In the News

College responds to community active shooter situation

About 5:30 p.m., Thursday evening, Feb. 25, the Hesston College campus went on lockdown after receiving information from emergency services about an active shooting incident at nearby Excel Industries. The campus was not in immediate danger, but due to the college’s close proximity to Excel – about four blocks – emergency officials instructed the lock down procedure.

Many Hesston College employees had already left for the day, but those who remained and about 300 on-campus students sheltered in place for nearly an hour and 15 minutes until receiving the all clear from emergency officials. All students, faculty and staff were safe.

“Our students and their safety are our top priority,” said President Howard Keim. “We’re grateful to local emergency services for keeping us apprised of the situation throughout the entire incident. Everyone on campus cooperated with the lockdown.”

Hesston College and Excel have enjoyed a long history of close friendship and partnership. Concern on campus Thursday evening was for the Excel community and all of those affected.

The campus community gathered later Thursday night at Hesston Mennonite Church for an update from President Keim, and a prayer service led by Keim and campus pastor Todd Lehman for the shooting victims, their families, the Excel community and the entire Hesston community.

“Our hearts go out to the employees of Excel,” said Keim. “We have been in constant prayer for them since we heard of these tragic events. We and others in the community will do all we can to support Excel in the coming days.”

Hesston College regularly holds lockdown drills, the most recent being about three weeks prior to Thursday’s incident. As students, faculty and staff received the automated lockdown alert, they immediately knew what they were supposed to do and where they were supposed to go.

“The lockdown went very smoothly,” said Rob Ramseyer, vice president of Student Development. “Our regular drills have paid off in educating the campus community as to each person’s role and responsibility for safety during situations like this.”

Friday’s classes and activities are taking place as scheduled.

Update

A community gathering is planned for 6 p.m., Sunday evening, Feb. 28 at the Hesston High School gym. The Harvey County Community Service of Lament and Hope is sponsored by the Hesston Ministerial Alliance with Excel Industries.

Claiborne motivates fearless love in a fearful world

What does it look like to live out our faith? That was the question explored by more than 300 registrants from 17 states at Hesston College’s Anabaptist Vision and Discipleship Series (AVDS) weekend Feb. 19 to 21.

The weekend’s theme, “Not Just on a Sunday,” featured Shane Claiborne, an ordinary radical, founder of The Simple Way – a faith-based justice community in inner-city Philadelphia and nationally known Christian author and speaker.

Claiborne shared story after story of his experiences working with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India, travelling to Iraq with Christian Peacemakers Teams and the restoration of life in his own community in Philadelphia. Claiborne called participants to “digest Jesus into us” and to let his love “ooze through our veins” so that “His love would become our love.”

Along with registered attendees throughout the weekend, the opening Friday evening session and Sunday morning worship with Hesston Mennonite Church were free and open to the public, drawing large crowds who were inspired by Claiborne’s message.

“I was excited by how many people of all ages and from so many different places came to the conference,” said Ken Rodgers, conference leader and Hesston College music faculty. “I believe it shows a real desire by people to try and take Jesus’ teachings seriously in our daily lives.”

Participants were invited to be attentive to the ways God is at work already in their hometowns and the ways they can be the hands and feet of Jesus to their neighbors.

Claiborne prayed, “God we do pray that you would give us a fearless love in a fearful world. Help us to love in a way that wears evil down. Give us the holy courage, Jesus, that you had as you faced the cross and as you faced Herod. Also give us your grace, your love and your mercy that sees even in our most bitter opponent, a child of God that is not beyond redemption.”

Separate tracks were offered on Saturday afternoon for congregational life, headlined by Claiborne, and youth ministry, with speaker Nes Espinosa. Espinosa serves as the executive director of Timoteo Football Philadelphia, which supports communities by empowering men to mentor youth through athletics and spiritual formation, and attends Oxford Circle Mennonite Church. He shared both about the brokenness of his home community that has been labeled the “Badlands of Philadelphia,” but also the work that God has done and is doing in his community.

