Stutzman taught at Eastern Mennonite Seminary (EMS) as associate professor of church ministries starting in 1998, and served as academic dean of the seminary from July 2000 to December 2009. He then led Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) as executive director from 2010 until his retirement in 2018. 

He was known by many as a master woodworker, skilled handyman, prolific author, disciplined goal-setter and writer of life-purpose statements, problem solver and mentor, teacher and preacher, and loving husband, father, and grandfather. He is also remembered for his seemingly limitless reserve of energy, his deep commitment to Christ and the church, and the close relationships he formed with those he worked with and served. 

Stutzman died on June 3, 2025, at age 72 from complications following a five-year battle with cancer. A memorial service was held on June 8 at Park View Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, where he was an active member. View a recording of the service, along with the full obituary, on the church’s website here:

“Ervin was deeply committed to the church and to preparing seminary students to serve and lead in pastoral and other roles,” said Dr. Loren Swartzendruber, president of 91����Ƶ from 2003 to 2016. “He was a gifted administrator who contributed wisdom and energy to the entire university while serving as dean of the seminary. He was also a much-loved professor and mentor to many students.”

Professor Emeritus Lonnie Yoder, who was on the seminary faculty from 1991 to 2021, described Stutzman as a caring administrator and “very supportive dean.” “He was incredibly committed to his role and to the relationships he had with faculty and students,” Yoder said. “He was very purpose-driven. He believed we should all develop life-purpose statements and encouraged all of us to work on them.”

Stutzman himself had written a life-purpose statement that he often referenced, Yoder said. According to an by MC USA, part of Stutzman’s statement read: “In response to God’s love expressed in Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, I purpose to follow after God with all my heart … so that God may be glorified in my life at all times and in every way.”

“He was one of the most highly disciplined people I think I’ve ever met,” Yoder said. “I was always amazed at his capacity to do everything that he did.”

Among Stutzman’s contributions to EMS was a $2 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to develop the LEAP (Learning, Experiencing, And Participating) Program. The initiative, which began in 2003, aimed to help high school students hone their leadership skills, explore Christ-centered theological studies and pastoral ministry, and engage in intercultural learning experiences (with travels to countries including Zimbabwe, Jamaica, and Colombia).

“The key was that Ervin, and it was a stroke of genius by him, wanted the program to be characterized by diversity,” Yoder said. “It allowed high school-age youth to get outside their comfort zone and engage with other talented and committed youth. In that sense, I think Ervin was ahead of his time.”

Stutzman was born on April 27, 1953, in an Amish home in Kalona, Iowa, to Emma and Tobias Stutzman. He grew up in Hutchinson, Kansas, where his family moved after his father’s death when Stutzman and his twin, Erma, were just three years old. He was the only one in his family to graduate from high school.

Stutzman received his PhD in rhetoric and communication from Temple University (1993), MA degrees in religion from EMS (1999) and communications from the University of Cincinnati (1979), and a BA in Christian ministries from Cincinnati Bible College (1978).

He wrote several historical novelizations of true Amish stories, including those of his parents’ lives, Emma: A Widow Among the Amish and Tobias of the Amish, and Return to Northkill, a three-book series on the life of his ancestor, Jacob Hochstedler. He also wrote several other books about Mennonite history, life, and thought.

Professor Emeritus Dorothy Jean Weaver, who joined the seminary faculty in 1984 and retired in 2018, noted Stutzman’s productive nature. “The fact that, in the midst of everything else he was doing, he wrote all those books, shows some real commitment and focus,” she said. 

Weaver co-led a 2007 study tour to the Holy Land that Stutzman and his wife, Bonnie, joined and recalled that the couple were part of a small group that climbed the steep slopes of Mount Tabor on foot. “I was always a little worried that Ervin would assume the rest of us had the same level of energy he had,” she said. 

Another vivid memory Weaver has of the former EMS dean is of the beautifully handmade wooden crafts that Ervin and Bonnie gifted seminary faculty and staff each Christmas. One of those gifts, a domed wooden paperweight inscribed with the EMS motif and initialed “ERS ’06,” remains on some office desks in the Seminary Building today nearly 19 years after being given. 

