In the News

Bluffton (Ohio) University faculty to perform Hesston College recital

The Hesston College Music Department will host sister school Bluffton (Ohio) University music faculty members Dr. Crystal Sellers and Dr. Lucia Unrau for a voice and piano recital at 7 p.m. April 11 in the Hesston Mennonite Church. The recital is free and open to the public.

Dr. Sellers earned a Bachelor of music in voice performance from Bowling Green (Ohio) State University and a Master of Music degree from Chicago (Ill.) College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. She studied vocal and operatic studies at Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England, and completed her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in voice performance at The Ohio State University (Columbus). She was also the first doctoral student to complete the Singing Health Specialist Interdisciplinary graduate specialization.

Dr. Sellers is assistant music professor at Bluffton where she teaches voice, music history and conducts the newly established university gospel choir.

Dr. Unrau earned piano performance degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, Indiana University (Bloomington) and Oberlin (Ohio) Conservatory. She performs solo and chamber music concerts across the country, and recently released a CD, “Glint,” with world-reknown saxophonist, Timothy McAllister.

Dr. Unrau is professor of music and Music Department chair at Bluffton. She was recently named the Ohio Music Teachers Association Collegiate Teacher of the Year. Dr. Unrau is also on the faculty of the Interlochen (Mich.) Arts Camp where she serves as coordinator of the keyboard area. She is also president of the Ohio Music Teachers Association and serves as a review panelist for the Michigan Council of Arts and Cultural Affairs.

Works by Franz Liszt, Frederic Chopin, Robert Schumann and John Carter will be included in the recital repertoire.

Photo release: Campus pastors gather at Hesston College

Campus pastors Todd Lehman (Hesston College), Joanne Gallardo (Eastern Mennonite University), Ed Janzen (Conrad Grebel University College) and Stephen “Tig” Intagliata (Bluffton University) enjoy conversation over lunch on the Hesston College campus March 29. The campus pastors from the Mennonite colleges and universities meet annually to network and fellowship with one another. Other campus pastors present include Janeen Bertsche Johnson (Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary), Dale Schrag (Bethel College), Jeff Boehr (Bluffton), Kevin Clark (Eastern Mennonite Seminary), Brian Martin Burkholder (EMU) and Tamara Schantz (Goshen College).

Aviation alumni encourage students to pursue service and relationships

Two Hesston College Aviation alumni were the featured speakers for the department’s annual Aviation as Mission event March 25. The evening was an opportunity for Hesston College aviation students, alumni, prospective students and faculty and staff to connect.

Mark Miller and Tyson Teeter, both of Hesston, shared their stories and insights on what it takes to be a successful pilot and how their Christian faith impacts their career.

Miller graduated from Hesston College in 1986. After completing his flight training, he worked at the college as a flight instructor for seven years before attending seminary at Eastern Mennonite Seminary (Harrisonburg, Va.). Miller served as pastor of Lockport Mennonite Church in Stryker, Ohio, for seven years and at Whitestone Mennonite Church in Hesston for five years. In 2009 he returned to work as a flight instructor at Wells Aircraft in Hutchinson, Kan.

Miller spoke about the importance of service to the people he works with and teaches on a daily basis. He views his job as a way to serve the person wanting to learn to fly in whatever way possible, not just a way to build flight hours and satisfy personal and professional goals.

“One of the views in aviation that distorts our view as Christians is a sense of entitlement,” said Miller. “When you begin thinking you are entitled to the best of everything and that your success is all that matters, serving becomes second or third or fourth.”

Instead, Miller encouraged those gathered to consider their careers in aviation as an entitlement to serve.

“When you serve people, you realize they want to treat you well,” said Miller. “When people see you treat them well, there is reciprocation.”

Teeter’s message complemented Miller’s statement that reciprocation comes from service as he spoke about the power of relationships in the aviation field.

Teeter shared his personal story of the struggles that came with being laid off from Cessna Aircraft Company (Wichita, Kan.) during the company’s downsizing in 2009. Teeter said the relationships he had built and maintained throughout the industry over the years helped him find contract work during his 15 months of unemployment and eventually a new job with JACAM Chemical Company in Sterling, Kan., which produces oil field treatment chemicals and does business worldwide.

“Relationships intertwine,” said Teeter. “Look very closely at the relationships you have in life, and realize that they are the tools God uses to build his kingdom.”

After graduating from Hesston, Teeter worked for Eaglemed Air Ambulance in Wichita and Executive AirShare. From 2006 to 2009 he worked as a flight operations and demonstrations pilot with Cessna. He has been a flight operations pilot at JACAM since June 2010.

