{"id":26579,"date":"2016-01-14T14:02:07","date_gmt":"2016-01-14T19:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=26579"},"modified":"2025-07-10T17:54:38","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T21:54:38","slug":"spring-convocation-invokes-spirit-of-community-with-blessings-for-the-new-semester-and-two-cross-cultural-groups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2016\/spring-convocation-invokes-spirit-of-community-with-blessings-for-the-new-semester-and-two-cross-cultural-groups\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring convocation invokes spirit of community, with blessings for the new semester and two cross-cultural groups"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cLife is difficult,\u201d Eastern Mennonite University (EMU)\u00a0President Loren Swartzendruber<\/a> said as he began his final\u00a0 convocation address Wednesday. Swartzendruber acknowledged the deep challenges facing the world, the nation, and the EMU community over the past year and in recent days. \u201cThe threads that hold our community together are stretched,\u201d he said. [For a link to the podcast, click here<\/a>.]<\/p>\n

Quoting author and psychiatrist M. Scott Peck\u00a0, Swartzendruber said once we accept that life is difficult, then we can transcend that fact and move forward.<\/p>\n

Swartzendruber\u2014who is retiring June 30\u2014drew from the biblical story of Esther, a young Jewish woman who became queen of Persia and was called upon to save her people. Her cousin Mordecai addressed her hesitation by saying perhaps she had been called to her royal position \u201cfor just such a time as this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"blessing\"<\/a>
A blessing is offered for spring cross-cultural groups going to Guatemala and Cuba and to the Middle East. Both groups depart this week.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe also live in difficult times,\u201d Swartzendruber said, \u201cmore for some than others.\u201d While it is tempting to \u201chunker down\u201d and \u201cshield ourselves\u201d from challenges, he said, we are called to something more.<\/p>\n

He continued: \u201cIn place of fear and anxiety, I invite us to proclaim a message of hope, to push back against the dark forces of negativity and divisiveness. I invite each of us to step up for such a time as this. This is our opportunity, in this time and place, on this campus and beyond, to reach out to each other with love, compassion and empathy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier, provost Fred Kniss<\/a> welcomed more than 50 new students, faculty and staff to EMU\u2019s \u201cvery special learning community.\u201d While this might not quite be \u201cheaven on earth,\u201d Kniss said, \u201cwhat makes us different is what holds us together. We are a community bound by love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some members of that community received a special sendoff later, as cross-cultural study groups<\/a> headed to Guatemala\/Cuba and the Middle East were blessed and surrounded by prayer. Andrew Miller<\/a>, director of cross-cultural programs, said they were embarking on a \u201cjourney of transformation.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a broader sense, all of EMU may be embarking on such a journey. Kniss observed that 2016 would be a \u201ctime of significant change for EMU,\u201d headlined by the upcoming presidential transition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cLife is difficult,\u201d Eastern Mennonite University (EMU)\u00a0President Loren Swartzendruber said as he began his final\u00a0 convocation address Wednesday. Swartzendruber acknowledged the deep challenges facing the world, the nation, and the ... read more about Spring convocation invokes spirit of community, with blessings for the new semester and two cross-cultural groups<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26600,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4515,5725,266,5583,8845],"tags":[11352,15984,6069,16580],"feature":[],"class_list":["post-26579","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-admissions","category-alumni","category-campus-community","category-emu-at-lancaster","tag-fred-kniss","tag-hanna-heishman","tag-loren-swartzendruber","tag-rachel-schrock"],"yoast_head":"\nSpring convocation invokes spirit of community, with blessings for the new semester and two cross-cultural groups - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2016\/spring-convocation-invokes-spirit-of-community-with-blessings-for-the-new-semester-and-two-cross-cultural-groups\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Spring convocation invokes spirit of community, with blessings for the new semester and two cross-cultural groups - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cLife is difficult,\u201d Eastern Mennonite University (EMU)\u00a0President Loren Swartzendruber said as he began his final\u00a0 convocation address Wednesday. 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