Dr. Howard Keim
installed as president October 29; many other activities
decorated Inauguration and Homecoming Weekend October 27-30
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| John Paul Lederach, internationally recognized for his work in conciliation
and mediation, presented the Inauguration Address on the topic, "Finding
That of God." Visible on the left is the multi-color prayer cloth
on which many people had written prayers and words of affirmation and
encouragement for President Keim and the college. More photos from Inauguration and Homecoming Weekend |
November 1, 2005
A Hesston College graduate who is internationally recognized for his
experience in conciliation and mediation called those attending the inauguration
of Hesston College president Dr. Howard Keim to be vulnerable, to be
love, and to be humble. John Paul Lederach, professor of international
peacebuilding at the Joan Kroc Institute of International Peace Studies
at the University of Notre Dame (Ind.), spoke on the topic "Finding
That of God" on Saturday afternoon, October 29.
Speaking on Luke 9:18-27, Lederach noted that Jesus had just fed 5,000 hungry
people. Then Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do people say that I am? And
who do you say I am?" Peter blurted out, "You are the Messiah, the
Christ of God."
Lederach notes that Jesus responded by rebuking Peter. "Jesus confronted
a feeling that rose from Peter's words, an attitude which said, 'I have the Truth.
And when I have the Truth, I have power. You and me Jesus, we control history.'"
Lederach, a 1975 graduate of Hesston, speculates that Jesus also may have told
Peter he had the right words, but that he had not arrived at the Truth. "Truth,
finding that of God, requires a long journey of constant curiosity and sacrifice,
of seeking that of God in others and in all you do," Lederach said.
"Finding that of God in today's world is perhaps the greatest challenge
facing our faith journey," he continued. "We have a tendency, much
like Peter, to want immediate, final, and complete answers.
"In doing so, we miss the deeper meaning," Lederach claimed. "Finding
that of God is a life journey. Faith is the conviction of things not seen, requiring
a constancy of exploration, discovery, and truth seeking through and under those
things that are seen and are most evident."
According to Lederach, three disciplines were constant in Jesus' teachings. "They
can be summarized in three phrases, not about what we do or study, but defined
by the quality of people we are and seek to become," he said. "Be vulnerable,
be love, and be humble.
"We might suggest these as guidelines at the opening of this era at Hesston
College," Lederach concluded. "The school of Jesus is nurturing the
lifelong discipline of discovery of an immeasurable, compassionate God. In the
school of Jesus, we recognize that we are a small part of something big, that
we have a lifetime of discovery before us, and that finding that of God is a
wonderful, at times frustrating, but ever evolving, exciting adventure."
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| Dr. Rosalind Andreas, chair of the Mennonite Education Agency board of directors, installs Dr. Howard Keim as Hesston College's eighth president. Behind Keim is Norm Yoder, from Henderson, Neb., who chairs the Hesston College Board of Overseers, and chaired the Presidential Search Committee. |
Andreas installed Keim as Hesston College president. "May your life be guided by the Holy Spirit, by the word of God, and by the counsel of the church," she said. "May God's blessing be upon you, your family, and this college."
Following a prayer of dedication by Dr. Nelson Kraybill, president of Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, Elkhart, Ind., Keim responded. "I am honored today by the trust placed in me by MEA and the Hesston College Board of Overseers. I will do my best to be a good steward of your trust in the years ahead.
"Hesston College was founded in 1909 on the conviction that there should be a Mennonite College in the West," Keim said, "that it should be a place of Christian nurture, and that it should prepare students in all types of vocations around the world.
"Today, we celebrate the visionary leadership of the boards, presidents, faculty, and staff who have come before us," the president said. "The legacy passed on to us is strong. We have inherited an institution that is known for its closeness to the church, and for its sense of community and its academic excellence.
