The Bethany Sun

2012-02-02T08:37:00.002-07:00

Introduction to Sabrina Friesen
by Dave Carey

I met Sabrina in my 2nd year as a Bethany staff member. I was Bethany's recruiter at the time and she was one of our student phoners. Sabrina was always incredibly reliable in her role and was a leader to the rest of the team of phoners (including me a times). Her administrative abilities were a definite blessing but what really stood out for Sabrina was her ability to connect and relate with just about anyone. That combined with her immense and obvious love for people made just about every conversation with her one of great value. She had the ability to look past all the differences between people and genuinely care for them. It's that care that made her a leader amongst her peers, made her respected amongst faculty and staff and I'm sure makes her a great counsellor and caregiver in her role now. I have accumulated a lot of "favourites" over my years at Bethany and Sabrina (Swereda) Friesen will always remain in the top of that list.

The Giver

Sabrina Friesen (Alumni)

For many of my teenage and early adult years my heart had been filled with a longing to be good at something. Anything really, so long as I could be good—like really good at it. My heart craved identity in that thing. You know, like your roommate who can sing, the guy who paints, or the person who can memorize the entire book of Mark and recite it flawlessly. I wanted one of those tangible, measurable gifts that others could look at and say ‘wow!’

Rubbing shoulders with classmates and instructors oftentimes left me feeling flawed and insufficient. I wasn’t good enough, devoted enough, spiritual enough, talented enough, athletic enough...and it ate away at my heart. I joked that God made me the ‘jack-of-all-trades’ when it came to gifts as I could do most things well enough to get by, but deep down there was resentment growing as I longed for a piece of what everyone else had.

I recall filling out a Network text some time during my first year and feeling flustered and envious when I couldn’t pin point anything specific that was life-giving for me, outside of the seemingly broad and open-ended answer of people. There was no measurable task or set of skills that I could master, no clear-cut job description that fit with my passion for others, and I was left disheartened and feeling very looked over by the Giver. How was I ever going to master something if I couldn’t even find a niche?

Yet in this absence of measurable, definable, clear-cut gifting the Lord drew me to himself. As the years passed at Bethany and beyond I have been challenged to find my identity not in a thing, but in the Giver himself. Slowly I have realized how tempting it is to try and define myself by what I do rather than whose I am. In allowing myself to focus on loving God and being obedient to his calling, he has led me from Bethany to Providence Seminary where I graduated with an M.A. Counselling degree. Finding my rooting first and foremost as a child of God has provided the foundation I need to be able to do my job well, and has alleviated any pressure of perfection. Presently I am loving God and using my gift of love for people in my role as a therapist in the city I now reside with my husband and two young children.

2012-01-23T13:20:00.002-07:00

January 23, 2012

Review of Friday (Jan 13)- 21 Day Challenge

The Battle Against Temptation Won at the Edge of a Blade

By: Dwight Bennett

When I was little, and before I discovered movie editing, I used to play baseball. But I couldn't always find someone to play with (especially in winter), so I played the roof game. (You Throw a ball up your roof and catch it when it rolls down) My deck was only about as wide as our dorm rooms, so the throw and catch made for a pretty lame game. It was late winter, about as cold as it is now, and there was a snow pile level to my deck. My dad told me to only throw from the deck and not from the snow piles. But I was tempted to throw from a distance, so I did. My next throw was a little bit too low. Unfortunately my house had big windows. But fortunately I missed them. But I did hit our thermometer and busted it off the wall of our house. Then came the wrath of my dad...

Have you ever been tempted before? Yes? And out of those who have been tempted, have you ever given into temptation? Good, then perhaps what I say today can apply to some of you out there. How can we overcome temptation? Run from it? maybe. Fight it? maybe. Sit there and hope it will go away? probably not a good idea...What I would like to suggest is that we get our game plan from the only one who has never given into temptation. which is... (wait for someone to say 'Jesus')

Yes, Jesus!

In Matthew we get a great glimpse of how the perfect example setter, fights temptation. (read Matthew 4:1-11) Notice what Jesus does. It's simple really, he quotes scripture. Tell me, have many of you read the book Surprised by Jesus by Tim Stafford? I was read that book my first year and it explained Jesus' method of overcoming temptation in the most encouraging way I've ever heard it. Tim writes,
"He does not argue with him or rise up and assert himself as God's Son. What Jesus does is what every one of us is capable of doing, he quotes scripture. But not only does Jesus just quote scripture, but he quotes it intelligently, it is evident that he studied and memorized the scripture to meet the situation he faced. This teaches us that in regards to fighting off temptation, the response must be formed long before the moment. Jesus did what you and I could have done, he did not argue with Satan. He simply let the scriptures speak for him. Jesus shows us through example that we must know scripture, not to think that we are capable of fighting off temptation ourselves because that will fail us."

What I understood from Tim is that we cannot fight off Satan by ourselves. You might get a lucky hit in, dodge a few shots, but eventually, you will fail. Satan's coming at you with everything he's got and if you come to the battle unarmed, it's only a matter of time. What you need to bring is a weapon. But what kind of weapon do you need? Let's read about it... (read Ephesians 6:14-17)

I would like to suggest that the battle against temptation is won at the edge of a blade. the sword of the spirit. the word of God. Jesus shows us this. It was not his incredible willpower, his physical resilience, or his amazing hairstyle that fought off temptation. He let the scriptures speak for him.

Do any of you remember the Cotton Patch Gospel? (if not, we're doing it once more) Do you remember when Jesus was on top of the temple and was about to jump? He almost did, Geronimo-OH!... it also says do not test the Lord your God! He doesn't do anything impossible, he simply quotes scripture, lets his sword do the talking.

