I am not worthy of the least of all the steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant
Genesis 32:10a (NRSV)

News

The current issue of “Christian Scholar’s Review” contains a review by Ted Davis, professor of the history of science. Davis reviews “Turning Points in Natural Theology from Bacon to Darwin,” by Stuart Peterfreund, English professor at Northeastern University.

On Sept. 29, Beth Transue (’93), associate librarian/collection development coordinator, presented a poster, “Not Just Another Assignment: Partnering with Faculty to Assess Student Information Literacy Skills,” at the PA Library Association annual conference. The poster described a recent collaboration with the nursing department to assess student research strategies as part of a larger research paper. On Oct. 29, Beth presented at the annual Cumberland County Library System staff development day. Beth demonstrated favorite apps that could be used at work or at home.

Messiah 411

Don’t get left out…send in your spring public events

The Office of Marketing and Communications is again producing a Highlights brochure to promote the public events occurring on campus during the spring semester. In an effort to bring more people to campus, we will mail the brochure to more than 4,000 homes in the community in early January. To ensure your public event (i.e. a concert, recital, play, lecture, conference, performance or any other event at which you would welcome the general public) is included, please send the event, date, time, place, contact name, admission charge (if any) and contact phone number to Kim Christen at kchriste@messiah.edu no later than Thursday, Nov. 13.

The Highlights brochures have been very well received in the past and demand for them has been high, both on and off campus. If you would like to order a quantity for your own department’s use, please call Kim Christen at ext. 7326. There will be a charge of $12 per 100 brochures (12 cents per copy) to cover the additional printing costs.

Opportunity to study the Bible in Turkey

After having led student trips to study the Bible in Turkey, I’ve volunteered to take members of my church in Harrisburg to do the same next summer from June 15-28 and wanted to extend the invitation to any interested adult learners at Messiah, as well. If you have ever considered taking a holiday to the beautiful turquoise Mediterranean coast while also learning more about the Bible and your faith at the same time, consider joining us on a pilgrimage next summer to the “other holy land.” There participants will walk the roads trod by Paul on his three missionary journeys (Acts 13-21) and explore several of the cities and earliest Christian communities to which he wrote letters (Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon and more). We will also visit some of John’s “seven churches of Revelation” (Rev. 2-3) and travel across the regions to which Peter wrote his two letters. Since two-thirds of our New Testament books were either written from or to ancient Asia Minor (now modern-day Turkey), this land holds many clues to understanding the Bible better. Consider it an adult Vacation Bible School!

In addition to learning more about the Bible, there will also be free time and opportunities for relaxing by the Mediterranean Sea, soaking in calcium hot springs, sampling fabulous Turkish cuisine and coffee, seeing Turkish rugs woven, bartering in the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul, visiting mosques to understand Muslims and their faith better, learning more about the modern secular state of Turkey and how religion and politics interact in a different country and visiting two UNESCO world heritage sites! Spanning the continents of Europe and Asia, Turkey really is the place where East meets West and it is a country full of beauty, hospitality and history. Come join the adventure!

If you are interested in learning more about the trip, please email Dr. Ramey at mramey@messiah.edu. Deadline for trip deposits is Nov. 15. For more information, see attachment.

Students encouraged to participate in Alumni Mock Interview Day Nov. 18

The Alumni Mock Interview Day is Tuesday, Nov. 18. Alumni will be on campus to conduct mock interviews with students. Please encourage students to sign up here.

Mark the beginning of Advent with the annual Celebration of the Light

All students and employees are invited to attend and celebrate the traditional start to the Christmas season Tuesday, Dec. 2 at 4:45 p.m. Carol-singing, prayer, scripture reading and the lighting of the campus Christmas tree will all be a part of this year’s advent celebration. Hot chocolate, cider, pumpkin cookies and other seasonal treats will be served. Supervisors are asked to provide release time as able to those non-essential employees who would like to attend.

Rain date: Thursday, Dec. 4 at 4:45 p.m. in the Eisenhower Campus Center circle. In case of inclement weather on Dec. 4, the event will be held indoors in the Larsen Student Union.

