Released on Veterans’ Day, Nov. 11, the free six-week course focuses on biblical reflections and insights about trauma with significant input from a third source.“Returning Veterans, Returning Hope: Seeking Peace Together” was created by and the and .

Evan Knappenberger, an Iraq War veteran studying at 91����Ƶ in Harrisonburg, Va., spent the summer researching and writing as part of a nontraditional .

“I did a lot of coordinating with veterans in the Mennonite world,” he said. “In almost every little Mennonite community there is one or two, if not more. There are a lot more in the Brethren in Christ church in Pennsylvania.”

The idea for the curriculum was hatched when Knappenberger crossed paths with MCC U.S. peace education coordinator Titus Peachey and PJSN coordinating minister Jason Boone at .

The group sees the materials as a relatively new field — addressing how Christian pacifists can embrace returning warriors. For this, Knappenberger looked on his own experience.

As an intelligence analyst for the Army, he developed doubts about the military’s role and actions after joining out of high school three days after the war started in 2003. When the Army tried to “stop-loss” him for two years of active duty beyond his required time, he managed to secure a general discharge — later upgraded to honorable.

“I didn’t consider myself as a peace person until I was out for a couple months,” said the .

New kind of analyst

Since his discharge, Knappenberger enrolled at 91����Ƶ, where he is finishing his bachelor’s degree and planning to enroll at next year. He has attended in Harrisonburg for more than two years and has enjoyed getting to know the broader Mennonite church.

His experience in two worlds most people consider quite different brings a fresh perspective.

“There are a lot of potentially good things that veterans can offer churches,” he said. “There are good qualities of soldiers and veterans. Gandhi was a veteran; Tolstoy was a veteran. The people who teach us nonviolence, many of them wore a uniform.”

He said both veterans and Mennonites have stories of trauma.

“Any time you can connect the experience of trauma in a community that is focused on wholeness like the Anabaptists are, that’s helpful for both sides,” he said.

“ . . . Veterans are very mission-oriented people. That’s part of our indoctrination — mission first — and that’s also a value of at least some parts of the Mennonite world. There’s also a big focus in the military on community.”

Making community isn’t always easy. Knappenberger acknowledged fundamental differences could lead to misunderstandings and misconceptions, but that’s not a reason to avoid each other.

“I think the thing to remember is that it is going to be messy,” he said. “But I think if it’s done in the spirit of love, the messiness won’t override the intention, which is good.”

The curriculum is available at no cost online at ���ǰ���.

Courtesy of Mennonite World Review, Dec. 15, 2014

Calvin Shenk ’59 does not have to face the existential question of whether he would be willing to die in a nonviolent act to save the life of another person. He would.

The test came in 1985. Shenk and his wife Marie were leading an 91����Ƶ group that was staying temporarily in a Palestinian community in the Middle East. Shenk heard an argument outside his apartment door and saw an Israeli soldier put his gun in the face of a Palestinian man. He jumped between the two, and urged the men to go their separate ways. They did.

“Don’t call me brave – it was just the right thing to do,” insists Shenk. “When you see a rifle pointed at a person right outside your door you don’t think, you just do it.”

As a member of 91����Ƶ’s task force in 1981, Shenk brought 14 years of living in Ethiopia and a passion for the transformative possibilities of immersion in another culture.

In September 1983, Shenk penned an essay justifying the cross-cultural requirement for every 91����Ƶ undergraduate. “This kind of education will be both painful and enjoyable,” he wrote. “The results will not always be predictable. We will experience anger and exhilaration, depression and vision.

“But growth will occur, and that is what college is for. Such education will make us better citizens of the global village and better members of God’s international kingdom, the church.” (Read this delightfully readable essay.)

In his 1985 baccalaureate speech, Shenk stressed the importance of losing one’s narrow-mindedness:

Today many people wrap Christ in an American flag. But we who follow Christ follow him to the world. We are global people. As we experience other cultures our attitudes and values change. This need not be frightening. We develop more world-mindedness and less chauvinism, bigotry and narrow-mindedness ….