“I think of him being well-placed in this seminary because he was naturally gifted as a strong administrator and he cared ever so deeply about the church,” Weaver said. “He was the right person at the right place.” 

At EMS, Stutzman succeeded George Brunk III ’61, SEM ’64 as dean. He was followed by Dr. Michael King ’76, who became dean in July 2010 after a six-month interim term by Sara Wenger Shenk. Before becoming dean, King, as owner of Cascadia Publishing House, had worked with Stutzman to prepare his book, Tobias of the Amish, for publication. “In that sense, I had a lot of opportunity to get to know him,” King said.

“He was a very hard worker,” King said. “He was passionate about fulfilling his assignments as a leader.”

One of the most challenging roles of the dean’s job is to maintain accreditation with the Association of Theological Schools (EMS has been an accredited member since 1986), as well as the support of the United Methodist Church for training its Methodist students. Both of those accreditations were key to maintaining a student body in numbers high enough for EMS to remain successful and viable.

“During my tenure, I worked closely on both accreditations, always building on the work Ervin had done,” said King, dean of EMS from 2010 to 2017. “I always knew I owed a tremendous debt to the very careful work Ervin had done in setting the stage in prior accreditations.”

While dean, King was an advisory council member of the seminary’s Preaching Institute, a program Stutzman established and chaired that provides pastors and lay leaders with an opportunity to develop their preaching skills. “That was an excellent experience,” King said. “I believe it may be on hiatus at this point, but it was a very valuable program in its day.”

Ervin married Bonita “Bonnie” Lee Haldeman MA ’05 (church leadership) of Manheim, Pennsylvania, in 1974. Together, they served as volunteers for Rosedale Mennonite Missions in Cincinnati for five years.

In 1982, at age 29, Ervin moved with his young family to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and became associate pastor of Mount Joy Mennonite Church, while also serving as the associate director for Home Ministries at Eastern Mennonite Missions. Just 18 months later, he began a half-time role as district overseer for Lancaster Mennonite Conference, and from 1991 to 2000, he served as their conference moderator.

“As I recall, he once joked that he lived his adult life in decades,” Yoder said. “He was involved in Lancaster Mennonite Conference for a decade, and then EMS for a decade, and then MC USA for a decade, approximately.”

Bonnie, who supported Ervin as his wife for 51 years, described him as “everyone’s dream of a husband—he would do whatever needed to get done.” At their home just a handful of blocks from campus, Ervin built all the cabinets, countertops, bookshelves, and furniture. She said he spent six months creating a 290-page, leather-bound book of journal entries, photos, and reflections as a gift for their 50th anniversary. “He was always teaching himself new skills,” she said.

“He was a visionary,” she said, “a big-picture person.”

In their retirement, Ervin and Bonnie biked thousands of miles on their e-bikes and traveled the country in their RV. Before he died, he wrote a yet-unpublished memoir.

“He was nourished by being outdoors, eating good food, regular church attendance, a spiritual life of prayer and contemplation, and keeping peace with fellow people,” Bonnie said. “He was a man of integrity.”

Ervin was preceded in death by his son Daniel Tobias Stutzman. His beloved spouse Bonita survives, as do two children: Emma Ruth (Stutzman) Dawson (Iowa City, Iowa), along with her sons Felix Tobias Dawson and Caius Lysander Dawson, and Benjamin Lee Stutzman and his wife Andrea Joy (Kniss) Stutzman (Harrisonburg, VA), along with their children Eva René Stutzman and Evan Rafael Stutzman. His twin Erma Mae (Stutzman) Yoder (Ephrata, PA) is his only surviving sibling.

Portions of this article are from the on Ervin Stutzman. 