“I appreciated hearing many different questions and points of view presented, but realizing that everyone shared the common goal of bringing Christ’s love, healing and redemption to places and situations where pain and brokenness have occurred,” said conference participant Mary Bender (Harrisonburg, Va.). “Listening to Shane’s stories and message also made me remember how both beautifully simple and involved following Christ is; He invites us into his love, but it requires one’s whole life, every aspect. Seeing this group of people come together to find deeper understanding gave a snapshot of the wider church and hope for healing in the world.”

by Emily Kauffman

Lecture series to feature president of Communities in Schools of Georgia

Hesston College will host Carol F. Lewis, president of Communities in Schools (CIS) of Georgia, for the Melva Kauffman Lecture series entitled “Be the Change.” A free seminar will be at 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 25, in the Hesston Mennonite Church Community Center on the Hesston College campus. The seminar will focus on stories of how CIS is making a difference in the lives of children through achieving the CIS basics.

As president, Lewis helps lead the CIS of Georgia and local affiliates as they strengthen capacity to work in partnership with school districts to reduce the dropout rate among at-risk kids in Georgia.

CIS believes every child needs and deserves the five basics:

• A personal, one-on-one relationship with a caring adult
• A safe place to learn and grow
• A healthy start and a healthy future
• A marketable skill to use upon graduation
• A chance to give back to peers and community

Lewis, a graduate of Mercer University, believes that in order to solve our many world problems we have to work to redirect resources to where they are most needed.

Lewis will also present at a campus forum at 11 a.m., Friday, Feb. 26, in the Hesston Mennonite Church sanctuary, about how college students can use their unique gifts to support the CIS mission. Forum is free and open to the public.

Melva Kauffman, a 1936 graduate of Hesston Academy and a 1939 graduate of Hesston College, was an English and education instructor at Hesston College from 1944 to 1977. Following her death in October 2003, her family established a lecture series that would continue Kauffman’s lifelong interests in learning and the humanities.

Much-loved a cappella group Chanticleer returns to HBPA lineup

Of all the repeat artists to the Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts series, the group of 12 men appearing at Bethel College later this month is certainly one of the best loved.

Chanticleer, “an orchestra of voices” named for a clear-singing rooster in the tales of Geoffrey Chaucer, will perform Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. in Memorial Hall on the Bethel campus. Their last appearance with HBPA was in 2011.

This concert is funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, funding from which will also allow Chanticleer to present a choral masterclass, free and open to the public, in Memorial Hall from noon-1:30 p.m. February 23, the day of the concert.

The masterclass will feature performances by the Bethel College Concert Choir under the direction of William Eash, the Hesston College Bel Canto Singers under the direction of Russell Adrian and the Buhler Singers of Buhler High School under the direction of Greg Bontrager.

This group of a cappella singers has been called “the world’s reigning male chorus” by The New Yorker. Based in San Francisco, Chanticleer is in its 38th season in 2015-16, with performances in the United States, Germany, Austria, Italy, Hong Kong, Singapore, Macao, the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China.

Chanticleer will also represent the United States at the biennial international music festival in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, in April that celebrates the rich musical heritage of the South American missions.

Praised by the San Francisco Chronicle for their “tonal luxuriance and crisply etched clarity,” Chanticleer is known around the world for the seamless blend of its 12 male voices, ranging from soprano to bass, and its original interpretations of vocal literature, from Renaissance to jazz and popular genres, as well as contemporary composition.

Chanticleer was named Ensemble of the Year by Musical America in 2008, and inducted into the American Classical Music Hall of Fame the same year.

In 2014, Chorus America conferred the inaugural Brazeal Wayne Dennard Award on Chanticleer’s music director emeritus Joseph H. Jennings, acknowledging Jennings’ contribution to the African-American choral tradition during his 25-year (1983-2009) tenure as a singer and music director with Chanticleer.

The hundred-plus arrangements of African-American gospel, spirituals and jazz that Jennings made for Chanticleer have been given thousands of performances worldwide (live and on broadcast) and have been recorded by Chanticleer for Warner Classics and Chanticleer Records.

Chanticleer’s long-standing commitment to commissioning and performing new works was honored in 2008 by the inaugural Dale Warland/Chorus America Commissioning Award and the ASCAP/Chorus America Award for Adventurous Programming.

Among the more than 80 composers commissioned in Chanticleer’s history are Mason Bates, Chen Yi, Shawn Crouch, Brent Michael Davids, Gabriela Lena Frank, Guido López-Gavilán, William Hawley, Jackson Hill, Jeeyoung Kim, Tania León, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, Michael McGlynn, Roxanna Panufnik, Stephen Paulus, Shulamit Ran, Jan Sandström, Paul Schoenfield, Steven Stucky, Sir John Tavener and Augusta Read Thomas.

