Ron Copeland, the restaurant’s owner, drew inspiration for the soup kitchen from a number of different sources, including his Christian upbringing and political views shaped by his “rabid Democrat,” FDR-idolizing mother. The model for the meals themselves was borrowed from the countercultural Rainbow Gatherings movement, in which people calling themselves the Rainbow Family would meet in national forests across the country to collectively not participate in Babylon, as they called the mainstream. During these gatherings, the Rainbow Family shared open-to-all meals cooked in communal kitchens (a “magic hat” was sometimes passed to fund supply runs to Babylon).

“These meals reminded me more of what I thought meals in the Kingdom of God would be like than anything I had seen in any church,” remembers Copeland, who founded the soup kitchen at The Little Grill as a way to create a welcoming community in a poor part of town.

Some years went by, and Copeland began thinking about turning the weekly equal-opportunity meal into something that more people could enjoy more often. A group was convened to discuss possibilities. Thought was given to the matter. Opportunities were explored. And in 1999 Our Community Place (OCP) was incorporated as a nonprofit to formally pursue a vision of Copeland and others to apply the ideas behind the Free for All Soup Kitchen in a bigger way, to raise up true community in a neighborhood where many lives were disrupted by the chaos of poverty, addiction or violence.

In 2001, OCP bought a decaying building on Main Street, just down the block from The Little Grill, and launched what became an eight-year (!) campaign to convert the badly neglected space into a healthy and whole community center. Around this same time, Copeland was beginning a new chapter in his own life. Having years before made a clean break with Christianity after growing up in the Pentecostal church, Copeland “returned to faith” in 1997, and, in the early days of the OCP building rehabilitation, decided to go to seminary.

Life takes unexpected turns; when he bought The Little Grill (also in 1992), Copeland held only a vague notion of 91����Ƶ as some entity up in Park View. Yet here he was, a decade later, selling his restaurant – to a group of worker-owners under a cooperative model Copeland and a group of employees designed together – and enrolling at Eastern Mennonite Seminary. There, Copeland began as something of a provocateur. Though he was back on the faith wagon, he mostly regarded church as a too-comfortable social club, and thought a true expression of Christianity meant working with the poor – opinions he was not hesitant to share with his classmates.

Copeland, who graduated in 2006 credits one of his theology professors, Mark Thiessen Nation, for softening some of the sharp edges he brought to seminary.

“Mark taught me that church isn’t just about the poor,” says Copeland, who came to understand church as a broader range of things: worship, love between believers, etc. He also decided that his work needed to be Christ-centered if it was to thrive, and in 2008, OCP decided to identify itself as an explicitly Christian organization.

Today, OCP is open for several hours around three noon meals per week. It hosts a weekly work session on Tuesday mornings ­– several hours of property maintenance and upkeep – and on Thursday evenings, sponsors some sort of evening program: movies, game night, speakers, music. (These hours are now considerably reduced from what they were originally – a new approach taken after a burnt-out Copeland suffered a near-nervous breakdown and began a recovery from workaholism in 2011.)

“OCP is a community center where everyone in the world is welcome,” says Copeland, its program director. “We’re trying to do something that’s a little bit rare, which is to have a community where people really are respected, and then asked to step up and participate in the creation of that community without being patronized, without having an ‘us and them’ mentality.”

In keeping with the founding spirit of the soup kitchen, everyone in the OCP community is afforded equal dignity, respect and responsibility in group decision-making, regardless of whatever status they may be assigned in Babylon. It’s hard, slow work at times. An inherent tension exists between the ideal of pure, egalitarian community and the reality that everyone falls short in some way, at some time. It requires mercy, patience and the willingness to “all make mistakes in front of each other,” says Copeland, who tries to practice “reckless forgiveness and extravagant love” as he goes about the work of building community. (He is also an ordained pastor in the Virginia Mennonite Conference; his congregation, The Early Church, meets for worship in the OCP building.)

At seminary, Copeland’s horizons expanded and his ideas about the church – what it is and what it does – were broadened. He hopes he might return the favor, that the work of OCP might broaden the church’s understanding of mission and outreach, that it might inspire other efforts to reveal the Kingdom through more reckless displays of forgiveness and extravagant acts of love toward the most rejected, marginalized people in Harrisonburg.

