Caleb Schrock-Hurst, a senior English major from Harrisonburg, Virginia, won the C. Henry Smith Oratorical Contest at Eastern Mennonite University with his speech, “‘Is This a Bonhoeffer Moment?’: Asking the Right Questions in Trump’s America.” (Photos by Macson McGuigan)

C. Henry Smith orators respond to contemporary concerns with Christian peace values

by EMU communications

Caleb Schrock-Hurst, a senior English major from Harrisonburg, Virginia, won the C. Henry Smith Oratorical Contest at Eastern Mennonite University with his speech, “‘Is This a Bonhoeffer Moment?’: Asking the Right Questions in Trump’s America.”

He will receive a cash prize and entry in the bi-national competition with winners from other Mennonite-related colleges and universities in the United States and Canada.

The annual contest, established in 1974 by the directors of the C. Henry Smith Trust, offers students an opportunity to discuss the application of the Christian peace position to contemporary concerns in an 8-10-minute speech.

Listen to the speeches.

Students who are competing in the C. Henry Smith Peace Oratorical Contest. Front, from left: Fabiana Espinal, Lydia Haggard, Amanda Williams. Back row: Kyle Good, Winifred Gray-Johnson, Amanda Williams. Caleb Schrock-Hurst not present.

Runners up were Winifred Gray-Johnson, a junior peacebuilding and development major from Liberia, with “Finding Forgiveness: A Path toward Healthy Relationships,” and Katrina Poplett, a senior peacebuilding and development major from Plymouth, Minnesota, with “When Silence is Betrayal: Climbing the Hill.”

Four other students also competed:

  • ​Fabiana Espinal, a senior liberal arts major from Harrisonburg, Virginia, presented “Creativity as a Path to Healing and Connection.”
  • Kyle Good, a junior English and peacebuilding and development major from Harrisonburg, Virginia, presented “Food as Conscientious Objection.”
  • Lydia Haggard, a junior Bible and religion major from Norristown, Pennsylvania, presented “Is It Black or White?: Exploring Race and the Mennonite Church.”
  • Amanda Williams, a senior biology and environmental sustainability major from Millsboro, Delaware, presented “Mother Earth’s Plea for Her Prodigal Children to Return.”

The intercollegiate competition is administered by the Peace and Justice Ministries of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). C. Henry Smith was an American Mennonite historian and professor at Mennonite colleges and the University of Chicago. He taught history for nearly 50 years at the collegiate level, and was well-known for his numerous books on Mennonite history and his particular attention to the peace commitments of the Mennonite tradition.

Eastern Mennonite University has participated in the event since 2003, with the exception of 2015. EMU students have won the grand prize at the bi-national level in 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2011. The contest is sponsored by EMU Bible and religion, language and literature, and peacebuilding and development programs.

Speech Archives: 2017 2016 2014 2013 2012

 

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