Growing from a project while she was a student at EMS, it is a booklet and CD with 12 songs and lessons on prayer. Christine is co-pastor, serving with her husband, Patrick Nafziger ’00 MDiv ’06, at Millersburg Mennonite Church. Laura Polk ’00 previously worked as a young adult intern at the Presbyterian Church (USA) National Office in Louisville, Ky. She is in her second year studying for a Masters in Applied Anthropology at the University of Maryland, College Park, Md. Mark ’00 and Sarah Hawkins ’02 Schoenhals, Harrisonburg, Va., were wilderness trip leaders for Beaver Camp, Lowville, N.Y., last summer. They were two of six current EMS students involved in camp ministry. C. Thomas Dillon ADCP ’01 is employed at Fishburne Military School as an assistant commandant and training and counseling officer with the rank of captain since the spring of 2007. Luke Roth Mullet ’01 has moved to Kansas to take the position of human resource director in the family business. Ry Wilson ’01, MA ’07, Harrisonburg, Va., is the school counselor at A.R. Ware Elementary School, Staunton, Va. His wife, Jeanine Herbison ’02 Wilson, received a master’s degree in physician assistant studies at James Madison University. She is a physician assistant at Harrisonburg Dermatology. Jennifer (Jen) Zook ’01 Rice, Perkasie, Pa., enjoys her work in the emergency department of the University of Pennsylvania Hospital. Department personnel care for many injured people, especially those with gun shot wounds. Jason Rissler ’01, Harrisburg, Pa., in cooperation with other young leaders of Eastern Mennonite Missions’ Harrisburg Discipleship Center, began Bible studies eight years ago in the South Allison Hill neighborhood. This resulted in establishing New Hope Community Church. Initially, the leaders spent many hours planning worship services. Jason says, “It finally dawned on us that all the time we spent on Sunday mornings could be better spent on relationships,” including a Sunday supper of “soul food.” After consultation with leaders of Lancaster Mennonite Conference, Jason is now engaged in a community program called Weed and Seed. Gerald (Jerry) Horst ’02, Orrville, Ohio, is employed at P Graham Dunn, a local company which creates inspirational home décor and giftware. Kevin James Zook ’02, Richmond, Va., is attending Medical College of Virginia’s School of Pharmacy as a PharmD candidate. Ross Kauffman ’03, Columbus, Ohio, received The Ohio State University Board of Trustees’ Student Recognition Award on Sept. 21. Ross was nominated
for the award by the College of Public Health’s dean, Stan Lemeshow. Ross is pursuing a Ph.D. in epidemiology with a minor in criminology. Justin ’04 and Kristin Mishler ’05 Boer live in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, where Justin is attending medical school and Kristin is a teaching assistant at the International School. Rodney Brenneman ’04, Elizabethtown, Pa., is in this third year of medical school at Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pa., rotating through the various departments. Laura Helmuth ’04, Harrisonburg, Va., went to Baltimore, Md., with Mennonite Voluntary Service to work at Asylum Seekers Housing Network and to serve as a youth minister at North Baltimore Mennonite Church. She is taking seminary courses in preparation to enter Christian ministry, a calling she has nurtured for several years. Jessica Walter ’04, Spring City, Pa., editor of Franconia Mennonite Conference Intersections, provides thought-provoking responses of several persons in a “Radical availability to the call of God,” in the October 2007 issue of the periodical. Benjamin (Ben) ’04 and Meredith Blauch ’05 Wideman moved to Pasadena, Calif., in August for Ben to begin seminary studies. He has completed his first semester at Fuller. Ben notes there is a growing Harrisonburg/EMU community in Pasadena, contributing to making the Weidmans feel at home. Sean ’05 and Rita McCrae ’06 Boer, Akron, Pa., are employed at Philhaven, a mental and behavioral health agency, Mt. Gretna, Pa. Michael Henning ’05, Crozet, Va., had an article, “Affecting Kt/V: An Analysis of Staff Interventions,” published in the November 2007 issue of Dialysis & Transplantation. This was Mike’s Evidence Based Project while a nursing student at EMU. He recently earned a master’s degree at James Madison University. Lori Lapp MDiv ’05 Hershey, pastor of West Philadelphia Mennonite Fellowship, reveals her call to pastoral ministry in, “Stepping out in faith to God’s leading,” in Franconia Mennonite Conference’s October 2007 issue of Intersections. She now provides music and liturgical dances in worship services, working with her husband, Brent MDiv ’05. Absalom Isaac Shank ’05 and Kendra Sue ’05 Heatwole Shank live in Chapel Hill, N.C. Kendra is working on a master’s in occupational therapy at UNC-Chapel Hill. Absalom is employed at North Carolina State University, Raleigh. They attend Chapel Hill Mennonite Fellowship. Shannon Grinnan ’05 Minor, Hayes, Va., is the domestic violence program coordinator for the Laurel Shelter, Inc., Gloucester, Va.
Susan Landis Beck
Huge Demand for Leadership Seminars
The first Friday-morning series of trainings on organizational leadership – leading to a Certificate in Organizational Leadership – were over-subscribed this January, causing EMU to quickly add a concurrent Friday afternoon session, which also filled up. “We had 85 enrollees for these Friday seminars. It was an overwhelming response to our first efforts to combine experts in conflict transformation and organizational leadership, based at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, with other business expertise among EMU faculty,” said Susan Landes Beck, the main organizer of the sevenweek series held at EMU. “We knew offering practical tips to business leaders would be helpful, but we had no idea how much hunger there was for such assistance.” Seminar topics include dealing with change, building a business with integrity, dealing with cultural diversity in the workplace, personality and communication styles, transforming conflict within a team, and negotiation skills. The cost is $59 per seminar, or $349 for the entire series. For more information, visit www.emu.edu/seminarseries or e-mail pi@emu.edu. You may also call (540) 432-4651.
10,000 Videos Sold! The “Beyond the News” video series sold its 10,000th copy in November, 2007. Jerry L. Holsopple ’80, professor of visual and communications arts, launched the series in 1993 as a Mennonite Media producer in one of Mennonite Mission Network’s predecessor agencies. The award-winning series includes 11 videos/DVDs examining immigration, racism, money, adolescents, television violence, sexual abuse, capital punishJerry Holsopple ’80 ment, gun violence, death, homelessness and other topics. Several have been re-released on DVD. The series can be purchased at www.mennomedia.org. www.emu.edu | crossroads | 45