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| Keim family members and former Hesston College presidents surround Dr. Howard Keim and his wife Tami as Dr. J. Nelson Kraybill, president of Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, offers a prayer of dedication. |
"In this time and in this place, Hesston College is needed more than ever," Keim said. "We must take the faith, the hope, and the love of those who came before us and honor it with our own. We must not only teach the Bible, but introduce students to Jesus himself.
"This will take more than a president, more than a student body, faculty, and staff," Keim continued. "It takes all of us, gathered here and many beyond.
"But we accept this challenge," Keim said. "Our heritage is strong, our path is right, our hope is secure.
"Jesus invites us to follow him and we accept," he concluded. "May God give us the faith of all who've gone before as we seek his favor in the years ahead."
Leading the recessional following the inauguration service were 10 students carrying a multi-color prayer cloth on which many people had written prayers and words of affirmation and encouragement for President Keim and the college.
The icing on the cake came Saturday evening with a banquet for alumni and friends, followed by an two-hour plus entertainment gala that featured an amazing variety of fine arts. In honor of President Keim, alumni and friends performed a spectrum of music that included gospel, country blues, excerpts from musicals, spirituals, bluegrass, and a barbershop quartet, mixed with humor, poetry, dance, clogging, and dramatic monologues (by Keim himself).
At the homecoming and inauguration worship service Sunday, October 30, President Keim spoke on the weekend theme, "Follow Me." The theme was chosen, he said, "as we asked what might embody the kind of message we want people to carry along with them. We also asked, 'As we prepare for the weekend, what do we build around and center our thoughts?'"
Speaking on the weekend's theme verses, Luke 9:23-27, Keim said he has been asking among other things, what does it mean to follow Jesus? "It means we must answer and make a declarative statement like Peter did, 'You are Christ, the Messiah.'"
Keim said the next step is to figure out the implications. "We are to be agents of healing with people around us," he said. "We also are called to be people of feeding--food, shelter, safety, and water. And we are to share in God's work of overcoming evil."
Then Keim issued a caution, "We don't control the outcome. We live in the shadow of suffering, but we may also see visions of glory."
"May God give us the grace to answer as Peter did," Keim concluded, "come to terms with the implications, and be faithful in following him."
Fine arts played an important role during the rest of the weekend, including three performances of the drama "Quiet in the Land," a choral concert, the dedication of a fiber art piece titled "A Pillar of Cloud," special numbers by the Bel Canto Singers directed by college faculty member Dr. Jacob Rittenhouse, and a drama performed by students during the Sunday worship service.
The one-hour Inaugural Choral Concert Friday evening, October 28, featured three separate choirs--the Tabor College Concert Choir, directed by Dr. Brad Vogel; the Hesston College Bel Canto Singers directed by Dr. Jacob Rittenhouse; and the Bethel College Concert Choir directed by Dr. William Eash--which sang three selections each.
Then the combined 150-voice mass choir, which included the Hesston College Chorale, sang "Let the People Praise Thee, O God," directed by Dr. Brad Vogel of Tabor College.
The mass choir also performed the featured work, directed by Dr. Jacob Rittenhouse, and commissioned for the inauguration celebration of President Howard Keim. With music written by Mennonite composer James E. Clemens, Dayton, Va., and words by Mennonite poet David Wright, Pontiac, Ill., the nearly six-minute piece consists of two parts, "Come Home," and The Path Ahead."
"Come Home" is a call to follow Christ. "The Path Ahead" alludes to the direction ahead which includes obstacles. Supported by Christ in our journey, we lose our way, then find it again by following him. [See sidebar #1]
Friday afternoon, an art piece titled "A Pillar of Cloud" by artist and faculty member Shin-hee Chin was dedicated in honor of President Keim. It hangs in the lobby of Mary Miller Library in Smith Center.
The 54-inches tall by 162-inches wide three-dimensional work uses a variety of yarns to provide an array of colors that Chin says "denotes the multi-cultural atmosphere of Hesston College." For inspiration, she drew from Mary Miller's book titled A Pillar of Cloud, a history about the college's first 50 years, from the Hesston College song with lyrics written by Ursula Miller, as well as the college's unique Mennonite heritage.