Going back to what Tim Stafford said, he says that Jesus, no doubt, had scripture studied and memorized so that he could fight temptation. He also says that we are capable of doing this. Some of you may be a little bit worried... "wait, I need to both study and memorize all the scriptures!?" Now before you get all worked up and discouraged, let me suggest something not as intensive.

Stay consistent in the word. Stay diligent. Stay consistent. Stay in the word.

In our Mark Mod, Tim Geddert laid out his strategy for memorizing mass amounts of scripture. It's simple really, read one verse till you've memorized it. then move on to the next verse. but don't go back to the previous verse even if you feel you've "forgotten it". Keep memorizing new verses, until you get to the end of your section. then start over. Sounds crazy right. wrong! It works. By reading it through so many times, the words sink in.

Now, think if you stayed in the word, consistently. would you not have words sink in to the point where you can recall them, and even wield them like a sword?

This is the point of my talk where I feel like I'm preaching to myself. So I apologize if you can't relate at all to this next part... November 11, 2011, at 11:11pm... Where were you? That was the day that a video game called Skyrim came out.

For the many of you who have no idea what that is, it's a game set in a medieval like setting in which you start out as a prisoner who is given a second chance in life. You start out with nothing and slowly gain armor, weapons, and skills throughout the course of the game. Your Goal: Kill Dragons. So there I was, playing this game. I was about to embark on a mission...The goal? give up all your equipment to be smuggled inside a heavily guarded embassy. pose as a party guest to get inside. retrieve your equipment, then retrieve some secret documents then fight your way from the inside out. I give up all my weapons and armor to be smuggled inside this building. Just then... a dragon attacks. I was caught off guard, I had no defense, no offense. you can guess what happened. As comical, or as completely unrelated as you probably think this is. I thought about it later as I was thinking through this sword of the spirit analogy. I was caught off guard! I had no sword with me! I had lost before I even began... I'm not talking about the game anymore... I have stood toe to toe with a 'dragon' in real life. and I didn't have God's word in my sheath. You can guess what happened.

Have you ever been caught off guard? been tempted, and felt as if you had no chance at resisting, so you gave up without even a fight? In real life, if a monstrous beast attacked me and I had no weapon to fight it, I would give up. here's no point in fighting. I don't think the spiritual world is much different!

Stay in the word. Arm yourself with the sword of the spirit. Let it do the fighting for you. It can. Jesus shows us that.

Let us go back to the young me... playing catch with himself. I hear a voice that says, "hey, this is getting boring, you should forget about what your dad said and throw the ball from farther away!" but imagine that this time, I had God's word in my sheath. I had the sword of the spirit with me. NO! The Bible says to honor thy Father and Mother! Begone Satan! how much better of an ending is that?

For those of you who are already wielding the sword of the spirit, God bless you! And for those of you who find themselves drifting from the word, I would like to challenge and encourage you to stay rooted in scripture. Take time to read scripture, to meditate on his word, and to be still. Our lives can get busy, and sometimes they are not busy, but what we seem to ALWAYS be able to do, is make excuses...

Have any of you heard of David Runcorn? He wrote a book called "A Center of Quiet: Hearing God when Life is Noisy" I've never read the book, I've never even seen the book, but it was quoted in our Mark textbook called "Trained by Jesus". He writes about Jesus taking time out of his busy life, "This was the secret of Jesus' life. This was where he found strength to follow the Father's will. When we follow him we must copy not only his words and actions but his silence and moments of solitary withdrawing as well. If Jesus needed those times, then we certainly need them more! Like the Disciples we follow him into the desert places. And in our turn, we must learn from him how to be alone and still."

I don't know if you guys remember Tim Geddert's talk on Monday. But he talked about new year's resolutions. And one of his points in keeping a resolution was to make Realistic Goals. Over the past few weeks Dave Carey, the Male RA's and I were talking about a 21 Day challenge. It is a challenge to stay diligently rooted in the word for 21 days. But the great thing about this is that it is not one of those things that you have to do by yourself. We will be taking this challenge on as a community. So I would like to invite Dave up to explain the 21 day challenge... (or invite you to read more, in this case...)

21 Day Challenge - Dave Carey

First, let me give you some background... forgive the length - I did make an attempt to keep it brief.

Some time near the end of August/early September I heard a message that challenged be significantly to (like Martha) spend more time "at the feet of Jesus". After some time of wrestling and another inspiring sermon by our own Joy Nokinsky, I was struck that intimacy does not just happen but it takes time as with any relationship being at the feet of Jesus needs to start with some simple dialogue and so I resolved to begin by having coffee every morning with Jesus. My hope was that this discipline of a daily coffee time with God would turn into something deeper than what I have understood as "devotions" my hope was that this would develop into some level of intimacy that would help me understand what it really means to be at the feet of Jesus. While I don't think I have a good grasp on what that really means yet I have learned a lot about this discipline and have experienced some real change in my life as a result of spending this time with God... (sorry - I'll stop there cause I wanted to keep this brief)

Okay so here's the challenge part:

As part of this process I decided to pick up Wayne Cordeiro's book "The Divine Mentor". In his book he speaks of his church's 20-20 program as well as a 20-20-20 program. Simply put 20min of reading from the Word (following whatever reading plan you choose as long as it is a plan and not just the close your eyes and point method), followed by 20min of journalling about whatever stood out to you from your reading. In the 20-20-20 program you simply add another 20min of sharing with a small group.

Adopting this 20-20 program into my life (as with most good things in our lives) I began to wish others could have this experience as well and starting thinking about a way to encourage our students to try this out for themselves. So I ran it by my RAs and Student Development and they liked the idea so I plan, on this Friday during Selah (after Dwight speaks on using the Sword), to issue a 21 day challenge to spend at least 40 minutes each day reading in and reflecting on the Word.