Federal faith-based partnerships leader visits Hesston College

David Myers, director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships, visited Hesston College March 18 to 20 to discuss partnerships between the government and faith-based and other non-profit organizations with the Hesston College campus and wider local community. Kevin King, executive director of Mennonite Disaster Service, joined Myers in several of his presentations.

Myers and King spoke Friday, March 18, with the Hesston College Disaster Management Leadership Development class on the topic, “What makes a good leader?” Myers also spoke on the topic “Of the world, but not in it” during a Friday forum where he shared his personal journey and described the tension he sometimes experiences as a Mennonite working within the federal government.

“I’m humbled by the opportunity to work for the President of the United States,” Myers said. “The responsibility, honor and privilege are something that I feel phenomenally fortunate to do – not only the appointment itself, but the actual work I do in building effective partnerships between the federal government and faith-based and voluntary organizations.”

Friday evening, about 45 area pastors and other church leaders participated in an evening discussion with Myers and King. The discussion, facilitated by John Murray, lead pastor at Hesston Mennonite Church, explored the strengths and weaknesses of partnerships between the church and government.

A community-wide event Saturday drew about 40 people, including Disaster Management students and representatives of disaster response and recovery organizations, to discuss how faith-based and non-profit agencies can work efficiently with government agencies. Dr. Brenda Phillips, a professor in the Fire and Emergency Management Program at Oklahoma State University (Stillwater), moderated the conversation, which focused on barriers and opportunities for these working relationships and advice for the students entering the field.

Students find meaning in emotional recovery for disaster survivors

Mrs. Butler had fallen sick and was spending time in a nursing home the week that a group of college students from Hesston College showed up to do maintenance on her home in New Iberia, La. Many homes in the area suffered damage from Hurricane Rita in 2005 and again from Hurricane Ike in 2008, and extreme poverty had left many homes, including Mrs. Butler’s, in disrepair.

The students were all studying in Hesston College’s Disaster Management Program and were in New Iberia for an eight-week Summer Field Experience as part of the program. The week Mrs. Butler spent in the nursing home, the students installed new floors in her home.

“Mrs. Butler was so grateful when she came home and saw her new floors,” said Mandy Kanagy from Timberville, Va. “She kept telling us how thankful she was for everything we were doing for her.”

The students also gave Mrs. Butler a new roof, but once she returned home, they consciously took time away from work to talk with her and listen to her story.

“After we had finished all the work, our project manager told us Mrs. Butler appreciated the relationships with us more than her new floors and roof,” said Kanagy. “She felt that we actually cared about her as a person and weren’t just there to get a job done.”

With recent increases in natural disasters, it is becoming evident that the world needs trained leaders for disaster response and recovery. The students in the Disaster Management Program are learning how to take the leadership reins for disaster relief.

The program has five sophomores who will receive their certificates of completion in less than two months. In the nearly two years they have spent in the program, the students have learned the logistics of cleanup and rebuilding after devastating events. And Mrs. Butler was right-the students cared about her. Working with disaster survivors enforces the fact that the rebuilding process requires more than a new foundation, floors, walls and a roof, but an emotional restoration as well.

During their time in the program, the students have interacted with people locally and across the country. They have heard first-hand accounts of the moment when the normalcy of life crumbled, collapsed or washed away.

“The classes are good, but the experiences working on recovery at disaster sites are what makes the program valuable and meaningful,” said Leah Rittenhouse from Mt. Pleasant, Pa. “There is a balance between physical recovery and emotional recovery that you can’t understand until you interact with people affected by a disaster.”

The Disaster Management Program was started at Hesston College in partnership with Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) in 2005. The program equips students with leadership abilities in managing disaster response. Students learn how to work with people and relief agencies and how to prepare for future disasters, as well as many technical skills. Aside from the regular class attendance and course work required of any program, students also put what they learn in the classroom to work onsite. Eight weeks of Summer Field Experience on an active disaster site is required after both years of the program.

“It’s exciting for me to see the development of the students,” said Russ Gaeddert, director of the Disaster Management Program. “We certainly talk a lot about the emotional care of disaster survivors in class, but that part really comes to life when they are on site. They get to know the homeowners very well and begin to understand what the survivors are going through.”

Kanagy, Rittenhouse and their classmates, Darin Bontrager and John Schoenhals from Archbold, Ohio, David Hochstetler from Strang, Neb., and Adam Glick from Ephrata, Pa., spent their eight weeks of field experience in New Iberia, La., repairing homes for those who could not afford the work on their own. Most of the homeowners they served live in poverty and fell between the cracks when it came to restoring what was lost. The students constructed, repaired and took turns as crew leaders, but they also got to know the people for whom they were building homes.

“The summer field experience gave me a lot of good leadership opportunities, but I also learned that it’s very important for people to talk and share their stories,” said Schoenhals.

