{"id":3946,"date":"2017-12-20T08:56:54","date_gmt":"2017-12-20T13:56:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/?p=3946"},"modified":"2019-12-18T13:20:57","modified_gmt":"2019-12-18T18:20:57","slug":"commuting-to-ems-students-make-long-trek","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/2017\/12\/20\/commuting-to-ems-students-make-long-trek\/","title":{"rendered":"Commuting To Seminary: Students Make Long Trek"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Twelve Eastern Mennonite Seminary students commute more than an hour each way to classes in Harrisonburg. Back row, from left: Mike Evans, Adam Stultz, Bob Michalides, Nathan Epling. Front row: David Gaylor, Josh Dalton, Lorrie Aikens, Dawn Reidy, Alanna McGuin. Not pictured: Amber Baker, Anna Lewis-Efaw, Tobias Lutz.<\/p><\/div>\n

David Gaylor commutes 320 miles round-trip to Eastern Mennonite Seminary each week, traveling from the south-central town of Martinsville and staying Tuesday and Wednesday night. In his second year of studies, Gaylor says he\u2019s been enriched by the experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel at home and like I have made relationships that I will keep forever,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bob Michalides travels 220 miles round-trip from Lynchburg. He spends one night each week with fellow graduate student Valerie Showalter \u201806<\/strong> and partner Justin Shenk \u201806<\/strong>. \u201cTrue hospitality,\u201d he says. \u201cEMS demonstrates Jesus\u2019 commandment to love your neighbor as you love yourself. There are no strangers in this world, but people created equally in the image of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gaylor and Michalides are among 12 commuter students who travel more than an hour each way to attend seminary classes this semester. Of the 12, 11 are affiliated with the United Methodist Church (UMC) and one with the Church of the Brethren.<\/p>\n

Since the mid-’80s, EMS has shared a special relationship with the UMC in theological education, having been approved by the church\u2019s University Senate for the training of candidates for ordination.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of our Methodist students come here because of proximity, but\u00a0those who may be closer to other schools say they are often encouraged by EMS alumni, or they\u2019ve witnessed the unique education that EMS alumni pastors have had here,\u201d says director of admissions Les Horning \u201986, SEM<\/strong>\u00a0\u201898<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Alanna McGuinn was inspired to a 90-mile commute through the West Virginia mountains on the recommendation of Judy Vetter SEM \u201905<\/strong>, a UMC pastor in Romney, West Virginia.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am becoming an even more effective pastor because of my time here,\u201d McGuinn says. \u201cThe education I am receiving is outstanding, but perhaps more important are the connections I have made with both faculty and fellow students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike Evans, a pastor with multiple charges in central Virginia, was encouraged by colleague Gordon Meriweather, who graduated with dual degrees from the seminary and the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding in 2015.<\/p>\n

Evans earned his bachelor\u2019s degree at EMU in 2011 and started his Master of Divinity degree at Wesley Theological Seminary before transferring to EMS. He appreciates the small class sizes, the relationships with professors and classmates, and the diversity of beliefs.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudying at EMS helps me have an open mind about other believers,\u201d he said. \u201cThe different points of view show me a larger Christian world than I would see if I had gone to a traditionally Methodist seminary. This diversity will help me in showing and teaching my congregations how we all fit into a larger body of believers and how love crosses multiple denominations.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Gaylor commutes 320 miles round-trip to Eastern Mennonite Seminary each week, traveling from the south-central town of Martinsville and staying Tuesday and Wednesday night. In his second year of studies, Gaylor says he\u2019s been enriched by the experience. \u201cI feel at home and like I have made relationships that I will keep forever,\u201d he […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":242,"featured_media":3947,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[941,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3946","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fall-winter-2016-17-2","category-magazine","issues-current-issue","issues-fall-winter-2017-18"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3946","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/242"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3946"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3946\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3988,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3946\/revisions\/3988"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3946"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3946"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/crossroads\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3946"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}