ex(PR)essed

Knitting, as I’ve noticed, is a quiet sort of activity. A college student who attends my church knits during the Sunday morning service. She can do this relatively unnoticed because knitting is quiet and unintrusive. I was at the airport on Monday night waiting to pick up a missionary who is staying with me and Jeff this week. His flight was delayed, and I ended up spending time in the company of a woman who was knitting something pink. Her fingers moved silently, and, at times, I suspect her mind was a million miles away and not at all focused on her project.

I don’t knit. I don’t know anything about how to operate those long needles or how to maneuver my fingers in a productive way. Basically, I don’t know how to create something beautiful out of yarn. I do know, however, that God has recently drawn my attention to knitting for a reason.

In the past several days, God has knit together a message just for me. He’s done it through the words and actions of others. It started on Sunday with a missionary who posed the question, “What are you willing to do for God?” I’ve heard the question before, but it made me uncomfortable this time. Maybe because I know God might ask me to do something risky or uncomfortable or even painful.

Jeff Kamphausen, a missionary to Cambodia, is staying at my house this week. He, his wife, and their three young children serve in a country that presents challenges beyond what I can imagine. You see, I like my comfortable existence. But, I suspect God isn’t simply calling me to a comfortable life in the suburbs.

Messiah hosted Jim Wallis, author of “God’s Politicis: Why the Rights Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn’t Get It,” last night. His message was clear — the days of left and right must end. As people of faith, we must quit reducing Christianity to one or two social issues. We must find a moral center, common ground where people of faith unite to bring change. We must discern our gifts and then match them with the most crushing needs of the world, determing to no longer sit and watch silently. Wallis called for revival. I thought of the line, “dancers who dance upon injustice,” from “Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble.” It’s time, Wallis encouraged, for us to quit electing politicians who lick their finger, poke it into the sky, and gauge the direction of the wind. Instead, it’s time for people of faith to be the wind.

In the car on the way home, it dawned on me: God is knitting a message for me. He’s opening my eyes to the things that break his heart, and he’s calling me to do something about those things. He’s asking me to work out the knots and tangles and make something beautiful. Something that glorifies him. And you know what? I get it. You know what else? I don’t think (thankfully) God is done with me. And he’s not done with you either.

See the young lady in this picture? I want to introduce you to her. I want you to remember where you “met” her because she is taking the world by storm. Someday when she’s a well-respected, change-affecting social justice attorney, you’ll remember that you met her here at ex(pr)essed.

Meet Marissa. She was a work study student here in the public relations office for three semesters. I had the privilege of working with her for two of those semesters. Yesterday afternoon I had the sheer pleasure of hearing her unpack her well-researched, fascinating study of media representation of African-Americans on television. Her presentation, part of the Humanities Symposium, was titled “Media and Cross-Cultural Representations in the United States.” She showed numerous clips — music videos, television dramas, comedians, and news casts — to prove her theory that people’s perceptions of African-Americans are affected by how they see them represented on television. I thought her most interesting point was this: simply increasing the number of representations of African-Americans (or any minority group, for that case) in the media is meaningless. We must consider how those African-Americans are being represented. Is it just another stereotypical portrayal? She made me think.

Marissa’s days at Messiah have ended. She finished early and is spending this spring interning at a public relations office and awaiting her many acceptance letters to law schools that would be fortunate to have her as a student.

On an entirely different note, I must tell you that the public relations office is abuzz this morning with some exciting news — The Police are bringing their reunion tour to Hershey in July! (I know…not exactly the kind of news you were probably expecting, but, you must admit, this is HUGE!)

It is sunny and warm today, a balmy 46 degrees to be exact. My office window is open. The sky is blue, and the messy snow and ice of just one week ago are disappearing drip by drip by drip.

