The 4th Annual , sponsored by the (encompassing those who work with “moving pixels”), was founded by David E. Carter, originator of the well-known Telly Awards for film/video work.

Weaving Life was produced by last spring, in cooperation with . The documentary began airing on ABC-TV affiliates on Oct. 21, with the last airing on Dec. 16.

Weaving Life tells how Terry wove relationships, joy, partnership and understanding into his lifelong work in Afghanistan. Terry, a 64-year-old United Methodist, was among 10 humanitarian aid workers assassinated in Afghanistan in August 2010. was among the slain workers.

The documentary shows the way Terry set out to build bridges where “everyone else was blowing them up,” says production consultant and storyteller Jonathan Larson. “He spans the chasms of suspicion, religious hatred and outright warfare, with patient bonds of trust and openness.”

, media arts and peacebuilding professor at 91����Ƶ, oversaw the 16 students who produced the documentary, with help from classmates in a motion graphics course taught by , PhD, professor of visual and communication arts. Unable to go to Afghanistan to get new video footage for the documentary, the students relied on photos, numerous motion graphics and effects, and videotaped interviews to illustrate the story.

The highest Pixie award is a platinum award for entries scoring 9 or higher on a 10 point scale; those scoring 7 to 8.9 points qualify for a gold award. More information is available at

Terry’s story is also the focus of a book, . The book is available for $15.99 (25 percent off for group study) and the documentary is available for $14.99 from . More information on the program and book is also available at

MennoMedia, which produces documentaries through participation in the , worked with 91����Ƶ intern Justin Roth to complete the documentary to meet ABC-TV specifications for airing this fall.

Dan Terry devoted his life to helping Afghan people.

For nearly four decades, the humanitarian aid worker coordinated small-scale community development projects throughout the struggling country until his murder in 2010.

“I never know how to describe what my dad did. Every time I called him, he was doing something different,” said his daughter, Anneli Terry-Nelson, 30. “He was a networker. He knew someone who could do something someone needed to be done and could link them up over a cup of tea.”

The 64-year-old was among 10 humanitarian aid workers murdered on Aug. 5, 2010, as they were returning to Kabul from a medical relief trip in the northern part of Afghanistan.

91����Ƶ alum Glen Lapp and Harrisonburg resident Brian Carderelli also were killed in the ambush.

On Friday night at the MainStage Theater in University Commons, 16 91����Ƶ students from the university’s visual and communication arts department unveiled a 57-minute documentary, “Weaving Life,” which portrayed Terry’s life.

Paulette Moore, a media arts and peace building professor, thought of the idea for the documentary after one of Terry’s friends, Jonathan Larson, spoke during a university chapel service.

“Those killings affected our community, the Mennonite community, greatly,” Moore said. “We were part of that story.”

Kelby Miller, a 22-year-old senior from Sarasota, Fla., served as the senior producer for the project.

The film depicts Terry’s unique approach to humanitarianism.

“I hope the documentary shows people Dan’s different ways of doing things,” Miller said. “He wasn’t just worried about giving them things but [also] making relationships.”

Justin Roth, a 21-year-old senior from Bettsville, Ohio, served as the project’s editor. Roth said he learned a great deal about Terry’s life during the semester-long project.

“We learned a whole lot about Dan through the stories of other people,” he said.

MennoMedia, which produces documentaries through the National Programming Committee of the National Council of Churches, plans to prepare the film for airing on ABC television stations this fall.

91����Ƶ (91����Ƶ) students, intrigued by Terry’s story of commitment and humility, will present a documentary, “Weaving Life,” that explores his life, work and tragic death, Friday, April 27 at 6 p.m. in the .

“Dan and his family spent 40 years devoted to the people, the culture, and the landscapes of Afghanistan,” said , media arts and peacebuilding professor at 91����Ƶ who oversaw the 16 students who worked on the documentary.

Glen Lapp, , and Brian Carderelli, a videographer and resident of Harrisonburg, were among the 10 workers who were killed along with Terry. The team was returning to Kabul from a medical relief trip to northern Afghanistan when they were ambushed.

Special guests at the Friday showing will include members of the Terry, Lapp and Carderelli families, as well as Jonathan Larson, an international aid worker and life-long friend of Dan Terry.

A talkback after the viewing, which is 57 minutes long, will provide opportunity for audience members to interact with the student producers and special guests.

