A word from the President

By Howie Wall

Many things have happened this summer at the college and in my day-to-day life that have caused me to stop and like Mary the Mother of Jesus, "ponder these things in her (my) heart." NIV translates Luke 2.19 as "but Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often." I suggest this is an understatement, but it does describe a return of these things to Mary's thoughts on a regular basis.

This summer my wife Judy and I had the chance to fulfill one of our dreams which was to go to Paris, France. While there, we enjoyed going to art galleries, seeing historic monuments and sights, and touring some of France's oldest cathedrals and churches. We had the chance to climb to the top of Notre Dame de Paris and view the city from high above, climbing to the top of one of the cathedral's bell towers. On the way up, we were able to enjoy face-to-face contact with some of the many gargoyles that adorm the exterior. This gargoyle is said to be the most photographed gargoyle of the cathedral, and probably in the world. This gargoyle has watched over Paris from this spot for several hundred years. It has seen the day-to-day comings and goings of life in Paris and the plaza below, along with many monumental events including the terror, anarchy, and strife of the French Revolution, but also seeing celebrations including weddings and coronations of royalty and emperors.

Spending time in Notre Dame de Paris, we saw that Mary the Mother of Jesus is highly revered not only in this cathedral named in her honour, but also in most Catholic churches throughout France. France is described as a formerly Roman Catholic country, where now, the church has little or no influence in the lives or affairs of people.

This summer, like this gargoyle, I have been watching the happenings going on around me. In the last four months, I have seen God work miracles in terms of provision for the college. As a family, we are experiencing the miracle of life anticipating becoming a grandfather of a granddaughter before you return in September. I have been hoping for, but not seeing, a miracle of reconciliation in friends' lives and in their marriage that is rapidly breaking apart. I have discovered that there has been a lot of healing in my family's life over the loss of our son a number of years ago during a time this summer where I was praying for and empathizing with a family, who too experienced the loss of a young adult child.

God continues to work miracles today, and like the gargoyle watching over the city of Paris, I find myself watching day-to-day life around me, and like Mary, considering all these things. I find myself saying frequently, "Isn't that interesting how God is working?"

Social Insurance Number...

By Lisa Braun

Does this look familiar? These scenes will be replayed again this fall - orientation in the chapel, and registration in A105 classroom and the library. For first years, no need to worry - the entire Orientation/Registration process is designed to help you as you make decisions for your semester and year. Helpful faculty, staff, and students are positioned all along the way to assist you with your questions and paperwork.

This is a reminder from the Business Office that your Social Insurance Number (S.I.N.) is required during the Registration process this fall. Don't forget it!

Remember- if you have any questions about Opening and Arrival, keep checking the blog and facebook. Or email us your questions - maybe someone else has the same one! Thanks. We are looking forward to seeing you all soon! lbraun@bethany.sk.ca

Job Posting Page

By Lisa Braun

Did you know that there is a new employment tool on the MB Herald and Canadian Conference of MB Churches site?

Well, there is.

Check it out.


http://www.mbconf.ca/home/products_and_services/resources/publications/mb_herald/jobs/

Athletic News

By Wes Enns

The gym eerily echoes every footstep, each ball bounce, the overhead fans turning slowly - it's empty, cold, dark. The arena too is dead, damp, cool and quiet. It's the off-season, the Eagles have gone and have not yet returned. All is in the waiting...

Soon, very soon, they will come back - the athletes, the fans, the coaches - and with them will come exuberance, excitement, slapshots, kicks, hoops and hops. Now it is anticipation, but it will soon be action. Now it is preparation, but it will soon be perspiration. The time is near...

Are you in? Are you ready? This year's Eagles Athletics seasons are about to begin, and we want to hear from you! Some things are changing - league play, Sunday games, home games and away games - but some things will remain the same - competition, character, development, the love of the game. Let us know if you want to be part of it all this year!

We're looking to put together Men's and Women's Volleyball, Indoor Soccer, and Basketball teams this year, as well as Men's Hockey. But we can't do it without you! Right now, we're finding and confirming the right coaches, but we also need to know how many of you are interested in playing for Bethany this year.

Volleyball is staying in the PAC League; Basketball, Soccer, and Hockey will participate in Saskatoon Rec Leagues, ensuring good competition and regular games. Due to this change, however, some tough decisions will need to be made for those athletes wanting to play more than one or two sports, and so we need your help.

If you want to play, send me an email - I would love to hear from you!

See ya soon!
Wes Enns
Athletics Director
wenns@bethany.sk.ca

It's Announcement Season....

By Lisa Braun

You will be seeing several announcements a week on the blog from now until the year begins. I will be linking to facebook groups, and sending emails as well. Please spread the word to your friends, and make sure everyone gets in the loop in one or more of these ways.

First up?

Student Loans

By Dan Guggenheimer

If you are planning to apply for student loans for the coming year, please do so now. Application requires input and information from your parents, so it is much easier to accomplish at home with your parents close by.

You can apply online at http://www.canlearn.ca/ Please initiate this process prior to August 19, 2011 to beat the rush. For further information, please contact me at 306-947-2175 or dguggenheimer@bethany.sk.ca.

All the best and see you soon,

Dan

Director of Finance

Introducing.....Michael Morson

Name: Michael Morson

Years of Study: 2004-2008

Involvements: Missions Committee, YA music; also YA music as alum with "Ryan Brickard Band"

Married: Chelsea Jantzen, 2007. (Current students, this is Joel Jantzen's sister).

Church Involvements: Forest Grove Community Church, Saskatoon, SK - attended since 2002; did B.A. internship at Forest Grove in 2008; served on Council 2008-2011.

"I desire to work full-time in Christian ministry for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. This desire is something that I've had for a number of years. However, like many desires that are left unfulfilled for a time, it has grown into something quite unrecognizable from what it was when it was first conceived. To show you what I mean, let me give you a brief sketch of my thought and attitude as a first year Bethany student in 2004.

I didn't want to go to seminary. I made fun of seminaries. In fact, I made fun of theology. I thought theology and seminaries were for people who wanted to sit around and debate useless minutia that had no bearing on the lives of everyday people. My thinking was that the basics of the Christian faith were glaringly obvious, and we needed to get busy "being the hands and feet" instead of trying to gain understanding in areas of thought that were unknowable. I had no desire to go to a graduate school or seminary when I ought to be busy living it out instead of thinking it out.

Fast-forward a few years to the end of my time at Bethany. In 2008, as a fourth year student, I could not possibly picture entering full-time ministry without furthering my education and deepening my knowledge of God's word and world.

In order to do that, I will begin studies at Regent College this fall. Let me be clear that I do understand that this path is not for everybody entering ministry. At the same time, I continually grow in astonishment at our lax attitude toward biblical and theological illiteracy among Christians. The world doesn't work like I thought it did as a first year.

You don't decide between living it out and thinking it out. Bible and God-soaked thinking drive Bible and God-soaked living. I think so that I can live; and I live so that whatever I do, I do all for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10.31)."

Submitted by Mike Morson, via Gil Dueck, July 2011.

Closing Notes from LB:

-To find out more about Regent College, check out www.regent-college.edu

-Do you know Bethany alumni who have gone on to study at seminary, and might want to write a feature?

-And a trivia question....can you name any Bethany staff members who have studied at Regent College?