Here are some questions I'm sure your asking right now:

Why 21 days? - No real significant reason other then that "they" say it takes 21 days to make a habit.

When do the 21 days start? - Ideally that day. If the 21 days start this Friday (the 13th), then the 21 days would be complete the day Youth Advance begins.

Does it have to follow the 20-20 or 20-20-20 format? No - this is only a challenge so you are free to take it or leave it or adapt it as you see fit. The idea of the challenge is really about two things. Reading the word and reflecting on what you read (allowing the Spirit to speak). Too often I have found myself reading the Bible and just getting knowledge and history out of it but since I added this journalling part it have notice that I am convicted more often and find more directly applicable truth for my life. That being said, I know we are all different so if you think you have a better system then go for it. (I would just encourage you to make sure it's daily and that you spend quality time in the Bible rather than only reading a few minutes each day from a devotional book)

Whatever you can make work would be great - but please take some time to think through being a part of the challenge and join us for 21 days in the Word.

Thanks for reading through this and considering the challenge.

2012-01-23T12:59:00.002-07:00

January 23, 2012

Do you have an alumni update, feature, photo, announcement, news item, etc? Please send the information and/or idea to Daniella (SDA) at sdassistant@bethany.sk.ca.

2012-01-16T09:06:00.000-07:00

The Lord Will Provide
by Kaylee Buhler

When I was young and foolish (only five short years ago!) I got my first tattoo. Three inches long, scrawled across my left calf, in Hebrew, it reads: The Lord Will Provide. I was inked at a time in my life when I was worrying a lot about finances—specifically how I was going to pay for my post-secondary education. Well, let me tell you, spending seventy dollars on this permanent reminder sure didn’t help my money problem! However, it has caused me to remember, time and time again, that The Lord Will Provide.

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about God’s provision in my life—in more ways than just financial. To name a few, He’s provided me with a wonderful place to live, a job I love, great friends, a wonderful family (the newest addition being a three month old nephew!), and so many other things that would take more than the 400 words I was given here! However, one way that God has provided stands out above the rest.

Let me tell you a little story that takes place a little over four years ago. I am driving with three friends from Bethany to Manitoba (where my parents live) for Christmas break. We’re tired, visibility is poor and it’s late. Around nine o’clock, on the Trans Canada Highway, somewhere between Whitewood and Moosomin, a semi is jackknifed across the road. Let’s pause this story for a second and continue with a different one.

Sometime around nine o’clock in the evening, on a farm between Boissevain and Killarney, Manitoba, my mom is home wrapping a CD player she bought for my cassette playing Dodge Neon. All of a sudden, she has a vision that she’s back at the store, begging them to let her return it because her daughter was in a fatal semi accident. Then, she snaps back to reality and hits her knees praying.

Back to story one. My Dodge Neon flies into the front of the semi at 100 kilometers an hour. Sitting in the passenger seat, I take the brunt of the blow.

Story two. The phone rings. On the other end, my mom hears a stranger telling her that her daughter was just in a car accident. The ambulance is on its way, but she is going to be fine.

An act of God, a concussion, a nasty gash to the head and fifteen stitches (without freezing, I might add!) later my dad was sitting beside me at Moosomin Union Hospital, ready to take me home and celebrate Christmas as a family—all members alive and decently well.

I know this story sounds more like one of God’s protection than His provision, but for me, it was all about provision. At that point in my life, I would have been happy if that semi accident would have been fatal. I was furious with God for months afterwards for giving up such an obvious opportunity. Now, I realize that this was God’s way of opening my eyes to the fact that He wasn’t done with me yet. There was still more He wanted to do in and through my life. He provided me with the realization of my significance to Him—and a sweet scar to always remind me!

2011-12-12T09:48:00.000-07:00

Female First Year Rep

My name is Jennae Marriott and I am in my first year at Bethany College. And in many ways, my life has been dramatically altered since the moment I stepped on campus three months ago. Surprisingly it is already almost the end of the first semester, and everything has moved and changed so quickly.

Have you ever been on the highway once the sun had gone down, without anybody around? That eerie, yet peaceful moment when you can see nothing but the few feet in front of you illuminated by your headlights? There is no telling what could be a mile in front of you, and no guarantee at what will greet you at your destination. This I like to compare with my life, and only recently since being here had I seen the effects of this. My life is that highway, and so often God has come along side me in order to assure me that the path I’m taking is where I am meant to be, though I can only see the few feet in front of me. Yet God has proven that his light is so much greater, and he has a plan and a destination waiting for me. Bethany has made this journey to be much more calming and reassuring as God has taken the driver seat and I’ve made such amazing friends who have joined along.

I was elected to be the female first year rep on Bethany STUCO, and I have never been more grateful for a leadership position. In the past few months, the ability to be a part of a team in which everybody brings such fresh and exciting ideas to the table, yet still takes the time to really care for one another and the student body as a whole has been incredible. It has taken me head first into the community that Bethany encourages and promotes in its students.

My biggest passion in life is the relational side of life. Loving and caring for the people around me and being able to talk about concerns, cares and comments surrounding life and school gives me great joy. The community at Bethany stretches and tugs at every string to pull people toward deep friendships and great communication with one another. These friendships have led me to get in touch with amazing examples Jesus and his love. Teachers and students alike are ready to jump up and lend a helping hand when something or someone is down.

Each day new struggles pour themselves out as I continue to grow, and each day new joys and successions are waiting to be uncovered. I am heavily involved in much of the music at school and this has led me to such amazing relationships with new people. My voice teacher and friend, Susan Goerz, has poured out God’s spirit of love, patience, kindness and faithfulness, as have many of the teachers. Pushing and prodding each student to grow and learn with each step, no matter how small or large they may be.

