In the News

Hesston College to celebrate diversity with Arts Week

The local community is invited to join Hesston College in celebration of diverse backgrounds, cultures and religions in keeping with the year’s campus theme of immigration and diversity during the college’s Arts Week Nov. 5 to 11.

Students, faculty, alumni and local and national artists will present visual art, music, theatre and nature as a glimpse into the ways diversity affects all people.

“Arts week is a chance for our students to engage with a variety of artists in our community and have opportunities to be creative on campus,” said First-Year Experience leader Marissa King.

Arts Week begins at 3 p.m. Nov. 5, with a prairie exploration of the plains at the Dyck Arboretum of the Plains led by arboretum staff member Brad Guhr.

At 3:30 p.m. Nov. 5, Hesston alumnus Delmar Reyes of Hugoton, Kan., will present his artwork reflecting his Latino heritage and traditions in the Smith Center lobby. Reyes will be joined by students enrolled in Drawing I and II, who will present homage drawings of celebrated artists from the Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s and 30s. Sophomore Ashish Pathak of Katmandu, Nepal, will also unveil his latest website creation.

From 10 a.m. to noon Nov. 6, Drawing I and II classes will do an exercise in creating immigrant portraits from trash with art faculty member Lois Misegadis in Friesen Center 108.

Events on Nov. 7 include an 11:30 a.m. concert and presentation exploring immigration’s influence on music in Northlawn 109 with Fred Carpenter and Tim May. Carpenter and May are a singer-songwriter duo from Nashville whose debut album charted them as the number one artist with the number one album at folk radio.

“Portraits of Change,” an art exhibit by local artist Micala Gingrich-Gaylord, director of the Newton Expressive Arts Center, will be from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Nov. 7 in Smith Center 105. The exhibit will show again from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8 in Smith Center 105.

Ceramics faculty member and local artist Hanna Eastin will demonstrate clay art techniques from 7 to 9 p.m. Nov. 7 in Friesen Center 111.

Nov. 9 marks the opening night of the Hesston College Theatre Department’s performance of “Green Card,” which explores America as an immigrant and refugee society. The show will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Northlawn Studio Theatre. Ticket prices are $9 for adults and $6 for students and senior citizens (65+). Tickets can be purchased in person at the Hesston College Bookstore, online at books.hesston.edu or by phone at 620-327-8105. A talk-back session led by the Mennonite Church Immigration Task Force will follow the performance. Other performances of the play are at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10, 16 and 17 and at 3 p.m. Nov. 18.

The Campus Activities Board will host a coffeehouse at 9 p.m. Nov. 9 in the Erb Hall Larks Nest where students, faculty and staff will perform music, poetry and other art in reflection of diversity.

The concluding event for the week will be a concert by Turtle Island Quartet as part of the Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts series. The string quartet will perform their own original work and the music of Jimi Hendrix and John Coltrane in a fusion of classical music tradition and contemporary American styles at 3 p.m. Nov. 11, at Hesston Mennonite Church. Single tickets are available for $20 or $25. Discounts are available for students and senior citizens. To purchase tickets, call 620-327-8158 (Hesston College) or 316-284-5205 (Bethel College) or visit the HBPA website at www.hesston.edu/hbpa.

A model for servant leadership

Equipping and empowering others through servant leadership in the church and in business was the theme of Hesston College’s 13th annual Anabaptist Vision and Discipleship Series Oct. 26 to 28.

More than 130 church and business leaders gathered on the Hesston College campus for the weekend conference with the theme “Top-down Servant Leadership: Redefining Leadership for Business and the Church.”

The theme played well into what was also a celebration weekend for 25 years of the college’s Pastoral Ministries program. About 30 of the program’s alumni, former faculty members and spouses spent part of the weekend connecting with one another, reminiscing about the start of their pastoral training at Hesston and reflecting on the program’s place in the church and world.

“Hesston College has not just been about developing leaders for 25 years, but for its entire existence,” said Tim Lichti, program director since 2010.

Lichti noted that one of the founders’ purposes for Hesston College was to be a place of biblical training and for preparing people for ministry.

