In the past, it was billed as “Mission Service Days,” a semi-annual event aimed at connecting students and area residents with position openings in church-related agencies.
This semester, EMU is holding activities on one day – Wednesday, Feb. 11 – and moving from the Campus Center to the spacious hallway on second floor of the University Commons.
EMU freshman Jihoon Park (left), 19, of South Korea, talks to Mennonite Central Committee’s Sonya Charles in October 2008 during the fall semester Mission and Service Days. Photo by Nikki Fox, Daily News-Record
“We’re trying a few different things this time around – everything happening on one day, in a different setting, inviting local community ‘learning agencies’ and serving refreshments,” said Jennifer Litwiller, director of career services at EMU. “We hope the end result is more students and others checking out the many service opportunities,” she added.
Representatives from at least 11 church-related agencies will have displays set up and will be available all day to talk with students and area residents about possible service openings with their organizations.
Participating agencies will include: Eastern Mennonite Missions, Salunga, Pa.; Mennonite Mission Network, Elkhart, Ind.; Mennonite Central Committee, Akron, Pa.; Virginia Mennonite Missions, Harrisonburg; Paxton Ministries, Harrisburg, Pa.; PULSE (Pittsburgh Urban Leadership Service Experience, Pittsburgh, Pa.; and Wycliffe Bible Translators, Willow Street, Pa.
Community Learning agencies will include: Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Boys & Girls Clubs of Harrisonburg & Rockingham County, Community Mediation Center, Harrisonburg Gift & Thrift, Habitat for Humanity, Mercy House, NewBridges Immigrant Resource Center, Our Community Place and Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community.
An extended university chapel service 9:55-10:40 a.m. Wednesday in Lehman Auditorium will complement the mission-service theme. Steven Mosley, a writer, filmmaker and biblical storyteller from Orange County, Calif.,will give a 42-minute performance, “The Chosen Garment: the Whole Bible in One Act.”
For more information or to schedule an appointment with a service representative, call Jennifer Litwiller in the career services office at 540-432-4131. More information is also available online.