So for every turn of the wheel and every push forward, stories are created, relationships are built, and teachers are cheering from the side. Only five months left and many more turns left in the road.

Chipmusic

2011-10-27T13:58:00.000-06:00

Music has always been a hobby of mine, it’s something I’ve done for fun. I started playing piano when I was 6 years old, and though I dreaded it at times I kept with it. Soon it became fun for me, and I would just sit down and play whatever came into my head. I decided to use this talent for God’s glory and started playing for offertories and later for worship bands. I continued classical piano training until I took the exam for my grade 8 in piano. Around this time I started getting interested in composition and began writing full pieces using a keyboard and my computer. These pieces ranged from electronic to full orchestral arrangements and were a fun way to stretch my musical horizons. I developed a proficiency at improv piano, meaning that I could sit down at a piano and play, making up a song as I go along. In the summer after I graduated from Grade 12 I received an old game boy colour as a gift from a friend. This got me started in a medium called chipmusic – the making of modern music using old game consoles. Throughout the summer and the next year I learned and posted songs on some online communities for this underground music culture. In April of my first year at Bethany I entered an online international chipmusic competition, and place 2nd overall. This was very exciting and so I’ve kept up with chipmusic as a hobby since then.

While I didn’t choose to come to Bethany exclusively for its music program, it certainly is a boon to the college. Bethany has opportunities both for using musical talents in service, giving glory to God, and also opportunities to develop those talents through music lessons and ministry teams such as Point of Impact and Fixed on Faith. I took advantage of this and auditioned for the Bethany House Band in my first year (a student-run band that leads worship in chapel time every Friday). It was a great experience and continued to stretch my piano talents, and help me learn how to play in a band. This year I’m back at Bethany again, I feel I’ve improved a lot from last year and am excited to be playing with House Band again this year. I’ve continued with my chipmusic, and recently was invited to play at the Nuit Blanche art celebration at the Winnipeg art gallery. Nuit Blanche is an international art day in celebration of under-appreciated art forms, the art gallery in Winnipeg decided to focus on gaming culture as an art form. It is a large event, with more than 4000 predicted attendees.

Throughout the rest of this year, I plan to work towards recording a solo piano album here at the school, and look forward to playing my Eigenharp (a new electronic instrument) as a contribution to House Band.

By: Chris Penner (2nd Year)

Check out his websites:
http://zef-music.bandcamp.com/
http://www.facebook.com/zefmusic

Or listen here:

http://soundcloud.com/zefmusic

A word from the President

2011-08-16T20:47:00.000-06:00

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...

2011-08-16T20:01:00.000-06:00

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

2011-08-11T18:53:00.000-06:00

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

2011-08-11T13:12:00.000-06:00

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....

2011-08-09T11:10:00.000-06:00

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

2011-08-04T22:17:00.000-06:00

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?

News from MCI

2011-07-13T10:45:00.000-06:00

By Lisa Braun

Did you hear Elya's news? She recently accepted a position as Residence Life Co-ordinator at Mennonite Collegiate Institute (MCI) in Gretna, MB.

LB: Elya, why are you heading off to Gretna?

EP: I feel like it's a natural next step after my internship at Bethany. I loved being the RD last year, and found it amazing that, essentially, spending time with people can be a job. I learned through things that went well and things that could have gone better more of what it means to be a caregiver and follower of Jesus. I am pumped for this opportunity to put what I've learned into practice at MCI!

LB: What are you expecting in your new role?

EP: I'm not totally sure what to expect. I'm mostly excited, but a decent amount of nervous as well. I'm expecting it to be a challenging year, but a good one. I am excited about the hanging out part, the possibility of helping with drama staff, and being able to spend time with an age group other than peers.

LB: What does a Residence Life Co-ordinator do?

EP: The job involves planning events, which is SO fun for me, and I get to do that and help the RA's do that. I also do a lot of supervision (homework time, extra-curricular activities, regular routines, snack, etc), working with RA's in general, taking care of student needs, being there to listen. Some other things, but those are the basics.

LB: When do you move?

EP: I'm moving at the end of August, and start the 31st. The first thing that happens is a weekend retreat, a professional development event. Students arrive about a week later, so then it's pretty much straight into it!

LB: What kind of team will you be a part of?

EP: There are 4 other residence life staff, two female and two male. The other female besides me is the supervisor, and the two guys have the same position as me.

LB: Anything else?

EP: An interesting tidbit! Bethany Players were there on tour in my first year (2008), and I remember meeting one of the female deans and totally admiring her and the job she was doing. I never thought about this or doing the job there until second semester this year (2011) ....so that's kind of neat.

LB: All the best, Elya! We are very proud of you. Many blessings and much love from all of us at Bethany and in Student Development!

News from Young Life Saskatoon

2011-07-12T13:38:00.000-06:00

By Lisa Moran (with Calvin Rempel, Bethany 4th year BA student)

Greetings friends. I am just over 24 hours away from pulling out of Saskatoon for the inaugural trip to Rockridge Canyon with campers from Saskatoon (and excited to be making history!) I am being joined by another leader, Calvin Rempel, to travel with five kids from Confederation Park School to help them have the best week of their lives!

It's been a journey getting these five kids to camp, as B.C. is a long way from Saskatoon. We are excited about the kids we are bringing and anticipate a life-changing week.

Calvin and I are both asking people to pray for us while we are away. It is so crucial knowing there are people not only lifting us and kids up to God while we're away, but also cheering us on as we have both fantastic and challenging adventures this next week. I am driving my van to Calgary tomorrow, then join the group from Calgary on a bus on Thursday morning, and return back to Saskatoon on Thursday, July 21.

