A newly-formed Church Partnerships leadership team has been established at to administer a variety of programs aimed at strengthening relationships between the seminary and its supporting constituencies.

Del Glick, who became director of church partnerships at EMS in 2002, will head the four-person team.

Dr. Glick works with Mennonite district conferences to call forth and train new persons for ministry. He helps plan special seminars that introduce persons to seminary programs, sets up special summer course offerings at 91短视频 and direct other projects and activities aimed at helping people to seriously explore God’s call on their lives, with pastoral ministry as a vocational option.

Jill K. Landis will serve as associate director of church partnerships. She will assist in developing partnerships between Eastern Mennonite Seminary and its supporting churches and help administer the Culture of Call and LEAP initiatives.

Jill K. Landis and Gievanne M. Gonzalez

Gievanne M. Gonzalez has been appointed associate director of the LEAP program. Her responsibilities include developing and coordinating the summer LEAP program and year-round tasks of recruitment, marketing, mentoring and networking. Ms. Gonzales, with roots in Puerto Rico, Chicago and New York City, is a 2004 graduate of 91短视频 with a major in communication.

Gonzalez succeeds Richard Pannell, who served as LEAP director from April 2003 through May 2004. Pannell provided primary leadership for the summer 2003 LEAP trip to Zimbabwe and Mennonite World Conference involving 50 high school youth and 11 adult leaders. He also helped create a LEAP website and connected this leadership initiative with urban centers of New York City and Philadelphia.

Ms. Landis, a 1999 91短视频 graduate with a major in philosophy and religion and a minor in youth ministry, is from Goshen, Ind. As part of her assignment, she has become director of the Congregational Resource Center at Eastern Mennonite Seminary. She previously served as staff assistant for Virginia Mennonite Conference.

Joe Dugan, the vice principal of Philadelphia Mennonite High School, has been named associate director of Philadelphia LEAP. He is responsible to implement the technology and video teleconferencing connections between Philadelphia Mennonite High School and EMS.

Rev. Dugan, a graduate of Biblical Theological Seminary, is an ordained minister in the Christian Missionary Alliance denomination. He will work out of his school setting in Philadelphia; Landis and Gonzalez from the seminary. Glick will divide his time between offices in Washington, D.C., and the seminary.

Major programs under the umbrella of the office of church partnerships include the "Culture of Call" and LEAP, both funded by Lilly Foundation grants.

LEAP, which stands for "," is a broad-based seminary effort to encourage ministry inquiry among high school youth. Up to 50 participants will spend four weeks in July on the seminary campus for orientation, off-campus "classroom in the world" learning experiences in both urban and rural cross-cultural settings.

"The ‘Culture of Call’ initiative is working to create a climate and environment that creatively discerns, invites, nurtures and equips gifted persons, young and older alike, for pastoral ministry," Dr. Glick said. "Efforts include planning special events related to pastoral ministry as a vocation, working with churches on setting up pastoral internships, compiling resources to help equip interns and their mentors and holding events at the seminary and on location for pilot congregations," he added.

"I’m pleased that this team models a balance of gender, age and enthnicity," Glick noted "I believe it reflects the seminary’s commitment for involvement of multi-cultural personnel, models an urban, diversified seminary office mentality, provides more connection between EMS and Philadelphia Mennonite High School and will strengthen the ‘Culture of Call’ effort."

Boodie, who has completed his freshman year at 91短视频, was among four first-year 91短视频 students who participated in , a year-old seminary-born program aimed at helping create a “culture of call” across Mennonite Church USA.

LEAP engages both the seminary community and high school student leaders in a partnership of learning and leadership and is accepting nominations until May 28 for the Summer 2004 program, during which students will study on-campus with seminary professors and others from July 15-26 and then take field excursions to Indonesia, Nicaragua, Trinidad or New York City from July 26 to Aug. 7. Upon return to campus, students will reconnect with new friends and the entire group, share experiences, reflect on God

LEAP, or Learning, Experiencing and Participating, is an Eastern Mennonite Seminary initiative that provides practical opportunities for seminary faculty to engage high school students in experiences of mutual learning, exploring theology, pastoral ministry and cross-cultural exchange.

Fun times during Global Youth Summit 2003

In July 2003, 50 high school students and 13 adult leaders attended the Global Youth Summit and the Mennonite World Conference in Zimbabwe, Africa, through the program. Throughout the three-week experience, LEAP participants were involved in theological reflection, spiritual formation, vocational discernment and multi-cultural community, all taught in the classroom of the world.

This year, up to 50 high school junior and/or seniors will gather at the 91短视频 campus to kick off LEAP

Richard A. Pannell

LEAP, which stands for “Learning, Exploring and Participating,” is a broad-based effort the seminary is undertaking to encourage ministry inquiry among high school youth.

Pannell, a native of New York City, has most recently been a social worker in child protective services with the Harrisonburg Department of Social Services. He has also been assistant pastor of worship and community development at Immanuel Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg.

Pannell will work with Del Glick, recently named director of church partnerships at EMS, in administering new initiatives to give young people more opportunities for serious intellectual encounters with the Christian faith and what that means for their own lives and vocations.

The LEAP program is designed for youth who have completed their sophomore or junior years of high school. Up to 50 participants will spend four weeks in July on the seminary campus for orientation, including two 10-day, off-campus “classroom in the world” learning experiences in both urban and rural cross-cultural settings.

This summer, 50 high school students and 10 adult leaders will attend a Global Youth Summit, Aug. 8-10, and Mennonite World Conference, Aug. 11-17, in Zimbabwe, Africa.

By the summer of 2004, the program will feature a month-long event, launched from the EMS/91短视频 campus, of theological reflection, spiritual formation and experiences in rural, urban and international settings.

“Richard Pannell brings a wealth of experience to this new venture,” Dr. Glick said. “He understands cross-cultural dynamics and is bi-lingual, has a sensitivity to bridging the diversity evident in the Mennonite Church and has a passion for youth and inviting them to consider pastoral ministry as a vocational calling,” he added.

“The LEAP program will change the face of the seminary community, the 91短视频 campus and the broader church as high school youth come on campus for theological reflection and a stretching experience,” Glick noted.

Before moving to Harrisonburg, Pannell did program planning, community relations and other administrative work at Seventh Avenue Mennonite Church in Harlem, NYC. He also did social work with the Salvation Army Social Services Department in Manhattan.

He earned a bachelor of science degree from Concordia College, Bronxville, N.Y., and has also studied at Eastern Mennonite Seminary. He is director of the Northeast Community Choir of Harrisonburg and the gospel choir at 91短视频.

Pannell is married to Tracey Pannell, a social worker and former administrative assistant in 91短视频’s Conflict Transformation Program. They had a son, Richard Victor Pannell.

“The position of LEAP director resonates strongly with my personal and professional experience,” Pannell said. “I look forward to helping to identify and develop tomorrow’s church leaders.”

Pannell’s position and the LEAP program are being funded by a $2 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., an Indianapolis, Ind.-based foundation that supports college and seminary initiatives in religion, community development and education.