodily resurrection from the dead but on the “slow, difficult coming to terms with the significance of the resurrection by Jesus’ followers as portrayed in Luke 24.”

鈥淚n Luke, the resurrection of Jesus isn鈥檛 a simple, triumphant end of the story, but a kind of difficult beginning that unfolds in the Book of Acts,鈥� Seidel said. 鈥淭he resurrection doesn鈥檛 settle debate among Jesus鈥� followers about who he is. The resurrection proves, I think, profoundly unsettling for them.鈥�

After the service, Seidel said he was glad for the chance to reflect on parts of the resurrection story in Luke 24. 鈥淭he service was a good way to mark and celebrate the beginning of the seven-week Easter season in the church calendar,鈥� he said.

University Chaplain Brian Martin Burkholder said Wednesday鈥檚 Easter celebration follows 91短视频鈥檚 practice of honoring and observing significant Christian traditions and holidays, including Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

鈥淭his morning, as we gathered, there was an opportunity for education about Easter,鈥� he said, 鈥渁s well as an invitation to worship in the spirit of Easter through Scripture, singing, and reflection.鈥�

Makinto, a frequent worship leader at chapel events, performed Jesus Is Risen, an original song he wrote in 2013, as the opening song for this year鈥檚 Easter worship service. The song tells the Easter story and connects it to our own lives, he said. 

鈥淪o, as he is risen, we as well can rise above all the challenges we have, above the pains we have, above the solitude we have, and also conquer death and situate ourselves squarely in life with our community around us,鈥� Makinto said.

Makinto and his wife, Mukarabe, moved from California to pursue degrees at Eastern Mennonite Seminary and the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, respectively. They are the directors of , an organization that connects people at the local and global levels for the purpose of development, unification, and spiritual and physical well-being.

University Chaplain Brian Martin Burkholder speaks during a campus worship service on Wednesday in Martin Chapel.

Mukarabe Makinto-Inandava reads a selection from Luke 24 (left). Members of the 91短视频 Gospel Choir (right) sing during Wednesday’s campus worship service.

91短视频 Campus Worship

Campus Worship is an invitational space for gathered worship in Christian traditions and a variety of styles. Services are held in Martin Chapel of the Seminary Building on Wednesday mornings every other week.聽

Campus worship continues with a final service of the academic year on April 22 recognizing 91短视频鈥檚 senior student chaplains: Emily Suarez Nunez, Dia Mekonnen, Sara Kennel, and Miranda Beidler. The event will be livestreamed on .

Watch a video recording of the service below!

Wednesday, Dec. 3

Campus Worship: Christmas Stories & Songs

Time: 10:15-11:05 a.m.
Location: Martin Chapel, 91短视频 Seminary Building

Come celebrate and share some of the stories and songs of Christmas with musicians Dr. Benjamin Bergey, Carina Groll, and Naomi Kratzer; student chaplain and seminary student readers; and Dr. Tim Reardon sharing reflections on the incarnation, God With Us. This event will be streamed on聽聽and remain available there.

Christmas Caroling at VMRC

Time: 5:10-6:30 p.m.
Location: Meet at the Black Lives Matter mural in front of University Commons

All are welcome to join Y-Serve and 91短视频 Hymn Sing leaders for a bit of Christmas caroling. Meet at the BLM mural to walk to the VMRC Woodland Homes neighborhood for caroling at several homes. Wear holiday festive clothing, earrings, hats or scarves. Song sheets will be provided.

Friday, Dec. 5 

Christmas Concert

Time: 7-9 p.m.
Location: Lehman Auditorium

Celebrate the holidays with the 91短视频 Music Department. With performances by the 91短视频 Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Ensemble, University Choir, and Chamber Singers, the evening is sure to bring joy and celebration.

Saturday, Dec. 6

Harrisonburg Holiday Parade

Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Along Main Street in Downtown Harrisonburg, Virginia
Online:

91短视频 will once again have a major presence in the annual Harrisonburg Holiday Parade as the new branded bus (read more about it here!) cruises down Main Street with students and staff handing out candy and plenty of Royal spirit. The parade will move south on Main Street starting at the Rockingham County Administration Center at 7 p.m. and ending at Harrisonburg City Hall.

Civil discourse is strained, the principles of democracy are challenged, and social movements have laid bare injustices in the world, he said. 

Speaking to a crowd gathered at Martin Chapel on Wednesday, Jan. 29, he said that 91短视频 students, rooted in the guiding verse of Micah 6:8 鈥� 鈥渄o justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God鈥� 鈥� are uniquely equipped to heal a broken and fractured world. And, he added, they鈥檙e called to bridge the gap between 鈥渢he world as it is and the world as it ought to be.鈥�

鈥淭hose convictions [in Micah 6:8], which I鈥檓 certain shine through in your courses, recognize that the good life calls us into the world to participate in the healing work of reconciliation and peacemaking,鈥� Roth said. 鈥溾�our calling, your vocation, regardless of your major, is really nothing more than to make God鈥檚 love and truth and healing visible in the world.鈥�

Roth, project director of MennoMedia鈥檚 initiative, presented on 鈥淲hat is the Good Life? Insights from a 500-Year-Old Tradition.鈥� Watch a video recording of his presentation .

Prior to his role at MennoMedia, Roth was a professor of history at Goshen College (1985-2022), where he also served as director of the Mennonite Historical Library and editor of the Mennonite Quarterly Review. He is the founding director of the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism at Goshen College.

His talk was the second of two campus worship services commemorating the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Anabaptist movement. Click for a video recording of the first service, 鈥淓xploring Virginia Mennonites: History, Faith and Culture鈥� from Phil Kniss, retired senior pastor of Park View Mennonite Church.

Starting on Thursday, Jan. 30, a series of weekly lectures will delve into the history of Anabaptism through the five centuries stretching back to 1525. Roth will speak about early Anabaptism in the 16th century at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Eastern Mennonite School auditorium. For more information about these lectures, visit the website .

Events like this one demonstrate 91短视频鈥檚 commitment to its core value of active faith. As a community, we seek to embody faith in action and serve and learn together to repair harm and restore hope. Shaped by Anabaptist-Mennonite beliefs and practices and the life and teachings of Jesus, we practice compassion, mutual love, and appreciation for the diversity of religious and cultural expressions represented in our community.