Barbara Robbins MA ’11 and The Reverend James Isaacs MA ’10 are members of , a consortium of peacebuilding practitioners working mainly in the field of congregational change. Of its 10 members, seven have ties to 91����Ƶ, including professors David Brubaker and Roxy Allen Kioko MA ’07. [Read more about Cooperative By Design in this 91����Ƶ news coverage.]

The church’s discernment process began after the June 2015 mass shooting in an African Methodist Episcopal (AME) church in Charleston, S.C., by a neo-Confederate. Shortly afterward, other Virginia churches with historical links to the Confederacy and Confederate generals began to reconsider internal and external symbolisms.

The process with the Lexington church began in January 2016 and concluded in September 2017 with a vote in favor of the name change to Grace Episcopal Church.

In a Jan. 15 essay titled “,” vestry member Doug Cumming, a professor of journalism at Washington and Lee University, shares the story of the six-member committee, their hard work of discernment, and the role played by Cooperative By Design facilitators.

In the face of a fractured church that one vestry member compared to our national political discourse, the rector sought outside help that turned out to be based on radical peace-building techniques from the pacifist Mennonite branch of Christianity…

… Father [Tom] Crittenden researched the group and, with the vestry’s approval, invited two of its consultants (one an Episcopal priest) to the vestry retreat in January 2016. Two things were memorable about their visit to that retreat: A technique of giving an individual the power to speak while others listened and secondly, the idea that conflict was not something to be ‘resolved’ but was a kind of energy that could be used for ‘transformation.’

Finding the middle way of compromise led to restoration of the church’s historic name, but also to the founding of a subcommittee with the goal of seeking ways “to honor Lee and the history of this parish in meaningful and significant ways.”

.

Webinar on reconciliation efforts at Richmond church

The hosted a about historic reconciliation and faith-based practice, using as a case study St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, Virginia and their four-year effort to reconcile the congregation’s historic ties as home parish church to leaders of the Confederate Army (the church has been called the Cathedral of the Confederacy).��The webinar was among a series sponsored by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities.

Click here to view the .

Background reading

The Washington Post covered the debate among congregants in an .

The Richmond-Times Dispatch covered the Sept. 19, 2017, .

91����Ƶ hosted The Rev. Sharon Washington Risher, who lost several family members in the Charleston shooting, during the university’s Martin Luther King Week. Read more.

Academic Success Center

Linda Gnagey, director of the Academic Success Center, and Professor Vi Dutcher, with the Writing Program, recognized the following tutors concluding their service in December: Hannah Gross, Harrison Horst, Kat Lehman and David Nester.

Campus Ministries

Ministry assistants completing their service are: Kyra Lehman, Holly Mumaw, Laura Rittenhouse, Jenna Lile, Clara Weybright, Anali Martin, Seth Peters, Aaron Gusler, Sarah Kline, Kate Kauffman, Hannah Wheeler and Joseph Harder.

Pastoral assistants are Alexa Weeks and Nathaniel Nissley. Undergraduate Campus Pastor Lana Miller provided the recognition.

Center for Justice and Peacebuilding

Professor Roxy Allen Kioko recognized the following students:

• Hannah Kim for her��outstanding��work as a graduate research assistant;
• Kajungu Mturi and Brenna Case for their work with the Brazil delegation that spent five days on campus learning more about restorative justice [read more here];
• Trina Trotter Nussbaum for her commitment to community-building at CJP;
• Andrea Moya Urena and Renata Loberg for their leadership with the DACA Dialogue Planning Committee [read more here];

Department of Applied Social Sciences

Katrina Poplett and Jonatan Moser were recognized for their leadership over the past two years of Take Back the Night by Professor Deanna Durham, faculty advisor [read more here].

Sociology major Harrison Horst was recognized by Professor Jenni Holsinger for his academic work and service. Read about Harrison’s many

Theater Department

Professor Heidi Winters Vogel recognized the nomination of Emma Roth, Clara Bush and Renata Loberg — actors in the fall production of MacBETH — to the Irene Ryan Scholarship competition and Amber Hooper for the stage management competition at Kennedy Center American Theatre Festival.

Latino Student Alliance

Co-presidents Ariel Barbosa, Alejandra Rivera, Anna Messer and Mario Hernandez were recognized by M. Esther Showalter, faculty advisor. [Read about their fall activities here.]

Business and Economics Department

Ryan Faraci, Jacob Sloan and Erik Peachy were recognized for extraordinary academic performance by Professor Tammy Duxbury. Brittany Williams was recognized for her leadership, academic performance and service by Professor Joohyun Lee.

Multicultural Student Services

Director Celeste Thomas recognized the Alpha Omega Dancers for Christ: Hannah Shultz, Delight Tigoe, Qing Wang (Freya), and Kellie Serrell.

The Black Student Union Board of DeVantae Dews, Childra Nwankwo, Ivan Harris, Jess Washington, Precious Waddy, Jourdyn Friend and Clarrisa White were also recognized for their steadfast leadership.

Music Department

Luke Mullet was honored by Professor Ryan Keebaugh for achievement in composition and choral music (Professor James Richardson presenting). Read about Luke’s many talents.

Nursing Department

Professor Audrey Myers, advisor of the Nursing Student Association, presented the department’s biannual awards: Dylan May, academic achievement award; Kim Heatwole, servant leader award; and Annie Trinh, Sacred Covenant Award.

