October 17, 2013

Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
Romans 14:19 (NRSV)

News

Congratulations to Heidi Lutz, associate professor of nursing, on recently passing her certification exam for Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP).

Vaughn Miller of ITS, has accepted a position at Lafayette College. Vaughn has been an integral part of ITS for 15 years. His last day will be Oct. 22. There will be a farewell reception for him Oct. 21 from 4-5 p.m. in the Innovation Zone, Hoffman 106. Please stop by and join us as we wish him well.

Messiah 411

Join us for Homecoming Weekend 2013!

The office of alumni and parent relations would like to invite the Messiah community to join us for Homecoming Weekend 2013 Oct. 18 and 19. We would love to see you there! For a full list of activities and frequently asked questions, visit www.messiah.edu/homecoming. Please email homecoming@messiah.edu with additional questions or concerns.

Aerial video capture scheduled for Homecoming

The offices of alumni and parent relations and marketing and communications have hired a firm to take aerial footage of campus on Saturday, Oct. 19 during various Homecoming festivities. The photographer will be using drone technology to capture aerial shots of the activities on campus that day, so don’t be alarmed if you see a small helicopter flying around with a camera attached.

Digital humanities lecture to feature William Pannapacker

Join us for an exciting opportunity to hear more about the development of the digital humanities and their impact on education in various majors. William Pannapacker, professor of English and director of the Mellon Scholars Program in Arts and Humanities at Hope College, will be visiting campus to deliver a lecture titled “The Digital Humanities and the Future of the Liberal Arts.” The lecture will be held Thursday, Oct. 24 at 7 p.m. in Frey 150.  See attachment for more information.

Pannapacker is an American professor of English literature, an academic administrator and a higher education journalist. He is the author of “Revised Lives: Walt Whitman and Nineteenth-Century Authorship” and numerous articles on American literature and culture, higher education and the digital humanities. He has been a columnist for The Chronicle of Higher Education since 1998, and he is a contributor to The New York Times and Slate Magazine. He is the founding director of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Scholars Program in the Arts and Humanities at Hope College in Holland, Mich. According to Harvard University’s graduate school of arts and sciences, “In the world of education journalism, there are few opinion voices as potent as that of William Pannapacker.”

Passport processing on campus Oct. 31

Representatives from the Cumberland County Court House will be on campus Thursday, Oct. 31 to process passport applications. Applicants need to bring their photos, documents: birth certificate, driver’s license PLUS A PHOTOCOPY OF THE DRIVER’S LICENSE (non-PA residents also need to bring their Messiah ID along with a photocopy of their ID), completed application and fees to the Eisenhower Commons between 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.  Applications can be downloaded here. Please contact intercultural@messiah.edu if you have questions.

November wellness workshop announced

Join us on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 12 p.m. in Parmer Cinema for our next wellness workshop. Amy Porto, associate professor of nutrition and dietetics, will be our presenter. Her topic, “Packaging puzzled? Deciphering Food Labels” will help you become a smarter, healthier consumer next time you visit the grocery store. And don’t forget, employees attending wellness workshops receive 15 wellness points.

The 2012-13 President’s Report available online

The 2012-13 President’s Report—“Courage and Conviction for Challenging Times”—details the academic year in review. The publication includes a timeline of College events; a financial report; campus milestones; student scholarship; athletic highlights; profiles of students, alumni and educators; and so much more. For stewardship of College resources, rather than receiving an individual printed copy of the President’s Report, all employees are invited to view the report online in its entirety at http://www.messiah.edu/offices/president/communications/report.html. The online version of the report includes direct links to embedded videos and tools to share the report with others via email and social media. Thank you to everyone in the campus community who contributed to this year’s issue.

Feedback to messiah.edu wanted

The office of marketing and communications invites you to take a quick, 10-minute survey about the Messiah College website. Go to messiah.edu and click on the tab on the far left that says “We would like your help.” Select the audience that best describes you and begin the survey. (If you are both an alum and an employee, take the survey that best represents how you use the website most often.) Five people who complete the survey will win $50 Falcon gift cards! Thank you in advance for taking the time to help us improve the College’s website!