Last night I fell asleep to the sound of drip after drip after drip plummeting from our second story eaves onto the hardened ground below. It was like a loud, leaky faucet. Today, I’ve gotten dripped on repeatedly as every gutter and rooftop deposits a steady steam of melting snow onto the soaked sidewalks. Puddles abound on the roadways. Birds are chirping. It’s a sure sign that spring is just around the corner, just as Phil the Groundhog predicted!

Today is an Open House day which means that many prospective students and their parents are visiting campus. (I know this because there’s not a single available parking space!) Many high school students will leave today closer to a final decision as to whether they can picture Messiah College and Grantham, Pa., being their home for the next four years.

I remember rather well my first visit to Lock Haven University, my alma mater. It was a beautiful fall day, and I immediately fell in love with the quaint town and small campus nestled between mountains and the Susquehanna River. I told my mom on the drive home that I just had a “feeling” that Lock Haven was to be my home for the next four years. My visit to Lock Haven had felt different than other college visits, and I’m glad I followed my instincts (which, I suspect, was really God’s leading) and chose Lock Haven. I had a tremendous college experience.

I hope many students and parents had a positive experience at Messiah today. I know my first impressions of Messiah’s campus went something like this: “Wow. Gorgeous.” I suspect if I had seen Messiah as a high school senior, I would have longed to come here. I would have pictured myself studying (and napping) along the banks of the Yellow Breeches, exploring the fitness trail, taking English classes in Boyer, and drinking coffee with friends in Larsen. I would have been excited about an on-campus movie theater, museum, and art gallery. I would have anticipated internship experiences in the capital city and relished the thought of studying abroad. And, I would have loved how the steeple on Hostetter Chapel is visible for miles around, signaling that Messiah College is a bright beacon.

Happy Valentine’s Day! Mother Nature was kind enough to dump a mess of snow and ice over the past 24 hours, allowing many of us to spend this Hallmark-holiday at home with the one we love. Snowed in on Valentine’s Day? Not too bad.

So, even though I’m not a huge fan of this holiday, I am a connoisseur of the famous conversation hearts that appear in candy dishes everywhere this time of the year. So, in the spirit of the day, allow me to dedicate the following messages:

Call home — a message to college students everywhere! And, don’t ask for money this time.
Go girl — for Kim Phipps, a talented, smart, thoughtful woman who is an excellent example of all that is right about women in leadership
Go fish — for all of you who chose Messiah because of our awesome trout stream
Bear hug — for the folks who staff the Oakes Museum and work under the intent gaze of all those bears
Awesome — Messiah College in the spring! Also, as Rich Mullins said, “Our God is an awesome God.”
Sweet talk — Talkin’ sweet about Messiah is our speciality here in the PR office!

I went into the weekend with a fair amount of anticipation — Jeff was coming home from California and The Police were playing together for the first time in years! It promised to be a good weekend, and it didn’t disappoint. Between The Police and Gnarls Barkley, the Grammys were wonderfully entertaining for me.

Speaking of entertaining, on Saturday night, Jeff and I went to see the theatre department’s performance of the hit Broadway musical “Urinetown.” I was anxious to see it for several reasons: some folks had been squeamish about the title; I had never seen a Messiah College-produced musical; and, the previous theatre production I saw — “Noises Off — was hysterical, so my hopes were high. “Urinetown” was hilarious. You absolutely cannot let the unsavory title dissuade you from seeing this play. Some of the humor is potty humor — the kind of stuff you might have heard on the school bus when you were in third grade — but mostly the play is funny because it makes fun of musicals…while being a musical. (Plus, as added entertainment for Saturday night’s crowd, a bat was loose in Climenhaga prior to the start of the show! It was on its best behavior the rest of the evening, thankfully.) So, take your sense of humor on a date this weekend and see “Urinetown” at Messiah.