As you develop greater understanding for other cultures, you see your own culture from another perspective. This causes you to both appreciate and critique your culture. You have mixed feelings about our democratic system, educational system, technological development, capitalist consumerism and quest for military supremacy. You have begun to see the back side of our culture – aggressiveness, depersonalization, arrogance, individualism. It isn’t possible to feel culturally superior. We can’t assume that our way is right.

Shenk added that it was “false modesty” to fail to share the good news about Christ. “We come to new understandings of Christ as we enter into conversation but it is always consistent with the biblical witness of who Christ is.”

Shenk’s first cross-cultural experience was teaching Bible and world religions and doing other mission work in Ethiopia under Eastern Mennonite Missions for 14 years. (Marie taught bookkeeping and typing there.)

Shenk earned a PhD in religious education from New York University in 1972 and then joined the Bible and religion faculty of 91����Ƶ in 1976. Marie ’59, MA ’98 (in religion), was an administrative assistant to the academic dean from 1976 to 1990. The Shenks led their first of four 91����Ƶ trips in the fall of 1978, taking students to the Middle East.

In 1994 the Shenks began an assignment in Israel and Palestine under Mennonite Board of Missions (a precursor to Mennonite Mission Network), and Mennonite Central Committee. For the next seven years, until 2001, the couple lived six months of every year in Jerusalem, returning to Harrisonburg the remainder of the year where Shenk continued to teach at 91����Ƶ. In 2002, Shenk retired from 91����Ƶ. Marie died in 2010. The Shenks raised three children, all graduates of 91����Ƶ: Doug ’86, Duane ’90 and Donna (Sensenig) ’91.

—Rachael Keshishian & Bonnie Price Lofton

Kauffman has extensive local and international mission experience serving most recently as VMM global ministries director and advancement associate since 2011. A seven-member search committee of members began their work in June 2013, and recommended Kauffman to the VMM Board.

Phyllis Miller, chair of the VMM Board states, “We are delighted with Aaron’s selection as president. His unanimous selection by the Board indicates a trust level in his leadership along with a proven track record as global ministries director. We are grateful to God for this servant leader he has given us to lead VMM for this next period of time.”

Kauffman will follow Loren Horst, who has served since 2002 as VMM president. Loren and his wife, Earlene, will be considering future VMM mission assignments after he concludes his current role on December 31, 2013. He states, “I am very pleased with the selection of Aaron Kauffman. Aaron is relationally warm, missiologically sound, and administratively competent. He combines mission passion with a deep faith in Jesus and love for the entire church. Aaron’s mission experience and proven leadership have prepared him well for this additional responsibility. I offer my full and prayerful support.”

Growing up in Pennsylvania, and attending , Mountville, Pa., Kauffman recounts learning a mission-minded way of living through the congregation’s refugee ministry, active youth group and mentoring relationships with church members, including mission leader, David Shenk of . As a result, he eagerly participated in local and international short-term mission experiences while a high-school and college student.

After completing a bachelor of arts in at 91����Ƶ (91����Ƶ), he finished a MA in TESOL and bilingual education at Georgetown University in 2003. Following two years as an ESL teacher in , he and his wife Laura were jointly appointed by VMM and and served from 2005-2008 in La Mesa, Colombia, as church youth group leaders, members of a church planting team, and as a teacher and a nurse, respectively, at the local Mennonite school.

Upon returning to Harrisonburg, Va., to attend seminary, he became curriculum coordinator of the at 91����Ƶ while also teaching university courses in language instruction and methodology. He completed a in 2012. He has since taught undergraduate courses in as adjunct professor at 91����Ƶ.

Upon his selection, Kauffman notes, “It is truly an honor to be asked to serve Virginia Mennonite Missions in this way. With God’s help and the church’s prayerful support, I look forward to continuing VMM’s legacy of faithful witness to the good news of Jesus Christ. It is an exciting time to be part of what God is doing around the world through the church.”

