GC Employees – Faith at Work
Video Interviews
- Andrew Hartzler, accounting
- Beth Miller, nursing
- Jody Saylor, biology
- Duane Stoltzfus, communication
Written Interviews
Video Interviews
Andrew Hartzler, Associate Professor of Accounting
Beth Miller, Associate Professor of Nursing
Jody Saylor, Associate Professor of Biology
Duane Stoltzfus, Professor of Communication
Written Interviews
Jennifer Schrock, Global Engagement Office Administrative Assistant
What faith tradition did you grow up in? What is your current faith tradition?
I am a Mennonite from the cradle.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up near Harleysville, a small town about 30 miles from Philadelphia. My family had been rooted in this community for over 200 years.
What are your hobbies?
A. Reading: In 2016, I decided to shape this part of my life by reading a dozen novels from international or minority U.S. voices. And so I travelled by book to Chile, Turkey, Nigeria, Afghanistan, India, several Native American reservations and a couple of Afro-futurist destinations.
B. Plant taxonomy: This girl-geek hobby means I love to find plants I don’t know and identify them. My list is over 1200 plants. I also keep a life list of birds.
C. Quilting: I haven’t done much with this in recent years, but I had a strong quilting phase years ago. I like learning about how people from different cultures make quilts. Some are engineers, some are storytellers and some are like, “Who needs a ruler anyway?”
How do you de-stress?
Journaling helps me. One technique I use is based on the work of a psychologist named James Pennebaker. He showed that writing about a painful experience five days in a row for 20 minutes at a time has physical health benefits (not to mention psychological ones) months into the future.
Where or how do you experience God?
A. I experience God in church among people who speak my faith language and with whom I have a long term relationship. I often find myself shedding tears in church because of the beautiful things we say to our children or to each other through songs or stories or litanies. One reason I find church moving is that I have trained myself to look for God there. Through baptism, I have said that this setting is important to me, and so I have developed a practice I call Sabbath journalling. Most weeks, I write down what the highlights of my morning in church were. (I DON’T record the negatives!) Sometimes it is a song; sometimes it’s the sermon; sometimes it’s a conversation or the kids in my Christian education class.
B. I experience God in nature. Whenever I meet a new species or see one that you can’t count on running into, I experience it as an act of God’s grace.
What event or circumstance has informed or impacted your faith?
My husband is a pastor and a spiritual director. A shared faith and faith community is at the core of our marriage and I am grateful for that. We talk a lot about faith issues. Having this in common has made it easier for me to keep believing in the things I cherish, to work harder at nurturing my own faith and to get to church every Sunday.
What about your faith keeps you rooted in your passions or causes you believe in?
I think Christianity—especially in the Mennonite tradition—is a gutsy and hard-headed faith that tells the truth about how hard change is. Jesus was crucified, after all. The theology I embrace teaches that Jesus is particularly present in failure and pain, and that there is hope in spite of these.
What advice did you receive from any faith/spiritual mentors you have had that you are willing to pass on to current students?
I have forgotten people’s advice; I can only think of actions. My father’s example tells me to persevere in sharing what is important to me, even if it appears to have no impact. My spiritual director’s example tells me to laugh a lot, to delight in the uniqueness of each person and to err on the side of unconditional love.
Other than Jesus, which biblical character is inspiring to you? Why?
Ananias in Acts 9:1-19. This is a story that deserves to be told more often. Ananias had the courage to seek out his enemy and lay his hands on him so that he could be healed. His willingness to touch someone he could have hated restored the Apostle Paul’s sight and enabled him to embrace and share the Gospel. I would like to be an Ananias for someone someday.
I also like Vashti in Esther 1 who refused to be made into a sexual plaything at a drunken party.
How do you have or what is your hope in the world?
I hope to see the face of Jesus Christ—and to recognize him when I do.
What is your hope for students and their faith while they attend Goshen College?
• I hope that students will find the mentors they need at critical times of despair or decision.
• I hope that students will come to a deeper faith than they came in with, or will find new convictions they care about.
• I hope that we will not cause long-term harm to any faith worth having.
Beth Bontrager, Mennonite Historical Library Administrative Assistant
What faith tradition did you grow up in?
Mennonite Church
What is your current faith tradition?
Anabaptist Mennonite Church with a branch of Episcopal
Where did you grow up?
I was born in Cleveland OH, where my dad was pastoring, spent years in Kidron OH where Dad taught at Central Christian HS, and then moved to Hesston KS when I was 9 so my dad could be professor at Hesston College. Attended Hesston, Goshen, majored in English, Minor in Theatre Communications (lots of music, history, Spanish and German, too) My family roots are in Archbold OH and Goshen, IN.
What are your hobbies?