— Andrew Jenner ’04

The theme of the conference is “Peace in practice: What does it look like when our theories become action?”

“Lisa’s example of field work with local, international, and systems-based conflicts is inspirational for college students,” says Christine Baer, a conference co-organizer and a senior and major.

Schirch and other speakers will focus on building peace at all levels, from local to international, and integrating this work into art and other forms of community engagement.

91����Ƶ Lisa Schirch

In her role at the Alliance for Peacebuildling, Schirch connects policymakers with global civil society networks, facilitates civil-military dialogue, and provides a conflict prevention and peacebuilding lens on current policy issues.

Schirch is also a research professor at .

She has conducted conflict assessments and participated in peacebuilding planning alongside local colleagues in more than 20 countries, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Kenya, Ghana, and Fiji.

Schirch works primarily with small local NGOs and civil society organizations. Schirch also has worked as a consultant on conflict assessment and peacebuilding planning for large entities, such as the , the World Bank, several branches of the U.S. government, the U.S. Foreign Service Institute, and many other international organizations.

She holds a BA in international relations from the University of Waterloo in Canada and an MS and a PhD in conflict analysis and resolution from George Mason University.

Drama that entertains and informs

“I’d Like to Buy an Enemy” will be performed by on Friday, Jan. 31, at 8 p.m., in the MainStage Theater in University Commons.

The play, starring Ted Swartz, MDiv ’92, and Tim Ruebke MA ’99 (), allows audiences to laugh at themselves while raising important questions about the place of the United States in the world, confronting the fear that is such a large part of contemporary culture, and exploring ways to honestly work for peace and justice in this country.

Tickets are $8 for general audience and $5 for 91����Ƶ faculty and staff. 91����Ƶ students and conference attendees are free, if they show their identifications.

Ted and Company will also host university chapel on Friday at 10 a.m.

Organizers

The Intercollegiate Peace Fellowship Conference is sponsored and organized by , a student organization that organizes campus-wide activities, regular space to share meals and discussions, and special speakers to spark meaningful dialogue. For more information about the conference or Peace Fellowship, contact the applied social sciences department.

Conference details

The program will open on Friday, Jan. 31, at 7 p.m., and end on Sunday, Feb. 2, at 1 p.m. Participating schools include Bluffton University in Ohio; Conrad Grebel College in Canada; Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania; Goshen College in Indiana; Hesston College in Kansas; and Messiah College in Pennsylvania.

Workshops will be offered on a wide range of topics, including “A Subversive Shalom: Enacting Radical Peace” with and ; “Home Front: the Untold History of Radical Veteran Peacemaking” with ; and “: Promoting Personal Growth and Community Well-Being” with Philip Fisher Rhodes and Ron Copeland.

Other topics to be covered range from “The Relationship Between Islam and Peace” and “Restorative Justice in Our Schools” to “Arts, Theater, and Peacebuilding.”

Most sessions will be held in of the seminary building and seminary classrooms.

Creating connections

“We expect this conference to be a time of sharing stories and experiences at all levels, with many practical applications of peacebuilding,” said Krista Nyce, an 91����Ƶ senior major and conference co-organizer. “We have heard a lot in the classroom about theories and have debated concepts; thus we hope this can be a time to build on those with realistic accounts of speakers’ varied involvements from local organizations to experiences of national organizing, from art to restorative justice to education.”

and a is available . is also available.

For more information on the conference visit or email: emupeacefellowship@gmail.com.

“The goal of this year’s celebration at 91����Ƶ is to reflect on the strong faith commitments that kindled Martin Luther King’s passion for social justice,” said Marvin Lorenzana, director of .

“It’s important to remember that Dr. King not only was a civil rights activist but also a dedicated Christian minister.

I invite our community to participate in this year’s events as we celebrate together the legacy of a man that motivates us to faith and action,” Lorenzana added.

Thursday, Jan. 13

Activities will open Thursday evening, Jan. 13, with a MLK coffeehouse that features a panel of seminary and undergraduate faculty members – Peter Dula, Kent D. Sensenig and Mark Thiessen Nation – discussing Dr. King’s role in the context of the kingdom of God, with a focus on King’s efforts to bridge the social and spiritual dimensions of the gospel message.

The program will take place 8-9:30 p.m. in the Common Grounds Coffeehouse of the University Commons. Snacks will be served.

