Seminary degrees were celebrated and conferred at\u00a0 baccalaureate and graduation<\/a> May 30 and April 1, 2016.<\/p>\n Candy Tharpe<\/strong>, \u201cGrace Buddies: Integrating Children with Disabilities into the Church.\u201d<\/a> For her project, Tharpe initiated a program pairing volunteers with children who have disabilities in her congregation. In her presentation, she provided a historical overview of the church\u2019s responses to people with disabilities over the centuries and highlighted scriptures that make the case for being attentive to opportunities for such ministry.<\/p>\n Maria Hosler Byler<\/strong>, \u201cWritten on our Hearts: Scripture memorization for the whole body.\u201d<\/a> Byler makes the case that \u201cwhenever we engage our bodies in the practice of scripture, bring it thoughtfully into conversation with our own story, and share it with others from the place of our own engagement, scripture can be transformational.\u201d Her project involved her participation with Shenandoah Valley Biblical Storytellers as an experiment in one mode of engaging the biblical text.<\/p>\n Matthew Weaver<\/strong>, \u201cLeadership in a Sea of Conflict.\u201d<\/a> Weaver describes the account of the conference held at Jerusalem and reported in Acts 15 as \u201ca beautiful case study of a church in conflict.\u201d The narrative \u201cprovides a window into the early church; it takes us to the debate floor of one of the most heated topics of the day.\u201d Weaver compares being effective church leaders during times of unsettledness, to sailing a ship.<\/p>\n Lindsay Davis<\/strong>, \u201cPlaying with Parables: Using Theater to Embody the Parables of Jesus with Theater and Seminary Students.\u201d<\/a> Davis used theater to bring \u201cnones\u201d into conversation with congregation-attending young adults around the parables of Jesus. She observes, \u201cParables invite deeper reflection instead of clear-cut answers or distinctions. They are stories from the everyday with characters and a narrative, and as such, they can handle play.\u201d She concludes that her \u201cexperiment should open doors to more discussion about doubt, questions, and creativity in the Church as a body.\u201d<\/p>\n Larry Aikens<\/strong>, \u201cDiverging Cultures: Yet a Coalescing Christ.\u201d<\/a> Aikens focuses on the impact of denominational diversity in American culture and in his own experience, citing the work of scholars who describe denominational identities in sociological terms. As a counterpoint to denominational diversity, he highlights unity in Christ, making \u201ca case for denominational loyalty, yet a willingness to reach across denominational differences in order to cooperate around Christ\u2019s missional work.\u201d<\/p>\n Darin Bus\u00e9<\/strong>, \u201cHuman Wholeness and the Dissociative Effects of Post-Combat Trauma.\u201d<\/a> In setting the backdrop for his project on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among military veterans, Bus\u00e9 explains that \u201cbecause of the catastrophic magnitude of modern combat … military PTSD is especially wounding.\u201d He proposes many combat veterans do not receive “the spiritually formative care that they so desperately need.\u201d<\/p>\n Matthew Stearn<\/strong>, \u201cMennonites and Their Tools: Healing Communities for Combat Veterans.\u201d<\/a> Stearn makes the case that Mennonite communities are uniquely \u201cpoised to deal with the \u2018broken hearts\u2019 of returning combat veterans suffering from moral injury.\u201d He distinguishes moral injury from PTSD, quoting an authority in the field to define moral injury as \u201cperpetrating, failing to prevent, bearing witness to, or learning about acts that transgress deeply held moral beliefs and expectations.\u201d Stearn elaborates on why and how Mennonites should offer redemptive responses to experiences of moral injury.<\/p>\n George Ryan<\/strong>, \u201cQuo Vadis! Walking the Battlefield of PTSD in Faith with my Son.\u201d Ryan writes that \u201cthe ministry concerns addressed in this project deal with the unknowing of God and the ministry response to evil and the enlightenment of the human consciousness to the love of God through great suffering.\u201d The project draws on Ignatian Spirituality, Christian and Buddhist meditation, and philosophy. Ryan describes his journey with his son as \u201ca spiritual journey; a journey of renewed suffering, rebirth and a journey of enlightenment that causes us to renew our minds, to be re-baptized.\u201d<\/p>\n Mary Norville<\/strong>, \u201cLooking for Midwives in a World of Privilege.\u201d<\/a> Norville\u2019s project consisted of her writing a letter to her sons \u201cthat provided ways for them to identify racism while teaching them how to discern and develop healthy relationships.\u201d Her social analysis spotlights entrenched racism and white privilege in American society and in the white church. As a corrective, she introduces the midwives of Exodus 1.15-21. She writes, \u201cShiphrah and Puah are the kind of people who represent a God-centered life in a world of privilege.\u201d These midwives \u201cwere more afraid of being disobedient to God than they were of being disobedient to Pharaoh.\u201d Phil Kanagy<\/strong>, \u201cInvitation to Hope: Pastoral Leadership in Anxious Times.\u201d<\/a> In his project, Kanagy outlines steps as a pastor to respond to anxieties about same-gender attractions and relationships.\u00a0 He explains that pastoral direction \u201cin anxious times often means leading without clear maps.\u201d Among his objectives is to direct anxious energies \u201cin constructive ways rather than have them spiral in reactionary and destructive ways.\u201d Another objective is \u201cto educate, instruct, and edify the congregation.\u201d Finally, he aims to nurture hope, believing \u201cthat anxious times hold not only the potential for fragmentation and destruction, but also the opportunity for creativity and renewal.\u201d<\/p>\n Jeongih Han<\/strong>, \u201cThe Journey of Knowing God: God\u2019s Grace in Suffering.\u201d<\/a> Han explores suffering as a common human experience and as a personal aspect of her own life. After describing the human longing and expectation for blessing she depicts the frequency of suffering and loss. She notes, \u201cAll humans once born must die.\u201d Job provides examples both of experiencing loss and of remaining faithful to God. Han asks, \u201cAre suffering and sadness more important than joy and happiness in our life?\u201d She thinks yes, noting the importance of \u201chow we think about suffering, trial, and troubles.\u201d<\/p>\n Matthew Carlson<\/strong>, \u201cSinging our Stories: Building Community through Shared Experience and Shared Expression.\u201d<\/a> Carlson designed a project of \u201csetting music to a text that came directly from individuals\u2019 narratives and then incorporating this new piece into a worship setting.\u201d A musician and composer with experience in playback theater<\/a>, he explains that the goal of the composition “is for the storyteller to experience their story in a new way, within the context of their faith community, and allow others in the community to share and respond musically to the individual\u2019s story for the purpose of developing empathy and building community.\u201d<\/p>\n Kevin Lay<\/strong>, \u201cZeugnis in the Local Congregation through the Book of Ruth.\u201d<\/a> Lay applied Zeugnis<\/em>, the practice of individuals other than the preacher engaging and expounding the Scripture. He led the congregation where he is pastor in experimenting with different practices of reading and discussing the book of Ruth. He translated and introduced biblical vocabulary \u2013 Mara<\/em> and hesed<\/em> \u2013 to his contemporary audience. And he invited guests who shed light on a contemporary issue \u2013 migration \u2013 to sensitize modern readers to the ancient biblical context.<\/p>\nMaster of Divinity capstones<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nMaster of Arts in Church Leadership capstones<\/h3>\n