Aaron and Laura Kauffman are members of , Broadway, Va., a congregation of Virginia Mennonite Conference. They have four children, Abigail, 8, Sophie, 6, Asher, 3, and David, 3 months. Laura Michelle Souder Kauffman completed a at 91����Ƶ in 2002 and has worked as a maternal health nurse. She is currently a member of a VMM Ministry Support Team and a stay-at-home mother. Their parents are Paul and Donna Souder, Harrisonburg, Va. and Dennis and Rose Kauffman, Lancaster, Pa.

Virginia Mennonite Missions was formed in 1919, with headquarters in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Now with a budget of $2.5 million, its mission is to invite people to faithful living in Jesus Christ by forming and enabling congregations and individuals to continue God’s reconciling work in the world. Approximately 75 persons serve in 16 countries including the United States in the areas of disciple-making and church planting, education, leadership development, deaf ministry, refugee ministry and urban ministry.

Article courtesy Virginia Mennonite Missions, Oct. 21, 2013

VMRC, neighboring 91����Ƶ (91����Ƶ) on the northeast, has a $20 million annual budget, 400 employees, and 750 residents in a wide range of homes and other accommodations.

Trumbo is perhaps best known for directing the transition in 2010 of R from Cantrell Avenue in downtown Harrisonburg to a new 660,000-square-foot facility at the eastern edge of the city.

After the hospital move, Trumbo served as RMH’s acting director of perioperative services (surgery and all the services surrounding it). For 20 years before the move, she was director of RMH Home Healthcare.

Trumbo went to work at RMH as a registered nurse after her graduation from 91����Ƶ as a major. She also holds a master of business administration degree from James Madison University.

Over the years, Trumbo has been active in leadership roles with the , , , , , and ElderAlliance. Currently she chairs the and serves as an associate trustee on the 91����Ƶ board of trustees.

“Judith has the financial astuteness, strategic planning experience, knowledge of our industry, and strong communication skills to lead VMRC,” said Sheryl (King) Wyse ‘68, chair of the board of directors. “In addition, Judith is well respected throughout the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County communities for her professional and volunteer leadership contributions.”

Yoder is wrapping up 13 years as president of VMRC, where he strengthened the organization’s financial health and enhanced its culture of innovation and quality. Under his leadership, VMRC added Woodland Park, , , Transitional Care, and Outpatient Rehabilitation Services.

Yoder became president of VMRC in 1999 after being vice president for global ministries at (now Mennonite Mission Network) in Elkhart, Ind. Before that he served the as regional representative for in India, Bangladesh and Nepal.

As an 91����Ƶ student, Yoder was a major. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh in public and international affairs. Yoder said hopes to stay engaged on a part-time basis as a consultant in the field of international development.

As garden coordinator for the Primavera Foundation, Stahl-Wert plans and manages community gardens at transitional housing properties in Tucson, Ariz., where she is in the middle of a two-year term with Mennonite Voluntary Service, a Mennonite Mission Network program.

Each week, Stahl-Wert, 22, works alongside residents, many of whom were formerly homeless, as they care for gardens and harvest their own fruits and vegetables. Together, they grow peas, potatoes, carrots, corn, melons and squash year-round.

Stahl-Wert said the purpose of the project is to increase food security by teaching garden skills, providing fresh, healthy food for the tenants, and engaging people in life-giving collaborative work.

Many of the residents at the two main properties where Stahl-Wert works had no prior gardening experience and were initially skeptical the gardens would be fruitful.

Much of Stahl-Wert’s early work focused on teaching people gardening basics and convincing them the project was worth their time. As plants began to sprout, optimism did too.

“These are people who have lived rough lives, who were very cynical about the gardens in the beginning,” she said. “But after a year of continuity, of watching the idea grow, they get very excited when they see the vegetables. It’s a tangible sort of joy.”

At first Stahl-Wert was the only person to tend the community gardens regularly. Now, four women from one of the housing properties routinely work with her.

Sometimes the women even prepare meals together. Stahl-Wert will never forget the first time she invited her gardening friends to cook dinner together using their own produce.