Please pray:

- for energy as I (Moran) have to drive part of the way, and as I am not as young as I used to be when taking kids to camp

- for my physical condition: I don't do well in the heart and I have also recently been nursing a repetitive stress injury in my foot and leg (which I'm getting aggressive chiropractic treatment for). I know that it will hinder me some but I really don't want it to draw unneeded attention to me while there

- for the hearts of each kid we're bringing

- for guidance as we walk alongside campers in our cabins, campers who may consider making a decision for Christ for the first time

- for a few financial loose ends - we have raised nearly all the money needed for the kids, but would still like to raise another $1000 - Please let me know if you feel led to help

- for Calvin who is spending a longer stretch of time at camp, serving in the cabins and with tech duties

Thanks to all the Bethany community for your ongoing friendship and support. Watch for an update after we've returned from camp, with some stories from us and some of the campers hopefully.

Lisa Moran

Area Director, Young Life Saskatoon

lmoran@younglife.ca

http://www.younglife.ca/

Ready for RD's

2011-07-12T11:34:00.000-06:00

By Lisa Braun

Residence Directors are very important to Bethany campus life and the Student Development Team.

Just counted down - only 27 days until they come to campus!

Both Dwight Bennett and Adriana Schmidt enter into their new roles as interns, enrolled in Bethany's B.A. internship program. We look forward to their arrival and their contributions during the month of August and the year to come.

Here's a quick feature on Dwight. (One from Adriana to follow soon).

Name: Dwight Bennett

Bethany Involvements: Bethany Player 2008-2009, Chapel Band 2009-2010, Drama Committee Chair 2010-2011

Hometown: West St. Paul, Manitoba

Home Church: Eastview Community Church

Favorite Food: Pizza, of course

Favorite Bible Character: Samson

Favorite Bible Verse: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4.6.

Favorite Music Genre: 80's Hair Metal

Favorite Carbonated Beverage: Sprite

Favorite Movie: Legends of the Fall

First Job: Office Cleaner in a Woodworking Shop

Hidden Talent: Incredibly gifted singer

Hobbies: Movies (watching and making), Music (listening and making), Acting, Cleaning his room (you heard right!)

Ministry Passion: Children and youth

What would your epitaph read? "Dwight Bennett...You had to know him...."

Three most influential people: My Dad, my Mom, my brothers.

Influential books: The Bible of course, Heartbreak and Triumph by Shawn Michaels, Under the Still Standing Sun by Dora Dueck

Best Gift: I've received a lot of great gifts in my life that could be classified as "best gift" but the one that stands out the most is a birthday card that played "The Final Countdown" by Europe.

Where in the world would you go? Ireland to see the Celtic Woman, or Christchurch, New Zealand to see Hayley Westenra.

Beginning on August 8, his office will be in B115 and his email will be rdmen@bethany.sk.ca.

We are happy to welcome Dwight to the Student Development Team!

What is Simunye?

2011-07-11T11:00:00.000-06:00

By Lisa Braun

Find out here.

Simunye is the name for the MCC team in South Africa. You can find out what Spencer Nikkel, Matt Bergen, Rebecca Davies, Luke Heidebrecht (Associate Mission Director, Bethany Simunye Leader), and Myriam Ullah (MCC Simuye Leader) are doing from July 3-25.

This is an exciting partnership between Bethany College and MCC Sask (and Alberta) to offer this learning experience for young adults from various locations. Check it out and post comments for your friends!

http://mccsimunye.wordpress.com/

Drop me a line about your summer adventures and we'll blog about it! lbraun@bethany.sk.ca

Blessings on your summer,
LB

Important Dates for 2011-2012

2011-07-06T11:13:00.000-06:00

First Semester:

Returning Student Arrival – Friday, September 2, 2011 by evening

Returning Student Orientation and Registration – Saturday, September 3

New Student Arrival – Sunday, September 4, beginning at 2pm

First Year Orientation – Monday, September 5

First Year Registration – Monday, September 5

Photo Day - Monday, September 5

First Day of Classes – Tuesday, September 6

Residence Orientation - Tuesday, September 6, 8.45pm

Drop/Add Deadline - Monday, September 12

Service Learning Trips Orientation - Spetember 20-21

Service Learning Trips - September 22-29

3rd Year Modular Week – September 24-29

Thanksgiving Break – October 7 (noon) – 10 (evening)

Day of Prayer – October 19

Fall Theatre Production - November 4-5

Term Break – November 10 (noon) – 13 (evening)

Christmas Concert - December 3-4

Last Selah (Chapel) – December 14

Last Day of Classes - December 15

Christmas Banquet - December 16

Winter Registration Session - December 16

Exams December 19-21 (noon) **

Christmas Break – December 21 (noon) – January 8 (evening)

**Please keep this in mind while making travel arrangements for Christmas break. The exam rescheduling fee is $50/exam.

Second Semester:

All Student Arrival - January 8, 2012 by evening

Modular Week - January 9-13

Regular Classes Begin – January 16

Drop/Add Deadline-Friday, January 27

Youth Advance—February 3-5

Youth Advance Rest Day – Monday, February 6 – see campus postings for lessons; evening classes meet as regularly scheduled

Winter Break – February 17 (noon) – 21 (evening)

Day of Prayer – March 14

Continuance of Study Session - March 27 at 11.15 am (Chapel)

Student Government Elections – March 26

Easter Break - April 5 (noon) - 9 (evening classes meet as regularly scheduled)

Last Selah (Chapel) – April 13

Last Day for Assignments - April 14

Last Day of Classes - April 16

Exams - April 17-19**

All Student Brunch, Survey, Grad Rehearsal, and Campus Clean-up Day - April 19

Year-End Party - April 20

Spring Concert - April 21

Grad Banquet - April 21

Commencement - April 22

Spring Tours – April 24 - May 8

Summer Break – April 23 (evening) – August 30

From the office of Lisa Braun

2011-06-03T15:54:00.001-06:00

Dear Students,

We miss you all, and are shocked by how fast May slipped by us. For me, I mark the start of the new year after June board meetings. Those meetings start tonight. So now we look ahead to the 2011-2012 year. Wild!

