"What got me hooked was my interview with the students that morning; to hear their opinions … their strong feelings and beliefs about things that are very important to me: peace, justice, volunteerism, things like that."
I came to the Orlando convention for two reasons. The first relates to my work as a Goshen College professor: three recent Goshen graduates (Sarah Hofkamp, Laura Miller and Zachary Zimmerman) and I offered a seminar on the Bystander Intervention program we have developed at Goshen College. The second emerges from my role as a board member for Mennonite Women (MW) USA: I helped Marlene Bogard and the MW USA staff (Berni Kaufman and Katie McKinnell) celebrate the organization’s 100th anniversary.
Being connected to the Mennonite Church is a stream that runs deeply through my life. My heritage has long roots in the Anabaptist tradition for which I am grateful. But my connection consists of much more than an ethnic, cultural and familial basis. While each of these elements plays a role in whom I am, I find the deepest connection in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.
For Art Smucker, his time serving with MCC in Europe following World War II focused on rebuilding the infrastructure decimated by the war. But he soon found that relationships were also being built in the process.
Let us also recall the lives of Norbort Khongolo and Corneille Malula; let us remember Pascal Kulungu and the Center for Peacebuilding, Leadership and Good Governance; let us pray daily for the security of our Congolese Mennonite brothers and sisters and for all those in the world who live in fear; and let us not shrink back from the call to be peacemakers in a violent world, even if the cost is high and the weight of history seems overwhelming.
Randy Gunden, a former business professor and administrator at Goshen College, died Feb. 25 after a 10-month battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 64 years old and graduated from Goshen College in 1975 with a degree in economics.
Read all about Philipp Gollner's top 10 song choices and listen to his full playlist online!
Professor emeritus of nursing Norma Jean Weldy, 87, died Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2017. She had worked at the college for 33 years until her retirement in 1995.
Earlier this summer, my 20-year-old son had a burned out headlight on his car. Frankly, I wanted to get that light changed as soon as possible, because a burned out light can be a death sentence for a Black man.
Violence is a continuum. And it can start long before someone buys a gun.