“They claimed to not like vegetables,” she said. “But once they tried the dishes, they said they loved every single one. That night they ate ridiculous amounts of vegetables.”

Stahl-Wert, who earned a degree in environmental sustainability in 2011 from 91����Ƶ in Harrisonburg, Va., was not sure what she wanted to do after graduation. The Pittsburgh native didn’t feel her skills were marketable and was not interested in working simply to make money.

When she came across the MVS garden coordinator position in Tucson, it seemed like the right fit. For Stahl-Wert, an avid gardener, MVS offered the perfect intersection of her interests in environmental science and social justice.

Stahl-Wert also enjoys the simple, communal living she experiences in her MVS unit house.

“I have been happily surprised to find myself in a voluntary service position that has a lot of responsibility and space for my own creativity,” Stahl-Wert said. “[Primavera was] interested in starting gardening programs but didn’t have the resources to create a full-time staff position to do it.

“Without a volunteer like me to get the garden program running, it may have never happened. That’s a pretty cool role for a recent college grad and first-year MVSer to play.”

Courtesy Mennonite Mission Network

Gbowee, who shares the prize with and , earned a master’s degree in conflict transformation from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) at in Harrisonburg, Virginia. She attended CJP’s Summer Peacebuilding Institute in 2004 and participated in a round-table for Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (known as “STAR”) in 2005.

Gbowee led a nationwide women’s movement that was instrumental in halting Liberia’s second civil war in 2003.

“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 making the award. “She has since worked to enhance the influence of women in West Africa during and after war.”

Starting in the 1990s

Gbowee’s links to Mennonites began in 1998, when she received training in “trauma healing and reconciliation” and then worked at rehabilitating child soldiers. Perhaps unbeknownst to her, the first trainings in this subject in Liberia occurred when , a Mennonite with trauma expertise, arrived in Liberia in the early 1990s, with funding from and what is now called , both based in the United States.

Hart trained Lutheran church workers who, in turn, trained Gbowee. Hart also arranged for , who became Gbowee’s friend and mentor, to earn a graduate degree in conflict transformation at 91����Ƶ. In 1998 Doe became one of the earliest master’s degree graduates from what is now called the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, setting the stage for Gbowee to earn the same degree nine years later.

In her 2011 memoir, “,” Gbowee says she came to 91����Ƶ because it was “an American college with a well-known program in peace-building and conflict resolution. It was a Christian school that emphasized community and service.”

Responding to the Nobel announcement, 91����Ƶ President said:  “The impact that Leymah was able to have, first in Liberia, then in West Africa, and now all over the world, shows that another, nonviolent reality is possible. This affirms the dreams and hopes of groups, educational institutions, and churches that are devoted to supporting peace work.”

“We plant what we call ‘seeds of peace’ as widely as we possibly can, usually through education in peace building theory and skills, and then trust that some of these seeds will bear fruit,” he added.

Seeds of Peace

The woman Gbowee calls her “true friend” and fellow founder of , Thelma Ekiyor, attended 91����Ƶ’s 2002 Summer Peacebuilding Institute, as did Gbowee’s first champion and employer in Liberia, Lutheran Reverend “BB” Colley, who attended the annual institute in 2000 and 2001. At Colley’s urging, Gbowee read “” by the well-known Mennonite ethicist John Howard Yoder.

Gbowee, who was named , is the central figure in a documentary co-produced by , “.” Completed in 2008, the documentary is part of a “” series to be aired over five successive Tuesdays in October 2011 on public television stations in the United States.

In her memoir, Gbowee credits with introducing her to the (WANEP), an organization that he co-founded and led after finishing his master’s degree at 91����Ƶ. (Doe received 91����Ƶ’s annual and now works for the United Nations. His daughter, Samfee, graduated from 91����Ƶ in the spring of 2011, overlapping for one year with Gbowee’s eldest son, Joshua “Nuku” Mensah, who enrolled in the fall of 2010.)

“WANEP, based in Ghana, emphasized using nonviolent strategies and encouraged women to join the effort to address problems of violence, war and human rights abuses,” wrote Gbowee.