Since Chanticleer began releasing recordings in 1981, the group has sold well over a million albums and won two Grammy® awards.

Colors of Love, Chanticleer’s 1999 release devoted to contemporary choral works, won for Best Small Ensemble Performance (With or Without a Conductor). Lamentations and Praises, music by John Tavener, won two Grammy® Awards in 2001.

From time to time, Chanticleer collaborates with other artists. Working with musicologist Craig Russell, Chanticleer has performed and recorded three programs of unknown works by 18th-century Mexican composers Manuel de Zumaya and Ignacio de Jerusalem with a period-instrument orchestra (Mexican Baroque, Matins for the Virgin of Guadalupeand Mission Road).

Chanticleer has performed with Frederica Von Stade, Al Jarreau, Garrison Keillor and the Shanghai Quartet, as well as the New York, San Francisco and St. Paul orchestras.

The group’s education program was recognized in 2010 with the Chorus America Education and Outreach Award. It serves more than 5,000 students every year with supervision by a full-time education director.

Chanticleer has had the opportunity to sing in some of the most beautiful concert halls and churches in the world. But the group has also sung in a barn in Canada, a roofless church in the former East Germany, a gymnasium in Sweden and in Central Park with the New York Philharmonic.

Chanticleer was founded in 1978 by tenor Louis A. Botto, who sang in the ensemble until 1989 and served as artistic director until his death in 1997.

Current, and fifth, music director William Fred Scott was named to the position in 2014 and began his tenure in 2015. A native of Georgia, Scott is the former assistant conductor to Robert Shaw at the Atlanta Symphony, former artistic director of the Atlanta Opera, an organist and choir director.

Reserved seating and general admission tickets for Chanticleer are available online or by calling 620-327-8158. Ticket prices range from $23 to $27 with discounts available for students and senior citizens.

The final concert in the 2015-16 HBPA series is the London-based vocal ensemble The Swingles, April 3, at Hesston Mennonite Church.

The Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts series is funded in part by the cities of Hesston and North Newton, Excel Industries and Hustler Turf Equipment (Hesston), the Hesston Community Foundation, the North Newton Community Foundation and Kansas Creative Arts Industries Commission, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts. KMUW-Wichita Public Radio is a media sponsor for this event.

Music department to host NATS Winter Workshop

For the first time, Hesston College will host the annual winter worship for the Kansas chapter of the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS), Feb. 19 and 20.

There will be a Friday session for college students, including all Hesston College voice students, and a Saturday session for teachers. For registration information, contact Matt Schloneger at 620-327-8144 or matt.schloneger@hesston.edu.

Ruth Hennessey, director of Hennessey Whole Body Voice, will lead the workshop “Bodywork for Voice, Self-Assessment, Alignment for Singing and Masterclass.” Hennessey will lead participants in exercises to improve neck release and alignment, breath management and enhanced resonance.

In addition, participants will engage in whole-body techniques created to help improve engagement and alignment necessary in the feet, legs, torso, pelvis and pelvic floor to sustain head and neck release while speaking and singing.

Hennessey earned both bachelor and master degrees in voice from Indiana University (Bloomington). For more than 30 years, her workshops, university teaching and private lessons in her New York City studio have assisted actors, singers and speakers of every style.

This year, her workshops have been featured at the Voice Foundation Symposium, the National Association of Teachers of Singing convention and the Classical Singer convention.

The event is made possible in part by a discretionary grant from the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Inc.

Alumnus to partner with The Book of Jebb for a night of bluegrass and folk music

Local bluegrass and folk music group, The Book of Jebb, will present a concert along with Hesston College Pastoral Ministries alumnus Dave Miller at 7 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 20, at Hesston Mennonite Church on the Hesston College campus. Tickets are $7.50 for adults and will be available at the Hesston College Bookstore at 620-327-8104 or at the door. Youth of all ages are free.

The concert, which is part of Hesston College’s Anabaptist Vision and Discipleship Series (AVDS) weekend conference, is to be a time of “every day celebration” and relaxation for attendees. The Book of Jebb and Miller will each perform individually as well as perform together on some numbers.

The Book of Jebb features local musicians Bethany Schrag, Ben Regier, Eric Schrag, Tim Regier and Jesse Graber in a wide variety of bluegrass, gospel and folk music. The group often showcases their strong vocals, blazing solos and tight harmonies at venues throughout south central Kansas. Formed in 2007, the group released their first self-titled CD in December, which will be for sale at the concert.