The student production team spent the spring semester gathering video footage, photos and stories, as well as conducting interviews across the U.S.

The showing is free and open to the public.

This event is jointly hosted by the 91����Ƶ Visual and Communication Arts department, 91����Ƶ’s and , also located in Harrisonburg.

MennoMedia, which produces documentaries through participation in the Electronic Programming Committee of the , will prepare the student-produced video for airing on ABC stations in the fall.

“From the moment I was announced as one of the core recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize, every night and morning I say my prayers [and] I ask, ‘Lord, keep me humble,'” said , a 2007 master’s degree graduate in conflict transformation. “By being humble I hope to touch more lives and can be an example for the next generation of peacebuilders.”

Describing 1991 grad , a former supervisor was quoted in an 91����Ƶ publication as saying, “Glen Lapp was the ideal nurse, very self contained and capable, as well as extremely compassionate—and above all, humble about it.”

Over its , 91����Ƶ held several events centering on its recognition of – she gave talks to public audiences five times over the weekend. Gbowee is the first Nobel Prize winner in the school’s 94-year history. Gbowee led a women’s movement that was instrumental in ending 14 years of civil war in Liberia in 2003. She is co-founder and executive director of Women, Peace and Security Network Africa.

Lapp, a volunteer with , was killed on Aug. 5, 2010, with nine others on the same team. They were returning from a difficult trip in which they provided health care in a rural mountainous region of Afghanistan. 91����Ƶ awarded its annual , the first time the university has ever given an alumni award posthumously. Lapp’s parents, Marvin and Mary Lapp of Lancaster, Pa., and other family members accepted the award on his behalf.

A Noble Alumna – Leymah Gbowee ’07

During one of her weekend speeches, Gbowee said she will continue to pray for God’s blessing to stay humble with the continued media coverage and requests for interviews. In tongue-in-cheek fashion, later remarked that Gbowee was henceforth going to be in the worldwide spotlight due to receiving the Alumna of the Year award from 91����Ƶ. The audience of hundreds laughed heartily at the thought that being “alumnus of the year” might overshadow her .

“As a peacebuilder we can never hold onto anger,” said Gbowee. “My journey has taken me many places. I have seen many things to make me angry and break my heart, but as I step from one place to another I see that if we must change our communities, change the world, [then] anger, pain and thoughts of evil cannot be a part of our mindset.”

A central figure in the peace movement that brought an end to the Liberian Civil war, Gbowee came to 91����Ƶ in 2004 for three classes in the and then returned to the in 2005 to participate in a round-table of . She completed her MA in conflict transformation in 2007. In a press conference at the beginning of the weekend, Gbowee credited 91����Ƶ with helping her to heal from the traumas she had experienced and with developing an understanding of the roots of violent conflict from a worldwide perspective.

“Leymah Gbowee mobilized and organized women across ethnic and religious dividing lines to bring an end to the long war in Liberia, and to ensure women’s participation in elections,” noted the in announcing the award. “She has since worked to enhance the influence of women in West Africa during and after war.”

Gbowee co-founded with a fellow SPI alumna, Thelma Ekiyor of Nigeria. In her memoir, “,” Gbowee discloses additional 91����Ƶ connections that influenced her work, including CJP professors , John Paul Lederach and .

“In honoring Leymah, you also honor Liberia,” said William V.S. Bull, Liberia’s Ambassador to the United States, during remarks following a celebratory luncheon with award recipient family and friends. “Thank you, 91����Ƶ, for fostering peace and providing training for peacebuilding among people of this world.”

More information on Gbowee and her ties to 91����Ƶ can be found at

A Distinguished Alumnus – Glen Lapp ’91

The words “compassionate, caring and humble” were used throughout Homecoming weekend when describing 40-year-old Glen Lapp.

The Distinguished Service award recognizes a life that “exemplified selfless service,” according to Duane Ringer, Lapp’s former colleague at Lancaster Regional Medical Center. In a prepared statement, the Lapp family said, “Glen was always looking ahead to the next thing and always felt there was something more he could be doing.”

Lapp and nine other workers from IAM were ambushed, robbed and killed when driving Land Rovers over rough mountainous terrain to return to Kabul after a relief trip in northern Afghanistan. Volunteering with MCC and assigned to IAM, Lapp was an executive assistant and the manager of its provincial ophthalmic program.  Lapp’s perspective on his assignment was recorded in his last report submitted to MCC: “[T]he main thing that expats can do is to be a presence in the country, treating people with respect and with love and trying to be a little bit of Christ in this part of the world.”