Student Life

Rachel Holderman and Nicole Litwiller, student leaders of the Royals Cup competition, named Elmwood Residence as the top points accumulator of the fall semester.

The “fall individual MVP” was Andrew Troyer, followed in second place by Andrew Reimer-Berg. Third place was a three-way tie with Cameron Byer, Sarah Ressler and Lucas Wenger. In fourth place was Aaron Horst, Skylar List, Adam Peachey and Kayla Sauder. Rounding out the top 10 MVPs is Lauren Hartzler.

Student Government Association

Outgoing members were recognized: from the executive council, Nicole Litwiller, vice president and Luke Mullet, secretary; and from the senate: Nathaniel Nissley, Abigail Shelly, Leah Wenger and Ben Zook.

Athletic Honors

Student-athletes receiving honors and awards during the fall semester were also recognized. For more coverage, visit .

“The MAOL is a great blend of business and personal skill development,” says Gabb, operations and business manager at in Timberville, Va. “The program can build you up, but more importantly, it reveals to you and others who you really are.”

Learning who he “really” is as a leader has helped Gabb improve relationships and efficiencies in his unique role, a position which he describes as “a mixture of human resources, production and administration.”

Based in several hundred acres of Shenandoah Valley orchards, the business sells its apples throughout the United States and internationally through wholesalers, distributors and retail chains. They also grow peaches, nectarines and cherries for seasonal sales at two area farm stands, local farmers’ markets and local retailers.

Through MAOL coursework, Gabb says his leadership skills have expanded to better awareness of his strengths and weaknesses, stronger listening skills, the capability to view multiple perspectives, and a versatile and more flexible leadership style.

“I highly recommend the program to anyone who thinks they are a leader or need to become a leader,” said Gabb, who also completed his bachelor’s degree in 2006 through 91����Ƶ’s .

The MAOL program is just one of several graduate and certificate programs at 91����Ƶ with the common curricular goal of developing leadership for the common good. Additionally, the highly successful degree completion program, which started in 1995, has a similar emphasis; students with at least 60 credit hours of undergraduate work can work towards a bachelor’s degree in leadership and organizational management.

Students bring their skills, life and professional experiences into the classroom, where they explore leadership and organizational skills, as well as conflict management, strategic planning, decision-making processes and financial management.

“The School of Graduate and Professional Studies at 91����Ƶ is a remarkable place to be,” says , director of admissions and marketing. “In many ways, it is an incubator for new ideas and new approaches to higher education at 91����Ƶ. These programs banding together is just one example of the synergy and collaborative spirit here. The school is also quite nimble, which allows us to quickly respond to��evolving challenges and opportunities in our community and beyond.” ��

MA in Organizational Leadership enrolling the fourth cohort

The graduated its second cohort in April and will enroll its fourth cohort this fall.

Professors and have been added to the faculty. Stauffer, who teaches in the undergraduate Applied Social Sciences Department and with the MA in Biomedicine program, will teach an introductory course in leadership studies. Kioko, who is completing her doctorate at James Madison University, will teach project development.

A cross-cultural component has also been added. “91����Ƶ has long led the way in promoting the benefits of a cross-cultural learning experience and we want our graduate students to have this opportunity as well,” says Professor , the new director of the MAOL program.

MAOL students beginning this fall will have two options at the end of their coursework: an organizational sustainability course that includes travel to Costa Rica (a for several years), or a domestic cross-cultural course designed with 2-3 weekend excursions to areas of cultural diversity in the Mid-Atlantic region.

Brubaker has added oversight of the MAOL program to a portfolio that also includes administration of the MBA program. He has taught in the MAOL and MBA programs, and for many years, taught in the .

He takes over from Dr. , who will become interim graduate dean.

“Dave brings significant real-world experience to his teaching and administration, gleaned from many years as an organizational change consultant,” Cockley says.

Humanitarian Action Leadership program offers practical skills

This summer and fall, local and international students alike will benefit from a series of online courses offered by 91����Ƶ’s Humanitarian Action Leadership (HAL) program.

“The HAL program is a response to the growing challenges and complexities of our global society, offering a range of courses delivered by experienced practitioners to NGOs, aid agencies, government organizations, businesses, and individuals working to address natural and human-made disasters,” says Dr. , who came to teaching from a multifaceted career in family and community health, including many years in Central America.

Coursework draws on 91����Ƶ’s niche programs: sustainable and compassionate leadership, peacemaking and peacebuilding, and trauma awareness and resilience.

The program explores topics related to disaster response and humanitarian action through the lenses of climate change, peacebuilding, justice, sustainable development, capacity building, resiliency and personal formation from a values and faith base. These courses are available in multiple formats. Students can choose to pursue a graduate certificate (18 credits), a MA in Interdisciplinary Studies (36 credits), or an undergraduate minor.

HAL will also work with individual organizations to develop and deliver custom training sessions or workshops to address specific needs.

MS in Nursing Program enters eighth year

The����(MSN) program started its eighth year of operation with an orientation session in May 2017 for the Leadership and School Nursing concentration and with the upcoming orientation in July for the Leadership and Management concentration.