Over the last 25 years, the program has trained 134 graduates, about 40 of whom are currently active pastors. In addition, more than 180 active pastors in Mennonite Church USA congregations list Hesston College as part of their education.

“Hesston College has responded well to the church’s call to provide leaders and to offer an opportunity for students for whom seminary is not option,” said Lichti.

Graduates and students shared about their experience in the program. Many, like Shawn Nolt, had been out of school for many years, had established careers and families whom they uprooted to move to Kansas for two years.

Nolt, a 2009 graduate, has served the Salem Mennonite Church congregation in Shickley, Neb., since he graduated. In 2007 he left behind a job as IT director and engineering support for a tractor manufacturing company and moved his wife, Suzanne, and three young daughters from Ohio to Hesston.

“I chose Hesston College Pastoral Ministries because I knew some pastors who had come through the program and they were professional, compassionate and relational,” said Nolt. “I had been serving my home church as I discerned my call to ministry, and I wanted a quick and valuable course of study that would get me into the local church as soon as was responsibly possible.”

Several graduates and students mentioned that while they were going through the process of discerning their call to ministry, considering Hesston College, a move and a change in their life’s direction, they felt like they were the only ones who had dealt with the changes. Shared and familiar experiences, changes and emotions helps to quickly build relationships and lasting bonds.

“The bond between pastoral ministries students is quickly built through the daily relationships of class, formation and experiencing life outside of classes together,” said Nolt. “While each family’s story is unique, there is a similar thread of struggling through the call and responding in faith. We also recognized our need for mutual guidance and support in the program and in the ministry to come.”

Hesston College’s Pastoral Ministries program is unique to most other pastoral training programs in the fact that the majority of pastoral training comes through seminaries and advanced degrees.

“It’s not reasonable to expect every pastor to go to seminary and have a master of divinity degree,” said Ervin Stutzman, executive director of Mennonite Church USA who was one of the presenters for the weekend. “I have an appreciation for Hesston’s program. It serves a great need in the church for training pastoral leaders.”

The program meets crucial needs for those considering ministry – a two-year course of study for the non-traditional student for whom seminary is not an option and the ability for pastors to consider a bi-vocational ministry – while offering practical pastoral training.

“The program’s founders had a vision that they worked hard to deliver on,” said Jim Mininger, who served as academic dean when the program was founded in 1987 and who played a part in organizing the program in its beginning stages. “But the real heroes are those who entered the program, who sacrificed and made faith decisions to answer the call.”

Once classes and internships are completed and practice sermons delivered and critiqued, Hesston College Pastoral Ministries graduates are prepared to lead their own congregations.

“All children of God have a ministry,” said 2009 graduate Karen Dalke, pastor of Des Moines Mennonite Church. “My responsibility is to help the people in my congregation unleash their creativity as we serve God by serving others. The Pastoral Ministries program gave me the tools I needed to be successful in that mission. My Hesston College Experience is the strong foundation I received that I continue to build on.”

The servant leadership that the weekend conference focused on wasn’t just a resource for pastors, but was one that can be applied by all church leaders, congregants and business leaders who desire to empower their employees and minister through their work.

Many recognized names in business and the church presented during the weekend, including the keynote speaker, Dr. John Stahl-Wert, a recognized expert in organizational leadership and an international bestselling author on the topic.

The idea of servant leadership meets the needs of both the leader and the follower, employer and employee, pastor and congregant, in a mutually beneficial and empowering way. With this model, people are able to relate to one another on a comfortable and more personal level.

Just as Hesston College Pastoral Ministries has served its students and the church as a model for leadership training and a champion for the culture of call for many years, so it will continue its mission in the future.

“The program grew me and became one of the most meaningful experiences of my life,” said Dalke. “Thank you Hesston College and Hesston College Pastoral Ministries for partnering with God in walking with your students.”

Through the eyes of the newcomer

The Hesston College Theatre Department will present the stories of immigrant experiences through the decades and the world in the fall drama, JoAnne Akalaitis’ “Green Card,” directed by Laura Kraybill.

