Alumni Connection - fall 2008
MB Biblical Seminary’s Alumni Connection – fall 2008
Welcome to MB Biblical Seminary’s Alumni Connection. Our goals are to resource you for ministry, provide a window into current Seminary life and events, and invite you to be part of the Seminary’s ongoing mission. If you’ve completed 15 units of courses at our Fresno, Langley, or Winnipeg campuses and either graduated or have not taken a course during the past 2 years, we think of you as an alumnus.
Sincerely,
Megan E. Richard, Director of Alumni Relations
WHAT’S NEW-S?
MB Leadership Summit
Denver, Colorado – September 9 – 11
Please pray for the Seminary, national, provincial and district MB leaders as they work together to develop plans to partner in the following areas:
Discerning and Calling Pastoral Leaders
Equipping and Training Pastoral Leaders
Placing Pastoral Leaders
Supporting and Encouraging Pastoral Leaders
FALL 2008 FACULTY UPDATES/TRAVELS
Mark Baker, PhD – Associate Professor of Mission and Theology
August 10: Speaking at Marsh Chapel, Boston University and giving a workshop Wednesday noon Aug. 6 www.bu.edu/chapel/interest/summerpreacher.shtml
August 16: Day-long workshop to the PDC Hispanic Bible Institute students on Anabaptism.
October 17 & 18: Attendance at the Anabaptist Association of Missiologists in Pasadena.
Rick Bartlett, DMin – Student Dean
September 9-11: MB Leadership Summit in Denver
Doug Berg, PhD – Associate Dean for Associated Canadian Theological Schools
November 12-15: Attendance at the International Leadership Association annual conference in Los Angeles. The theme will be Global Leadership: Portraits of the Past, Visions for the Future.
Tim Geddert, PhD – Professor of New Testament
August 17: Speaking in Penticton, BC
September 22-28: Teaching at Bethany Bible College, Hepburn, Saskatchewan
January 10-28, 2009: Various speaking engagements in Germany
Bruce Guenther, PhD – Associate Professor of Church History and Mennonite Studies
October 3-4: Advisory Board meetings for the Centre for Research on Canadian Evangelicalism in Toronto, ON
November 7-8: Meeting of the Editorial team for the global MB history project in Abbotsford, BC
Jim Holm, DMin – President
September 9-11: MB Leadership Summit in Denver
Lynn Jost, PhD – Academic Dean
September 9-11: MB Leadership Summit in Denver
Cam Priebe, MA – Director of Ministry Quest
September 9-11: MB Leadership Summit in Denver
Valerie Rempel, PhD – Associate Professor of History and Theology
November 12-15: Mennonite Health Services Alliance Board of Directors meetings in Middlebury, Indiana
David Bruce Rose, PhD – Associate Professor of Marriage, Family and Child Counseling
August 25-26: Autism, Diagnostic Observation Schedule Training in Oakland, CA
October 2-4: Jews for Jesus Board Meeting in San Francisco, CA
October 30-November 2: Jews for Jesus Ingathering (family camp) in Santa Cruz, CA
Cory Seibel, PhD – NEW! Assistant Professor of Pastoral Ministries arrived in Fresno with his wife and daughter in mid-July. His first courses at MBBS this fall will be Christian Worship, Church Conflict and Supervised Ministry Experience. He will also lead the first Pastoral Roundtable of the school-year, on the Fresno, California campus, September 9. The topic will be “All in the Family: Reaching Postmodern Young Adults without Alienating their Elders.”
UPCOMING EVENTS – You’re invited!
Psalms Workshop, September 19-20
Join MB Biblical Seminary’s Academic Dean and Associate Professor of Old Testament, Dr. Lynn Jost, in a guided spiritual retreat on “Praying the Psalms,” for transformational leaders in postmodern times. Listen to, sing, and pray the psalms as you express to God your darkest fears, your deepest longings, and your exuberant praise.