Chin, born in Korea, earned her bachelor's and master of fine arts degrees from Hong-Ik University, Seoul, Korea. She and her husband and two children live in McPherson, Kan.
In accepting the art piece, Keim said, "Your sensitivity to the history and culture of Hesston College, and your willingness to become part of that story, is a gift to us. I pray that your insights, and your own culture, as seen in this art, will continue to inform all of us in the years ahead." [See sidebar #2]
Under sunny skies Friday afternoon, October 28, three former presidents of Hesston College joined him to finish planting a tree in honor of Keim's inauguration. Dr. Laban Peachey (Hesston president 1968-80), Dr. Kirk Alliman (1981-92), Dr. Loren Swartzendruber (1993-2003), and Dr. Keim planted a caddo maple tree in the lawn south of Alliman Administration Center.
Jim Mason, director of Campus Facilities, said the tree is unique. "It's the only one on campus and comes from an isolated population of trees in small canyons in Caddo County, Okla., 50 miles west of Oklahoma City. It is an ecotype of the sugar maple tree."
Faculty in the Science and Math division held an open house in Charles Hall to recognize 55 alumni and friends who contributed more than $20,000 during the past year to purchase 21 new microscopes for the biology lab, along with other chemistry and physics equipment. The fund drive began in September during Homecoming 2004 when Jeff Kauffman, Goshen, Ind., a 1980 graduate, purchased an old microscope for $450. Loris Habegger, Moundridge, Kan., father of Lorna Harder, environmental biology instructor, was honored for providing a matching grant of $5,000 to give the fund drive an initial boost. Also recognized was Rod Kremer, Wichita, Kan., a 1978 graduate, whose gifts were matched 2 to 1 by his former employer, Vulcan Chemicals of Wichita.
During chapel Friday morning, ten retired Hesston College faculty members were honored as emeritus faculty. Academic Dean Marc Yoder emphasized that this is the first time at the college that anyone has been named as emeritus faculty members. "Emeritus means that the retired person retains his or her position on an honorary basis," Yoder said. "At Hesston College, it means that these people have made a great impact on this place by serving on the faculty at least 15 years, have attained the age of 60, and are no longer in a regular teaching position."
Yoder explained that the honored designation of emeritus faculty is bestowed by current faculty members. Each emeritus faculty member retains the same privileges that are enjoyed by current faculty members.
Each were introduced by a current faculty member, who presented a plaque that reads--"In appreciation for valued contributions and inspiration as a faculty member."
The ten include Willard Conrad (Hesston College 1949-1971), John Duersken (1939-1970), Paul Friesen (1956-1978, 2001-2005), Marge Harms (1974-1990, 1994-1999), John Lederach (1968-1984), Leonard Lichti (1969-1984), Carol Niehage (1984-2002), Evan Oswald (1951-1971), Tim Sawatsky (1973-1989), and Al Yoder (1978-2005). [see Sidebar #3]
The bookstore was the scene of a book signing Friday afternoon by two authors related to Hesston College. Palmer Becker, director of the college's Pastoral Ministries program, signed copies of the latest edition of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Stories for a Better World, which contains a story about him titled "I Was Ready to Fight."
Meanwhile, Jolene (Lile) Miller, a 1986 Hesston graduate, autographed copies of her first book, Blended Landscapes. The book, ghostwritten by Julie McClennen, is Miller's true life tale of love, commitment, and unrelenting faith. The official release by Tate Publishing, Oklahoma City, Okla., is slated for mid-November. Miller lives with her husband and four children in Sugarcreek, Ohio.
More than 40 extended family members of President Howard and Tami Keim attended the weekend festivities, which also included academy and class reunions, emeritus faculty members speaking to classes, and a variety of special receptions and luncheons.
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