Dave Miller is a 2007 graduate of Hesston College’s Pastoral Ministries program, and is now the lead pastor at Bellwood Mennonite Church in Milford, Neb. Prior to pursuing ministry, Miller played music professionally, including a performance with country music icon and actress Barbara Mandrell. Miller, who writes his own music as well as covers other artists’ songs, continues to use his music in his ministry and performs at special events.

Chamber Orchestra and Chorale to tour southeast Nebraska and Kansas

The Hesston College Chamber Orchestra and Chorale will present a diverse repertoire of musical pieces during their winter tour to southeast Nebraska and Kansas Feb. 12 to 14.

Concerts include:

• Friday, Feb. 12, 7 p.m. at Salem Mennonite Church, Shickley, Neb. 820 Rd V
• Saturday, Feb. 13, 7 p.m. at Bellwood Mennonite Church, Milford, Neb. 520 S B St.
• Sunday, Feb. 14, 10:45 a.m. at First Mennonite Church, Lincoln, Neb. 7300 Holdrege St.
• Sunday, Feb. 14, 7 p.m. at Christ Episcopal Cathedral, Salina, Kan. 138 S 8th St.

Concerts are free and open to the public, though a free will offering will be collected to defer expenses.

Hesston College has a strong tradition of performing arts, specifically choral music. Chamber Orchestra, directed by Rebecca Schloneger, M.M., will perform pieces by Robert Sheldon, Beethoven and Mozart. Chorale, directed by Ken Rodgers M.A., will sing selections arranged by Lloyd Larson, Alice Parker, and Pepper Choplin.

Chamber Orchestra and Chorale members are from 13 states and three international countries.

Chamber Orchestra members are: Erika Byler (Shipshewana, Ind.), Zac Headings (Hutchinson, Kan.), Emily Griffioen (Belmond, Iowa), Misato Oka (Chiba-ken, Japan), DJ Reyes (Wichita, Kan.), Emma Roth (Goshen, Ind.), Caleb Shrock-Hurst (Harrisonburg, Va.), Irenea Soetjoadi (Depok, Indonesia), Kaho Yanagidaira (Chino-shi, Japan), Mackenzie Young (Peabody, Kan.), Brandon Yutzy (Hutchinson, Kan.) and Ali Zuercher (Phoenix, Ariz.).

Chorale members are: Cheri Baer (Apple Creek, Ohio), Christine Bak (Dang-Dong, South Korea), Billy Bass (Hesston, Kan.), Yoel Bobadilla (Lancaster, Pa.), Sarah Booth (Goessel, Kan.), Erin Brubaker (Goessel, Kan.), Elena Buckwalter (Fulks Run, Va.), Renee Buckwalter (Wellman, Iowa), Johanna Burkholder (Warden, Washington), Tori Byler (Belleville, Pa.), Rebecca Delp (Sellersville, Pa.), Abbie DeWild (Kalona, Iowa), Silas Driver (Harrisonburg, Va.), Rachael East (Larned, Kan.), Colton Eby (Fisher, Ill.), Nicholas Eichelberger (Geneva, Neb.), Jessica Fahrenthold (Solomon, Kan.), Cristentia Gregor (Banyuwangi, Indonesia), Lydia Holland (Russell, Kan.), Luke Husbands (Lancaster, Pa.), Christy Kauffman (West Liberty, Ohio), Christian Martin (Milford, Neb.), Anna Miller (Berlin, Ohio), Shelby Miller (Archbold, Ohio), Sophia Miller (Newton, Kan.), Bailee Nichols-Clary (Wichita, Kan.), Caroline Riggenbach (Lafayette, Ind.), Kathryn Roth (Pettisville, Ohio), Emma Schrock (Lakewood, Colo.), Jonah Short-Miller (Bellingham, Wash.), Irenea Soetjoadi (Depok, Indonesia), Christy Swartzendruber (Shickley, Neb.), Kristin Troyer (Shickley, Neb.), Oliver Wisseman (Prineville, Ore.), Rose Yoder (Bellefontaine, Ohio), and Ali Zuercher (Phoenix, Ariz.).

Arizona golf opportunity for student financial aid benefit

Golfers from across the country can take a break from the winter cold in sunny Arizona for Hesston College’s seventh annual National Golf Benefit for Student Scholarships, Saturday, March 12, at The 500 Club in Glendale, Ariz.