Words that Hurt and Heal, October 3-6
MB Biblical Seminary Professor of Pastoral Counseling, Delores Friesen, PhD, will be at Tabor College’s Wichita campus teaching and leading a course and workshops on interpersonal communication in life and ministry. She will also be offering Prepare/Enrich Training on October 7 at the same location.
Married to a Minister Conference, October 10-11
MB Biblical Seminary presents Married to a Minister, a conference for spouses of ministry leaders, on the Fresno, California campus.
ArtHop, October 16
MB Biblical Seminary’s Fresno, California campus will host ArtHop on Thursday, October 16 from 5-8:00 p.m. Various forms of art will be featured from faculty, staff, students and YOU. If you are interested in submitting any art for this event and will be able to attend to discuss your work, please contact Rachel Regier at 559-452-1704 or raregier@mbseminary.edu. The deadline for submissions is October 13.
ACTS Pastors & Mentors Day, October 24
MB Biblical Seminary’s Langley, British Columbia campus hosts this annual event for pastors and their mentors. The topic this year will be on domestic violence.
KEEP LEARNING!
Did you know that graduates of the Seminary can audit for free, 1 course per semester (2 courses per year), on the Winnipeg and Fresno campuses? Click here for more information.
View Intensive Courses, Pastoral Roundtables, Conferences and more on MB Biblical Seminary campuses by clicking here.
REFER A STUDENT
Alumni are an integral part of the recruitment process at MB Biblical Seminary. We value your referrals and enjoy sending a small token of our appreciation when this occurs. As a thank you we will send you a $10 coffee house gift card for referring a student to our Recruitment Department. If the student enrolls you will receive a $50 gift card to a restaurant in your area.
GET TO KNOW FELLOW ALUMNI
Alumni from as far back as 1986 have shared their stories below. How about you? Send a 1-2 paragraph update of your life and ministry, and we’ll share it in our next Alumni Connection. This time, those who reply will receive a MB Biblical Seminary Alumni license plate holder. Send your update to Megan Richard at
mrichard@mbseminary.edu. Langley and Winnipeg alumni we want to hear from you too!
Ruth Klassen (Master of Divinity – 1986, Fresno) Yes, I finally retired. I thought I was retiring when I came home from Mexico and completed my assignment with MBMSI but, no; I started work at Family Life Network (FLN) as Spanish assistant in the Spanish department ENCUENTRO. I enjoyed communicating with many Spanish listeners from around the world via telephone conversations and letters. As e-mail became more popular many would respond and ask for more counseling and direction.
Through this avenue I was able to relate to many more Spanish-speaking people than I could during the years I was in Colombia, Spain and Mexico. After serving at FLN on a part-time basis for seven years I retired and have more time for reading and relaxing.
Nathan Rieger (MA New Testament -1993, Fresno) On my graduation then president Henry Schmidt told me that he suspected I would colour outside the lines for a while yet, and I don’t think I’m done 15 years later. I take some warning from Churchill’s axiom that the one who is not a radical at age 20 has no heart; the one who is not a conservative at 40 has no mind. Oops – I’m turning 43 and now qualify for the latter category. Kendra and I are pastoring the Winnipeg Centre Vineyard, an inner city church focused on worship, community and justice in the North End. We’ve been at that 9 years. We retain many wonderful relationships with the MB world, including some active partnerships, while working also in the Vineyard family of churches. We enjoy the clash of cultures in which we live, and find life to be emerging here in the darkest places of our amazing city. Incidentally, my senior seminar from my MA was just published this year in a collection of essays on non-violent theologies of the atonement (Stricken by God?).
Emily Stone (MA MFCC- 2005, Fresno) I passed the Tennessee state board licensing examination for licensed MFT’s in the Fall of 2007 and have started a private practice in Cleveland, TN. I am expecting my third child in January. You can see more pictures of my family’s journey at www.thestonesinprague.blogspot.com. I also enjoy teaching part time for Patten University and Lee University.
Liz Gonzales-Garvin, (MA in Christian Ministry – 2005, Fresno) has been working as the Director of Mediation Services for the Better Business Bureau putting the mediation training gained at seminary to work, mediating cases in court and out of court free of charge to all community members.