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Thresher E-View
June 2010
IN THIS ISSUE- – Keep leveraging learning opportunities, Bethel alumna tells graduates
- – Bethel and North Newton grow community in new gardens
- – Students test calling to ministry through inquiry program
- – June 6 golf tourney will support Athletic Department
- – Bethel to offer first-ever online classes this summer
- – Kauffman Museum to host reception for Great Trek scholars
- – International conference on campus this month
- – Give at the end of Bethel’s fiscal year
- – See Greece and Rome with alumni and friends in 2011
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KEEP LEVERAGING LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES, BETHEL ALUMNA TELLS GRADUATES
The thunderstorm passed to the north and Bethel College’s 117th commencement exercises proceeded outdoors in Thresher Stadium for the third year.
A few sprinkles fell on the faculty, graduates and audience and a gusty wind kept whipping mortarboards off graduates’ heads as they listened to commencement speaker Aziza Hasan ’03 give them five ways to “leverage learning opportunities.”
Hasan, of Los Angeles, is a graduate of Halstead High School and of Bethel College, the first of four siblings to attend Bethel (two are also graduates and one is currently a student). Their father, the late Farouq Hasan, studied at Bethel in the 1970s. Hasan’s sister, two brothers, mother Christine Hasan of Halstead and many extended family members were present to hear her address the Bethel audience.
As southern California director of government relations for the Muslim Public Affairs Council and co-director of NewGround, a project that seeks to foster communication, respect and understanding among Jews and Muslims, Hasan is an interfaith communicator who “exemplifies in her life and profession Bethel’s core values,” said interim president John Sheriff in his introduction. “She is a graduate of whom Bethel is very proud.”
Read more of this story.
For downloadable photos from Alumni Weekend, baccalaureate, commencement and other events at the end of the school year, visit the Bethel photo galleries for alumni and students.
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BETHEL AND NORTH NEWTON GROW COMMUNITY IN NEW GARDENS
Six months ago, it was a field of grass and weeds on the east side of North Newton. Now it’s flowering into something new.
Members of the Bethel College, Bethel College Mennonite Church and North Newton communities gathered May 4 to formally open Sand Creek Community Gardens. Well before that, however, gardeners had been hard at work, as was evident from the sprouting vegetables and flowers already beginning to bloom.
Chad Childs, vice president of student life, gave credit to retired Bethel professor of Bible and religion Duane Friesen as “the force behind this,” while also acknowledging “[all] the people who have come together to make the earth say ‘Beans’ and ‘Peas’ and ‘Tomatoes’ instead of ‘Bermuda grass’ and ‘dandelions.’”
“This has gone way beyond what we imagined last fall when we first plowed up eight plots in the rain,” Friesen said. “There are now 32 plots. There are 15 student gardeners and 26 others.”
Read more of this story.
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STUDENTS TEST CALLING TO MINISTRY THROUGH INQUIRY PROGRAM
Four Bethel students are exploring congregational ministry this summer through the Ministry Inquiry Program.
Naomi Graber from Sunnyside Mennonite Church, Elkhart, Ind., will be working with Cyneatha Millsaps, pastor of Community Mennonite Church in Markham, Ill.
“I’m hoping for a time of growth and learning through service to a community full of life and love,” said Graber.
John Miller from First Mennonite Church, Hutchinson, will be at Christ Community Church in Des Moines, working with Pastor Kent McDougal.
Sarah Pohl from First Mennonite Church of Christian, Moundridge, will be working with Steve Penner, pastor of First Mennonite Church in Reedley, Calif. “What I’m most looking forward to is serving in many different ways and improving in areas where I know I need to grow in general, and in my faith,” said Pohl.
Caleb Regehr from Grace Hill Mennonite Church, Whitewater, Kan., will be at San Antonio (Texas) Mennonite Church, working with Pastor Rachel Epp Miller. “I am very excited for this opportunity,” he said. “I think it will be a great chance to sense God’s direction for my life and to experience ministry.”
Read more of this story.
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JUNE 6 GOLF TOURNEY WILL SUPPORT ATHLETIC DEPARTMENT
The Bethel College Athletic Department will host its second annual Thresher Golf Open Sunday, June 6, at Newton’s Sand Creek Station golf course. Proceeds from the tournament will support sports at Bethel.
The 18-hole, four-person scramble is open to men and women. Check-in begins at 11:45 a.m. and a skills competition at noon, with a shotgun start at 1 p.m.