(Harrisburg Mayor Stephen Reed (left) and Joe Jones, Dean of the School of Education and Social Sciences)

It’s an exciting day for Messiah College and the City of Harrisburg! Mayor Stephen Reed announced today that Messiah’s Harrisburg Institute will relocate to the city’s growing educational corridor. The College, in partnership with Dewberry Associates and Harristown Development Corporation, will lease property at 28 S. Dewberry Street. The new facility will house 25 students as well as administrative offices for the Institute, and, because it’s a lease agreement, the property will stay on the tax rolls, which is great news for the city. The Institute’s new neighbors include Harrisburg University’s new multi-million academic building, Harrisburg Area Community College’s restaurant, Bricco, and International House. The facility will be ready for the students to move into in August, just in time for the start of a new school year!

In addition to the excitement for the city and the college, it was an exciting day for this assistant director of public relations as well. All the local television stations were on hand to record the news conference, and WGAL already did a nice job covering the story on their noon news. I get a little thrill everytime Messiah enjoys a little good news publicity!

Big weekend ahead! Besides the fact that my husband will be home after being in California all week, “Urinetown: The Musical” takes the stage in Miller Auditorium, and I’ll be there tomorrow! The Lost Film this weekend — “The Departed” — is already sold-out for several shows, so get your tickets ASAP. Sam Beam of Iron and Wine will be here Saturday night. Enjoy!

Randy Balmer, Columbia University professor, author, and critic of the Religious Right spoke at Messiah College on Monday night as part of the The Boyer Center’s Distinguished Lecture Series. First, it was great to see Hostetter Chapel nearly full, especially since it was the first day of classes and absolutely frigid outside! Second, Richard Hughes provided an oustanding model of how a speaker should be introduced; Richard did not read Balmer’s bio, instead he wrote his own thoughtful, personal introduction that provided a much better sense of Balmer’s expertise and personal experience.

I attended in large part because I find myself increasingly interested in the collision of Christianity and politics. I am intrigued by the divergent ways Christians perceive and understand the Bible and teachings of Jesus. These differences are publically demonstrated on everything from gay marriage to environmental stewardship to the war in Iraq, and Balmer highlighted how such conflicts among evangelicals affect the political arena. I continue to seek how my own faith should interplay with how I vote and find voices like Balmer’s to be a refreshing addition to the chorus of other highly-visible, Christian leaders who don’t always sing a tune that matches the song in my heart.

College is designed to challenge, motivate, educate, and transform. Messiah does this well — exceedingly well actually. I’m glad this institution doesn’t back down from talking about challenging, emotionally-charged issues. With that in mind, I encourage you to save the date for a few more lectures: Tim Wise on Feb. 26, Jim Wallis on Feb. 27, and Jonathan Kozol on March 28.

Phil, the famous forecasting groundhog from the fine town of Punxsutawney, predicted today that spring was just around the corner. Of course, I find any critter from the squirrel family (groundhogs, like squirrels, are members of the rodent family known as marmots) to be nearly perfect, but, ironically, it is snowing in Grantham today for (no exaggeration) only the third time this winter.

Certainly Phil couldn’t be wrong! Amazingly, it’s February 2 already and a frantic trip to the grocery store for milk and bread in anticipation of accumulation hasn’t yet been necessary. No two hour delays for area schools. No sound of snow blowers or late night salt trucks. And, what I miss the most: no local newscasters standing beside a busy highway with their hood pulled tightly, their gloved hands shaking while holding the mic, the snow blowing in their face, and traffic crawling along behind them. Ah…instead the big news is a decapitated statue of Ronald McDonald.

Phil, by the way, has been at this business of predicting the weather since 1887. Other random facts: Groundhog Day is Feb. 2 because that date marks the “cross-quarter day” between the winter solstice and vernal equinox; groundhogs are also known as woodchucks (how much wood could a woodchuck chuck?) and whistlepigs; groundhogs primarily feast on grass, clover, garden vegetables, leaves, twigs, dandelions, and the occassional insect; and one Internet site will rent a groundhog costume for a reasonable $638.

The spring semester starts on Monday. It will be a busy semester of lectures, concerts, films, and athletic events. Really, it can’t come fast enough — blogging about rodents will eventually get old for me and you…