Vocal, piano and recorder music, reading (just about anything), tracking what I read and what I want to read, attending shows and concerts, knitting.
How do you de-stress?
Reading in bed or cuddled up on the couch in front of a fireplace. Playing piano with vigor. Talking with a good friend. Knitting. Doing something for someone else. Go to a good movie with my boys and discuss it afterward.
Where or how do you experience God?
I participate in morning prayers from the Anabaptist Prayer Book with several other people five mornings a week. This ritual practice prepares me for my day and focuses my thoughts on those I love, my community, the broader church and the world. I experience God when I relate to people–learning about them helps me to broaden my understanding of how God works in lives and our world, even when we aren’t fully aware of it. Talking with my husband provides a good grounding resource for me. I experience God in music, listening to or performing it. I experience God in revealing moments of the Arts–literature, movies, theater, visuals, etc.
What do you understand your life’s vocation to be, and what role does faith play in it?
My vocation is service to God in whatever circumstance God places me. I have worked in schools, not-for-profits, an attorney’s office and in healthcare, as well as the hospitality service industry. My faith is about relationships–with God, with others and with myself. Thus how I do my work, as well as how I relate to these three in my whole life, is how I live out my salvation and my faith in God.
What event or circumstance has informed or impacted your faith?
My year in the InterMenno Program shaped my faith in that I found family of faith in surprising places. The host family my first six months truly made me a part of their family and I was able to visit them this past summer in Germany after 32 years. Additionally, while I was in Brussels, I sought out a Lutheran English-speaking church community who welcomed me in, assisted me with various issues, invited me to their homes, and generally supported me in faith and needs. Thus, I have found faith community to be the FIRST thing I look for when I relocate–finding people and worship experiences where I can contribute and am welcomed to live out my faith and find support. In this way I continue to grow and expand my understanding of God and what it means to be a follower of Christ–and I am never alone.
Additionally, I have chronic health issues. This has forced me to find ways to enrich my life and live in the moment, finding ways that God is at work in me and through me by how I live each day. It has also focused my thinking on how grace and mercy figure into my faith–they are integral–and how others show them to me, and how I can be God’s servant by accepting grace and mercy gracefully and honestly.
What about your faith keeps you rooted in your passions or causes you believe in?
Participation in worship and relationships. I attend College Mennonite Church on Sunday Mornings and participate in music there. I attend Faith Mennonite Church Sunday late afternoons and participate in music, worship leading and on committees there. Once every 4-6 weeks I attend St. John of the Cross Episcopal Church in Bristol, where I revel in the joy of the liturgy and mass. Different styles of worship speak to me about the different faces of God, just as different compositions of God’s community reveal those different faces. Participation in worship is integral in keeping me rooted in passions for justice and grace for all people.
What advice did you receive from any faith/spiritual mentors you have had that you are willing to pass on to current students?
Find a faith community to be a part of and find people to trust with questions and fears. Be willing to be vulnerable and people will be vulnerable and supportive with you. Don’t be afraid to ask questions which seem to have obvious answers. Listen to other people’s faith stories/journeys. Read the Bible with a questioning mind. Try various churches until you find a community which is welcoming to you and where you feel you will be safe.
Other than Jesus, which biblical character is inspiring to you? Why?
The woman who washed Jesus’ feet. She was willing to be vulnerable to Jesus, to express her love, uncertainty and fears, and emotions, as well as give a gift of great price–in front of everyone who judged her. Jesus did not judge her. This picture of Jesus is one of mercy, of justice, of grace and of love and encouragement. But she had to be willing to take that risk in front of the world in order to receive and experience those things.
How do you have or what is your hope in the world?
Peace and Justice in relationships and in how the haves treat the have-nots. Treating one another in love and mercy. Expanding the church to be a welcoming place for all. God’s people are not defined by labels, but by service and love and living out their faith.
What is your hope for students and their faith while they attend Goshen College?
That they will always seek and find faith communities to participate in and experience support and love and that you will find people to trust with questions and fears. Faculty, staff and other students are here for you. Be willing to be vulnerable, and people will be vulnerable and supportive with you. Don’t be afraid to ask questions which seem to have obvious answers. Listen to other people’s faith stories/journeys. Read the Bible with a questioning mind. Don’t avoid classes you think you won’t like or don’t think you will succeed in. Be brave and take risks. Go on SST–get out of your comfort zone. Get involved in groups. All of these things will expand your relationships, and in that, your experience of how God is working in the eyes of others. Have those late-night conversations with friends. Learn about other faiths and backgrounds. You will find ways that your gifts can be used in service to others and to God. Lower your expectations and put aside assumptions–you will be surprised and, maybe, delighted. Learn to say please and thank you. In lots of languages!