For more information, contact Chad Schilling at (316) 284-5263 or via e-mail.
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BETHEL TO OFFER FIRST-EVER ONLINE CLASSES THIS SUMMER
Incoming and returning Bethel students looking to get a jumpstart on some required course credits can do so online for the first time, starting this summer.
Beginning Monday, June 7, Bethel will offer three 8-week online courses: Introduction to Music with Timothy Shade, instructor of music; Art Appreciation with Rachel Epp Buller, adjunct assistant professor of art; and Intermediate Algebra with Lisa Scott, assistant professor of mathematics and education.
The art and music classes meet Bethel General Education distribution requirements, while the algebra class meets the mathematics competency requirements. The three courses are being offered at a one-time-only reduced tuition rate of $200 per credit hour.
For more information on taking an online class or to register for any of these classes, visit Bethel’s Office of the Registrar, Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-4 p.m., or phone (316) 284-5285.
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KAUFFMAN MUSEUM TO HOST RECEPTION FOR GREAT TREK SCHOLARS
Dilaram Inoyatova and Walter Ratliff will be special guests of the Kauffman Museum-Ichan Kala Museum Partnership at a reception at the museum Thursday, June 24, from 7-8 p.m. Inoyatova is a professor and scholar at the National University of Uzbekistan. Ratliff is a historian and writer for the Associated Press.
Inoyatova has studied the impact of Mennonites in Central Asia and Ratliff recently published “Pilgrims on the Silk Road: A Muslim-Christian Encounter in Khiva.” Copies of Ratliff’s book will be available for purchase that evening.
Bethel alumni and the broader community are invited to meet these two scholars, who will be participating in the “Mennonites and Modernity” conference the following weekend (see next story). For more information, contact Rachel Pannabecker at (316) 283-1612 or via e-mail.
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INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON CAMPUS THIS MONTH
Historians and scholars from Europe and North America will gather at Bethel June 25-26 for a conference titled “Marginal or Mainstream?: Anabaptists, Mennonites and Modernity in European Society.” The goal of the event is to bring to light a neglected area in Anabaptist and Mennonite historical study.
While earlier overviews of 16th-century European history ignored Anabaptists, today the history of Anabaptism in the second and third decades of the 1500s has made its way out of the confines of denominational history and into standard textbooks. Once chronological surveys arrive at the 1540s, however, Anabaptist/Mennonite historiography retreats back to its corner, a deficiency this conference is designed to address.
Read more of this story.
For complete information about the conference, go to the conference Web page.
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GIVE AT THE END OF BETHEL’S FISCAL YEAR
Bethel’s fiscal year ends June 30. Support our students with a gift of any size. Give online.
We are Threshers!
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SEE GREECE AND ROME WITH ALUMNI AND FRIENDS IN 2011
Bethel alumnus and pastor Weldon Martens ’77, Henderson, Neb., will host a trip to Greece and Italy in June 2011. The tour is an activity of the Bethel College Alumni Association. The trip is offered in cooperation with MTS Travel, Ephrata, Pa.
“Footsteps of Paul” is an opportunity for alumni and friends of Bethel to travel together, learn and have fun at locations recorded in the Bible in Acts 17-18. The trip includes visits to Athens, Corinth, Delphi, Meteora, Thessaloniki, Kavala, Phillippi and Veria, plus a three-night Mediterranean cruise to the islands of Mykonos, Patmos, Crete and Santorini. The trip will conclude with three days in Rome, including a free day for participants to explore the city on their own.
Martens is a pastor at Bethesda Mennonite Church, Henderson, Neb. He hosted a similar tour in the past.
Download a brochure and registration form in PDF format using Adobe Reader. Printed copies are also available from the Bethel alumni office by calling (316) 284-5251 or e-mailing.
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Questions about “Thresher E-View” may be e-mailed to alumni@bethelks.edu. Back issues are at www.bethelks.edu/bc/news_publications/thresher_eview/index.php. Additional news is at /bc/news_publications/news/bc/.
Alumni may submit “Class Notes” for “Context” magazine and update information online at https://www.bethelks.edu/alumni/directory/update/index.php.
For current Bethel employment opportunities see www.bethelks.edu/bc/careers/openings.php.
For additional information about Bethel College go to www.bethelks.edu or contact Office of Alumni Relations, 300 East 27th Street, North Newton, KS 67117, (316) 284-5251, alumni@bethelks.edu. Thank you.