On May 18, 49 graduate students and 651 undergraduate students received their degrees during Messiah College’s 104th Commencement. Graduates were greeted at Shoemaker Field by the community of educators and thousands of cheering family members and friends. The total Commencement crowd was estimated at 6,000.

“This is a glorious moment,” said President Kim S. Phipps. “Years of diligent work have led to this milestone; you have reason to celebrate your significant accomplishment. As graduates of Messiah College may you continue to fulfill God’s calling in your lives as you represent the ideals and aspirations of the College’s Christian educational mission.” Read the rest of this entry »

Generous donors provide every Messiah student with scholarship aid to help reduce the cost of their Christian college experience. Most students know countless financial gifts are given to the College by alumni, parents, community members and long-time friends of the College. Rarely, however, do students gather to publicly thank the many people that enable an affordable Messiah College education.

During the week before finals, Eyas, the student alumni council, and the Office of Annual Giving hosted “We Heart Messiah,” a campus-wide event to give thanks to the generous supporters of the College and its students. The three-day event kicked-off with a block party April 30 at the Larsen Student Union.  Students ate cotton candy, popcorn and delicious cupcakes from the Lancaster Cupcake Truck, a company owned by Jeff,’08, and Emily (Barcklow), ’08, Mitchell. A photo booth gave students the chance to be photographed holding a sign with a reason why they love Messiah College. Read the rest of this entry »

On Sunday, May 5, a crowd of generous donors, faithful college friends, dedicated public officials and talented students gathered to dedicate the Calvin and Janet High Center for Worship and Performing Arts. The day’s events began with college officials, a student and Calvin and Janet High officially cutting the ribbon to celebrate the completion of the building and its intended purposes of worship and performing arts.

Guests were then invited to a service of thankgiving and worship in Parmer Hall, the hallmark performance space of the new building. The Symphonic Winds, Men’s Ensemble and Women’s Ensemble accompanied the congregational singing of hymns and songs of praise. Theatre students performed a dramatic reading of Ecclesiastes 3 and offered prayers for creativity and imagination.

Following the worship service, the more than 400 guests toured the classroom, rehearsal and performances spaces in the building. A diverse menu of tapas, appetizers and desserts was offered throughout the space.

The dedication concluded with the President’s Concert, an annual event featuring the College’s talented vocal and instrumental ensembles, in the evening.

“It is my heartfelt hope that God will be honored in all events that take place in this space,” President Kim Phipps said of the magnificant building.

 View a photo gallery from the dedication events.

In March, the Eastern Wind Symphony fulfilled a long time goal: performing at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York City. Todd Nichols, recent alum of the graduate conducting program at Messiah, led the symphony from behind the conductor’s stand.

“It was quite remarkable,” says Nichols, in reflection of the evening.

The symphony commissioned a new work to be written for the ensemble by Messiah College professor Bruce Yurko. The piece Yurko produced, “Red Tal Skirmish (for Wind Ensemble”), honors Tuskegee Airmen, a celebrated group of African American pilots who fought in World War II. The symphony honored two Tuskegee Airmen among the 2,000 in attendance at the concert. Read the rest of this entry »

Embarking on a 115-day, 31-state, 10,000-plus-mile trip across the U. S.,
writer Shawn Smucker ’99, his wife Maile ‘99 and their four young children departed from Lancaster, Pa., Feb. 15, 2012 and began a life-changing journey. Pursuing a dream to live a simpler life was the main motivator for the couple. “We had both always wanted to travel around the United States,” said Shawn Smucker, who began the travel blog “Writing Across America” to document the family’s journey across the country.  Read the rest of this entry »

In his own words, artist and emeritus professor of art Ted Prescott describes the process and meaning of his High Center installation, “Psalm.”

The sculptural installation in the entrance to the Calvin and Janet High Center for Worship and the Performing Arts is composed of 14 linear forms that move throughout the entrance space. Each form was made from multiple pieces of apple wood that are fit together to create dynamic and expressive lines. More than 1,500-feet of apple limbs measuring between one and eight feet in length were cut from a local orchard that was being cleared to make way for a housing development. All of the limbs were peeled, and then dried for one to two years. From this inventory roughly 225 feet of various shapes were chosen for use. These pieces were modified by grinding and carving before they were joined together. Finally, each completed form was sanded, stained and sealed before being installed here. Read the rest of this entry »

For broadcasting student Jeremy Zimmerman ’14, a year in Philadelphia has provided countless opportunities to “get plugged in.” Now in his second semester at the Messiah College Philadelphia Campus, Zimmerman has made a commitment to community life, inner-city living and, most of all, a practical education. “It was easy to see myself develop with skills related to my major,” Zimmerman began. “My courses have focused on projects rather than theory or process… I’m more of a hands-on kind of guy, so these classes are really where I start to shine.”