The show, which explores America as an immigrant and refugee society, will have five performances over two weeks – at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 9, 10, 16 and 17, and at 3 p.m. Nov 18. The drama will be in the Hesston College Northlawn Studio Theatre, and has a run time of about 90 minutes with a talk back session to follow each performance.

“Green Card” weaves back and forth between old world immigrant experiences of the early 20th century to more contemporary experiences of Cambodian refugees to Thailand in the 1970s and Central Americans to Los Angeles.

Each story tries to help the audience understand and connect with the thoughts and emotions that many immigrants feel in a new place.

“The play allows the audience to watch the Americanization of immigrants through our media-saturated culture, and how that permeates the immigrant experience,” said Kraybill. “It tries to create a barrage of image and sound that would replicate the overwhelmed feeling someone from a non-media culture would experience.”

The immigrant stories are told with brutal honesty, showing the way in which immigrants throughout the centuries have faced racism and other prejudices in their new home, including cruel jokes, harsh language and violent descriptions, which audience members should be aware of and prepared for.

“This is not a play that leaves you feeling good,” said Kraybill. “Even as it shows the beauty and turmoil of immigrant stories before coming to America, it also shows the dirty underbelly of racism.”

The audience will be left to feel uncomfortable at some points, but discomfort often addresses the issues that need to be talked about, Kraybill said.

Talk backs sessions will be led by the Mennonite Church Immigration Task Force following each performance.

Immigration is a common theme of study in several courses for the year, being spearheaded by the First-Year Experience seminar. Students enrolled in First-Year Experience are reading “Enrique’s Journey” by Sonia Nazario, which is the true story of the dangers and hardships 17-year-old Enrique faced as he traveled alone from Honduras to the United States to find and reunite with his mother after 11 years.

“Immigration is a huge topic in our society,” said Kraybill. “The arts – especially theatre – are an avenue to discuss issues of great moral importance and to reconsider our responses to those issues.”

With a PG rating, parental caution is advised due to difficult themes and descriptions and harsh language.

Ticket prices are $9 for adults and $6 for students and senior citizens (65+). Tickets can be purchased in person at the Hesston College Bookstore, online at books.hesston.edu or by phone at 620-327-8105. Tickets will also be available at the door 30 minutes before each show and are subject to availability.

Student performers include sophomores Nathan Bray of Galva, Kan., Deni Brummer of Hutchinson, Kan., Bonita Garber of Bainbridge, Pa., Cameron Ponce of Elkhart, Ind., David Rudy of Manheim, Pa., freshmen Amber Davis of Crawfordsville, Iowa, JD Hershberger of Hesston, Kan., David Penner of Moundridge, Kan., Nathanael Ressler of Mount Vernon, Ill., Tien Tran of Hochiminh City, Vietnam, Issei Tsuji of Chiba-ken, Japan, and community high school student Emmali Lapp of Hesston, Kan.

Bold string quartet to open concert series

Turtle Island Quartet, a string quartet fusing the classical music tradition with contemporary American styles, will open the 31st year of the Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts Series at 3 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 11, at Hesston Mennonite Church.

Winner of the 2006 and 2008 Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album, Turtle Island has led the way in the creation of bold, new trends in chamber music for strings since 1985.

“Turtle Island Quartet was really the first string quartet to achieve artistic and commercial success merging traditional string instrumentation with jazz, improvisational styles and contemporary compositional techniques,” said Matthew Schloneger, HBPA director. “They’re still the best in the world at what they do, and they put on a superbly energetic and entertaining live concert.”

The quartet’s repertoire includes folk, bluegrass, swing, bebop, funk, R&B, new age, rock and hip-hop as well as music of Latin America and India. They have more than a dozen recordings with well-known music labels, collaborations with famed artists, composers and symphonic ensembles, soundtracks for major motion pictures, television and radio credits including “The Today Show,” “All Things Considered,” “A Prairie Home Companion” and “Morning Edition” and feature articles in “People” and “Newsweek” magazines.

In addition to their own original work, Turtle Island’s HBPA concert will focus on the music of Jimi Hendrix and John Coltrane.

