Stretching for solidarity in global Anabaptist education
In a time when the role of education is being contested, and church bodies are experiencing divisions, something new is coming together.
President Rebecca J. Stoltzfus
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Distinctively Goshen
Reflections from President Stoltzfus
The contemporary, creative work of the Gospel
When Kevin and I set out on a learning tour about Anabaptists in Switzerland and Germany, we were prepared to hear stories of persecution and cruel executions. What has surprised me are the stories of ecumenical reconciliation and active love that continue to spring forth from the Anabaptist movement 500 years later.
Strawberry moments, and other thoughts about joy
Last weekend, I had the privilege of making my final speech to our 2025 graduating class of seniors at our baccalaureate service, for which they chose the theme of joy. Here are a few of the thoughts I shared with them, as well as the gift I gave them.
What are you learning from life’s curriculum right now?
I am asking myself, in this moment of alarming and rapid change, “what is it that I need to be learning?”
My word for 2024
My word for the year is faith because it’s what I need. Faith is such a familiar word that it can sound bland, and so I’ll try to explain what I mean. Faith for me is the belief that God is love and that God is at work in the world and in me. In these times, I need to feel a deep confidence in the marrow of my bones that love is the most powerful force in the world.
The duty of delight
This year I am newly awake to the reality that Jesus was born in Palestine under the occupation of an empire. And yet, throughout the Gospel stories of the Nativity, in the face of empire, people seek the light. They sing, they dance, they seek out friends and visit each other, they boldly proclaim their faith, they worship and they have babies. The world is also delightful. Somehow, we have to hold all of this together.
Never forget
Twenty years later, as we each reinforce and revise our memories from that terrible September day, let us be truthful and also tender about what we choose to never forget.
Why we are proud: Pride Month & Goshen College
During this Pride Month, we at Goshen College celebrate the lives, love and impact of our LGBTQIA+ students, employees and alumni.
How will we be changed?
In the midst of the heartbreak, tensions and tedium of the pandemic, I am alert to the changes happening within myself and in our society that may form the lasting legacies of this time. Some of these are causes for hope.
My word for 2021
The word I’ve kept circling back to is “Grounded.” 2020 knocked me around. I want to stand this year with two feet on the ground, knees slightly bent. I want to feel the earth supporting me; to know the firm and gentle force of gravity. I want to be steady.