Friday, Jan. 14

Ron Copeland of Harrisonburg will speak in university chapel 10 a.m. Friday, Jan. 14, in Lehman Auditorium, reflecting on the late civil rights worker’s and pastor’s role as a servant of God.

Nick Melaz, a local worship leader and singer, will provide special music.

Copeland, a graduate of Eastern Mennonite Seminary, is senior pastor of Early Church and director of Our Community Place, a grass-roots center on N. Main St. that promotes personal and spiritual growth and well-being through a variety of activities and projects.

Monday, Jan. 17

On Monday, Jan. 17, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a multi-media presentation-tribute to King’s life and legacy will be shown in the Campus Center Greeting Hall along with photo displays and a “response wall” for persons to offer personal comments.

Activities will take place 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. along the second floor corridor of the University Commons.

More info

Admission to all programs is free. For more information on activities related to Dr. King observances at 91����Ƶ, call the office of multicultural programs at 540-432-4458.

Investment club member Kaleb Wyse presents the club’s contribution to Ron Copeland Director of Our Community Place.

In Spring 2009 91����Ƶ business students, under the direction of Professor Jim Leaman, formed an investment club.

91����Ƶ the investment club

The club is offered every semester for one credit hour.

Students of all majors and investment experience join the club to gain further investing knowledge and gain real life experience with trading stocks while keeping a socially conscious mind.

Students who join the group receive education on the stock market and investment options with various speakers and texts.

The first investments in 2009

The first members were allotted $10,000 and given freedom to pick investments. Spring 2009 offered an optimal time to enter the markets as the economy was nearing the bottom of a recession.

The students picked a variety of stocks and funds by researching possibilities and discussing them in class.

Throughout the following year, the fund grew to a peak of $14,368.

At the end of the fiscal year a new group of students followed the fund and were given the chance to do their own research to decide what stocks to hold and if any should be sold. The Fall 2009 group traded four holdings.

‘Our Community Place’ receives first check

The group bylaws, approved by each semester’s club members, ask that 10% of the gain each year be given to a charity.

, a non-profit community center in Harrisonburg, was the recipient of $436, and this was accepted by Director Ron Copeland, a graduate of Eastern Mennonite Seminary.

When presented with the check, Ron shared with the club members what his charity does for the community and his future aspirations for Our Community Place.

Look out, Harrisonburg, the college students are coming.

91����Ƶ wants to introduce its newest group of first-year students to the community by some direct involvement in local service programs.

For the first time, as part of its orientation program, some 300 new 91����Ƶ students and student orientation leaders will spend Saturday, Aug. 28, working with non-profit and other social service agencies.

“We want our students to understand that they are not coming just to a college campus, but to a real community that has both needs and opportunities for learning,” said Deanna F. Durham, community learning coordinator at 91����Ƶ.

“We require all first-year students to do 15 hours of community service their first semester. This ‘Day of Service’ is designed to introduce them to the many non-profits and social service agencies in our communities and to accomplish some much-needed work in our community just before school starts,” she added.

The program will begin at 10 a.m. in Lehman Auditorium with a welcome and comments from Vice-Mayor Rodney Eagle, Ron Copeland, an 91����Ƶ student and former owner of The Little Grill restaurant; Adam Starks, a 2003 91����Ƶ graduate and manager of Panera Bread; and representatives from local non-profit agencies.

In addition, locally-owned restaurants and Panera Bread have agreed to host and provide lunch for the students or donate food for lunch. Local non-profits will host the students for an afternoon of community service. Transportation will be provided by Harrisonburg Transit and 91����Ƶ vans.

Participating restaurants include Little Grill, Chanello’s Pizza, Lil’ Italia, Calhoun’s, Mr. J’s Bagels, Panera Bread, Bombay Indian Restaurant, Taste of Thai and the Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC) cafe.

The organizations where students will work include Black’s Run Greenway, The Children’s Museum, Gift and Thrift, Artisan’s Hope, Booksavers, A World of Goods, Salvation Army Thrift Store, Camp Kaleidescope, Camp Still Meadows, WVPT, Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, Glen Eco Farm, Our Community Place, Highland Retreat, Rockingham Memorial Hospital, Crossing Creeks, Mercy House, VMRC and Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center.

Activities will run through 5 p.m. that day.