When Eastern Mennonite Seminary needed to raise funds for a new building in the late ’80s, students stepped up as they had in times of past need: with an auction. Perusing the items, Dean  III ’61, SEM ’64 was struck by the charm of a butter churn, hand-painted by Harold G. Stoltzfus ’76. The lettering on the churn commemorated the Oct. 13, 1989, auction and included the school motto , as well as a listing of all the previous deans, including Brunk.

“I certainly wanted to donate and this just caught my eye,” said Brunk, who pulled the churn from his office where it has sat ever since for a .

Brunk is the third generation to contribute — spiritually, financially, intellectually and academically — to the institution. Beginning in 1912, his grandfather bishop George R. Brunk I  provided the most articulate and persuasive arguments for why Mennonites in the eastern states needed to establish a conservative school. Historian Don Kraybill calls this man, “a self-educated, brilliant theologian,” one of the unsung heroes of the institution.

, Brunk’s father, was seminary dean from 1967-76, served more than 65 years in pastoral ministry and was active in churchwide crusades, writing and Bible conference work.

This academic year, 91����Ƶ celebrates , the embodiment of a vision of Mennonite leaders in Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania for an institution of higher learning for the training of the denomination’s youth. Though the seminary was formalized in 1965, Bible classes were a mainstay of the early institution’s curriculum.

Curriculum growth

As early as 1918, courses at the college level were offered in advanced biblical training. During the next ten years, there was an appreciable increase in college offerings.

By 1937, a four-year Bible program was instituted and within several years it was increased to five years. In the 1948-49 academic year, the Bachelor of Theology curriculum – a two-year post-graduate program – was added. The following years witnessed the continued growth of the program and its gradual development into a division distinct from the college.

In 1960, the curriculum was expanded to encompass three years of study and the Bachelor of Divinity degree was offered for the first time. The Master of Divinity degree was first offered in 1968-69 and the Master of Arts in Religion degree in 1972-73. A one-year program leading to a Certificate in Biblical Studies was first offered in 1974-75. The Master of Arts in Church Ministries emerged as part of a major seminary curriculum revision in 1983-84, and was changed to the Master of Arts in Church Leadership in 1991 [this program is now the MA in Christian Leadership]. A Clinical Pastoral Education Program was added in 1999.

Seminary buildings

The seminary’s first permanent home was the former industrial arts building, a brick structure built in 1941. The seminary moved into this facility in 1968. The following year, the building was completely renovated, and additional classroom and office space was added in 1971.

In 1986 a “Seminary Annex” provided additional classroom space. The following year, the “Seminary Commons” became available.

Fundraising for a new seminary building began in 1989.

When ground was broken in 1992, $3.27 million had been committed in cash, pledges and deferred gifts. Another $1.2 million remained to be raised, including $450,000 for an endowment fund. At a point when fundraising seemed stymied on a plateau short of the amount needed to finish the building seminary students jumped into the effort, launching a “mustard seed campaign” and asking individuals to pledge $1,500 each.

By the fall of 1993 when the seminary opened, all funds were in hand or committed, with the bulk coming from individual donors and their estates. 91����Ƶ $500,000 came from foundations. With a total contribution of $637,000, Richard E. Martin from the class of 1933 was the decisive donor.

He also donated a stained-glass window (pictured at right) for the chapel in honor of his wife, Edith.

The seminary’s Martin Chapel, with its adjacent fellowship hall financed by Levi and Lillis Troyer, is used on a daily basis for worship services, meetings, and special events.

Formalized in 1965

In 1965, Eastern Mennonite Seminary adopted its formal name and an acting dean was appointed. As mentioned above, George Brunk II was the first dean, from 1966-76. Richard Detweiler served as interim dean for 1976-77, at which time George Brunk III became dean and served until 1999. He was followed by Ervin Stutzman through 2009 and then Michael King through 2017. University provost Fred Kniss is currently interim dean.

Since the 1970s, Eastern Mennonite Seminary has offered credit for various pastoral training programs by extension in southeastern Pennsylvania. In 2008, the EMS extension located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, was approved as a complete degree site.