Members, David Balakrishnan on violin, Mark Summer on cello, Mateusz Smoczynki on violin and Benjamin von Gutzeit on viola, are known worldwide for their revival of improvisational and compositional chamber traditions that have not been explored by string players for about 200 years – a unique trait explored in modern music by saxophonists and keyboard masters of the jazz and pop worlds. Their innovative approach to chamber music has moved them from being termed “alternative” at one time to now firmly inhabiting mainstream expectations.

World-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma described the quartet as “a unified voice that truly breaks new ground – authentic and passionate – a reflection of some of the most creative music-making today.”

Single tickets for Turtle Island Quartet are available for $20 or $25. Season tickets for all five concerts in the series are also available from $75 to $85 for adults. Discounts are available for students and senior citizens for both single and season tickets.

For more information or to purchase tickets, call 620-327-8158 (Hesston College) or 316-284-5205 (Bethel College) or visit the HBPA website.

HBPA is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency which believes a great nation deserves great Art, Excel Industries and Hustler Turf Equipment (Hesston), the cities of Hesston and North Newton and area patrons.

Hesston College to host church leader in residence Oct. 28 to 31

Joanna Shenk, an associate for Interchurch Relations and Communication with Mennonite Church USA in Elkhart, Ind., will serve Hesston College as church leader in residence Oct. 28 to 31.

Shenk serves on teams committed to undoing prejudiced behavior in the church, including leading the Women in Leadership audit project that researched the frequency with which women are used in leadership positions within Mennonite Church USA congregations and organizations. She is also the editor of “Widening the Circle: Experiments in Christian Discipleship” (Herald Press, 2011), a collection of stories exploring the creative tension of movements and institutions within the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition.

She earned a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from Huntington (Ind.) College and a master’s in theology and theological studies from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (Elkhart, Ind.)

As church leader in residence, Shenk will connect with Hesston College students and local pastors. She will share her life story and work during student-led campus worship at 9 p.m. Oct. 28 in the lower level of Northlawn. She will also speak at 11 a.m. chapel services on Monday, Oct. 29, and Wednesday, Oct. 31, at Hesston Mennonite Church. Campus worship and chapel are open to the public.

Shenk will also lead a seminar for pastors on “Welcoming Divine Mystery into Our Churches” beginning at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 31. The seminar will address the meaning and practices of being a true discipleship community. Pastors interested in attending Wednesday’s chapel, complimentary lunch and the seminar can contact the Hesston College Church Relations office at 620-327-8109 or toll free at 866-437-7866.

A new look at immigration

During the first half of the semester, Hesston College students have been drawn in to the story of Enrique and his experience as an immigrant in “Enrique’s Journey” by Sonia Nazario. On Oct. 9, they listened, captivated by Nazario’s recounting of her hands-on research for the book when she spoke to the campus and community at Hesston Mennonite Church.

“Enrique’s Journey” is the true story of the dangers and hardships the 17-year-old Honduran boy faced as he tried to reunite with his mother, who left to find work in the United States 11 years earlier. According to Nazario, his story is a familiar one for many Latin American children whose parents leave them behind to try to make a better life for their families.

Immigration is the First-Year Experience seminar theme of study for the year, and “Enrique’s Journey” is the common read, helping students understand the issue from an immigrant’s perspective.

Nazario, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for feature writing, followed Enrique’s path from Honduras to the U.S., traveling the same way he did – on top of trains – and facing the same dangers in her quest to give readers rarely seen insight into the lives of immigrants.

The issue hit her radar when she learned her housekeeper left behind four children in Guatemala, whom she hadn’t seen in 12 years.

“As I listened to her story, I realized that this is incredibly common,” said Nazario. “These parents don’t leave their children because they don’t love them. They leave because they think it is the best way to provide for them.”

The unemployment rate in Honduras is 44 percent, which puts the United States’ eight percent unemployment rate into perspective, she said.

Determination, said Nazario, is the motivating factor behind the tragic issue – parents’ determination to provide for their families and children’s determination to travel alone to an unfamiliar country to search for the parents they haven’t seen in years.

“I came to understand the enormous determination these immigrants have to have,” said Nazario. “I cannot imagine having that kind of determination, but to the children, the obstacles they face along the way are small in comparison to finding their parents.”