WANEP supported the launch of , the organization through which Gbowee and her colleagues conducted the campaigns that played a key role in ending the civil war in Liberia. (This organization is the predecessor to Gbowee’s current organization, Women, Peace and Security Network Africa.) The WANEP-launched women’s network—plus , the grassroots movement led by Gbowee—laid the groundwork for the election of fellow Nobel Laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf as president of Liberia, the first woman president of an African nation.

WANEP is now led byof Ghana, a 2002 graduate of CJP.

CJP Teachings Credited

Gbowee’s memoir credits two of the founding professors of CJP, and , with strongly influencing her through their writings and teachings.

“I read Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi and the Kenyan author and conflict and reconciliation expert Hizkias Assefa, who believed that reconciliation between victim and perpetrator was the only way to really resolve conflict, especially civil conflict, in the modern world. Otherwise, Assefa wrote, both remained bound together forever, one waiting for apology or revenge, the other fearing retribution.”

As Gbowee began to attend international meetings pertaining to peace and feeling the need to “speak with more knowledge and authority,” she says, “I began amassing books on conflict resolution theory: ‘’ and ‘,’ both by .”

In May 2004, the summer after the Liberian peace accords were signed, Gbowee came to 91����Ƶ to attend classes at its annual Summer Peacebuilding Institute. “Those four weeks were another transformative time for me,” she says in her book, noting that she studied with Assefa at the institute and with, “who taught me the concept of ‘restorative justice.’”

“Restorative justice was… something we could see as ours and not artificially imposed by Westerners. And we needed it, needed that return to tradition. A culture of impunity flourished throughout Africa. People, officials, governments did evil but were never held accountable. More than we needed to punish them, we needed to undo the damage they had done.”

Women in Peacebuilding at 91����Ƶ

In June 2011 at 91����Ƶ, Gbowee participated in a by-invitation conference on the needs of women peacebuilders around the world. Participants included filmmaker Abigail Disney of the United States, of Fiji, of Afghanistan, and , a Kenyan-Muslim woman of Somali ethnic origin who received the 2007 Right Livelihood Prize. (Abdi died in a car accident after returning to Kenya in July 2011.)

“As a direct result of this conference, we will be launching a women and peacebuilding program at our ,” says , executive director of CJP.

The announcement from 91����Ƶ on the Nobel Peace Prize award can be found at .

The highly engaging Drs. Akrami, Rasoulipour and Mousavian emphasized the eager willingness of many Iranians to promote interfaith dialogue among ‘people of the book’ who share a common heritage as Children of Abraham. Their visit to the 91����Ƶ campus was jointly sponsored by Abraham’s Tent and Mennonite Central Committee. (Photo by Jim Bishop)

Jointly sponsored by Abraham’s Tent and Mennonite Central Committee, the visit included meetings with top school administrators, personnel from the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding and an afternoon forum on the topic, “Why Faith-based Peacebuilding is Important.”

Importance of interfaith dialogue

An active proponent of interfaith dialog, Dr. Rasoulipour works closely with the Center for Interreligious Dialogue in Tehran where he formerly served as director. In recent years he has been instrumental in arranging MCC learning tours to Iran.

Two Iranian colleagues, Dr. Seyed Mousavian and Dr. Amir Akrami, both professors of philosophy and religion in Iran, were able to join Dr. Rasoulipour for the 91����Ƶ meetings.

The late afternoon forum drew an unexpectedly large group of about 100 persons.

East Coast learning tour

Ed Martin, formerly of MCC, helped to organize an East Coast tour for the three interfaith dialogue proponents. Their visit included meetings in Charlottesville, Washington, DC., and Cambridge, Mass.

Dr. Rasoulipour has spent the past year as a visiting professor at Notre Dame University in South Bend, Ind., and returned to his teaching post in Tehran on June 5.