The students get opportunities to keep their technical and service skills sharp through local service projects and fall and spring break trips during the school year as well. This year alone, they have worked at local homes painting, hanging drywall and roofing. They cut down dead trees at Prairie View in Newton, worked on a Habitat for Humanity house in Lawrence and spent their spring break repairing a building damaged by a fire at Camp of the Hills in Marble Falls, Texas, which serves inner-city and at-risk youth.

Although plans following graduation on May 8 and the summer field experience are varied, the foundation for service the students have built through the program at Hesston is something they want to be a part of their futures.

The students all agree that the relationships formed with the homeowners, project leaders and other staff members are what stick out above memories of nailing down shingles, staining trim and running electrical wires. They share memories of homeowners gushing with surprise and gratitude that strangers would want to help rebuild their homes. They mourn with survivors as they see how livelihoods and ways of life have been destroyed. They are inspired by the determination and “never-say-die” attitudes of people who have lost virtually all their possessions.

“Community is formed in a meaningful way when you have people working toward a common end and serving others,” said Kanagy.

Hesston College music department to present “A Jocular Journey”

The Hesston College music department will present a concert with performances by Bel Canto Singers, Chorale and the Concert Band at 7:30 p.m. March 29 in the Hesston Mennonite Church sanctuary.

The program, entitled “A Jocular Journey: Music on the Lighter Side,” will feature classical works from the year’s repertoire, as well as more modern and secular pieces, including a comedic work and the famous Beatles hit “Blackbird.”

“Our work generally focuses on sacred repertoire,” said music faculty member Bradley Kauffman. “This concert is a chance for the choirs and concert band to present some of our favorite pieces from the year and to explore some secular content.

More than 60 students make up the groups that will be performing. Kauffman conducts Bel Canto Singers and Concert Band. Ken Rodgers is the conductor for Chorale.

“The audience can expect a more light-hearted approach than we sometimes employ,” said Kauffman. “I hope this concert will appeal to students and community members alike.”

Following the concert, Hesston College Alumni and Church Relations will host a reception with light refreshments in the Hesston Mennonite Church Community Center. The concert and reception are free and open to the public.

Hesston College Bel Canto Singers to make Wichita (Kan.) Grand Opera debut

The 19 students who comprise the Hesston College Bel Canto Singers will have a unique experience March 26 as they perform in the chorus of the Wichita (Kan.) Grand Opera’s Tenth Anniversary Gala Concert. The event, titled “There’s No Place Like Home,” will be at 6 p.m. in the Century II Performing Arts Center Concert Hall in Wichita.

The gala will feature world-renowned opera performers Samuel Ramey, Joyce DiDonato and Alan Held. All three have ties to Kansas and are superstars of the world’s greatest opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera (New York, N.Y.), Paris Opera and Vienna State Opera. The event will be under the direction of Maestro Steven Mercurio, who most recently directed a North American and European tour with Sting and London’s Royal Philharmonic.

“This is such a great opportunity for the students,” said Bradley Kauffman, who is in his fourth year as a Hesston College music faculty member and conductor of Bel Canto Singers. “Bel Canto performs a variety of styles of music, but opera is something new for most of us. I am excited that the students have the chance to experience a new type of singing.”

The Bel Canto Singers, who join the Wichita Grand Opera Chorus for five choruses, is the only group not associated with the opera included in the event. Hesston College students will fill out about half of the chorus.

“Three soloists of this caliber is the highlight of the season for the Wichita Grand Opera,” said Matt Schloneger, Hesston College music faculty member and voice instructor. “I am honored that they thought of Bel Canto.”

The concert will include a variety of selections from works including Verdi’s “Il Trovatore,” Puccini’s “Tosca,” Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov,” Kerns’ “Showboat” and Leigh’s “Man of La Mancha.” The program will also include a few more popular selections.

The Bel Canto Singers for 2010-11 were selected by competitive audition during the 2009-10 academic year. They perform extensively throughout the year at campus events and churches, schools and other venues locally and across the country. The choir takes a week-long Fall Break tour every October and a two-week tour every other May following graduation.

Alumni and friends of the college are especially encouraged to attend the event. Single tickets can be purchased for $35, $58 and $85 at the Wichita Grand Opera Box Office on the third floor of the Century II Concert Hall at 225 W. Douglas, online at selectaseat.com, at any Select-A-Seat outlet inside local Dillon’s grocery stores or by calling the box office at 316-262-8054. Group rates are also available.

Artist’s exhibit explores connections

Hesston College graduate, former employee and artist Ken Gingerich is making a brief return to campus with his exhibit, “Thin places shine in time and space. Stone hearts dance in cosmic grace.” The exhibit will be displayed in the Friesen Center for the Visual Arts art gallery until April 5. The public is invited to an artist’s reception March 16 from 4 to 6 p.m., where Gingerich will talk with guests about his work.