While at 91����Ƶ, Lapp’s passion for life spilled into the gym. “Glen was probably the best setter we ever had, or close to it” said , assistant professor of education and former men’s volleyball coach. “Glen was the kind of person that everybody just followed because he was also very humble. I remember him being involved with people, caring about them. And I remember how focused he was. You knew that Glen would go on to do something important but you didn’t know what that would be. He had a concern for people and the world, you could see it back then.”

Lapp graduated from 91����Ƶ as a math major and four years later earned a second bachelor’s degree, this time in nursing, at Johns Hopkins University. He did various types of work before volunteering in Afghanistan, including providing care to people of the Havasupai Nation in Supai, Arizona, and helping in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Trina Trotter Nussbaum ’99, who nominated Lapp for the 91����Ƶ award, wrote, “What a fitting way to honor his life’s work! He offered his life up for service like Jesus did and ended up losing it, like Jesus did. Who knows how many people have been touched and inspired because of Glen’s witness and sacrifice?”

Lapp may best be summed up by 91����Ƶ President Loren Swartzendruber, who stated during Saturday’s opening presentation, “the world needs more people like Glen.”

History of the Awards

The Alumnus of the Year Award, begun in 1967, recognizes an 91����Ƶ graduate who has made a recent major achievement in his or her profession. The Distinguished Service Award seeks to honor an alumnus who “demonstrates in notable ways the Christian service and peacemaking emphases of the university.”

Photos, podcasts, and other information on the Homecoming and Family Weekend can be found at

91����Ƶ 150 friends and family members turned out Saturday night, Aug. 14, to honor the memory of Glen Lapp, the aid worker from Lancaster who was killed Aug. 5 in Afghanistan.

Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster held a visitation for Lapp, who was killed along with nine other workers while returning from a trip to provide eye care to villagers in northern Afghanistan.

The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the killings.

Read more on .

When Lisa Schirch was in Afghanistan a few weeks ago, she turned to a friend and fellow Mennonite to show her around the war-torn capital, Kabul.

Glen Lapp in Afghanistan (photo courtesy of Lisa Schirch)

Glen Lapp, a nurse, was the only other Mennonite she knew in Kabul, but they had more in common than a faith. They both shared a desire to help Afghans make their country a better, more peaceful place.

What Schirch could not have known at the time was that it would be the last time she would see her friend, a 1991 91����Ƶ graduate.

Lapp’s life was cut short on Friday, when he and nine other aid workers with a Christian charity were gunned down in northern Afghanistan, according to published reports and the Mennonite Central Committee, one of the nonprofit organizations for which Lapp worked.

“It’s devastating,” said Schirch, an 91����Ƶ professor who teaches peacebuilding in the Valley and in Afghanistan. “He knew he was taking a risk and he was very willing to do that. I think he died doing what he believed in and he was willing to take that risk. He was helping a lot of people.”

Attack from Taliban?

Lapp, 40, of Lancaster, Penn., along with five other Americans, a German, a Briton and four Afghans, were found shot in Badakhshan province, known as a relatively peaceful area of Afghanistan.

Although the Taliban claimed responsibility, police say they are also looking into robbery as a possible motive. Schirch and others with MCC cast doubt as to whether the Taliban actually carried out the attack, one of the deadliest on civilian aid workers since the war began in 2001.

Lapp and his team were returning to Kabul from a trip to northern Afghanistan with International Assistance Mission, an MCC partner agency that provides eye care and other medical assistance. Lapp was an executive assistant with IAM and manager of its provincial ophthalmic program, according to a statement from MCC.

Luke Schrock-Hurst, a staff member at the committee’s Harrisonburg office, said Lapp had been in Afghanistan for nearly two years and was set to return to the U.S. in October. Lapp, whose family is from Lancaster, Penn., was not married and had no children, Schrock-Hurst said.

Attacks on aid workers in Afghanistan and other war zones are relatively rare. Lapp is just the third MCC worker to die due to hostile action in the organization’s 90-year history.

“There’s been thousands of us in war zones,” Schrock-Hurst said. “I’ve been [in such zones] myself.”

