Seminary professor’s new book examines the disconnect between Black freedom fighters and their white allies
When Eastern Mennonite Seminary Professor David Evans set out to write his book about religious white progressives in the fight for Black freedom, he didn’t expect that his main thesis would flip by nearly 180 degrees. But after seven years of research and writing, Damned Whiteness: How White Christian Allies Failed the Black Freedom Movement is just weeks away from publication. The book offers an unflinching history of white allies—namely Clarence Jordan, Dorothy Day, and Ralph Templin—and the fracturing relationships that followed when their strategies and philosophies didn’t align with Black leaders and communities.
Bridge-builder Brittany Caine-Conley (MDiv ’14) selected for Outstanding Young Alum Award
As one of the lead organizers for Congregate Charlottesville, Brittany Caine-Conley, MDiv ’14, (aka “Smash”) called for 1,000 clergy and faith leaders of all denominations to counter-protest a gathering of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia, in August 2017. Her efforts denied white supremacists key locations that would have made their Unite the Right rally more visible, and later that year, she was honored by the National Council of Churches as a co-recipient of the President’s Award for Excellence in Faithful Leadership.
A special 500th anniversary edition of Mennonite History and Thought!
Historian Mary Sprunger and theologian Andrew Suderman team up to offer a special interdisciplinary course in 2025 to commemorate how five centuries of this “Radical Reformation” have shaped personal and communal faith; identity; economic practice; response to persecution, war and nationalism; migration patterns; missions past and present; food history; higher education; and much more. If you have ever asked any of the following questions, we invite you to join us for an exploration of the beliefs, histories and cultures of Mennonites around the world (you don’t need to be Mennonite):
Meet the new divisional deans
Two deans with extensive leadership experience have been appointed to lead the academic divisions, with both officially beginning their roles on July 1, 2025. The Rev. Dr. Sarah Ann Bixler, former associate dean of Eastern Mennonite Seminary, serves as dean for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences division. Dr. Michael Horst, former interim associate dean, former director of EMU’s counseling program, and current director of its psychology program, serves as dean for the Health, Behavioral, and Natural Sciences division. The two divisional deans work closely with Dr. Tara Kishbaugh, dean of faculty and student success, and Jonathan Swartz, dean of students, and report to the provost.
‘It’s more than a language class, but a launchpad for opportunity’: WHSV shines light on EMU’s Intensive English Program
EMU’s Intensive English Program (IEP) continues to help English language learners from all around the world find their voice and build a better life for themselves, despite federal funding shortages affecting many similar programs around the country. Hear from IEP students and grads (including an EMS student) about how the transformative program is positively shaping their lives in this video segment from WHSV-TV3.
A practical seminar on embodied spiritual practices with AMBS and EMU professors
On the afternoon of July 10, during a seminar entitled “Restitutio Divina: Embodied Biblical Reflection”, Leah Thomas, Ph.D., a theologian and associate professor of Pastoral Care, director of Contextual Education at Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, and biblical scholar Stephanie Day Powell, assistant professor of Hebrew Bible at Eastern Mennonite University, led participants through a guided, meditative exercise called restitutio divina.
Learning to pause, restore and resist at the MC USA Women’s Summit 2025
“Sisters, we’ve been brainwashed,” said Rev. Dr. Shannon Dycus, interim president of Eastern Mennonite University, in her keynote address to 185 attendees at MC USA’s Women’s Summit, July 8, in Greensboro, North Carolina. She explained that women carry the weight of systems of oppression that measure their worth by labor and productivity. “There is a binary that tells us that we either need to be working like a machine, or we can rest and fear that we aren’t doing enough,” she said.
Climate advocates speak to power
A small group of Anabaptists celebrated Earth Month on April 10 in Washington, D.C., by urging U.S. legislators to protect federal clean energy tax credits and urban community forestry grants. Many of these grants benefit churches and low-income communities and are at risk of being cut in an upcoming budget bill. Among this number were EMS alums John Stoltzfus and Steven Pardini and CJP alum Kirstin De Mello.