Eastern Mennonite University

Spiritual Life Week (archive)

SLW closing chapel: Get Out of the Boat – Brenda Matthews

Friday, October 7th, 2011

Mama Brenda Matthews preaches on Matthew 14:25-32 and from her urban context in Chicago, IL in this high energy call to take risks of faith in following Jesus.  Brenda is speaking in various events on campus this week for Spiritual Life Week.

It’s Time to Jump – Mama Brenda Matthews

Thursday, October 6th, 2011

Mama Brenda Matthews, Undergraduate Spiritual Life Week speaker, addresses Chapel Gathering in the Seminary.  Brenda is an ordained pastor, social activist and poet pregnant with purpose. She seeks to plant seeds of change in the hearts of those who have fallen through the cracks.

Chapel Gathering services held in Martin Chapel at Eastern Mennonite Seminary are planned by the Seminary community but open to all.

SLW: Get Out of the Boat – Brenda Matthews

Wednesday, October 5th, 2011

Mama Brenda Matthews preaches on Matthew 14:25-32 and from her urban context in Chicago, IL in this high energy call to take risks of faith in following Jesus.  Brenda is speaking in various events on campus this week for Spiritual Life Week.

Seminary Spiritual Life Week: Opening to Presence

Thursday, September 29th, 2011

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us”

Speakers: John and Sandy Dresher-Lehman

John has a bachelor’s degree in rehab counseling and masters of social work from Virginia Commonweath. He worked with addictions and trauma work for 15 years. Since 2003 he has been working in private practice, with a focus on trauma recovery. He works with individuals, couples, and some children and adolescents. He has been trained a spiritual director.

Sandy is pastor of worship and congregational care at Souderton Mennonite Church. She graduated from EMU in 1986 and has master’s degrees in social work and Christian education. She has been involved in prison chaplaincy, voluntary service, mental health and crisis counseling, pastoring, and writing devotional books.

John and Sandy have led a voluntary service unit in Richmond, Va., and retreats at The Hermitage in Michigan. They have two children, Maria and Jonathan.

Seminary Spiritual Life Week: Deepening into Silence

Wednesday, September 28th, 2011

“The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it”

Speakers: John and Sandy Dresher-Lehman

John has a bachelor’s degree in rehab counseling and masters of social work from Virginia Commonweath. He worked with addictions and trauma work for 15 years. Since 2003 he has been working in private practice, with a focus on trauma recovery. He works with individuals, couples, and some children and adolescents. He has been trained a spiritual director.

Sandy is pastor of worship and congregational care at Souderton Mennonite Church. She graduated from EMU in 1986 and has master’s degrees in social work and Christian education. She has been involved in prison chaplaincy, voluntary service, mental health and crisis counseling, pastoring, and writing devotional books.

John and Sandy have led a voluntary service unit in Richmond, Va., and retreats at The Hermitage in Michigan. They have two children, Maria and Jonathan.

Seminary Spiritual Life Week: Born of Words

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

“The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone”

Speakers: John and Sandy Dresher-Lehman

John has a bachelor’s degree in rehab counseling and masters of social work from Virginia Commonweath. He worked with addictions and trauma work for 15 years. Since 2003 he has been working in private practice, with a focus on trauma recovery. He works with individuals, couples, and some children and adolescents. He has been trained a spiritual director.

Sandy is pastor of worship and congregational care at Souderton Mennonite Church. She graduated from EMU in 1986 and has master’s degrees in social work and Christian education. She has been involved in prison chaplaincy, voluntary service, mental health and crisis counseling, pastoring, and writing devotional books.

John and Sandy have led a voluntary service unit in Richmond, Va., and retreats at The Hermitage in Michigan. They have two children, Maria and Jonathan.

Called by God: Ordinary People, Extraordinary God–Leonard Dow

Friday, February 18th, 2011

Does God call ordinary people like me? Drawing from the biblical account of Peter and John healing a lame beggar at the temple gate, Pastor Leonard Dow speaks on being “Called by God” for this final Spiritual Life Week chapel.  Local singer/songwriter Jessica Crawford opens with a song.

