Welcome to our first chapel of the second semester! Join us as we begin our semester in worship. President Jim Brenneman will share on “Choice Points” from Deuteronomy 30:15-20. There are those critical choices we all face, some of which are mundane without much consequence, others that seem routine, but are of great consequence. Let us learn to “listen to our lives” in the “quiet places” via our conscience, God’s discernable voice, and other places as well.

This Advent service of scriptures and hymns will be led by Profesor Deb Brubaker and members of her hymn leading class.

Political science professor Lee Roy Berry was born into a family of migrant farm workers in Florida. He has earned a B.A. from Eastern Mennonite University, a M.A. and Ph.D. from Notre Dame and a J.D. from the Indiana University School of Law. For many years Berry has split his time between teaching courses here at GC and practicing law in his downtown office. In this convocation, he will give us a brief glimpse of his vocational journey.

Kevin Gary, assistant professor of education, shares his faculty faith story with the campus community

Alain Epp Weaver was a long-term volunteer with Mennonite Central Committee in Israel-Palestine. He is currently a doctoral student at University of Chicago.

Hear stories of summer service experiences and be led in worship by several GC students who participated in Service Inquiry Program this past summer. The 9 SIPers and the service site locations include: Anna Hade – Emmaus House, GA, Emily Swora – Urban Ventures, MN, Isaac Beachy – Samaritan Ministry, Washington, D.C., Krista Ehst – Franconia Mennonite Conference, PA, Lindsy Glick – Mennonite Central Committee Nicaragua, Matt Harms – Habitat for Humanity, Dominican Republic, Sarah Buskirk – DOOR San Antonia, TX, Sarah Zwier – Mennonite Mission Network, IN, James Weber – Mennonite Central Committee Honduras/Akron

The last two SST units to travel to the Dominican Republic will share their experiences in and knowledge of this country.

An ensemble of members of the Voices-n-Harmony gospel choir will lead us in a time of praise and worship through the theme of “Sing unto the Lord a new Song.”

Carter is the 2007 Eric Yake Kenagy artist in residence.

Brokenness is all around us and pervades our souls. This chapel service will pause to recognize those parts of ourselves and engage in singing, worship, prayers in ways that may foster a sense of hope and healing. There will also be a time of anointing.

In this convocation, Goshen Student Women’s Association (GSWA) and the Campus Health and Wellness (CHAW) committee will introduce a week-long emphasis on awareness of domestic and sexual violence. The Clothesline Project displayed in Schrock Plaza is a visual reminder of the many stories that touch our campus.

In this chapel worship service, we will pause from our busy lives by singing, praying, and hearing from several students upon their reflections of this year’s Campus Ministries theme – “In Stillness…God.” They will share moments of how they connected with God in times of stillness, but also share of frustrating experiences as well.

Our guest speaker for this week, Swana Sidonie, a Congolese theologian, was denied entrance into the United States. In light of this situation, chapel will be an opportunity for us to hear reflections from Marty Lehman and Rod Hollinger-Janzen about how U.S. State Department policies are affecting the global church and why we should care about building relationships with the African church, in particular. Join us for a service of African song, reflection, and prayer as we consider our place in the global church. We will have opportunity for everyone to sign a letter of support for Swana Sidonie, as well as letters of protest addressed to the State Department.

Jamaica SST unit from Summer 2007.

Jonathan Beachy, one of this year’s recipients of the “Culture for Service Alumni Award,” will share about “God’s Transformative Love” through his experiences as a prison chaplain in the Tacumbu National Penitentiary in Asuncion, Paraguay.

In October 2006, a local truck driver entered an Amish school in Nickel Mines, PA and shot many of the students, killing five girls and himself. For many people, the most shocking part of this incident was the forgiveness that the Amish community immediately offered to the killer’s family. Goshen College history professor Steve Nolt is co-writing a book about the Amish and forgiveness with fellow scholars Don Kraybill and David Weaver-Zercher. It is scheduled to be released by Jossey-Bass press in October 2007.

Visiting pastor Shane Hipps shares his faith story

Latino Leaders: Change Agents for a New Culture” – guest speaker Mauricio Chenlo

Hear stories of summer ministry experiences and be led in worship by several GC students who participated in Ministry Inquiry Program this past summer.