“Students and faculty continue to explore new ways to integrate the 91����Ƶ nursing philosophy of sacred covenant with servant leadership in the diverse practice roles and settings of nursing,” says program director Dr. .

With students from Nepal to southern Africa, the MSN has increased in geographic, professional and organizational diversity.

“With the fall 2017 entering class, we hope to welcome several students from South America and the Middle East,” Tyson said. “This diversity of students, partnered with faculty from the U.S. to Central America within an online environment while still maintaining a high level of relationship, illustrates the 91����Ƶ values of community across cultures and practices.”

The program added adjunct faculty members Carli Youndt, MSN ’15, in the school nurse concentration, and Doug Alderfer, an assistant superintendent of schools with Rockingham County Public Schools, in the leadership and management track.

Ten students will complete their capstone projects in August, implementing evidence-based quality improvement initiatives in the following projects:

• improving the health of diabetic students in schools,
• preventing oxygenation loss events in patients transported within hospitals,
• creating a mental health screening of foster children in developing countries,
• implementing an innovative “grab and go” breakfast program for school children, and
• enhancing nursing education through learning how to capture patient narratives.

Adult degree program increases flexibility with hybrid classes

The newly revised features the BS in Leadership and Organizational Management. The progam will begin offering hybrid classes for fall 2017, according to , program director.

“This program is designed specifically for working adults who want to complete their bachelor’s degree while still maintaining work and family commitments,” she says.

Students complete a 16-month program as a cohort, forming a learning community that provides academic and social support. ��A hybrid (or blended) format was chosen to address the need for flexibility without sacrificing a strong sense of community.

Courses are offered in a five-week format with asynchronous (on your own time) online sessions during the second and fourth weeks of the course. During the first, third and fifth weeks, students attend a single traditional class session on campus from 6-10 p.m.

In a recent blog post, Payne reflected her own growth as she ‘mimicks’ her experienced guides and then steps off on her own.

As a child, I played follow the leader. I mimicked the actions of others for fun.

As a college student, I find myself in a very similar situation. This cross-cultural is an extreme game of follow the leader.

Our leaders, Kim and Seth, model how to function in contemporary Europe. They guide us through cities and on public transportation. They gladly share their wisdom and calm our nerves. We follow. We learn by example.

These times of mimicking prepare us for times of independence. Almost daily we are given opportunities to explore or assignments to find specific locations. This is when the roles reverse. My peers and I will take turns directing, learning through practice.

Although this ever-changing game of follow the leader is fun and challenging, it has a specific focus. We are tracing the paths of our Anabaptist roots.

Besides the “Radical Europe” tour of Anabaptist sites in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, 91����Ƶ cross-cultural groups are in Bolivia, the Navajo Nation and Spain.

• The Bolivia group is led by Brian Martin Burkholder, campus pastor, and Linda Martin Burkholder, cross-cultural program assistant.
• The Navajo Nation group is led by Gloria Rhodes, chair of the applied social sciences department, and Jim Yoder, biology professor.
• The Spain group is led by Professor Adriana Rojas, of the language and literature department, her husband Patrick Campbell, and Barbara Byer, the department’s administrative assistant.

The 91����Ƶ cross-cultural experience, which has been part of the curriculum for more than 30 years, is very different from the typical “study abroad” program. Approximately 68 percent of all 91����Ƶ graduates go on an international cross-cultural trip; the remaining students fulfill the cross-cultural requirement exploring the vast diversity here in the United States. Most graduates name their cross-cultural experience as a significant part of their 91����Ƶ education.

Trips are led by faculty members who have deep roots in the countries and communities where groups travel. As an example of these deep roots, nearly 20 faculty and staff are “Third Culture Kids,” who spent significant years of their youth in another country/countries. Some 20 countries on six different continents are represented tin these experiences. Most 91����Ƶ faculty and staff have also lived and worked abroad for significant periods of time.

Upcoming cross-cultural trips include:

• Israel/Palestine, fall 2018, with Bill Goldberg, director of the Summer Peacebuilding Insitute, and Lisa Schirch, research professor at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding;
• Guatemala and Cuba, spring 2018, with Byron Peachey, academic advocacy program adviser, and Lisa King, instructor in the nursing department;
• India, spring 2018, Kim G. Brenneman, psychology professor, and her husband, Bob Brenneman;
• Kenya, summer 2018, with Roxy Allen Kioko, professor of business, and her husband, Felix Kioko;
• Paraguay, summer 2018, with Greta Anne Herin, professor of biology, and Laura Yoder, professor of nursing;
• Marginal(ized) Europe: Bulgaria and Greece, summer 2018, with Andrew White, professor of English, and his wife, Daria White;
• Lithuania, summer 2018, with Jerry Holsopple, professor in the visual and communication arts department;
• , offered each semester in Washington D.C. allows for immersion into urban culture, while acquiring valuable work experience in an internship.

The event is also designed to give participants a preview of the community atmosphere and courses offered at SPI, a program of the which hosts five sessions in May and June on a variety of topics including trauma awareness, restorative justice, leadership, program management and responding to violent extremism.

Since 1994, more than 3,000 people have attended SPI from more than 120 countries. While the early years of SPI were geared more towards international participants, there has been a push in the last few years to attract local participants and respond to local situations.

“This is a way to give more focus to the local community,” says , admissions director.