Eastern Mennonite Seminary is a graduate division of 91����Ƶ. The seminary is an accredited member of the Association of Theological Schools since 1986. It is approved as an institution for the training of candidates for ordination in the United Methodist Church. Eligible students may receive educational benefits from the Veterans Administration.

Portions of this article were first published in Crossroads magazine.

“Discernment together begins with love for one another and is informed by knowledge and insight,” said keynote speaker , executive director of the . “We put the interests of others above ourselves, yielding ourselves to the group and to God. If we already know the answer, we are not in the place of discernment.”

Under the topic “Discerning Together, Shaping the Future,” the seminary’s attracted a record number of 340 registrants, who could partake of 15 workshops and talks Jan. 20-22.

The topic had gained momentum in the previous few months within MC USA congregations and conferences, partly fueled by two new developments: (1) 91����Ƶ’s announcement of a regarding hiring practices for non-celibate homosexuals and (2) a decision by the to .

The pressing need for discernment on same-sex questions was broached in a surprisingly touching way – with an , in which participants quietly offered their fears and hopes to God in a ritual that brought tears to the eyes of many.

One of the featured speakers, – author, teacher and founder of the in Wheaton, Ill. – described discernment as 75 percent preparation, 25 percent practice. “A common mistake in discernment processes is to take undiscerning individuals and expect them to be discerning,” she said. “Just because a person is a successful lawyer or business owner does not mean they have the skills for discernment. Discernment begins with spiritually formed leaders who are intentionally attuned to the Holy Spirit.”

Barton said that corporate discernment needs leaders who spend time in prayer, scripture, solitude, self-examination, and their own personal discernment. These leaders should share with each other their individual experiences of discernment as they prepare for corporate discernment.

“No matter what else we do,” said Barton, “we exist to do the will of God.” She said discerning leaders are able to pray the prayer of indifference, being willing to let go of their own agenda in order to seek God’s will.

“Spiritual discernment is a concrete activity that opens us to what is beyond ourselves,” Barton said. “Many aspects of God’s will are already clear, like unity, love, truth-telling, kindness, respect and confession of sin. These serve as guiding principles and values for discernment.”

Barton outlined a process for discernment in meetings that is very different from secular models of decision-making like Roberts Rules of Order.

“Discernment is like standing outside before the sun comes up,” said Ervin Stutzman. “You see something in the distance. Is it a dog? Is it a coyote? Is it a wolf? You need to shed light, to distinguish what it is. Discernment is seeking the light to distinguish what is best.”

Barton and Stutzman agreed that the process begins with information gathering, as with most decision-making processes. However, then the group spends time listening to God and to each other through honest sharing, listening, prayer, and time spent in silence.

Often, according to Barton, the time spent in intentional silence is key to the decision-making process. “After 30 minutes of silence when each member of the group spends time seeking God, often a way forward emerges,” said Barton.

“If the group is ready to respond, each member is asked to voice their level of agreement, either completely agree, agree with some reservations, don’t agree but will defer to the process of the group, or don’t agree at all. If people don’t agree, then the process begins again. Unity is the marker that God’s will is being done.”

“Discernment processes can be difficult, messy and very painful,” said Stutzman. “But they can also be very rewarding and exciting.”

On the contrary, a highlight of the three days appeared to be a worship service where the whole person was engaged. It was titled “Offering the Elephant in the Room to the Holy Spirit.”

Participants were invited to imagine themselves in the presence of Jesus, and then to imagine themselves in the presence of Jesus with someone with whom they disagree. Each person wrote down hopes and fears for themselves and for the person with whom they disagreed and at the end came forward and placed their hopes and fears at the foot of the cross.

“This worship service created time and space for the Spirit to move among us.” said Beth Yoder, associate pastor at . “I know without doubt that the full gamut of beliefs about this question was represented.”

And yet, at the end of the service these people with disparate beliefs gathered together, prayed together, and wept together at the foot of the cross.

Brian Miller, pastor at , said: “This was a space that is about the prayer of unknowing, a space that is more about yieldedness than control, a space of deep listening, and a space that is about finding a third way.”

