91¶ÌÊÓƵ students reflect on the sunset at Lakewood Retreat, Brooksville, Fla., a program of Southeast Mennonite Conference

Four groups of 91¶ÌÊÓƵ students spent their mid-semester break the first week of March doing service projects under the auspices of the Young People’s Christian Association (YPCA).

The students shared highlights of their experience in university chapel Wednesday, Mar. 12.

‘Volunteering is Rewarding’

Eleven 91¶ÌÊÓƵ students worked at Lakewood Retreat, Brooksville, Fla., a program of Southeast Mennonite Conference, cleaning facilities and doing general cleanup work around the camping facility.

91¶ÌÊÓƵ student Alec Burkey prepares to do some heavy metal work in Florida on truck parts in disrepair. By the end of the group’s stay, Burkey had the truck up and running, saving the camp money in repair fees.

“Volunteering is rewarding – seeing hard work pay off, how much was accomplished in a short time and giving yourself to a worthy cause,” said Michael Charles, a junior from Lancaster, Pa.

Seven other students did manual labor for Jubilee Partners, an intentional Christian community in Comer, Ga., and related to local immigrants that the group ministers to.

“For me, this week was a time of seeing God in a different way through the people we met, through singing and other activities,” said Heidi Hershberger, a sophomore from Boyertown, Pa.

Repairing Katrina Homes With MDS

Mobile, Ala., was the destination for nine students, led by Nick Meyer and supported by Eldon R. Kurtz, physical plant director at 91¶ÌÊÓƵ, and his wife Sharri. The group divided into three smaller work teams to repair homes for victims of Hurricane Katrina under the auspices of Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS).

91¶ÌÊÓƵ student Kim Gross tackles some greenery during her stay in Florida.

“It was a great change of pace from studies,” said Nick Meyer, a senior from Harrisonburg, Va. “We did more than just home repair work, but grew spiritually through the experience.”

“Hearing stories from people who had experienced major loss made us thankful for all that we have,” he added. “We also had a lot of fun.”

‘God Taught Us a Lot’

Eight students traveled to Wilmington, Del., to assist in an after-school program run by Urban Promise. They cleaned classrooms and interacted with children from pre-K to junior high age in the inner-city program.

“God taught us a lot,” said Jessica (Jess) Sarriot, a first-year student from Jerusalem. “I learned to respect and appreciate what teachers do in relating to kids in a new way.”

In addition to the service teams’ ministry, the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ Chamber Singers spent the mid-semester break giving programs of worship in music in nine locations in Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.

Lynn Roth, executive director of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding

Roth has been East Coast executive director of Mennonite Central Committee, an international relief and service agency headquartered in Akron, Pa., since 1989. In this capacity, he directs approximately 35 staff and service workers throughout the eastern U.S., administers a $1.6 million budget and program and coordinates a program and staff who receive over $9 million in annual contributions.

During a leave of absence in 2005, he developed a response program in cooperation with Mennonite Disaster Service for Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in the Gulf Coast region. Before his current MCC assignment, he was co-country representative for Mennonite Ministries in Gaborone, Botswana, 1985-89.

In his new position, Roth will give overall leadership to CJP and its three divisions – the masters program,the and the . He will provide leadership to internal administration, financial oversight and coordination, work within the university and its wider constituencies and assist with marketing and fundraising as part of the ongoing development and implementation of CJP’s vision.

For the past four years, the CJP program was co-directed by Ruth H. Zimmerman and Howard Zehr. Zimmerman and her husband, Earl Zimmerman, are leaving to become MCC country directors in India. Dr. Zehr, who asked to be relieved of his administrative duties, will continue to teach in the program as professor of restorative justice.

Roth earned a BA degree in political science from Fresno Pacific University, Fresno, Calif., and a masters in social work from Fresno State University.

He is married to Kathleen Roth and has four children – Rachel, Zachary, Adam and Sarah.

“Lynn’s skills and experiences complement very well those of CJP’s faculty and staff, and we believe that he will lead CJP to the next stage of excellence,” said Janice M. Jenner, director of The Practice Institute.

“I feel honored and blessed to be able to serve in this new role,” Roth said. “The CJP program at 91¶ÌÊÓƵ has been a leader in the conflict transformation and peacebuilding field, and I look forward to carrying on that tradition and building upon it for the good of the church and society.”

The Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, founded in 1992, seeks to further the personal and professional development of individuals as peacebuilders and to strengthen the peacebuilding capacities of the institutions they serve. The program supports conflict transformation and peacebuilding efforts at all levels of society in situations of complex, protracted, violent or potentially violent social conflict in the United States and abroad. Open to people from all parts of the world and all religious traditions, CJP builds upon 91¶ÌÊÓƵ’s Christian/Anabaptist faith commitments and strengths.

Representatives of 13 church-related service organizations will have displays set up in the Campus Center Greeting Hall and are available to talk with students and area residents about openings with their agencies.

Programs represented will include Mennonite Central Committee, Akron, Pa.; Mennonite Board of Missions, Elkhart, Ind; Eastern Mennonite Missions, Salunga, Pa.; Presbyterian Church USA; Mennonite Disaster Service; Lutheran Volunteer Corps; Serving With Appalachian People and Virginia Mennonite Board of Missions.