When Zimmerman arrived at the Philadelphia Campus last fall, he enrolled in four courses, including Media Production and Advanced Editing. The latter course tested Zimmerman’s flexibility, requiring the broadcasting major to work with Apple Final Cut Pro, an unfamiliar video editing software. “Advanced Editing, in particular, really pushed me to my limits, because I had never really worked with video editing before,” Zimmerman said. Several weeks later, during a series of interviews for a spring internship, Zimmerman started to notice the benefits of his perseverance. “Both locations that offered me internships said they wanted me because I had put ‘film editing skills’ on my resume,” Zimmerman said, “a result of taking Advanced Editing and going outside of my comfort zone.” Read the rest of this entry »

Few were more suited to conclude Messiah’s yearlong lecture series, “Courage and Conviction for Challenging Times” than Leymah Gbowee, a woman whose personal courage, conviction and commitment to community-building played a pivotal role in ending Liberia’s civil war and in enabling Liberian women to become educated, empowered agents of peace and reconciliation.

A late winter snow storm was forgotten in Parmer Hall on March 18 as more than 400 students, educators and community members listened to Gbowee recall moments of courage and conviction in her life. Critical of the bystander culture that she views as pervasive in society today, Gbowee challenged, “The world awaits all of us to step out, to do something. The world awaits all of us to leave large prints. And God is on hand to strength all of us.”

Gbowee shared specific moments when she was convicted to respond to injustice. She recalled witnessing a teenage boy verbally abusing a middle-school-aged girl. She not only confronted the young man—a stranger to her—for his inappropriate behavior, but she also reprimanded the cluster of young girls who stood quietly by while their friend was harassed. “Sisterhood is for real; you just to have find real sisters,” Gbowee told the young girls.

Gbowee also recounted an instance of going toe-to-toe with a heavily armed Liberian war lord. He backed down; she did not. “Cowards get their strength from the weapons they carry,” she said. “Conviction and cowardly behavior are not companions.”

Gbowee’s leadership of the Women of Liberia Mass Mass Action for Peace—which brought together Christian and Muslim women in a nonviolent movement—played a pivotal role in ending Liberia’s civil war in 2003. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president of Liberia, says, “Leymah bore witness to the worst of humanity and helped bring Liberia out of the dark.” In 2011 Gbowee, Sirleaf and Tawakkol Karman were honored as Nobel Peace Laureates for their advocacy for African women’s rights and peace-building work.

“Conviction opened a doorway for courage,” Gbowee recalled about the efforts of the Mass Action for Peace. Five women initially felt convicted to action. Soon the effort was 10,000 women strong. The boldness of these women to confront and forgive the soldiers who had raided their villages, pillaged their homes and raped them and their children is barely comprehensible.

Being bold in action and spirit, Gbowee is certain that courage and conviction are best paired with community. “I’m convicted; I have the courage, but I need companions,” she explained. “I am where I am because of who we all are,” she said of the importance of community.

Though she received the Nobel Peace Prize at the young age of 39 and seemingly could rest now on her past accomplishments, Gbowee said she is “too hyped up” to retire now. There are still girls who need access to education, who need rescued from prostitution and who need empowered to stand boldly against injustice in their communities. Gbowee is facilitating this type of work through her Gbowee Peace Foundation, an organization with efforts in West Africa and the United States.

As someone who has experienced God’s compassion in her own life, Gbowee is compelled to ensure her foundation can continue to “empower to inspire.” Recalling the need for companions in order to courageously follow convictions, Gbowee asked, “What impact can Messiah College have in this community?” Then she challenged, “Speak out, stand up and do something.”

Photos by Megan Dobinson `16.

A sense of belonging. Greater self- awareness. History made personal. These are just a few of the expressed outcomes of students who delved into their family history during a first-year seminar course focused on genealogy, history and personal identity.

“We were foreigners,” writes Laura Passmore about her family in her reflection paper for the course. “I was amazed by all the different countries in my background.”

“[This class] allowed me to uncover the past that I never knew,” writes Jazz Baker, a first-year student from Harrisburg. Baker relished playing the family historian and recounting her findings to her mother and four sisters. Read the rest of this entry »

Cross country and track and field alum Brian Hager ’06 did not quit running when he graduated from Messiah. As he transitioned from being a student to a coach at Messiah, Hager grew to miss the team atmosphere and the friendships he enjoyed as an athlete. In an attempt to reestablish community in his life, Hager helped launch s.w.i.f.t. racing, a running club for alums in the Messiah area.

In the summer of 2008, Brian Hager, his brother Patrick Hager ’08, along with former teammates Eric Bofinger ’07 and Matthew Hahn ’07 brainstormed ways to cultivate community as post-graduate competitive runners. Deciding to start a running club, the core group ran their first race together in October 2008 at the Gettysburg Cross Country Invitational. After many discussions, Brian Hager landed on the name of the club, leading to a conversation about colors and styles of uniforms. Read the rest of this entry »