Being ‘A Presence’

Loren Swartzendruber, 91����Ƶ president, said the university is grieving over Lapp’s death, along with his family and MCC.

Watch video:

“As with many of our alumni around the world, Glen was fulfilling 91����Ƶ’s mission of serving and leading in a global context, which often involves great personal sacrifice,” Swartzendruber said in a statement.

Schirch, who plans to return to Afghanistan in October, described her friend as compassionate, humble and “devoted to using his life to serve others.”

Lapp’s perspective on his work was recorded in a report he recently filed.

“Where I was [Afghanistan], the main thing that expats can do is to be a presence in the country,” he wrote. “Treating people with respect and with love and trying to be a little bit of Christ in this part of the world.”

As of Sunday evening, information about funeral arrangements or local memorials was not available.

Updated August 12, 2010

Jump to memorial service information

An 91����Ƶ graduate working for Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) in Afghanistan, Glen D. Lapp of Lancaster, Pa., was murdered during a shooting incident in Afghanistan’s northeastern Badakhshan province.

According to an , Lapp, 40, was traveling with a medical team of four Afghans, six Americans, one Briton and one German. All, including Lapp, worked with MCC partner organization , a charity providing eye care and medical help in Afghanistan.

Local police found 10 bodies on Friday next to abandoned vehicles and said robbery might have been the motive. The Taliban has said it is behind the attack, according to the MCC release.

Lapp a 1991 91����Ƶ graduate

IAM, which has worked in the country since 1966, regularly dispatched “eye camp” medical teams in Afghanistan. Lapp, a 1991 mathematics graduate from 91����Ƶ who went on to study nursing at Johns Hopkins, had been working as executive assistant at IAM and manager of IAM’s provincial ophthalmic care program.

Watch video:

“The 91����Ƶ community joins the Lapp family and Mennonite Central Committee in grieving the deaths of Glen Lapp and his colleagues while serving the people of Afghanistan,” said Loren Swartzendruber, 91����Ƶ president. “As with many of our alumni around the world, Glen was fulfilling 91����Ƶ’s mission of serving and leading in a global context, which often involves great personal sacrifice.”

‘A little bit of Christ in this part of the world’

According to MCC, Lapp was to complete his term in October, and recently wrote about it in a report, “Where I was [Afghanistan], the main thing that expats can do is to be a presence in the country. Treating people with respect and with love and trying to be a little bit of Christ in this part of the world.”

Professor Lisa Schirch traveled with Lapp

Dr. Lisa Schirch, professor of peacebuilding at 91����Ƶ’s graduate Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, worked and traveled with Lapp in Kabul. In an interview August 8, Schirch told that she and Lapp had many conversations about the risks involved with humanitarian work in Afghanistan, but he believed the needs of the people there outweighed personal risks. “There’s not a lot of medical assistance available to people in those remote areas [where Lapp was killed].”

Schirch said the killing of IAM workers in Afghanistan is not common.

“The Taliban is a very diverse group,” Schirch said Sunday. “[These killings] are not necessarily the official Taliban line. Normally they leave medical missions alone . . . IAM operated under Taliban rule in the 1990s. It’s unusual that he died in this way,” she said, suggesting that the killings may have been motivated by robbery, as opposed to strategic insurgent military operations.

Schirch hopes that Americans realize the scope of humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan, and the ongoing needs of the Afghan people, many of whom put themselves at risk alongside Americans like Lapp.

“Glen found the work that he did to be very meaningful. I hope that his life is an inspiration to people to continue the work that he was doing there.”

Lapp was the son of Marvin and Mary Lapp, and a member of Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster, Pa., a Mennonite Church USA congregation.

Memorial service

The memorial service for Glen will be held at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 15 at Bright Side Baptist Church (515 Hershey Avenue, Lancaster).

A visitation time with the Lapp family will be held from 6-9 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 14 at Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster (328 W. Orange St, Lancaster). People are encouraged to ride bikes to any of these services, and wear shorts in honor of Glen.

In the Sunday service where members became aware of Glen’s death, the hymn O Healing River was sung in his memory.

Read more of the to Glen’s death.

More info

• Watch video:

• Daily News-Record coverage: In Face Of Violence, Aid Workers Find ‘Something More Important’

• Daily News-Record coverage: 91����Ƶ Grad Glen Lapp Murdered In Afghanistan: Among 10 Humanitarians Killed Friday