Gingerich’s exhibit, which features acrylic paintings on masonite, references the Celtic spiritual tradition of “thin places,” which are the points in life that allow people to sense God’s nearness.

His inspiration came from verse 40 in Luke chapter 19 that says, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.” Gingerich says it was this idea of all creation, even inanimate objects, recognizing God’s presence that drove “Thin places.”

“‘Thin places’ refers to a sense of interconnectedness between the material and spiritual world,” says Gingerich. “I think it is something western Christianity lost in the transition from a more unified Hebrew world view to the dominant Greek dualism that separated spiritual and material realms. I find the creative process is where these realms can come together, and I’m beginning to understand the power of symbolism to help us make the connections.”

Gingerich’s art uses symbolism to express his interpretation of “thin places.” Color inspired by a memory, a particular view or a dream began the creative process for each individual piece. These colors, along with simple geometric patterns, architectural shapes and his home of Albuquerque, N.M., create the representations of “thin places.”

“Most cultures, ancient and modern, have symbols that represent the presence of mediating places or sacred centers,” said Gingerich. “In Christianity it’s the cross, in Judaism it’s Mt. Sinai and in many Native American cultures the four sacred directions emanate from an axis that connects the physical world with the spiritual. My reference points are the mountains, deserts and immense landscapes I can see from most vantage points around Albuquerque. I find the huge empty spaces between Albuquerque and Hesston are really very full.”

Gingerich graduated from Hesston College in 1971, then completed a B.A. in art from Bethel College (North Newton, Kan.). He has pursued various vocational paths, both artistic and otherwise, in a nearly 40-year career.

Gingerich has worked as a graphic designer for Mennonite Central Committee in Akron, Pa., the Rio Grande Zoo in Albuquerque and Mennonite Church USA, whose main office is located in Elkhart, Ind., a position he has held since 1995. He and his wife, Leona, also served as volunteers with MCC in Northeastern Brazil. Gingerich worked in publishing and print design in Indiana before returning to Hesston College in 1984 as alumni director, and later as publications director. In 1990 Gingerich moved his family to New Mexico after their home in Hesston was destroyed by a March tornado that took much of the town. There, Ken and Leona provided leadership to the recently established Albuquerque Mennonite Church, and he also spent a year in a graduate program for non-architectural majors at the University of New Mexico (Albuquerque). In 1995 Gingerich returned to Indiana to begin working for Mennonite Church USA, and in 2004 he moved back to New Mexico where he continues to work as art director.

The Hesston College art department invites the public to view the exhibit at leisure. The Friesen Center Art Gallery is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Youthville traveling art exhibit, Walk A Mile, at Hesston College through March 31

Youthville invites audiences in and around Hesston to experience this moving showcase. The Walk A Mile project serves disadvantaged youth in Youthville’s care through artistic expression.

Micala Gingrich-Gaylord, Expressive Arts Center Coordinator in Newton creates a way for youth to tell their story of life in the “system” through art by having each child transform an old shoe into a piece of art. The old adage, “If only you could Walk A Mile in my shoes…” is used to promote compassion and understanding of the experiences of disadvantaged youth.

“When I see the Walk a Mile project, I am always humbled by the courage our youth continue to show even in the face of great adversity,” said, Gingrich-Gaylord. “We are allowing the kids to tell a story, their story, so that healing happens. It’s the way the soul speaks when words cannot.”

One child writes: “My name is Rickey and I am 11. I have been in Youthville for a while. I am here because I was using drugs and getting into trouble with the law and family. My shoe talks about all the times my heart has been broken and the times that I have broken other peoples hearts. I feel trapped a lot by things inside my head and the things that I have done. I hope that I can change while I am here.”

Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facilities (PRTFs) are for children ages 10 to 18 years who need time away to address issues and remove barriers from becoming a family again. This 24-hour, highly structured treatment is for youth whose behaviors threaten the safety of themselves or others. Youthville has two campuses, one in Dodge City and the other in Newton. Youthville is committed to caring for children in an innovative way that encourages growth mentally, physically, and creatively through creative forms of expression. Only 8 percent of the children in foster care reside in PRTFs.

Youthville is one of the largest nonprofit, child welfare agencies in Kansas, specializing in foster care, adoption, counseling and psychiatric residential treatment. The agency’s vision is to provide the best sources of help to children who have been abused, abandoned, or neglected with its mission of Giving Children Back Their Childhood. Over 3,000 children are cared for annually by Youthville. To learn more about Youthville visit www.youthville.org.

release courtesy Youthville