What are you all up to? Hope it's good, exciting, challenging, growing, learning, serving, loving kinds of things.

Some important news here, so read on....

It is with pleasure that I announce several new hires at Bethany College for the coming year! Drum roll please!

As of June 1, Cliff Brandes begins as Alumni and Donor Relations Field Representative. Cliff is well acquainted with Bethany, after sending his three children here, and then last year, attending a first year student (often found at a favourite table in the cafeteria). Cliff is well suited for this role having spent his previous career in client services within the financial industry. His love for people and his love for the College fit well as he serves the supporting community of the College in this role.

As of July 1, Randi Rempel will be the new Associate Dean of Women. Randi is very familiar with this place, and understands the unique role that Student Development has at Bethany. Randi comes to this role with a great love for you after her great year as Student Development Assistant, and contributing to big picture strategic developments in our department (Personal Discernment Process, on-line survey, retention work, young alumni data work, mentoring placements, and more). Her passion for working with RAs, mentoring students, and teamwork will be a welcome addition to the team.

As of August 1, Wes Enns will be the new Athletics Director. Wes comes to us during a sabbatical year from Rosslyn Academy in Nairobi, Kenya. (This is where Adriana went to high school!) Wes graduated from Bethany in 1992 with a Diploma of Biblical Studies. From there, he went on to get a B.Ed from U of M with a double major in Physical Education and English Literature, and, most recently, a Masters in Leadership from the Pan Africa Christian University in Nairobi. Wes will focus attention on the changing dynamics of our Athletics Department and help us bring it into even greater alignment with our Mission Statement and Strategic Plan. He will also lead Youth Advance Committee, and serve in other areas of teaching and coaching. His wife Jeannie is alumn material as well, and they will move into the campus house behind the gym, with their three children Ezra (12), Isaiah (10), and Julia (5).

Please welcome and pray for them as they make transitions, large and small, to enter into their new roles and places of influence!

Have good summer adventures! Here's Rob and I on the SkyTrain in Vancouver in May, the kids were right at the front peering out the window, so they are not pictured here! And I am off for another big trip in 10 sleeps!

Blessings,

Introducing...Bryan Goosen

2011-05-24T14:43:00.000-06:00

I was a student at Bethany during the two year Bryan was here and had the privilege of becoming friends with him. He always brought an incredible amount of fun to the dorm while also contributing in more serious ways through his role as a Residence Assistant in his second year. Bryan is currently an RCMP officer stationed in Grande Prairie, AB. He is earnestly awaiting his wedding to Danielle Block this later this summer. ~Nick Boschman

Bethany Alumni 06-08
Hometown: Grande Prairie AB
Occupation: RCMP

Let me update you on what has happened to my life after Bethany…

I’ve always had this idea of being a cop, particularly with the RCMP. I was traveling in South America for a few months after Bethany and I got talking with a man named Alexis. Alexis was the president of the ministry organization that I was working with and a passionate man of God. When he had asked what I wanted to do with my life I told him about the RCMP. His eyes lit up and we talked for a while about the ethical issues involved in policing. From this conversation I found out that Alexis was training police in ethics in South America. Bottom line is, ethics inspired me to be RCMP. In this world there is a lot of corruption and evil when it comes to authority, not all, but more than we like to know about. I always wondered what it would be like to be a Christian and a cop. Let me tell you, it’s not unlike most Christian’s lives…challenging.

I was working for a honey farm in Chilliwack BC, honing my skills as a bountiful coaxer of honey, when I decided that I would look into applying for the RCMP. I always went to every interview or test with the idea that I would work hard and prepare for anything, but if the door got closed, I would be happy that God had shut that door and was confident that he would give me another idea for a career. I believe that God gives you ideas and passion, and all I had to do was step out with a foot and act on it. I’m glad I never gave up on the long process of getting into RCMP, but one year turned into two years and I thought I would never go and train in Regina. Classic, let’s put the life on hold for a couple of years. It’s funny how you feel about your life in the midst of things, but when you look back on it, it feels like it was nothing. During this time I was 22 and I had met the girl who is now my fiancée. Danielle always encouraged me to go for what I was passionate about.

I finally got the call to go to Depot in Regina and train, having no clue fully what I was getting myself into. Depot is one of those things that if you think Bethany or your local summer camp is a bubble, then it is probably number one on that list. Depot proved to be a challenge, both physically and mentally for everyone involved. You find out what you can handle and what you have to work on to even begin to start towards your career aspiration. I was glad when I graduated, and I felt like I could take on the world with one hand. I moved up to Grande Prairie AB and was quickly thrown into the shift work of general duty as an RCMP officer. Let me tell you, it’s fun and interesting, but I generally see people in some of their lowest points of life. Seeing it over and over again is discouraging at times. However, I feel like this is where I want to spend my life and energy for the time being and enjoy the blessings that God has given me.

Bethany College has been one of those transitional places in my life that I will never forget. I know that is where I was able to grow a good foundational relationship with God and that relationship is what I want to continue everyday.

~Bryan Goosen

Introducing...Danelle Kasdorf

2011-05-17T23:19:00.000-06:00

Lisa Braun here - Let me introduce you to Danelle. I met Danelle van Nes in my first year at Bethany (1998-1999). She was the STUCO Recreation Chair, and so we worked together at Leadership Week to plan opening week events. I also had the privilege of working with her as the senior Youth Advance Committee member in 1999-2000. What a planner and organizer! I have fond memories of visiting her dorm room in North Court, and giving her and her friends permission to wear old Bethany Eagle jerseys during men’s basketball games.