Last year, a middle school teacher, veteran, pastor and community kitchen manager were among the 65 regional peacebuilders in attendance at SPI Community Day. After “such a positive response” last year, Roth Shank says the maximum attendance has been increased to 80.

The event includes a breakfast presentation on community organizing by Dr. , professor of restorative justice; two 90-minute workshops, a lunch presentation and a networking event.

“The underlying focus is going to be community organizing and leading,” says Roth Shank. “In the current political climate … people are looking for ways to build bridges and be engaged.”

Workshop offerings include

• Organizational Use of Circles, with Dr. ;
• Leadership and Management for the Common Good, with Dr. ;
• Conflict Coaching, with Dr. ;
• Program and Project Management, with ;
• Transforming Power of Identity and Dignity, with Dr. ;
• Faith-Based Peacebuilding: Structuring Hope Locally, with The Rev. Roy Hange.

Participants will depart with deeper networks and valuable skills related to organizational leadership, says SPI Director , while also learning more about the resources of SPI and the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding.

“I believe, as do many others, that in the coming years, communities are going to have to increasingly rely on their own organizations and service providers as there will be less help forthcoming from the federal government,” says Goldberg. “SPI Community Day is a great chance for 91����Ƶ to make better connections with these local providers, give them the skills they need to succeed and help them become better connected with each other.”

Empowering youth to transform their society has been Myers’ work for many years. “Peace is personal,” says the 2014 graduate of the at 91����Ƶ. “I am always spiritually compelled to reach out and give a helping hand.”

Myers returned to 91����Ƶ in December 2016 to present a capstone project she developed while participating in a two-year fellowship with the at the Institute for Global Engagement, Washington D.C., in collaboration with Pepperdine University.

The project focuses on violence reduction and conflict transformation in the youth population, building upon the foundation laid by her nonprofit organization , in which youth develop life skills through coaching, mentoring, advocacy and volunteering for peace and development. Myers is both founder and director.

Ultimately, Myers wants to establish an institute of peace dialogue, which would formalize the work and build capacity. Youth are the country’s future, she says, and despite a civil war and challenges like porous borders, high corruption, limited education and poor infrastructure, she remains positive about Liberia’s future.

“Young people can no longer be bystanders or used to perpetrate violence,” she says. “They are not victims but contributors.”

Mobilizing youth is also the focus of Myers’ work as regional coordinator for West and Central Africa by the , headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands. In these capacities, she has participated in high-level meetings with UN leaders, African Union, Liberian government officials and regional officials.

“It’s always a highlight to see a WPLP graduate return to campus having made great strides forward in her professional career and peacebuilding work,” said , WPLP director. “The research Gwen presented points directly to the necessity of her own work with youth to reframe messages of violence to those of peace. According to the findings she presented, Liberia is potential ground for the spread of violent extremism—meaning that now more than ever her work to engage youth in peace messaging and peacebuilding is needed. I look forward to Gwen’s development of a peace dialogue center as an approach to preventing increased violence and extremism in her country.”

Launched in 2012, the WPLP program has graduated 42 women from Africa and the South Pacific. The fourth WPLP cohort, comprised of , began their studies last summer at the Summer Peacebuilding Institute. After coursework, an online praxis workshop and implementation of an original intervention project, they will complete a graduate certificate in peacebuilding leadership in December 2017.

Cleveland, the keynote speaker at 91����Ƶ’s annual faculty/staff conference, is associate professor of the practice of reconciliation at the Duke University Divinity School and author of (InterVarsity Press, 2013).

A sought-after speaker who was named one of “Five online shepherds to follow” by JET magazine, Cleveland remarked that the opportunity to speak at 91����Ƶ was irresistible.

“As a reconciliation scholar and practitioner, how could I say no to 91����Ƶ?” she said.

Inclusion, equity can be strengthened

The annual faculty/staff conference brings together approximately 350 members of the campus community at the start of the academic year for fellowship, worship and professional development. The theme of the Aug. 17-18 conference was “Embracing Diversity,” with diversity being defined in its various dimensions as race, faith, socio-economic background, gender, sexual orientation, political beliefs, physical abilities and other identities.

The topic was also informed by goals within the “to recruit, develop, and retain diverse, effective faculty and staff.”

“This goal goes to heart of our mission and values as a university,” said Provost , who chaired the planning committee. “Development of culturally competent educators and members of the campus community goes hand-in-hand with our mission of educating students to serve and lead in a global context. The conference helped us to continue discussion and assessment utilizing both our own significant resources and those provided by outside experts.”

In 2015, 91����Ƶ’s traditional undergraduate population included a record-high 37 percent of students who are ethnic minorities or come from other countries. That number is up from 36 percent in 2014 and 29 percent in 2013.

“We have many strengths in this area,” Kniss said, noting the institution’s history of inclusion of African Americans, the required undergraduate cross-cultural experience, and a high percentage of faculty and staff who have lived and worked in other countries. “Our work in global peacebuilding and in restorative justice are a strong foundation to build upon, but we must be proactive in confronting and addressing questions of inequality and equity that challenge us as a community.”