Enrique’s journey took 122 days and eight attempts before he was successful. Along the way he was mugged and beaten by gangs, went days without food or water and faced the ever-present threat of being crushed by train wheels.

Nazario followed the same path, traveled the same way and talked to the same people in an attempt to recount his journey as accurately as possible.

“I wanted to see his misery so I could write about it and show people what this journey is like,” said Nazario. “When talking about immigrants, for many people, the first reaction is to demonize them. In telling Enrique’s story, my hope was to humanize them by sharing the inherent struggle for survival.”

Nazario has covered hot button issues, including immigration, from a journalistic standpoint, for 30 years, discussing the subjects with a social justice stance.

“Immigration is not a new subject for me, but there were many things I didn’t understand about immigrants until I made that trip,” she said.

Many students, faculty, staff and community members who read the book also looked at immigration in a new way for the first time.

“Immigration is such a huge issue right now,” said Hesston College freshman Drew Hostetler of Goshen, Ind. “Reading the book and discussing it in class has helped me view the issue in new ways and think critically about it.”

“Reading ‘Enrique’s Journey’ made the immigrant experience more real for me,” said freshman William Wyatt of Rose Hill, Kan. “I feel more sympathetic toward their experiences and view them in a more positive way.”

Students will conduct their own immigration related research to share with the larger community in the annual First-Year Experience symposium at the end of the fall semester.

Other fall First-Year Experience sponsored events include a plenary session with University of Kansas (Lawrence) American Studies professor Ben Chapel; a dialogue with the Director of the Office of Immigration Education for Mennonite Central Committee, Saulo Padilla; a multicultural film festival; and an Immigration and the Arts Week.

Bel Canto Singers to present first concert of the year

The Hesston College Bel Canto Singers will present “Songs of a Wayfarer,” a program of sacred and secular choral music at 4 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 21, at Hesston Mennonite Church. The concert is free and open to the public, though a free-will offering will be collected to cover program costs.

The program is inspired by the campus-wide study of immigration during the 2012-13 year and the First-Year Experience seminar common read “Enrique’s Journey” by Sonia Nazario.

The 21-voice mixed chamber choir, under the direction of Bradley Kauffman, was selected by competitive auditions during the 2011-12 school year.

Bel Canto members include Kaedi LeFevre and Levi Miller, Hesston; Joshua Booth, Newton; Broxton Busenitz, North Newton; Neal Brubaker, Goessel; Deni Brummer and Kayla Kauffman, Hutchinson; Emily Taylor, Buhler; Alex Bargerstock, Masillon, Ohio; Cory Bowman, Millersburg, Ind.; Kaci Diener, Harrisonville, Mo.; Emerencia Dudas, Walbridge, Ohio; Rebecca Eichelberger, Geneva, Neb.; Bonita Garber, Bainbridge, Pa.; Janae King, Gordonville, Pa.; Morgan Martin, New Holland, Pa.; Alisa Murray, Orrville, Ohio; Cameron Ponce, Elkhart, Ind.; Rebecca Rhodes, Arthur, Ill.; Redfa Titihalawa, Papua, Indonesia; and Jeffrey Smoker, Harrisonburg, Va.

Generations to celebrate changing education

Community people of all ages are invited to come together for a week-long celebration and exploration of education and learning during the annual Festival of Creativity Oct. 22 to 26.

The week’s events are sponsored by Schowalter Villa, Hesston Intergenerational Child Care, the Hesston Area Senior Center, Hesston College and U.S.D. 460. All events are free and open to the public.

The week’s focus is on changing educational philosophies methods and technologies between 1850 and today. Events and presentations will cover all aspects of education from classroom teaching and learning styles to traditions, practices, food and dress.

“We live in such a dynamic community where people across generations at Schowalter Villa, Hesston College and the child care center are all in close proximity to one another and connected by the Journey of Life Walk Way,” said Schowalter Villa Director of Volunteer Services Megan Kelley. “We are fortunate that we can celebrate those relationships and learn from one another with this event.”

