Byler, who graduated with a degree in social work, was a senior when she gave her speech discussing how her profession can both empower individuals and tackle systemic issues.

鈥淚 challenge us to use our gifts to empower individuals, communities and policy making bodies in ways that confront systemic injustice and shift toward sustainable change. We must not forget the end goal,鈥� Byler said.

She was awarded a $150 cash prize from , which sponsors the bi-national contest.

Lauren Treiber, a junior at Goshen College, won first prize聽 for her speech, 鈥淭he Real Occupy Movement: Understanding Capitalism in a Christian Context.鈥� The second-place winner in the contest was Katie Wineland, a senior at Bluffton University, for her speech, 鈥淪peaking a Wor(l)d of Truth: Proclamation as Peacebuilding.鈥�

Treiber collected a $300 cash prize while Wineland was awarded a $225.

91短视频 the contest

The annual oratorical event, open to students in Mennonite and Brethren in Christ universities and colleges in Canada and the United States, is administered by Peace and Justice Ministries of MCC.

Each speaker applied the Christian peace position to a contemporary concern in an 8-10 minute address.

91短视频 has participated in the event since 2003, with 91短视频 students winning the in 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2011. The contest is sponsored by 91短视频’s , , and programs.

The contest was established in 1974 in honor of the late C. Henry Smith, a Mennonite historian and professor at Goshen and Bluffton.

Rose Byler, a senior major from Goshen, Ind., won first place with her speech, “Living into the Tension: Social Services and Systemic Change.” Byler discussed how her profession can both empower individuals and tackle systemic issues.

“I challenge us to use our gifts to empower individuals, communities and policy making bodies in ways that confront systemic injustice and shift toward sustainable change. We must not forget the end goal,” Byler said.

As first-place winner, Byler receives a cash prize and entry in the bi-national competition with winners from other Mennonite-rooted colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The bi-national winner will be announced in the fall.

Julia Schmidt, a junior from Pandora, Ohio, who is majoring in in addition to , was first runner-up with her speech, 鈥淗olding Dignity in the Community of Faith.鈥� Her speech focused on responses to difference and conflict in the church, articulating “how the concept of dignity can transform the way we live in relationship as a community of faith.”

“Looking back on my two experiences [in Ohio and Texas], I believe that dignity was the difference,” said Schmidt. “Now, I don’t think people in (my first church example) were bad people, or they meant to harm each other in the way they did. However, the church did not understand dignity, and how dignity is essential to all humans, and especially when attempting to be a community of Christ.”

Taylor Weidman, a junior from Chambersburg, Pa., who is triple-majoring in , and , was second runner-up with his speech, 鈥淒issimilarity is Hope.鈥� Weidman spoke about his story of dyslexia and the recognition of dissimilarities in the world.

“As a community dedicated to peace, we must not use or internalize the methods of measurement or conformity,” Weidman said. “As a community of learners and teachers, we cannot let ourselves become reduced to merely cogs in a system of compulsion鈥︹��

The annual oratorical event, open to students in Mennonite and Brethren in Christ universities and colleges in Canada and the United States, is administered by Peace and Justice Ministries of U.S.

Each speaker applied the Christian peace position to a contemporary concern in an 8-10 minute address.

The contest was established in 1974 in honor of the late C. Henry Smith, a Mennonite historian and professor at Goshen College and Bluffton University.

Other 2012 contestants

• Thomas Millary, 鈥淎 Pluralistic Realm: Towards a Theology of Peace鈥�
• Joel Nofziger, 鈥淐onfession as a Restorative Practice in the Church鈥�
• Sarah Schoenhals, 鈥淛ustice from Generation to Generation鈥�
• Jamila Witmer, 鈥淗is Dream is our Command: Breaking Stereotypes through Integration鈥