Afternoon sessions included

• Cleveland on “Power and Place: Why Some Students Thrive and Others Don’t on Christian College Campuses”;
• chairs , director of multicultural and international student services, and , ombudsperson, about focus group research conducted in spring 2016;
• Professors and , admissions counselor and graduate student Julian Turner, on “Black Lives Matter and White Fragility”;
• Professors and on teaching and advising diverse students with mental health challenges:
• Professors and on building inclusive organizational cultures;

• 91����Ƶ Lancaster Provost , on Milton Bennett’s Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity;
• Professor , of James Madison University, on “Difference and Civility: Building Resilient Responses to Intolerance.”

‘Do the work. Leave your turf. Listen.’

Cleveland began her address as a social psychologist, outlining why humans living in a pluralistic and complex world define themselves so fiercely within a group identity, and then moved into the theological realm. She asked how the privileged and the powerful can step away from that hierarchical space.

Cleveland, the daughter of church planters from California, pointed out that only 11 percent of Americans are raised by two college-educated parents. Acknowledging her own privilege — raised in a home committed to higher education and daily enrichment and educational experiences, she attended an elite East Coast boarding school and Dartmouth College. This upbringing led her to examine closely Jesus’s relationship to the oppressed and marginalized in a world that was “rife with inequality.”

She asked: “What would it look for me to empty myself of my power and my privilege in a way that Jesus did?”

Using two parables, she pointed out that Jesus did hard and radical work: he shifted attention, changed narratives and transposed power positions so that marginalized peoples moved into positions of power.

“Jesus didn’t say, ‘Figure it out. Jump up to the Trinity,’” she said, evoking laughter from the audience. “Do the work. Be last. Leave your turf. That will look different for every person. How do you leave your turf at 91����Ƶ? How will you, the privileged, move from first to last? … So many of us have never been last so we don’t know what that looks like.”

The conference, sponsored by a spectrum of Mennonite-related organizations and higher education institutions, brought together viewpoints from inside and outside the Mennonite church. Author and consultant and Mother Earth News founder headlined an array of speakers who shared over the course of six sessions.

Block, addressing the event via a live videoconference from Cincinnati, encouraged participants to seek a “third way of leadership” that overcomes a tendency toward isolation and emphasizes community.

“How do we in small groups come together so that everyone’s voice is heard?” Block asked. “A small circle means you’re facing the people you’re creating a life with.”

He said Mennonites are particularly well-equipped to shift the focus toward dialogue and building something new due to their values.

“Mennonites have the strongest foundation to initiate that conversation in the world because you stand for something,” Block said. “Everywhere I go where I see democracy breaking out—an egalitarian spirit, caring for the whole—one of you is always in the room.”

Melia Watkins, a Goshen (Indiana) College junior, was one of numerous millennials from six Mennonite colleges and universities invited to share reflections during the gathering.

“The most impactful thing I learned was to think about what I really care about,” said Watkins, a marketing major from Cincinnati. “Ever since Peter Block mentioned that phrase I’ve been thinking, ‘What do I really care about?’ I’m really glad I’ve been here to experience that.”

, faculty emeriti and former director of 91����Ƶ’s , said Block also struck a chord for him.

“The thing I’ve resonated strongly with is Peter Block’s comment on leadership as convening—creating spaces for new forms to emerge,” Jantzi said. “For those of us who are now in my generation, our task is to be space creators in the world. That’s where the miracle of transformation is going to occur.”

Earlier, Welch—now CEO of B the Change Media, which encourages socially and environmentally responsible business practices—looked at leadership trends through the eye of a business executive.

“One of the most important movements shaping the 21st century is the global movement of people with a passion for using business as a force of good,” Welch said. He also underscored the need for a positive spirit and consensus-building. “No one wants to follow a pessimist,” he said.

Anabaptist entrepreneur and Mennonite Central Committee founder Orie O. Miller received significant attention during the conference as a foundation for discussing leadership. Hesston (Kan.) College professor John Sharp, author of a , shared reflections and noted Miller’s “genius at connecting people.” 91����Ƶ also dedicated a new, flag-filled in its University Commons.

Speakers underscored the need for new styles of leadership to meet today’s needs, examining values, theology and identity. 91����Ƶ professors and hosted sessions and facilitated discussion, including a closing plenary session that allowed small groups to generate ideas. Five workshop choices provided additional learning opportunities.

, vice president and dean of at 91����Ƶ and one of the primary organizers of the conference, said he was pleased with the event and hopes similar gatherings happen in the years ahead.

“There’s a lot of polarization today in society in general and in our church,” Smucker said. “The hope of the conference was that we could contribute to new models of leadership and ways we can work together going into the future that are more constructive. We had lots of rich conversation, lots of rich input from a variety of voices; it probably exceeded my expectations in terms of the quality of input.”

Participants seemed to echo that sentiment, closing the conference with a simple unison benediction of “Wow!”

The conference was sponsored by 91����Ƶ, Everence, Mennonite Central Committee, Mennonite Economic Development Associates, Mennonite Health Services, and the Anabaptist Center for Religion and Society. Co-sponsors included Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Ind.; Bethel (Kan.) College; Bluffton (Ohio) University; Canadian Mennonite University, Winnipeg; Conrad Grebel University College, Waterloo, Ontario; Goshen (Ind.) College; Hesston College.