Each semester, campus ministries hosts Spiritual Life Week, an engaging series of events aimed at deepening faith in Jesus Christ. The February 2011 events are themed “Called by God.”

Leonard Dow, an ’87 alum of EMU, serves as pastor of Oxford Circle Mennonite Church, an urban, multi-ethnic community in Philadelphia, PA. He serves as bishop of the Lancaster Conference Philadelphia District, vice chair of the Mennonite Central Committee U. S. Board, board chair of the Oxford Circle Christian Community Development Association and board member of Singing City, a non-profit music industry. Prior to being called into , a non-profit music industry. Prior to being called into ministry, he was in banking for 10-12 years. Dow seeks to combine his business expertise along with his ethical and Christian values to ministry.

Losing that Loving Feeling–Leonard Dow

Thursday, February 17th, 2011

In this chapel gathering in the Seminary connected with  the University’s  Spiritual Life Week, Pastor Leonard Dow references the 1964 song by the Righteous Brothers, “You’ve lost that loving feeling” as he speaks from the heart, reflecting  on Revelations 2:1-7.

Each semester, campus ministries hosts Spiritual Life Week, an engaging series of events aimed at deepening faith in Jesus Christ. The February 2011 events are themed “Called by God.”

Leonard Dow, an ’87 alum of EMU, serves as pastor of Oxford Circle Mennonite Church, an urban, multi-ethnic community in Philadelphia, PA. He serves as bishop of the Lancaster Conference Philadelphia District, vice chair of the Mennonite Central Committee U. S. Board, board chair of the Oxford Circle Christian Community Development Association and board member of Singing City, a non-profit music industry. Prior to being called into ministry, he was in banking for 10-12 years. Dow seeks to combine his business expertise along with his ethical and Christian values to ministry.

Called by God: Wrestling with Who I Am – Leonard Dow ’87

Wednesday, February 16th, 2011

Are you wrestling with who you are?  In this opening chapel of Spiritual Life Week, Pastor Leonard Dow speaks on this theme inspired from the biblical story of Jacob.

Each semester, campus ministries hosts Spiritual Life Week, an engaging series of events aimed at deepening faith in Jesus Christ. The February 2011 events are themed “Called by God.”

Leonard Dow, an ’87 alum of EMU, serves as pastor of Oxford Circle Mennonite Church, an urban, multi-ethnic community in Philadelphia, PA. He serves as bishop of the Lancaster Conference Philadelphia District, vice chair of the Mennonite Central Committee U. S. Board, board chair of the Oxford Circle Christian Community Development Association and board member of Singing City, a non-profit music industry. Prior to being called into ministry, he was in banking for 10-12 years. Dow seeks to combine his business expertise along with his ethical and Christian values to ministry.

SLW – Following Jesus across Borders: “Living Into The Incarnation”

Friday, October 29th, 2010

Mark Adams speaks in the final Chapel of  EMU’s  2010 Fall semester Spiritual Life Week.  Adams is a Presbyterian Church (USA) mission co-worker with Frontera de Cristo, a Presbyterian Border Ministry centered in Agua Prieta, Mexico and Douglas, AZ, where he has served since 1998. As U.S. coordinator of the bi-national ministry, Mark is responsible, in partnership with the Angel Valencia of the National Presbyterian Church of Mexico, for the coordination of the six ministry areas of Frontera de Cristo: church development, health, family counseling, the New Hope Community Center, mission education, and the Just Trade Center.  He is co-author of the book, Just Coffee: Caffeine with a Conscience which explores the connections between coffee, migration and faith.

Through Frontera de Cristo, Mark brings together people from both sides of the border, building relationships and understanding between them. “I help them reflect biblically and theologically about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ,” writes Mark, “in light of our spiritual, social, political, and economic connected-ness.”

Mark was ordained to the ministry of Word and Sacrament on August 23, 1998, in his home church, Clover Presbyterian Church. He is a minister member of Presbytery de Cristo, PC(USA), and is a fraternal member of the Presbytery of Chihuahua (National Presbyterian Church of Mexico).

Mark is married to Miriam Maldonado Escobar and they have three children: Cindy, Anna Flor and Nathan.