Once perceived as a grandmother’s pastime, knitting has exploded in popularity among younger generations. Now knitting has become the new chic way to be crafty and creative. Some attribute the popularity surge to numerous knit-loving celebrities, but Joy Oakes, a senior at Messiah College, believes that knitting’s attractiveness comes from its conduciveness to multitasking.

“Knitting is something that can be done while doing something else,” Oakes stated. For Oakes, that something else is fellowship. Specially, fellowship made possible through Tabitha’s, a unique student-ministry that uses knitting to serve the community.

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In the late afternoon on January 12, a powerful earthquake struck Haiti, destroying much of the capital and surrounding area, leaving thousands missing or dead and countless others homeless and without resource.  Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and does not have the infrastructure or resources to handle a crisis of this magnitude. We believe it is our Christian responsibility to pray for and support the Haitian people in their time of distress, and are currently partnering with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) to raise funds that will immediately and effectively respond to this emergency. (more…)

The largest Christian music festival in the country, Creation, takes place less than 90 miles from Messiah’s Grantham campus. For four days, tens of thousands of young adults and church groups turn the scenic Agape Farm into a tent city of sorts.  With countless campsites dotting the landscape, a wonderful community atmosphere is created.  And lots and lots of garbage. Believe it or not, that’s where Messiah College comes into play!
In 2008, transfer student admissions counselor Bryanna Boone got the idea that Messiah could offer a valuable service to Creation organizers and attendees by instituting a recycling program at the festival. That year, Messiah staff, students, and volunteers collected and recycled more than 60,000 bottles and cans.
This year, a team of 10 employees, six work-study students, and six volunteers saved another 60,600 cans and bottles from the landfill, all while chatting up Messiah with nearly 2,000 attendees! This sustainability commitment amounts to a little more than two tons of recycled material during the four-day event.
Watch a video highlighting the College’s recycling efforts at Creation.

Read more about Messiah’s sustainability commitments.

There was a time when Bridget Nace ’10 (pictured in red) wasn’t sure she’d ever walk across the stage to receive her degree. Now, that goal is in sight, and she couldn’t be more grateful for all that God has done to provide for her so that she could reach this point in her life.

Difficult Decisions
Bridget isn’t your typical college student. At the age of 20, while attending a community college, Bridget’s mother suffered from a stroke. Bridget made the decision to drop out of college to care for her mother, and devoted herself completely to ensuring that her mother’s needs were provided for. When it was clear that her mother would remain in a nursing home for the long-term, Bridget made the decision to go back to school, and, although she is ‘on her own’ when it comes to paying for her education, she chose Messiah.

“I wanted—no, I needed—a Christian environment,” Bridget says. “I didn’t grow up in a Christian home, and I knew I needed support to help me grow in my new Christian faith.”

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The 2009 graduates of the Hoverter Course.

“My brain was fuzzy from chemotherapy,” explained Linda Porter about why she pursued the opportunity to participate in Messiah College’s Hoverter Course. “And, because of the Course, my curiosity was sparked, my perspectives loosened, and I was changed in many ways.”

Porter was one of 11 students whose life was positively impacted by the 25-week Hoverter Course, an intensive humanities program sponsored by the College’s Center for Public Humanities and made possible by the generous support of the Hoverter Foundation.

Course graduates earned three Messiah College credits for successfully completing classes taught by Messiah College faculty in writing, communication, critical/ethical thinking, creative arts, and history/civics.

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Messiah College Students Team Up With CURE International for a Cookie-Eating Contest to Heal Disabled Children for Christmas

Students gathered in the Student Union on Tuesday, Dec. 9, to eat as many Christmas cookies as physically possible in the “Cure by Christmas Cookie-Eating Contest.” The contest raised funds for CURE International to heal children with physical disabilities in developing countries this Christmas. (more…)