Physical Activity Program symbolically “sends” first athlete to Brazil

After only three weeks, the 108 employees participating in the “Messiah Goes to the World Cup” exercise program have collectively topped the 4,800 miles necessary to “symbolically send” a male soccer player to Brazil for next summer’s Men’s World Cup. Senior defender, Drew Frey, a business administration major, was selected as the player being sent. Keep up the great work everyone! If you did not get signed up in time to participate in this six-week phase of the program, the second phase starts on Nov. 10. Be sure to register before then. If you are willing to record your weekly walking, running, cycling or swimming miles or your minutes of any other type of exercise for six weeks, this is a great way to pick up 30 wellness points. Details for registering have been posted in previous Intercoms and can also be found at the wellness program website.

Harrisburg Academy opportunity for Messiah College families

For the third year, Harrisburg Academy is proud to partner with Messiah College in offering a $10,000 renewable merit scholarship for a child of a full-time Messiah employee. Details about the merit scholarship are available online. Families interested in learning more about Harrisburg Academy – the area’s only preschool through 12th grade independent school – are encouraged to attend the next open house. During the open house, future families have the opportunity to hear about the Academy’s academic and co-curricular programs, tour the school, as well as meet current parents, students, faculty, the head of school and key administrators. The open house is a great way to learn why Harrisburg Academy is so proud of its school community and why current families are so passionate about Harrisburg Academy! Visit the Academy online to RSVP for the Nov. 3 open house here.
Note: There is also a special reception at 1:30 p.m. to learn more about the merit scholarships available to Messiah College employees as well as other corporate partners. For more information, contact admission@harrisburgacademy.org or 717-763-7811. See attachment for more information.

Campus Ministries connection

Polarities in Community

This week we began a new movement in chapel titled, “Polarities in Community.” Henri Nouwen in his book “Making All Things New” articulates the tension this way, “Through the discipline of solitude we discover space for God in our innermost being. Through the discipline of community, we discover a place for God in our life together. Both disciplines belong together precisely because the space within us and the space among us are the same place.”

Lisa Sharon Harper of Sojourners and our own alum and graduate of Fuller Seminary, Jeanelle Austin, addressed the joys and tensions we may experience in community. Lisa addressed the brokenness of relationship with a creation God calls “good” in Genesis resulting from the fall. That evening Lisa addressed how issues of justice and poverty within the community tears at the fabric of God’s design for relationships. Jeanelle addressed the tension between pursuit and waiting identified in Luke 15:11-24 in a message addressing the long way home.

While community is a core value of Messiah College, it can quickly become stereotyped, politicized and polarized. Both speakers affirmed that a biblically based community has tools for us to use as we face questions around God’s purpose and the call to community. It is challenging to engage issues for the common good when a variety of opinions exist on how they should be addressed. This is a challenge that we all need to prayerfully, thoughtfully and biblically approach in solitude and in community. This week the call was clear to partner with each other as “gracious Christians” to make a difference in a very broken world. How we address issues will depend on our ability to balance the tensions of an embracing evangelical community to faithfully serve Christ together. It can be a long way home, but the journey is worthwhile.

Both of these chapel talks are available at MC Square under “Campus Life,” “College Ministries.”

Classifieds

Free:

Sony TC-205 standard cassette recorder; Sanyo TRC-6400 microcassette dictating/transcribing system; Two Sanyo handheld microcassette recording systems; Two Lexmark 26 color print cartridges; Two Lexmark 16 black print cartridges. Contact baumen@messiah.edu.

For sale:

Men’s black snowboard boots — Size 10, $20; Xbox 360 games — Blazing Angels 2, $10; Civil War, $10; Forza Motorsport/Ultimate Alliance (two in one), $15; Guitar Hero III, $10; Halo 3, $10; Country Rock Band, $10; Xbox 360 Rock Band drum set, $25. Contact baumen@messiah.edu.

Dining table, six chairs and hutch — Table top is a medium colored wood top with blue legs, a leaf and a custom made pad. Chairs have a cushioned seat, two  with arms and four armless. Asking $500 or best offer. Pictures available upon request. Contact Bill or Sandra Strausbaugh, strausba@messiah.edu or sanstraus59@gmail.com.