Students listen to Rabbi Jeff Portman speak about Judaism.

This copy of the Torah is over 100 years old. It traveled from Poland to Venezuela to Iowa City.

Ten Buddhist ideals.

The Christianity in the World Arena class took a field trip to Iowa City on Thursday. The group of eight seniors and instructor Lee Ebersole visited three religious centers; the Iowa City Mosque, a Zen Buddhist Meditation center and the Agudas Achim Synagogue, temporarily meeting at the  Hillel Foundation.

The purpose of the class is to learn about our world so that we can as Christians be a more relevant and informed presence in the world.  “It’s one thing to learn and study about other religions through books or the internet or the media but it’s quite another to hear directly from people who are immersed in that particular religion.  The field trip gives students the opportunity to do just that and to engage in conversation with those individuals.”

Lee Ebersole

Our Bible program remains an important and unique aspect of education at IMS. Lee Ebersole has been our Bible instructor for seven years and Pam Gerig Unruh has been at IMS for 22 years, first as a Math instructor and most recently as the chapel coordinator, Health instructor and the Christian Family Living teacher. The following classes are taught within the Bible program:

Pam Gerig Unruh with students Jess Miller and Mischa De Jesus.

* 9^th and 10^th grade:  In Old Testament class, they work with the beginning of the story of the interaction between God and people.  At creation, much is learned about this creative, powerful, relational God who creates people in God’s image and provides a place for them to live and enjoy very good relationships with God, each other, themselves and the environment.  These relationships were damaged because of the choices of these people God created, so God has been working at reconciliation of the relationships ever since.  A lot of time is spent in Genesis and Exodus since these early stories set the foundation for the rest of this big story.

* 9^th and 10^th grade: In New Testament, much time is spent on the gospels as these contain the story of Jesus, the ultimate solution to damaged relationships.  How Jesus lived, what he taught, how he died and lives again all give a powerful expression of who God is and the way people were meant to live.

* 11^th grade:  Church and Anabaptist History picks up the story of the interaction of God and people at the time of the early church and brings it into the present.  Much emphasis after the 1500s is on the movement of the Mennonites fromEurope toNorth America.  Lee explains, “As we explore the ups and downs of the church through persecution and power and division, we ask the question – how is the church faithful to being the presence of Jesus in the world?”

* 12^th grade: Seniors may choose between two Bible classes.

• Christianity in the World Arena has two emphases. One is to recognize and learn about the diversity of religious expressions in the world.  The other is to ask the question – how can Christianity be a relevant, meaningful and authentic presence of Jesus in the world?  The beliefs and practices of the big five religions; Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Judaism are studied.
• Christian Family Livingtaught by Pam Gerig Unruh. This course is a study of Christian principles related to family living.  Self-concept, faith development, and communication skills are examined in the context of parent-child and husband-wife relationships. A family experience is at the base of every adult’s life. How family experiences have shaped us, what kind of “family” we want as we continue in life and how the church family fits into all of this is explored.
  

  Lee Ebersole looking over one of the projects his students had on display.

One of the interesting projects that Lee has his Church and Anabaptist History students do is to research their own congregation.  It involves learning the history of the congregation and conducting interviews with the pastor and a few long term folks in the congregation. Students often discover aspects of their congregation of which not many persons their age are aware.  It tends to help them appreciate the people who have paved the way for their congregation to continue to thrive.

When asked what his goals are for the year, Lee explains, “My overall goal every year is for students to encounter the story of God in a new and meaningful way. I think it’s crucial for all persons, especially Christians, to have sensitivity to how God is at work in the world and then the wisdom and courage to get on board with that activity.  More specifically this year, especially this semester in Old Testament class, I hope that my students get at least a taste of the extraordinary treasure found in the Hebrew Scriptures and how they set the stage for the coming of Jesus.

Pam Gerig Unruh talking with her class.

Pam Gerig Unruh voices her goals. “I want students to reflect, think, and sort out what is most important to them and how that fits into their future. My hope is that this course will help them make wise choices now and in their life to come.”

Parents can help students succeed by continuing to be learners themselves. There is so much of God’s total creation to discover that one can never reach the end of learning. Being curious about what our children are learning, asking leading questions and truly listening as they share can foster an atmosphere of enthusiasm for continuing to explore the vast abundance that God’s universe has to offer. 

What are Lee’s biggest challenges? “In Bible classes, yes, I want us to learn about God, Jesus, the scriptures, but if it stops there, I have not succeeded as a teacher. I am continually challenged to find creative ways of helping the students connect with our subject material in a way that reaches our hearts, not just our heads. I trust that I can somehow cooperate with the Holy Spirit as it is only the work of God’s Spirit that can make this happen.”

Juniors show the story of church and Anabaptist history through a variety of projects. The goal of the assignment is to have a visual depiction of how people have responded to the call of God since the time of Jesus up to the present with the last 500 years more focused on the Anabaptist story. The students’ projects also show where they find themselves in this story of God at work in the world.

Guest presenter, Jay Miiller, pastor of East Union Mennonite Church and an IMS board member, spoke to the Christian Family Living class on the aspects of good communication. Through diagrams, activities and speaking, Jay helped the students experience the many qualities of effective communication.