Proceeds from the benefit go to student financial aid.

But even if a trip to Arizona doesn’t fit busy schedules or for those who do not golf, exciting raffle prizes are being offered. Raffle tickets are one (1) ticket for $5 or 15 tickets for $50. Winners need not be present to win. All raffle prizes are donated by benefit organizer and Phoenix businessman Steve Yoder. Tickets for participants can be purchased online by Friday, March 11 at hesston.edu/national golf. Raffle prizes include:

• Set of golf clubs, includes a Callaway bag and 4-PW clubs. Value: approximately $900
• Breakfast with a Twist package, includes two nights at L’Auberge de Sedona (Arizona), Pink Jeep Tour and $40 breakfast credit each morning. Value: $900
• Signed Peyton Manning Denver Broncos jersey. Value: $1,200
• Arizona Golf package, includes golf for four at Quintero, Wickenburg Ranch and Estrella Ranch courses. Value: approximately $1,300
• Odyssey White Hot putter. Value: $225
• Restaurant Bundle, includes gift cards to Red Lobster, Texas Roadhouse, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, Bobby Q, and Pappadeaux. Value: $650
• Cordless Drill Set, includes DeWalt drill, saw and impact. Value: $600
• Traeger Texas Pro Grill that holds up to 24 burgers, 6 chickens 32 hot dogs and 9 rib racks, plus an extra rack that holds up to 16 burgers and 24 hot dogs. Value: $1,200

To golf, registration is $125 for single entries or $450 for a four-person team. The entry fee includes a golf cart with GPS, access to the driving range, a sleeve of golf balls, two drink tickets, a barbecue meal and door prizes.

Hole sponsorships are available for $250 and green sponsorships are available for $400.

The 500 Club is an 18-hole, par 72 championship golf course that challenges and excited golfers of all abilities. The Brian Whitcomb design is continually rated one of the best recreational values in the Valley of the sun and a true Arizona golf experience.

Contact Sheri Esau with questions at 620-327-8147 or sheri.esau@hesston.edu.

Shane Claiborne to headline AVDS conference

Hesston College’s annual Anabaptist Vision and Discipleship Series will feature nationally known Christian speaker and author, Shane Claiborne, to explore the theme “Not Just on Sunday” Feb. 19 to 21.

The conference will explore what it looks like to live a vibrant 24/7 faith by discovering spiritual practices that bring transformation. Both youth and adults will benefit, as separate tracks will be offered on Saturday afternoon for congregational life, headlined by Claiborne, and youth ministry, with speaker Nes Espinosa.

A full weekend schedule and registration information can be found online. Registration discounts are available for sponsoring congregations, groups of two or more and youth of all ages.

The Friday evening opening session at 7 p.m., Feb. 19, at Hesston Mennonite Church on the Hesston College campus, will be open to the public, and high school and junior high youth groups are especially invited to attend. Claiborne will speak that evening on “Re-imagine the Body of Christ alive in the world today.”

Saturday evening will feature a concert celebration with bluegrass and eclectic music by Hesston College alumnus Dave Miller and local group The Book of Jebb at 7 p.m., Feb. 20, at Hesston Mennonite Church. Tickets are $7.50 for adults and will be available at the Hesston College Bookstore at 620-327-8104 or at the door. Youth of all ages are free.

Now pastor of Bellwood Mennonite Church (Milford, Neb.), Miller has played music professionally with Barbara Mandrel. The Book of Jebb features bluegrass, gospel and folk usic.

Claiborne has written or co-authored seven books that have been translated into more than a dozen languages, and has more than 100 speaking engagements a year, including the Mennonite Church USA 2015 convention in Kansas City this past July. His work has appeared in Esquire, SPIN, Christianity Today and the Wall Street Journal, and he has appeared on Fox News, CNN and NPR.

Claiborne is also the founder of The Simple Way, a radical faith community that lives among and serves the homeless in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia. He has also worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India, the suburbs of Chicago serving at the influential mega-church Willow Creek and several troubled regions of the world, including Rwanda, the West Bank of Palestine, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Espinosa serves as the executive director of Timoteo Football Philadelphia, which supports communities by empowering men to mentor youth through athletics and spiritual formation. His years of youth ministry experience come from serving as youth pastor in urban Philadelphia churches and youth programs.

Contact the Hesston College Special Events Office with questions at 800-437-7866.