Published with permission from

Anyone who knows sophomore��Felix Kioko would be able to tell you��that his smile is infectious. He walks around 91����Ƶ’s campus and is greeted by many��students who have become familiar with him in the short time he has been��attending. Though he was��initially reluctant to return to a university setting in his 30s, he now feels as��though he is exactly where he needs��to be.

Kioko grew up in Kenya in the village, surrounded by his older siblings until, one by one, they moved to the city of Nairobi to pursue higher education and careers. His family was deeply rooted in Christianity, and he attended Sunday school every week. He was motivated to arrive early to the classes because the first 10 children would receive candy, a luxury that he could not afford in the village.

Eventually, Kioko moved away��from home to attend college so he could study accounting and computers, topics that were not addressed in his prior schooling. Afterwards, he got a job in tourism and helped visitors by setting up accommodations and travel plans.

In Nairobi, he became more serious about his faith and asked God what he needed to do with his life, and he was baptized, receiving the Christian name of Felix.

“Have you ever seen faith in action?” Kioko asks, “It’s like when you pray, and what you pray for… it happens! Sometimes you have to tell God, ‘This year, I’m trusting You for this.’ You have to request and be patient. Sometimes God may not give you something because He looks at you and sees you’re not ready yet. We do things to our own understanding, and we don’t allow God to guide us. We should allow Him to open our spiritual eyes.”

Kioko did just that when it came to finding a wife. In Kenya, there are certain cultural expectations surrounding marriage, and he felt some of that pressure from his mother and the church as he reached his late 20s.

In 2011, he left his workplace and opened his own tourism company where he met his future wife, Roxy. She was working with an organizations that partnered with his company. They dated for two years over long distance before he proposed because she was pursuing her doctoral degree at James Madison University in strategic leadership with a concentration in nonprofit and community leadership. Roxy Allen Kioko, a graduate of the , also teaches undergraduate courses, as well as the .

Roxy Kioko encouraged him to go back��to school because his Kenyan credentials did not qualify him for a job in the United States. Her cousins had attended 91����Ƶ, and so Kioko applied, asking for God’s help in the process. Within a week, he was accepted and received a scholarship that allowed him to attend.

He is majoring in and plans to earn a master’s degree. He and his wife also filed a request for a cross-cultural to Kenya in the summer of 2018. The group would help with the foundation the couple has founded, Go and Light Our World (GLOW) Foundation.

GLOW Foundation helps to empower women in Kenya. In the last two years, they installed a well to bring water to Kioko’s village and also built a greenhouse to be managed by community members. Their next project involves earth care, and they hope to expand to other countries in East Africa, including Tanzania and Uganda.

“Growing up in the village, we didn’t have electricity and didn’t even have access to a library… and now I’m in a good library with WiFi in a great school… To me, that is God,” Kioko states, “I didn’t know this is what would happen. I didn’t know this was what was waiting for me. Anything is possible. When grace is sufficient, you can do it.”

This article is reprinted from the March 24, 2016, issue of The Weather Vane.

Block, a well-known expert on organizational development, community building and civic engagement, will address the conference live via video. A strong advocate for the concept of “servant leadership,” he is the author of The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods (2010), Community: The Structure of Belonging (2008), The Answer to How Is Yes: Acting on What Matters (2001) and Stewardship: Choosing Service Over Self Interest (1993).

, vice president and dean of graduate studies at 91����Ƶ and one of the primary organizers for the conference, says Block will bring an important perspective as an “outsider” to the church. Smucker says Block’s address will focus on “third-way leadership.”

“We’re struggling as Anabaptists with leadership paradigms and how we make decisions,” Smucker says. “We want to facilitate a conversation about how we go forward and further develop our movement in a way that brings us together.”

The conference will focus on clarifying Anabaptist values related to leadership, examining historical models, critiquing current economic and social systems, and developing applied theories that can be used to build more effective and future-looking organizations.

The planning committee is emphasizing the representation of diverse voices and perspectives, and students from the various Anabaptist-related schools will be sharing during each plenary session.

Other keynote speakers include:

• Bryan Welch, CEO of B The Change Media and founder of Mother Earth News;
• John Sharp, teacher, author, storyteller, and historian;
• Lee Snyder, a former vice president and academic dean who will serve as at 91����Ƶ;
• John Stahl-Wert ’81, recognized expert in leadership and innovation;
• Rachel Waltner Goosen, professor of history at Washburn University;
• ’82, executive director of Lancaster County Conservancy and former CEO of Isaac’s Famous Grilled Sandwiches;
• Gilberto Perez Jr. ’94 , senior director for intercultural development and educational partnerships at Goshen College;
• Jeff Boodie ’07, founder and CEO of JobSnap;
• , associate professor of organizational studies and of 91����Ƶ’s MBA program;
• David Miller, associate professor of missional leadership development at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary;
• Dominique Burgunder-Johnson, Goshen College director of marketing and current collaborative MBA student;
• , professor in 91����Ƶ’s Bible and religion department and former academic dean;
• Rick Castaneda, home/school liaison for Harrisonburg City Public Schools and founder of Men of Character;
• , MA ’07 (conflict transformation), doctoral student at James Madison University and instructor with the Summer Peacebuilding Institute and 91����Ƶ’s business department.

Workshop topics include emergent leadership, leading innovation, people management ethics, developing resilient organizations, and authentic leadership.