Name: Danelle (van Nes) Kasdorf
Hometown: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Program: Bachelor in Christian Ministries 2000
Employment Role: Mother, Household Manager
Employer: Kasdorf Family
Email: danellekasdorf@hotmail.com

I am an organized person. In fact, I thought I had my whole life planned out. The plan was to go to Bible School, meet an awesome guy, settle down and have two kids. Well, I was one of the first to register for Bethany for the 1997-1998 year. And I did indeed meet a wonderful man, Danny Kasdorf (1997-1999) and married him in 2000. We decided to settle down in Winnipeg. Danny had just graduated from a tech college and was starting work as a web designer/developer. I found work at a Christian supply distributor and later at MBCI. And we waited to start our family, we waited and waited.

Finally in the summer of 2007 we were overjoyed to find out that we were expecting. We welcomed Janaya Helene into our family in March of 2008. Now life seemed to be going according to my plan again. In the fall of 2009 we discovered we were expecting again. There, two kids, just right according to MY plan. In February 2010 at the routine 20 week ultrasound we got a HUGE surprise. We were expecting TWINS!!!!!! My mind started going through the check list. What about the cute little house we had strategically bought to hold our future family of four? What about the car we had spent 7 years saving up for only to have to trade it in for a van? How are we going to manage twins? What if there are born really early? What if they are sick? Can we stretch one income that far?

It was a huge reminder that I am not in charge of my life. I can plan and plan as much as I want, but God is in control. And boy, have we ever learned to rely on him this year. I was reminded of a favourite verse: Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Well, after a few more months of anxiousness, Joshua Evan and Jenna Catherine were born full term and healthy weighing 6 lbs 1 oz and 7 lbs 7 oz. We’re nearing the twins’ first birthday and celebrating that we’ve made it. There have been some crazy moments and a lot of adjusting needed but we’ve made it. Thank you Lord for seeing us through it all. And we’ll wait to see what is next according to YOUR plan.

Introducing...Chantelle Funk

2011-05-07T13:06:00.000-06:00

This is Chantelle Funk and her family. She and her husband are entrepreneurs establishing a business in Kelowna while they raise two young sons. Chantelle also serves on the Board of Directors at Bethany College where she passionately challenges us to think creatively in our ministry. She brings her workplace fundraising experience and her business skills to the board and helps in focusing our mission: Nurturing Disciples and Training Leaders to Serve. Life for Chantelle is lived in relationship with God as she brings the issues of her life honestly and directly to Him. Here are some insightful and challenging words from her.
~Howie Wall, President

Be joyful always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). I get the praying thing, I get the giving thanks bit, but being joyful ALWAYS?!?!? What about most of the time? I think I was born cynical and jaded and have had to work my way up to being content in every situation but God is trying to show me that it is possible to live up another step – with joy. Always. Joyce Meyer said something that I wrote on my calendar: “An attitude of trust releases joy in our lives.” I read it every time I passed my calendar for two weeks. On January 13 my husband had a seizure out of the blue (later revealed to be a benign brain tumour) and after a long day trying to take care of our business and kids and being at the hospital, I walked past my calendar and read that quote again. At a moment when I had every excuse NOT to be joyful or feel joyful, I CHOSE to trust – whatever, whenever, I trust you Lord, my times are in your hands. And the next few weeks my joy increased even as all my circumstances gave reasons for the opposite.

The verse God gave me for 2011 is from John 15:5 “I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.” The chapter goes on to talk about love and obedience and then in verse 11: “I have told you these things, that My joy and delight may be in you, and that your joy and gladness may be of full measure and complete and overflowing.” And there it is – another step in my journey of learning about joy. I dwell in Christ, cut off from everything but him, I obey his commands, I live as a flow-through of his love; receiving it and giving back out to others – and His joy is complete and overflowing in my life. I may have to look on the bright side of things after all.

Chantelle Funk (nee Priebe)

Team Awards

2011-05-03T11:42:00.000-06:00

On April 6, the Bethany community took a moment to celebrate the accomplishments of specific individuals from the Ministry Arts and Athletics teams. This has been a great year for both departments, having seen great involvement and success. It was an extremely enjoyable Selah and the Bethany community supported the award winners tremendously.

Paul Woodburn (Ministry Arts Director) opened the Selah with special acknowledgment for this year’s House Band (Joe Molina, Nick Poetker, David Zentner, and Chris Penner) for their weekly ministry to the Bethany community in their leading of music worship in Friday Selahs. He also noted the ministry of Fixed on Faith (Kevin Dyck, Cambria Hiebert, and Jay Nguyen), a new team which served in local churches by providing music worship leadership.

Point of Impact and Bethany Players had three award categories. The first was for Growth, given to the team member who displayed the most improvement since the start of the year. The second was for Team Builder, awarded to the team member who was most helpful in the development of team unity and bonding. The third was for Guide, awarded to the team member who was most helpful in shaping and maintaining the spiritual health of the team.

Nick Boschman (Athletics Director) also presented awards for each of the athletics teams this year. The three awards were for Most Improved, Most Valuable, and Christian Leadership. The coaches of each team provided comments about each award winner, adding a personal touch for each recipient.

