91短视频 junior Julia Johnson reflects on fellow New Zealand seminar participant Jason Marner. The red oak tree planted in Jason’s memory is in foreground. Photo by Lindsey Kolb

A group of some 100 supporters surrounded the tree Friday, Sept. 17, as tributes and reflections were shared on behalf of Jason Marner, 21, a spring 2010 graduate.

Jason receives his BS degree in business administration at 91短视频 commencement May 1. (Allen Showalter Photography)

Marner, a business administration graduate of 91短视频, had completed a two-year internship at Dynamic Aviation in neighboring Bridgewater while a student and had begun work there on Monday, June 28.

He transferred from Hesston (Kan.) College the fall of 2008 after completing an AA degree in aviation there. He was a 2006 graduate of Iowa Mennonite School, Kalona, and a member of Bethel Mennonite Church, Wayland, Iowa.

On Thursday morning of that week, Marner was riding his motorcycle between work sites and was into the path of an oncoming pickup truck on Airport Road.

‘A short story well-lived’

Friends left messages on a campus reflections blog, and traveled to his memorial in Iowa days later.

“Each of us is given one life to live. Some of us are allowed to live a long life, while others are cut short,” said Ken L. Nafziger, vice president for student life, in opening the ceremony. “Jason’s was a short story well-lived.”

Jason’s parents, Stan and Joann Marner of Brighton, Iowa, attended the ceremony.

Walt Surratt, assistant professor of business and economics who had Marner in several classes, said Jason “had a smile that lit up a room, a spark of spontaneity, was full of life in the way he related to others and possessed a deep and honest faith.”

Cross-cultural classmates pay tribute

After the entire group sang “Nothing is Lost on the Breath of God,” several members of the that Marner had taken part in earlier this summer paid tribute to their classmate.

“Jason knew where he stood on campus; his sense of self was contagious,” said Julia Johnson, 20, an 91短视频 junior nursing student from Harrisonburg. “This tree will serve as a reminder of Jason’s time spent on this campus, a grounded person.”

Jason Marner (second from left) with the 91短视频 cross-cultural group in New Zealand. (Andrew Shepherd)

Cross-cultural group members added spades of dirt around the tree as country artist Brad Paisley’s “When I Get Where I’m Going” played in the background. They closed the program by singing “Te Aroha” in the Mari language.

Many persons lingered after the ceremony in the warm late morning sun, expressing words of care and comfort to each other.

Brian Martin Burkholder, campus pastor, leads the 91短视频 hymn, "Christ of the Mountain, be our Word." Photo by Jon Styer

So, why are you here?

A rather strange question, perhaps, for the president of 91短视频 to ask those who filled Lehman Auditorium Wednesday, Aug. 27, for the opening convocation of fall semester, but he had good reason.

"Most of us think about education in terms of what it will do for us, Loren Swartzendruber said. "What we will learn that will be useful for our future. what we can achieve, a particular goal that becomes more concrete.

"At 91短视频, we frequently talk about the educational enterprise as grounded in the liberal arts – the idea that an educated person is liberated’ from the confines of ignorance, free to explore beauty and pursue intellectual challenges. It’s our conviction that an education in the liberal arts is the best foundation for a lifetime of learning. All of these are valid reasons for being at 91短视频," the president stated. Listen to the president’s address via podcast.

‘Educating for Shalom’

"This morning, I offer yet another ‘reason’ for being at 91短视频," Dr. Swartzendruber said. "[Noted theologian] Dr. Nicholas Wolterstorff calls it ‘educating for shalom.’ It’s a biblical concept that is often translated ‘peace,’ but it’s more comprehensive than one English word can embody.

"Wolterstorff suggests at least four dimensions to ‘shalom’ – right relationship to God, to fellow human beings, to nature and to oneself," relationships to oneself," he noted. "To these, he adds yet another facet – shalom is best experienced in community and it is characterized by ‘delight.’

Quoting Wolterstorff, "To live in shalom is to find delight in living rightly before God … in one’s physical surroundings … with one’s fellow human beings, to find delight even in living rightly with oneself."

Matt Garber is pictured here while singing with 91短视频’s Chamber Singers during the 2008 baccalaureate ceremony.

The president recalled the untimely death just two months earlier of 2008 91短视频 graduate Matthew Garber, 22, of Elizabethtown, Pa., a nursing major, gifted musician and ‘Cords of Distinction’ recipient.

Before starting a job in the emergency room at Lancaster (PA) General Hospital, Garber traveled to Costa Rica for a summer of ministry. On July 1, while swimming with a group, he was caught in an undertow and drowned. More than 700 people, many of them from 91短视频, gathered in Garber’s home community to mourn his death and to celebrate his life.

"Matt embodied each of Wolterstorff’s definition of shalom – he was comfortable with himself as a person, with his gifts and his place in his family and congregation," Swartzendruber said. "He was a confident young man, knowing that he had a variety of gifts, but seemingly without arrogance. He was clear about the importance of faith in his life and about his relationship to God.

"Matt wanted to serve in a physical way – to serve as a nurse – to bring healing and hope to the world through his work. And, Matt had a unique capacity to make others feel they were his best friend; he was other-oriented. ‘Delight’ is a good word to describe Matt’s approach to all of life," the president said.

The convocation closed with a "Shenandoah Welcome," as first-year and transfer students walked through a gauntlet formed by returning students and 91短视频 faculty and staff while bluegrass music played. Ice cream and lemonade was served in the Campus Center Greeting Hall. Photo by Jon Styer

Each person had been given a pebble upon entering Lehman Auditorium. The president noted the "ripple effect" created when that pebble is dropped into a pond of water: "The initial splash is small; we may feel insignificant. But, the impact of our lives grows in concentric circles, changing the world around us even beyond what we can eventually see."

Lee F. Snyder, interim provost, offered a prayer of blessing as the new school year unfolds.

91短视频’s fall semester runs through Dec. 12.