As each person in the room remembered their own relationship with God and then remembered that even those who vehemently disagree with them are also beloved children of God, tears flowed and the group sang, “Don’t be afraid, my love is stronger than your fear.”

“There were tears throughout the room, sometimes quiet sobbing, as each of us felt our own vulnerability and need for God’s Spirit – our fears and hopes for the church, for beloved people,” said Yoder.

Participants acknowledged their own hopes and fears, perhaps for the first time giving words to deep emotion. Through the work and the mystery of the Holy Spirit the experience went beyond argument, beyond disagreement.

As a result, in Yoder’s words, “the bars of the iron cage of rationality were loosened a little bit.”

Ervin Stutzman, executive director of , was among the church leaders who spent time praying together at the foot of the cross. “As I humbled myself before the cross, I experienced the power and comfort of a Christian community, grateful that God has redeemed a church, not just individuals.”

, MDiv ‘98, worship coordinator for the annual school, explained that the purpose of the service was to “begin the healing process for the ways that people have experienced pain surrounding this issue.”

Yoder summarized it well: “We did not decide or discern anything, but we did create time and space for God’s Spirit to be with us. And that is a very good place to start.”

To see worship resources for this event, held Jan. 20-22, 2014, and all of the worship services for School for Leadership Training visit .

will focus on the theory and practice of discernment at all levels, from personal to denominational. The three-day workshop takes place Jan., 20-22.

, associate professor of organizational studies at the , will guide participants through three case studies on discernment at various levels of church. Workshops, worship and large group sessions will help participants get a broad view of discernment in various contexts. In addition, keynote speakers Ervin Stutzman and Ruth Haley Barton will offer conclusions from their recent books.

“The church is in the midst of massive cultural and social shifts which often create conflict in congregations,” said , Seminary dean. “School for Leadership Training this year is part of our on-going desire to train leaders and congregations to discern God’s call in the midst of these shifts.”

Ruth Haley Barton is an award-winning author, sought-after teacher and conference speaker and the founder of the based in Wheaton, Ill. Her books include Pursuing God’s Will Together: A Discernment Practice for Leadership Groups and Strengthening the Soul of your Leadership: Seeking God in the Crucible of Ministry.

Ervin Stutzman is executive director of . His most recent book Discerning God’s Will Together: Biblical Interpretation in the Free Church Tradition will be the basis of his plenary address.

More information and registration is available at: .

Basil Marin has a divine education

Carolyn Yoder (above), director of STAR, issued an invitation to university faculty to attend a mini-STAR workshop.

The STAR program grew out of response to the events of September 11th, 2001. Initially designed to support religious caregivers in the New York City area who needed assistance helping people through the trauma of the event and its aftermath, the program has now served more than 800 religious leaders and caregivers of all faiths. Starting in February 2002, leaders and caregivers from the U.S. and around the world, from different faith and spiritual orientations, came together for five-day seminars on campus.

Since the beginning of STAR, additional activities have been developed to increase effectiveness; contextualized introductory seminars have taken place in Columbia, Northern Ireland, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, and several other training, coaching and consulting initiatives have also been developed.

This Mini-Star Workshop will include a presentation of the STAR model, experiential exercises, and a time to reflect theologically on the model from an Anabaptist perspective. The schedule is as follows:

Friday, March 4

• 9 a.m. -12 p.m.
  Defining Trauma and Part I of the STAR Model: Trauma Healing Journey — Breaking the Cycles of Victimhood and Violence.
• 1 – 4 p.m.
  Part II of STAR model and Symbols of Trauma

Friday, March 18

• 9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
  Responses to the Trauma Healing Model, “Anabaptizing” participants and Symbols of Hope.

91����Ƶ faculty interested in reserving a space at the workshop should contact Sharon Forret in the STAR office at sharon.forret@emu.edu or at (540) 432-4651. Preference will be given to those who can attend both days.

The invitation was issued jointly by Carolyn Yoder, Director, STAR and Kenton Derstine, Eastern Mennonite Seminary Faculty and STAR advisory board member.