A FEW WORDS FROM FORMER STUDENTS... “I was in one of Mary’s classes my senior year and one of the assignments I had was to write a song. The experience changed my life forever... started me down my path as a songwriter. After graduation, Mary called me and asked me to write a song for an upcoming event at the college. This song was “Unity (Jesus Help Us Live In Peace),” which has been used quite often in the Mennonite church. I am so grateful for her and for her belief in me.”
“My parents were the most important influences in my life. That is not a particularly noteworthy statement. The next most important influence in my life has been without question Mary Oyer. She took a great interest in generations of naive young Mennonites, of which I was one, and introduced us to a wider world of art and music. She did it with such grace and conviction that at the time we scarcely knew what it was that she was so generously sharing with us. We didn’t know then that the exploration of culture was an on-going thing for her and would become the same for us. Her enthusiasm and preparation for each class was contagious. Her students who became teachers hoped to be able to pass on what she so generously shared. Many of us were fortunate to retain the teacher/pupil connection begun at Goshen College with Mary throughout our lives. We were and continue to be blessed for having had such a mentor as Mary.”
– JD Martin ’70, singer-songwriter, Snowmass, Colo.
“Forty years on, I still enter art museums with eagerness and confidence because of the solid knowledge base provided by MKO in her Fine Arts classes. The joy she conveyed in experiencing art in all its forms became part of me, too. A debt of gratitude!”
– James Miller ’52, professor emeritus of voice and choral music at the University of Oregon
– Rebecca Dyck ’75, nursing professor in Montreal
2004 Moves out of the house on the corner of 8th Street and College Avenue that she had lived in for 80 years. Moved to Greencroft Goshen.
1969 Introduces the Doxology (#606 in the Mennonite Hymnal), at The Mennonite Assembly in Turner, Ore. where the hymnal was first used.
1989
1999
2006
For her contributions and mentorship of so many, she is named a Fellow of the Hymn Society of the United States and Canada.
First teaches at the Taiwan Theological College and Seminary.
The Global Consultation on Music and Missions honors Mary with the Distinguished Service Award.
1968
1987
1992
2000
2005
2013
Makes first visit to Africa with Fulbright funding for 10 weeks. Her frequent exploration of the African continent continues through the 1970s and 80s, and included living and teaching in Kenya a total of five years.
Retires from Goshen College. Two years later begins teaching at AnabaptistMennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) for nine years.
Hymnal: A Worship Book is published and includes 60 cross-cultural hymns inspired by her expanding interests in world music.
The Mennonite includes Mary as one of 20 of the most influential Mennonites of the 20th century.
Teaches in the first Lifelong Learning Institute of Elkhart County courses on the Goshen College campus. She has taught regularly since.
Her collection of more than 150 field recordings from 22 African countries are digitized and catalogued online as the “Mary K. Oyer African Music Archive.”
APRIL 19-20, 2013 College hosts 90th birthday celebration weekend on campus.
Fall 2013 | BULLETIN
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