Chapel Worship – Assurance: God with Us – Janeen Bertsche Johnson (Campus Pastor of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary)

Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. (Romans 12:9 MSG)

Most of us spend most our lives hiding behind masks of fear and shame. But that’s not who we are, and definitely not who we were created to be. We can love from the center of who we are because love is at the center of who we are.

—–

Anton Flores-Maisonet is co-founder of Casa Alterna, a hospitality house in Georgia devoted to faithful acts of mercy and justice alongside its Latinx neighbors. Casa Alterna serves as a hub for connecting and empowering neighbors via tutoring, community organizing, and popular education.

Because of Anton’s prophetic advocacy and tireless solidarity, he has been honored by two Spanish-language Atlanta-based newspapers as their respective “Person of the Year”. Additionally, Alterna was named “Organization of the Year” by Mundo Hispánico, the largest Spanish-language newspaper in Atlanta.

Anton Flores-Maisonet holds degrees in social work from Georgia State University and the University of Georgia.

Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers. (Romans 12:11-13 NRSV)

When fear seeks to erect walls in our hearts, laws, and borders, the call of the Church is to an even fiercer love. For over 15 years, Casa Alterna co-founder, Anton Flores-Maisonet, has extended hopeful, patient, and persevering hospitality to Latinx immigrants. Via stories that inspire, Anton will remind us all that love crosses borders.

Anton Flores-Maisonet is co-founder of Casa Alterna, a hospitality house in Georgia devoted to faithful acts of mercy and justice alongside its Latinx neighbors. Casa Alterna serves as a hub for connecting and empowering neighbors via tutoring, community organizing, and popular education.

Because of Anton’s prophetic advocacy and tireless solidarity, he has been honored by two Spanish-language Atlanta-based newspapers as their respective “Person of the Year”. Additionally, Alterna was named “Organization of the Year” by Mundo Hispánico, the largest Spanish-language newspaper in Atlanta.

Anton Flores-Maisonet holds degrees in social work from Georgia State University and the University of Georgia.

Moriah Hurst, Nurture and Faith Development Pastor at Park View Mennonite Church (Harrisonburg, VA), closes the EMS Spiritual Life Week with her chapel address, “Me and My Messy Humanness”

Spiritual Life week opens with Mandy Smith, Writer, Artist and Lead pastor of University Christian Church, a campus and neighborhood congregation with its own fair-trade café in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Originally from Australia, Mandy Smith is lead pastor of University Christian Church, a campus and neighborhood congregation with its own fair-trade cafe in Cincinnati, Ohio.  She is a contributing editor for Leadership Journal and the author of Making a Mess and Meeting God. Her latest book is The Vulnerable Pastor: How Human Limitations Empower Our Ministry (IVP).  Mandy and her husband Jamie,  a New Testament Professor at Cincinnati Chiristian University, live with their two kids in a little house where the teapot is always warm.  She is also a fine artist and the creator of “The Collect,” a citywide trash-to-art project.

Spiritual Renewal Chapel –

Grounded: Jesus on the Margins, prophetic voices – Celeste Thomas,  Christi Hoover Seidel, and Matthew Hunsberger

is an award-winning journalist, radio producer and co-founder of One Book, One Church. She is the author of Rescuing Jesus: How People of Color, Women and Queer Christians are Reclaiming Evangelicalism. Her book reporting has taken her to secret societies of LGBT Christians within conservative enclaves, social justice Christian communes and many other corners of the subculture, where she explores the intersection of evangelical faith with race, gender, sexuality and progressive politics.

She writes about a variety of subjects, including religion, international human rights, health, travel, personal finance and much more. Her stories have been published by Slate, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, New York, Reuters, GOOD, SELF, Hemispheres, WBEZ and WNYC, among others. She was previously a staff reporter at The Associated Press.

Her series about migrant workers in China, written with reporting partner Sushma Subramanian, was a finalist for the 2012 Livingston Awards. The story, about the 58 million children left behind in China’s countryside without their parents due to restrictive national policies, follows one mother’s journey from the heart of China’s industrial boom back to her village, as she tries to reunite her broken family. The pair also produced a radio documentary which explores the world of China’s “bachelor villages,” or areas overrun with aging bachelors whose bleak marriage prospects are a direct result of the country’s gender imbalance. That documentary won the 2012 Newswomen’s Club of New York Front Page award for radio feature.

Deborah has taught news reporting and magazine writing as a professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City. She previously taught intro to journalism to undergraduate students at Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY.