A group of 91¶ÌÊÓƵ professors and students who have been in mission/service assignments will hold a panel discussion 10 a.m. Monday, Feb. 13, in the Campus Center Greeting Hall. A Peace Corp information session will be held 5 p.m. that day, also in the Campus Center.

Walter Caballos, a pastor and trauma healing specialist representing Justpaz, a justice and peace ministry of the Mennonite Church in Columbia, Central America, will speak at 8 p.m. Feb. 14 in the Common Grounds coffeehouse in the University Commons.

The event is coordinated by 91¶ÌÊÓƵ

Fifty "Relief Kits" will soon be on their way to needy people in the flood devastated Gulf Coast region, thanks to another disaster response effort at 91¶ÌÊÓƵ.

Initiated by pastoral assistants and dubbed the "Katrina-Rita-Rama Relief Race," 91¶ÌÊÓƵ students, faculty and staff were challenged to provide items for relief kits for (MCC).

The contest involved nine teams – the six residence halls, Parkwood Apartments, Commuter Fellowship and faculty/staff. Each team was assigned one or two items to collect for the kits over a three-week period.

An MCC relief kit consists of four bars bath soap, a package of sanitary pads, a plastic bottle of shampoo, fingernail clippers, a box of adhesive bandages, hairbrush, wide-tooth comb, toothpaste, laundry detergent and bath towel.

Hillside Residence Hall collected the most items – 93 bottles of shampoo – and received bottles of dishwasher liquid a poster of 91¶ÌÊÓƵ’s "Friday Chapel Announcement mascots" (students Matt Pearson and Becka Rankin) for their efforts.

A student group from Northlawn Third South assembled the kits Tuesday evening, Nov. 1, to send to MCC.

Senior Carissa J. Sweigart of Harrisonburg, one of the student organizers, said she was "excited to see all the donated items coming in," noting, "Fifty kits may not sound like a lot, but with each one valued at $30, the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ community raised nearly $1,500 on top of previous relief efforts."

An earlier student-initiated fund-raising project brought in nearly $3,400 by the end of September to help victims of Hurricane Katrina. The project was launched during a Sept. 9 chapel service by the (YPCA).

That money was sent to MCC headquarters in Akron, Pa., earmarked for (MDS) work in the Gulf Coast.

A student-initiated fund-raising effort at 91¶ÌÊÓƵ raised $3,392.63 as of Wednesday, Sept. 28, toward relief efforts of victims of the Gulf Coast hurricane.

The effort was launched by the (YPCA) during a Sept. 9 chapel service. YPCA co-presidents Rachel A. Sims and Jene� L. High announced the campaign and challenged students, faculty and staff to make donations in buckets placed at strategic locations across campus.

A dedicatory prayer was offered for the check, that will be sent to Mennonite Central Committee headquarters in Akron, Pa., earmarked for Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) work in the Gulf region.

In expressing gratitude for the campus response, Ms. Sims, an 91¶ÌÊÓƵ junior from Perkasie, Pa., urged everyone to "keep on praying for the many people whose lives have been changed completely" by the hurricanes and flooding.

"I believe that when natural disasters happen, and we see the devastation that happens to fellow human beings, we realize how human we really are, said Ms. High, an 91¶ÌÊÓƵ junior from Manheim, Pa. "We see that life does not go on, and hard times come to uproot our plans and ideas for the future.

"I think we respond in helping those who are hurting because we recognize that it could be us someday or has been us in the past," High said. "We respond as far as our empathy extends. Humans are about connections. If there is a strong connection to another individual, or situation, we are moved further into empathy. This, in turn, develops our response."

launched a second disaster response during Wednesday’s chapel, being called "The Katrina-Rita-Rama Relief Race" to assemble relief kits for MCC.

During a Sept. 28 chapel, Andrea Kniss (l.) and Carissa Sweigart challenge the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ assembly to begin collecting items for the MCC relief kits.
Photo by Jim Bishop

91¶ÌÊÓƵ seniors Andrea J. Kniss and Carissa J. Sweigart announced the start of the drive with a goal of assembling 200 kits by Oct. 19.

The contest will involve nine teams – the six residence halls, Parkwood Apartments, Commuter Fellowship and faculty/staff. Each team will be assigned one or two items to collect for the kits. The group with the highest number of supplies in kit units at the end of the three-week period will receive a prize.

An MCC relief kit consists of four bars bath soap, a package of sanitary pads, a plastic bottle of shampoo, fingernail clippers, a box of adhesive bandages, hairbrush, wide-tooth comb, toothpaste, laundry detergent and bath towel.

In another campus response to the Gulf Coast devastation, 91¶ÌÊÓƵ’s athletic department raised $1,396 on Saturday, Sept. 17 during home contests in field hockey, men’s soccer and women’s soccer.

As part of the fundraiser, 91¶ÌÊÓƵ sold previously-used athletic uniforms from a variety of the school�s 17 sports. Several uniforms dated back over 10 years when the institution was known as Eastern Mennonite College.

Most articles of clothing sold for between $5 and $20, with 100 percent of all money collected going directly to charities aiding in the relief efforts. The initial idea for the fundraiser originated with an 91¶ÌÊÓƵ student-athlete.

Sufficient quantities of the uniforms remain for a future fundraiser. The athletic department plans to hold an additional sale during 91¶ÌÊÓƵ�s homecoming celebration on Oct. 15.