The conference grew out of discussions at the (ACRS), a community of Mennonite elders and scholars who meet monthly for fellowship and intellectual engagement at 91����Ƶ. Six years ago, ACRS initiated a biography project on 20th-century Mennonite leader Orie Miller; the result was a published by Herald Press in May 2015.

In the planning and conception process, the group found synergy with conversations happening in the program (a joint project of Bluffton University, Canadian Mennonite University, 91����Ƶ and Goshen College), which Smucker says had recognized a lack of scholarly work around leadership and Anabaptism. A network of partnerships began to grow.

The conference is sponsored by ARCS, 91����Ƶ’s , , (MEDA), and . Co-sponsors include Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Bethel College, Bluffton University, Canadian Mennonite University, Conrad Grebel University College, Goshen College and Hesston College.

“We have never before pulled off a conference of this type with this amount of collaborative engagement,” says Lee M. Yoder, chair of the ACRS steering committee and former vice president and associate professor of education at 91����Ƶ. “It’s the first of its kind.”

Register at .

The answer: (CBD), which describes itself as “a consortium of peacebuilding practitioners, each committed to creating a more just and peaceful world by enabling healthier families, organizations, communities, and societies.” Initially growing out of a network of peacemakers in Arizona in the early 1990s organized by CBD member and 91����Ƶ graduate Tom Brenneman, the consortium today includes ten members, seven of them with 91����Ƶ connections.

The congregation contacted CBD member , associate professor of organizational studies at 91����Ƶ’s (CJP). Brubaker and a recent CJP alumnus facilitated a conversation that led to a vision statement and a plan to move the congregation from a board-commission structure to a more flexible, team-based model. It was unanimously adopted.

Grounded in faith

Church consultations like that one comprise the majority of CBD’s work, but the practitioners’ diverse skills are also applied in a variety of other settings. Their focus areas include change management, strategic planning, congregational revitalization, conflict transformation, mediation, facilitation, coaching and training.

Brubaker says the work is deeply grounded in faith and spirituality.

“To me it is a reflection of God’s desire for a more peaceful and just world,” Brubaker says. “If we can do it congregation by congregation and organization by organization, then we’re participating in God’s vision, even when we’re doing it imperfectly.”

Much of the work comes from referrals, about one a month on average, but CBD recently formalized one relationship when it entered an agreement to partner with the North Carolina-based (CHC) and assist CHC in its work with congregations in Virginia. Particular attention will be given to proactive initiatives that address conflict before it reaches the crisis stage.

“We encourage people to consider consultants at an early entry point of a conflict or strategic planning,” says CBD member , who also serves as university ombudsman for 91����Ƶ. “We very much encourage people to be open, transparent and involved—including those who may have a contrary vision. Stepping into (conflict) can be a healthy, normal, practical thing.”

‘Holders of the process, not the solution’

Brubaker says he and Reid recently worked with a “Level 5” conflict in a congregation that had let a problem fester too long, as many congregations and other groups do. “One of the toughest I’ve ever done,” he says. “It’s good when congregations are more proactive. It’s so much more effective at the front end.”

The CBD members emphasize that they are not some sort of peacemaking superheroes who can speed in and solve a conflict. They simply provide an outside perspective, help all voices be heard, and give guidance for the way forward. “Reference teams” composed of key stakeholders in the situation at hand are formed to carry out the desired outcome.

“We are holders of the process, not the solution,” says CBD member Roxy Allen Kioko, a graduate of 91����Ƶ’s program and instructor with the and in 91����Ƶ’s . “A lot of consultants go in and make a recommendation and the congregation is supposed to implement it. But a lot of times it fails because there is no ownership of it. By collaborating with a diverse and well respected team within the congregation, they take ownership. They are involved from day one, from assessment to implementation and follow-up. It’s a unique thing about our model that can hopefully lead to better success.”

And those SPI alumni who aren’t aiming to earn a degree? Some of them just keep coming back year after year – almost as an educational vacation – or they send their colleagues and friends to SPI.

Of the 2,800 SPI participants over the last 19 years, more than one in five have been repeat participants, taking courses during a second year or even multiple years of SPI. In that number must be counted almost all of CJP’s 398 master’s degree alumni, plus 91 graduate certificate holders. Some of their MA classmates are now SPI instructors, plus many of their professors have taught at SPI year after year.

Detouring six hours to reconnect

Among the first drop-bys to SPI 2014 were Florina Benoit and Ashok Gladston of India, both 2004 MA grads from CJP and now PhD-holders. They made a six-hour round-trip detour from a family-related stop in Baltimore, Maryland, to say “hello” to folks at SPI.

Gladston was last at 91����Ƶ in June 2011 when he gave a heart-wrenching talk at 91����Ƶ centering on women from a minority group in southern India who were being violently victimized by mobs from the surrounding majority group.

The two, both former Fulbright Scholars married to each other, happened to arrive on May 7 when Doreen Ruto of Kenya, a 2006 MA graduate, was the featured SPI “Frontier Luncheon” speaker, along with her colleague (and son) Richy Bikko, a 2011 BA graduate who majored in justice, peace and conflict studies.

Over that day, Gladston and Benoit interacted with a dozen professors, staffers and alumni whom they recalled from their studies at CJP 10 years ago.

