Sam Swartzendruber handing Tommy Rhodes a bottle of Menno Tea.

The wrap up chapel for special emphasis, [Food for Thought: Becoming Aware of the World Beyond Us.] asked the question: What can one person do?  Paul’s letter to the Philippians (Phil 2:1-4) and stories of teens who have made a difference were used to help answer that question.  One of the examples was from the makers of Menno Tea. Their desire to give back to the community led them to donate  5 cents of every bottle to the Everence Sharing fund.  The IMS students were asked to look at their own life and see ways in which they could make a difference in small ways and they were invited to discuss it “over tea.”  As they left chapel the students were handed a bottle of Menno Tea to commemorate Special Emphasis Week

Measure and mix the ingredients.

Two lines of students measure and mix the ingredients.

On the last day of Special Emphasis Week students packaged food for hungry kids!

Kids Against Hunger is a national organization that mobilizes people—especially students—to package meals for hungry kids, here and abroad.

The Iowa part of Kids Against Hunger is sending food into Albania, Honduras, Nicaragua and Haiti. They are in the process of sending food into Pakistan as well. In 2010 they sent 3.5 million meals overseas. Through three Iowa outreach locations in Iowa City, Mt. Pleasant and Ottumwa they are supplying 2,500 meals per week locally.

Kids Against Hunger’s meals have been formulated by food scientists to provide a rich source of easily digestible dried protein, carbohydrates, and vitamins needed by a malnourished child’s body and mind. The food also accommodates to the broad diversity of ethnic tastes and religious differences around the world.

Each bag of  food contains six servings of the dehydrated food which when boiled will feed six children. Additionally, the bags are specifically made from moisture-proof and odor-proof material to prevent spoilage and insect or rodent problems. The food bags are also three-ply for strength. Kids Against Hunger’s life-saving meals have a shelf life of at least three years.

Jordan Miller seals the packages of nutritious food.

Joel Shetler packages the food packets into cases.

Jane Widmer Yoder leading litany for peace.

Joe Swartzentruber cementing the peace pole into the ground.

In 1955 a Japanese man erected a peace pole in Hiroshima (the city where the US dropped the first atomic bomb). The pole was inscribed with a simple plea: May peace prevail on earth. Now over 200,000 peace poles have been planted in over 200 countries around the world. Organizations that erect peace poles encourage people to foster and promote peace . . . at home . . . in the community . . . and in the world.

IMS chose the languages English, Spanish (because we teach Spanish here), Russian (because many of our World Link students speak Russian), and Chinese (because we hope to have Chinese students next year).

As Christians we believe our peace comes from Christ just as the angels said at Jesus’ birth, “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace . . .” Later in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.” Jesus often used the greeting, “Peace be with you” and the farewell, “Go in peace.” When Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit he said, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.”

Special Emphasis coordinator Jane Widmer Yoder explained, “We chose to erect a peace pole as part of our Special Emphasis, Food for Thought: Being Aware of the World Beyond Us because peace is something that each one of us can contribute to our world. Anabaptism has long been known for its peace stance and it is still an important part of our Mennonite faith.  We need to share that peace.”

All in attendance were asked to respond to the following litany by saying: May Christ’s peace prevail on earth.

God, we come before you as a people who want to live in a peaceful world.

Yet we ourselves get angry, lash out in violence, and hold grudges.

Help us to cultivate your peace in our lives as we deal with our families and schoolmates.

Help us cultivate your peace in our communities as we worship within our churches, as we work and play with our friends and neighbors, and as we deal with people of differing opinions.

Help us cultivate your peace throughout the world. May we be problem solvers, mediators, and ambassadors of your peace to all nations—whether we go there or whether they come here.

The event ended by reading a Celtic Litany for Peace and by singing Unity.

The Goshen College Men’s Chorus, directed by Assistant Professor of Music Scott Hochstetler, is touring the Midwest on spring break, sharing the theme of “Light in the Darkness” at churches and schools in Indiana, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska, Feb. 26-March 4. They will be performing during chapel on Thursday, March 1st at 9:46. They will also give an evening performance at First Mennonite Church in Iowa City on Wednesday, February 29th at 7 pm. The concert is free and open to the public

Directed by Assistant Professor of Music Scott Hochstetler, the Goshen College Men’s Chorus follows in the long tradition of GC male singing groups beginning with the men’s glee clubs and the Rambler Quartet of the early 1900s. Formed by the combined male voices of the Chorale and Chamber Choir, the Men’s Chorus performs music from all genres and time periods with special emphasis on sacred a cappella literature. The men perform in on-campus choral concerts and represent the college on periodic tours.

The Goshen College Men’s Chorus features the following members: (first tenor) Brett Conrad, of Denver, Colo.; Benson Hostetter, of Harrisonburg, Va.; Matt Nafziger, of Goshen; Luke Slagel, of Goshen; Jordan Weaver, of Lanark, Ill.; (second tenor) Stefan Baumgartner, of Goshen; Philip Bontrager, of Goshen; Micah Detweiler, of Kokomo, Ind.; Daniel Driver, of Goshen; Lucas Godshalk, of Plymouth, Ind.; Clayton Miller, of Goshen; JD Nafziger, of Goshen; Kolton Nay, of Dover, Ohio; Alex Pletcher, of Goshen; Bobby Switzer, of Berne, Ind.; (first bass) Kaleb Batten, of Mendon, Mich.; Aaron Bontrager, of Archbold, Ohio; Darin Bontrager, of Archbold, Ohio; Ben Breckbill, of Lincoln, Neb.; Karsten Hess, of Goshen; Min Ah Kim, of Kidron, Ohio; Jay Mast, of Goshen; James Miller, of Greencastle, Pa.; Nick Schwartz, of Phoenix, Ariz.; Jake Smucker, of Woodward, Pa.; Sam Smucker, of Newton, Kan.; Brody Thomas, of Springs, Pa.; Hans Weaver, of Lancaster, Pa.; Justin Yoder, of Perkasie, Pa.; (second bass) Jackson Bush, of Bluffton, Ohio; Zachary Clouse, of Goshen; Andre Eisenbeis, of Freeman, S.D.; Jacob Greaser, of Goshen; Colin Gregory, of Goshen; Jonathan Hershberger, of Lancaster, Pa.; Micah Isnogle, of Goshen; Aaron Kaufmann, of Tiskilwa, Ill.; Alex Matthews, of Pettisville, Ohio; Grant Miller, of Danvers, Ill.; Michael Miller, of Waterloo, Iowa; Seth Miller, of Wellman, Iowa; Brian Plank, of Pettisville, Ohio; Landon Slabaugh, of Kalona, Iowa; Seth Yoder, of Quakertown, Pa. and Jared Zook, of Canton, Ohio.