The week will begin at 10 a.m., Oct. 22, with a parade displaying fashions from 1860 to 1912. Villa residents and Hesston College students will model clothing typical of the time period as they proceed down the Journey of Life Walk Way connecting the campuses.

At 1 p.m., Oct. 22 Beverly Baumgartner will present “Education: Rethinking Everything,” in the Hesston College Smith Center, room 15.

Jim Yoder, Hesston College chemistry instructor, will lead opening exercises and a simulated classroom experience typical of a given time period including a thought for the day, the Lord’s Prayer, Bible verses and the Pledge of Allegiance at 10 a.m. on Oct. 23 and 24.

At 3 p.m., Oct. 23, college students and Villa residents will participate in a Spelling Bee competition in the Schowalter Villa chapel.

At 7 p.m., Oct. 24, Hesston College faculty member and artist in residence Tony Brown will lead community-wide singing of American folk songs at Schowalter Villa.

Following Opening Exercises on Oct. 24, a traditional school lunch will be served at the Hesston Area Senior Center. The meal is free, but reservations are required. Email dwightr@hesston.edu to make reservations.

Senior citizens will share their stories from their elementary school days at 9 a.m., Oct. 25 at the Hesston Area Senior Center.

The concluding event will be from 1 to 3 p.m., Oct. 26 at the Hesston Area Senior Center when Jack Hobbs, Cecil Banning and Gary Price will present “The Development of Computerized/Electronic Education in the Hesston Public School System.” Hobbs will introduce the session including his thoughts on “From the One-room School to the World Wide Web.”

Museum displays with school items over the years will be set up at both Schowalter Villa and the Hesston Area Senior Center throughout the week.

Go to svilla.org for more information.

“The Hesston community as a whole is supportive of the projects and events that happen within different organizations throughout the community, and we hope people of all ages will take part in this celebration of education,” said Kelley.

Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts prepares for a season of variety

The 2012-13 Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts season will bring five exciting performances from a wide variety of traditions, cultures, eras and mediums to venues at Hesston College and Bethel College (North Newton, Kan.).

“We have a fantastic season lined up,” said Director Matthew Schloneger. “I’m particularly excited that we will be welcoming Sweet Honey In The Rock and the Turtle Island Quartet, two of the top ensembles in the world in their respective genres, to our series for the first time.”

The season kicks off with string chamber ensemble Turtle Island Quartet at 3 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 11, at Hesston College’s Hesston Mennonite Church. By fusing the classical aesthetic with contemporary American styles, the quartet won a Grammy Award in 2006 and 2008 for Best Classical Crossover Album.

Highly acclaimed baritone David Adam Moore will perform a multi-media seasonal concert of Franz Schubert’s song cycle “Die Winterreise” (“A Winter Journey”) at 3 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 2, at Hesston Mennonite Church.

Grammy-winning women’s a capella ensemble, Sweet Honey In The Rock, will grace the Bethel College Memorial Hall stage with their rich sounds of African-American legacy and traditions at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 2.

Ballet Folklorico “Quetzalli” de Veracruz will mix music and folklore featuring regional dances of Old Mexico with music performed live on authentic stringed instruments at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 23, at Bethel’s Memorial Hall.

The final performance of the season brings to the stage the first prize winner of the 2009 Concert Artists Guild International Competition, Calmus, at 3 p.m., Sunday, April 14, at Hesston Mennonite Church. The vocal ensemble performs a range of music from Renaissance to contemporary choral repertoire and popular songs.

Season tickets are available from $75 to $85 for adults. Single tickets can also be purchased across price ranges for individual performances. Discounts are available for students and senior citizens.

For more information or to purchase tickets, call 620-327-8158 (Hesston College) or 316-284-5205 (Bethel College), email hbpa@hesston.edu or visit the HBPA website at www.hesston.edu/hbpa.

The Hesston-Bethel Performing Arts Series, now in its 31st year, is a collaborative effort of Hesston College and Bethel College, presenting five performances by world-renowned or regionally acclaimed artists each year. HBPA is funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency which believes a great nation deserves great Art, Excel Industries and Hustler Turf Equipment (Hesston), the cities of Hesston and North Newton and area patrons.