Hear sharing by , Amanda Williams, and

Spiritual Renewal Week Chapel: A service including Biblical monologues, song, painting creation & the Alpha Omega Dancers.

As Spiritual Life Week comes to a close, the campus community gathers in Martin Chapel for music, drama, ritual and prayer on the theme blessed are those who haven’t seen and still believe. Christian Parks offers the monologue of Thomas, and all participants are invited to join in a prayer practice, a time of sharing and listening to each others stories. When have we seen Jesus? When didn’t we see Jesus, but wished we had?

How do Johonna Turner, Nancy Heisey, Ben Bailey, and several student leaders, make sense of justice and Jesus? Hear their stories.

is Assistant Professor with the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding. is Professor of Bible and Religion. is Office Coordinator for the Department of Applied Social Sciences.

Sabrina hails from the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. Her passion for fighting human trafficking quickly developed after volunteering with The Zion Project, and she made it her mission to learn about this issue on a local and global scale. In 2010, she and her husband, Steven had the vision of New Creation. Armed with the belief that prayer and education are the solution to the problem, she continues to develop concepts that will make an impact. When not working you will find her spending time with her husband & their children, thrifting with friends, or snuggling with one of her beloved cats…Nehemiah, Willow, and Oliver.

“”

Seminary Spiritual Life Week Concludes – In collaboration with Virginia Mennonite Conference, Virginia Mennonite Missions, 91����Ƶ and Eastern Mennonite Seminary, , Princeton Theological Seminary’s Henry Winters Luce Professor of Missional and Ecumenical Theologies the guest speaker.

“”

Seminary Spiritual Life Week Begins – In collaboration with Virginia Mennonite Conference, Virginia Mennonite Missions, 91����Ƶ and Eastern Mennonite Seminary, , Princeton Theological Seminary’s Henry Winters Luce Professor of Missional and Ecumenical Theologies the guest speaker.

Hear students, faculty and staff share personal life and faith reflections on Becoming. . ., the theme, followed by a song performed by Giulio Garner.

Storytellers: Gloria Rhodes, Eldon Kurtz, and Erin Hershey
(inspired by )

Hear undergraduate students share personal life and faith reflections on Becoming. . ., the theme, followed by a vocal solo by Alicia Ygarza.

Storytellers: Philip Watson, Makora Nyagwegwe, and Daniel Barnhart (inspired by )

In this closing chapel of Spiritual Life Week, Vanessa Sandoval (senior), Kristina Showalter (Custodian with physical plant and student), Ron Shultz (professor in Education Department), and Maddie List (sophomore), share how questions, doubts, transitions, fears, and unsettledness shaped them and caused them to grow. They share how these experiences changed how they think about God and what they learned.

In this first chapel of Spiritual Life Week, Vanessa Sandoval (senior), Kristina Showalter (Custodian with physical plant and student), Ron Shultz (professor in Education Department), and Maddie List (sophomore), share about times they experienced questions, doubt, transitions, fears and unsettledness in life. They will share more on Friday as well.

closes Eastern ‘s fall Spiritual Life Week with her chapel address entitled, “Sustainable Passion”.

opens ‘s fall Spiritual Life Week with her chapel address entitled, “Impassioned”.

Kelsey Zook, Ann Hershberger, Diego Barahona, and Jered Lyons sghare parts of their faith stories. Each person shares their story in an interview style and then a theatrical group from campus does an improvisational retelling of each story after it is shared. We also hear stories of Biblical characters and their significant encounters with Jesus.

Using Deuteronomy 6 as our guide we are encouraged to remember the ways we have experienced God and how that impacts our lives. Chaska Yoder, Stephanie Bush, Jonathan Estrada, and Cathy Smeltzer Erb share parts of their faith stories.

Closing guest musician focuses on the theme “Abide in My Love.” Abide in My Love: Every home needs work. What does our “home” work look like? Stories: What makes it hard to love?

Though blind from birth, Ken sees and hears with heart and mind, custom-designing every musical moment of his performance with brilliant improvisation that defies description. Ken’s artistry and imagination have reached audiences of 50 to 50,000 people in 49 states and in more than 15 countries on four continents.

Ken’s lyrics generally provide social commentary on themes such as justice, hunger, poverty, homelessness, and Christian charity as it pertains to them. Performances regularly include songs improvised both musically and lyrically by accepting audience recommendations, sermon topics, or guest speaker stories as their basis. He performs in national and worldwide congregations, campuses, youth gatherings, and annual assemblies.