November Wellness Workshops announced

As in the past, November wellness workshops will be presented by some of Messiah’s nutrition and dietetics majors. You won’t want to miss some timely information on these important health topics. Employees are encouraged to attend and faculty are encouraged to invite their students to attend these workshops. The first workshop will be on Wed., Nov. 12 at noon on the topic of “Did the Cavemen Eat Gluten? Should We? Understanding the Paleo and Gluten-Free Diets.” The presenters will be Elizabeth Borders, Kaitlin Gill, Trevor Stutzman and Meghan Zook. The second workshop will be on Wednesday, Nov. 19 at noon on the topic “Nutrition Misinformation: How to Identify Misleading Claims.” The presenters for this workshop will be Kelly Delew, Brittany Horst and Jennifer Myer. Both workshops will be held in Parmer Cinema and will run for 45 minutes.

Messiah Employee exercise totals continue to grow

Over 75 Messiah employees are regularly logging their exercise in the wellness program titled “Messiah Goes to the World Cup.” Since the program began mid- September, we have walked, run, cycled, swum and exercised ourselves to a total of 9,838 miles. That’s a significant accomplishment! In honor of next summer’s World Cup in Canada, we symbolically “send” one member of the women’s soccer team to Canada for every 1,054 miles we collect. Having already sent nine players, our goal is to send the entire team before the semester ends. Keep up the great work. Employees get 30 wellness points for participating in a six-week phase and are allowed to count 60 points for participating in two or more phases. If you missed signing up for this phase, the next one will begin on Dec. 14. Look for announcements for how to sign up as the time gets closer.

Reminder about purchasing card questions

All purchasing card (P-card) correspondence and questions including new card requests, declined or fraudulent transactions, adjusting credit limits, removing international blocks, travel/international travel notifications, IntelliLink issues and allocation/approval assistance should be directed to Tracy Thomas at ext. 2211 or pcard@messiah.edu.

Important information for weather-related delays and closures

In the event classes are delayed or canceled, those students and/or employees who have signed up for text alerts will receive a notice regarding such a delay or closure. A delay or closure notification will also be placed on the home page of the College’s website, distributed as a mass email, as well as being available by calling the emergency information line at 717-691-6084; a recording will provide you with a date and time of the most recent message. Morning announcements are made no later than 6:30 a.m.

Please note, any notice of a delay and/or cancellation of an EVENT hosted at the college will only be available on the emergency line and not through the text alert system or website.

Employees involved in snow removal, facilities, campus events and dining should follow the instructions given by their respective supervisory staff during a delay or closure.
Kathie Shafer, vice president for operations

United Way Employee Pledge Drive underway

The second week of the annual Employee Pledge Drive is underway. The United Way of the Capital Region provides solutions for local issues by focusing on three areas: health, education and basic needs.  Each week during the drive, we are sharing information on a program partner in one of these categories.

Today’s program partner, The PROGRAM “It’s About Change,” seeks to prevent recidivism by empowering female offenders to lead productive, crime-free lives. The PROGRAM “It’s About Change” provides Saturday Sessions, a six-week program designed for women, children and family members to learn how to spend quality time together in an effort to build stronger family relationships after incarceration. Saturday Sessions enables mothers to take a more active role in their children’s education by encouraging them to get involved in their children’s school activities and to take more of an interest in their children’s academics.

Read how Saturday Sessions played a role in Ms. B’s journey to maintain her relationships with her children and land her dream job here.

One hundred percent of your contribution is directed to local programs and services. You can:

• Specify the non-profit recipient
• Select one of four focus areas (health, education, income or basic needs)

or

• Allow the United Way to apply your donation to the area of greatest need

Please contact Kathy Castonguay, human resources, at kcastong@messiah.edu with any questions. Thank you for your consideration.

Save the date for Employee Christmas Luncheon Dec. 19

Please plan on joining us for the annual Employee Christmas Luncheon Friday, Dec. 19, from noon – 2:30 p.m. As is our tradition, it will be a time of fellowship, fine food and festive entertainment. Save the date!

Classified

For sale:

HP laser jet toner — 61X (C8061X) unopened, make an offer; Olympus 50 mm camera — make an offer. Contact baumen@messiah.edu.

Shed — 8 ft.×10 ft. storage shed, 2 in.×8 in. frame floor, wood siding. $200. Buyer transports. Shed is currently on cement blocks. For more information, email dfogelsa@messiah.edu or call 717-623-0735.

KitchenAid mixer — White 4.5 qt. stand mixer, used, with bowl, whisk, dough hook, paddle attachments and white quilted cover. $35 Contact mroth@messiah.edu.