When the day turned to evening and their borrowed car was found to have a non-working headlight, they lingered for activities very familiar to them –��a community “potluck” meal, followed by a cultural program led by SPI participants, and informal dancing. (They huddled with this writer for much of that time answering questions about their work in India – but more on that later.)

They then accepted the impromptu invitation of Margaret Foth, a retiree who has been a long-time liaison with CJP alumni, and slept in a guest room at the Foths’ home, adjacent to 91����Ƶ.

��“It was like we recalled from our time as graduate students,” says Benoit. “We felt like we were visiting our second home.”

In 2013, Gladstone and Benoit had been scheduled to teach an SPI course on the logistics of humanitarian aid – more specifically, on how such aid intersects with peacebuilding practices, including the “do no harm” principle – but, unfortunately, that year the number of people seeking such training was insufficient to hold the course.

Always more to learn

A third former Fulbright Scholar, Shoqi Abas Al-Maktary, MA ’07, took a break from his job as country director in Yemen for Search for Common Ground and spent May 15-23 taking the SPI course “Designing Peacebuilding Programs – From Conflict Assessment to Planning. ”

“I don’t think anyone in this field can afford to stop being a student,” says Al-Maktary, who holds a second master’s degree in security management from Middlesex University in the United Kingdom. “There is always more to know, more to explore with others in the field. And SPI – with its intensive courses – is a great place to do this.”

Thomas DeWolf of the United States just finished attending his fourth SPI in six years, with the course “Media for Societal Transformation.” He first came in 2008 where he explored Coming to the Table (explained in next paragraph). He returned for a restorative justice course in 2009, and then in 2012, received a scholarship to take “Healing the Wounds of History: Peacebuilding through Transformative Theater.”

DeWolf’s connection to SPI began with CJP’s sponsorship of Coming to the Table, an organization focused on addressing the enduring impact of the slavery era in the United States. DeWolf has played a leading role in this organization, which held its annual conference at 91����Ƶ this year, over a weekend between two sessions of SPI.

Seven times at SPI

A 76-year-old clinical psychologist from Argentina, Lilian Burlando, has an astonishing record of attendance at SPI, having attended about a third of all the years SPI has been held. From her home at the southern-most tip of South America, Tierra del Fuego, Burlando has attended SPI seven times: in 2006, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. Often with her, also taking classes, have been members of her family of five children and 19 grandchildren. One of her daughters, Maria Karina Echazu, for instance, is a prosecuting attorney in Argentina who took a restorative justice course in 2007 and a practice course in 2011.

Burlando calls SPI “a refreshing experience,” citing interesting course topics, excellent professors and the sense of community. “To me,” she says, “SPI has been a fountain of intellectual and spiritual enrichment.”

Almost all the teachers at SPI – even those like Johonna McCants, who holds a PhD from the University of Maryland – have also been students at SPI at some point. McCants explains how she found her way to SPI:

In 2009, while finishing my doctoral dissertation, I began searching online for practical training in the issues I was writing about. I discovered CJP and SPI and quickly fell in love. I was attracted by the integration of theory and practice, the variety of courses, the diversity of participants, backgrounds of the instructors, and that the program was housed at a Christian university. I participated in Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR) at SPI just a few weeks after receiving my PhD. The STAR experience, which was phenomenal, kept me coming back for more.

McCants brought along a first-timer to SPI 2014, Julian Turner. These two, who first met as teenagers, would be married in a month. But first Turner, who works at an infectious disease clinic in Washington D.C., soaked up the wisdom of Hizkias Assefa in “Forgiveness and Reconciliation,” while McCants co-taught with Carl Stauffer “Restorative Justice: The Promise, the Challenge.”

Loves the diverse people

From her base as a high school teacher in a public school in Washington D.C. – and with experience as an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland – McCants says she is struck by the egalitarian learning community formed by SPI, where the instructors and participants respect and learn from each other.

Her favorite part about SPI?

Definitely, the people! I enjoy learning from people from different parts of the United States and countries all over the world, hearing their stories and developing new relationships. I also like reuniting and reconnecting with people I’ve met during previous times at SPI.

Discovering SPI on the internet, as McCants did, is not typical. More often, SPI participants are encouraged to attend by previous participants.

Libby Hoffman, president and founder of the Catalyst for Peace foundation, for example, attended SPI in 1996 and took another CJP course in 2000. This year she dispatched two rising leaders of Fambul Tok – an organization doing amazing work of promoting post-war reconciliation throughout Sierra Leone – to take two successive courses at SPI. Micheala Ashwood and Emmanuel Mansaray both took “Leading Healthy Organizations,” in addition to “Analysis – Understanding Conflict” and “Psychosocial Trauma,”
respectively.

Ten CJP master’s degree alumni had teaching roles at SPI 2014: Dr. Sam Gbaydee Doe, MA ’98; Dr. Barb Toews, �� MA ’00; Dr. Carl Stauffer, MA ’02; Elaine Zook Barge, MA ’03; Roxy Allen Kioko, MA ’07 (PhD candidate);��Paulette Moore, MA ’09 (PhD candidate); Jacqueline Roebuck Sakho, MA ’09 (PhD candidate); Caroline Borden, MA ’12; Soula Pefkaros, MA ’10 (PhD candidate); and Danielle Taylor, MA ’13. < — Bonnie Price Lofton