Prior to the forum, Dr. Rasoulipour talks with Robert Lee, retired Mennonite Mission Network missionary who worked with his wife, Nancy, for many years in Japan. (Photo by Jim Bishop)

“We feel highly honored by Dr. Rasoulipour’s visit and his willingness to not only lecture on this important topic but to share his personal commitment to interfaith dialogue,” said Gretchen H. Maust, associate director of Abraham’s Tent.

“It’s important for us to know that the Iranian people long to build relationships and welcome opportunities to debate our differences so we can grow in respectful understanding of each other,” she added.

Learn more

• Abraham’s Tent: A Center for Interfaith Engagement at 91����Ƶ
• Center for Justice and Peacebuilding
• Undergraduate peacebuilding and development studies

Learning and new experiences don’t end with retirement, at least not for one group of seniors who spent most of October traveling in China.

The combined group had extensive overseas experience and represented decades of college classroom teaching, but few had ever been to China. As retired Temple University professor Elmer Miller stated, "China was never on my radar screen."

Mennonite Partners in China (formerly China Educational Exchange) arranged the visit at the request of the Anabaptist Center for Religion and Society (ACRS). ACRS is a group of retired professors, primarily from 91����Ƶ, who seek to connect faith and life in contemporary academia and the church. ACRS members and long-time Mennonite Mission Network workers Robert and Nancy Lee sparked the interest in the tour.

The 17 participants visited major historical sights like the Great Wall and the Forbidden City in Beijing, the canals of Suzhou, skyscrapers in Shanghai and the ancient terracotta army in Xian. A visit to the 7th century site of the first Christian church and monastery in China was a highlight for many. An ancient pagoda marks the site of this Nestorian mission.

Listen and Learn

According to John A. Lapp, former executive secretary of Mennonite Central Committee, a primary objective for the group was "to listen and learn what the Spirit is saying to the churches in China." Following a worship service in Beijing, the senior pastor shared the history of her congregation of 7,000 and fielded questions from the ACRS group.

Visits to seminaries in two different cities highlighted the progress that the church has made in training pastors. However, leaders admitted that most churches and meeting points still rely on lay leadership.

An unusual privilege was the visit to a meeting point in the remote countryside of Sichuan province. The Christian faith came to this area of China less than 20 years ago, but already more than 300 believers attend. Park View Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, Va., contributed funds for the completion of the building where the believers meet. Albert Keim and others from the Park View congregation continued the ties between the two congregations by bringing greetings. Members who gathered at the meeting point shared several songs, and the pastor explained how the church had been helped by other churches in the province in their battle against false teachings.

After numerous conversations with Chinese pastors, seminary teachers and North American Mennonites working in China, the ACRS group admitted that the situation of the church in China is highly complex. In a signed letter to Mennonite mission agencies and MCC, the group stated: "We are sure that to work in China without a profound respect for differences and divergences from conventional western assumptions about authentic Christianity would be a serious mistake.: The group commended Mennonite Partners in China for their work in :interpreting the faith and practice of the church in China, serving as helpers and facilitators of its vision."

Looking at Christianity for Answers

Calvin Redekop, retired from years of teaching at several Mennonite colleges, was impressed with the incredible interest in the study of religion at China

Representatives of 10 service organizations will have displays set up in the Campus Center Greeting Hall through noon Wednesday and are available to talk with students and area residents about openings with their programs.

Programs represented will include:

• , Akron, Pa.
• , Elkhart, Ind.
• , Salunga, Pa.
• Innisfree, Crozet, Va., a community for persons with disabilities
• , home repair among disadvantaged people
• Metro Youth for Christ, Maryland

The event is coordinated by 91����Ƶ

Representatives of seven service organizations will have displays set up in the Campus Center Greeting Hall through noon Wednesday and are available to talk with students and area residents about openings with their programs.

Programs represented will include Mennonite Central Committee, Akron, Pa.; Mennonite Mission Network, Elkhart, Ind.; Eastern Mennonite Missions, Salunga, Pa.; LARCHE, a facility for persons with emotional disabilities; and Menno Corp-Pittsburgh, Pa., and Menno Corp-Louisville, Ky., a service work program.

The event is coordinated by 91����Ƶ