Hurst, a pastoral intern at 91����Ƶ, was one of about 30 people who came to the school’s Campus Center on Thursday to hold a prayer and candlelight vigil for victims of a shooting last week in Hesston, Kan.

Three people were killed and 14 wounded during a shooting at an Excel Industries building by a former Excel employee on Feb. 25. The man was later killed by police.

Hurst, who graduated from Hesston College and whose wife is from the town, said he feels helpless when he hears about mass shootings.

“I’m getting frustrated with this is not an unusual occurrence,” Hurst said. “We should be able to do something.”

Ken L. Nafziger, vice president of student life at 91����Ƶ, said a lot of the school’s students are from Hesston or transferred from Hesston College, which is near the Excel building in the Kansas town.

“It has a lot of impact on both our communities,” Nafziger said. “[We] felt it would be a good opportunity to … support our students who are here from Hesston or have connections to Hesston.”

Hesston College, a two-year Mennonite school, is a sister school of 91����Ƶ, with many students transferring to the university to earn a bachelor’s degree. Hesston College was locked down during the shooting. A choir from the school is set to perform in Harrisonburg over the weekend.

At Thursday’s vigil, Students sang hymns and prayed before lighting candles for the victims.

“Violence will not prevail in our communities,” said Brian Martin Burkholder, 91����Ƶ’s pastor. “And peace will endure.”

Courtney Unruh, a senior at 91����Ƶ, is from Hesston and said her sister goes to school across the street from the Excel building.

“Hesston is the place I’ve called home my entire life,” Unruh said. “I found myself in a lot of fear on Thursday.”

Nafziger said what happened in Hesston could happen anywhere, and people should be prepared.

“We can’t deny that it could potentially happen in Park View right next to 91����Ƶ,” Nafziger said. “We can’t say that it can’t happen here. We like to think it couldn’t. We no longer can act as if it couldn’t.”

Reprinted with permission from the Mar. 6, 2016 issue of the Daily News-Record. 

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Emily Derstine, a JPCS major at 91����Ƶ, with her supervisor, Kirk Hanger, an 91����Ƶ alumnus, at Nueva Esperanza/New Hope Fellowship in suburban Washington, D.C.

A record-setting 10 students have begun internships with congregations through Franconia Mennonite Conference as part of Mennonite Church USA‘s (MIP). The group includes three 91����Ƶ students.

Two 91����Ƶ students will intern with congregations in the Midwest:

• John Tyson, a sophomore at 91����Ƶ and a member at Souderton (PA) Mennonite congregation, will intern at Christ Community Church in Des Moines, Iowa;
• 91����Ƶ sophomore Jordan Good, a member of Bally Mennonite congregation, will spend 11 weeks with the Walnut Hill congregation in Goshen, Ind.

Emily Derstine of Plains Mennonite congregation, Lansdale, Pa., an 91����Ƶ sophomore, will spend her summer in suburban Washington, D.C. with Nueva Esperanza/New Hope Fellowship, a “Partner in Mission” congregation with Franconia Conference.

Hands-on Experience

The Ministry Inquiry Program is an 11-week internship traditionally available to any student attending a Mennonite college. Students interested in a specific area of ministry – usually, but not limited to, pastoral ministry – gain hands-on experience by working alongside a supervisor in their respective discipline.

The inquiry program is offered year-round but is most popular in the summer, and all participants are given a stipend for their work.

This year, through a grant from Eastern Mennonite Seminary, three Franconia Conference students attending non-Mennonite institutions will participate in MIP.

• Tim Moyer, a sophomore at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia from the Blooming Glen (PA) congregation;
• Felicia Moore, member at New Beginnings Community Church in Bristol, Pa., who is in her second year at Indiana University of Pennsylvania;
• Philadelphia Praise Center attendee and first-year Penn State University student, Andrew Liemon.

Moyer will work with Franconia Mennonite Conference, while Moore and Liemon will assist with ministries at their home congregations.

Several students will work with congregations on the East coast:

• Jessica Cassel, a sophomore at Bluffton University, will work in youth ministry at her home congregation, Souderton (PA) Mennonite;
• Peter Koontz, a member at Assembly Mennonite and Goshen College junior from Elkhart, Ind., will intern with Oxford Circle congregation in Philadelphia.
• Mercy Oyana, a Goshen College sophomore from West Philadelphia Mennonite Fellowship, will work alongside managers at Spruce Lake Camp in the Pocono Mountains.
• Krista Ehst, a Goshen College junior and member at Perkasie (PA) Mennonite congregation, will work alongside Tim Moyer at Franconia Conference headquarters in Souderton.

All participants are beginning their work at the end of May and will finish towards the beginning of August. Eight of the students are college sophomores.