The award winners were as follows:

Point of Impact
Growth: Tyrel Klassen
Team Builder: Dan Kroeker
Guide: Cam Kearney

Bethany Players
Growth: Erin Willems
Team Builder: Erick Penner
Guide: Carley Snaith

Men’s Volleyball
Most Improved: Tim Peters
Most Valuable: Kendell Wiens
Christian Leadership: Steve Dueck

Women’s Volleyball
Most Improved: Vanessa Kroeker
Most Valuable: Erin Bader
Christian Leadership: Erin Bader

Men’s Indoor Soccer
Most Improved: Austin Gagne
Most Valuable: Kendell Wiens
Christian Leadership: David Zentner

Women’s Indoor Soccer
Most Improved: Terri Omani
Most Valuable: Kiley Zdunich
Christian Leadership: Kaylee Buhler

Men’s Hockey
Most Improved: Brad Bergen
Most Valuable: Aaron Willems
Christian Leadership: Mike Brandt

Congratulations to all the award winners and to all the teams for a great 2010-2011 season!

Honouring Special Days

2011-04-14T10:53:00.000-06:00

By Lisa Braun

These beautiful handcrafted spectacles were done in honour of a special day in Maddie's class, called Day 100. They celebrate it because the children have completed 100 days of full-time school in Hepburn. And they also received stickers which said "100 days smarter!" Check out the picture closely and you'll see it. Love it.

Maddie was super pumped about this day.

I was wondering this morning - What if we threw a party called "Day 221"? Because today is 221 days since first year arrival. 223 d if you are an upperclassmen, and 228 d if you were at student leadership week. (If my math is correct, feel free to correct me). It will be 224 days on commencement.

What would it look like for you if you considered how you have grown and changed in the past 221 days?

I have been blessed to see people grow in
wisdom
reflection
critical thinking skills
tears
compassion
depth
self-awareness
and more....

I have been blessed to see people change in
knowledge
character
relationships
skills
attitude
heart
leadership
service
and more......

How about you? What have you seen? In your life and in those around you?

Day 221. It's a good one.

Sitting in the Outer Office

2011-04-08T16:49:00.000-06:00

By Lisa Braun

Drinking orange juice.
Talking to Sara and Randi and Nick.
Thinking about how much I love it when students grow.
Wanting to write.
Loving it when we discern together.
Humming my new favorite song (The Rock by Michael Neale).
Working on intern evaluations.
Perched up at the glass table.
Glad to be here.
Glad to be alive.
Glad it's Friday.

Mentorship with a difference

2011-04-03T20:32:00.000-06:00

"When I have the opportunity for conversation with pastors, I like to ask, "What is the biggest need in your congregation in the area of harnessing human capacity?" In a recent conversation, the answer given was quick and emphatic: "Mentorship."

This creative pastor saw mentorship as a way to harness the human capacity of different generations. The mentorship plan he was working out focused on roles within the church. In the area of worship, for example, his experiment was to identify a young person with interest or potential aptitude. That youth would be partnered with an older person who had experience in worship-leading roles, who would coach and support the young person in trying out the role.

This is a simple plan, but what an effective way to harness gifts! I wonder if this is what farmers used to do when they would put a young work horse in a team with an older, experienced horse. Think of the advantages of a system like this over more usual ways of inserting a new person into a new role:

It is personal. Instead of only reading a job description to provide information, this process engages the feeling part of the brain by putting the learner in touch with a caring person.

It is expressive. The older person has an opportunity to communicate the passion he has for the activity, which can lead to a deep response in the youth.

It is supportive. The younger person has someone to ask about problems and challenges in the role. Obvious gaps can be filled in ways that prevent embarrassment.

It makes use of skills. Often older people have developed the skills of listening and empathizing, which can be put to good use in a one-on-one working relationship.

It supports friendship. A positive by-product of the mentoring relationship is that people become friends across generations, perhaps gaining greater insight into each other's culture.

Another way of looking at mentorship is that it recovers the role of the elder, which we may have lost in recent times. Older people are given a positive way to contribute at the same time as they begin the well-deserved process of stepping back.

What are some other roles where mentorship could be well used? Could one mentor young church board members, deacons, teachers or preachers?"

Bob Wiebe is president of Enliven! Consulting, whose motto is "Helping harness human capacity." This short feature appeared in the Canadian Mennonite, December 20, 2010 (p. 12).

RESPONSE Suggestions by LB:
1. Read Reverse Mentoring - it reminds us "older" ones that we have something to learn from those younger than us, those we mentor. (I will post the full details on this book title soon - it's in my office right now!)

2. Ask people for their stories of mentoring in the church. I am putting out a challenge to Randy Toman to write his story on becoming a church moderator.

3. Comment on this article.

4. For this spring/summer season, consider who you might ask to mentor and who you might ask to mentor you in your church setting.

(Sharing a love of reading and road-tripping, Maddie and my Mom, summer 2009,
on the way to Saskatchewan's largest tree).

STUCO: "We put the fun in functional"

2011-03-22T16:53:00.000-06:00

Drama – film festival is April 1, at 730pm or later start time. Contact is Dwight. Deadline of March 28 for posters and films to Dwight.

Missions – square dance event is April 2, at 730pm, fundraising for Japan Tsunami Relief. Open to the community. $2/entrance. Fundraising will be done through a dessert fundraiser. Talk to Spencer.

Bylaws update – if you are STUCO committee supervisor, feel free to discuss committee bylaws with your STUCO chairperson, and give them support and assistance in this area. Talk to Nick P.

Music/Social Rec/Café – coffeehouse is March 27, at 900pm, in the mall. Open to Bethany team and family members. Open mike for instrumental or vocal. Set by Cambria Hiebert. Talk to Cam and Jay.

If you have questions about any of these events, please talk to the student leaders listed.
LB

Interning Thoughts...

2011-03-21T16:56:00.000-06:00

The next few posts come to us courtesy of some of our interns who are out and about this year. Our first post is from Clark Holmes who is interning at Redberry Bible Camp. He is recently married to his lovely wife Kelsey (Regehr) and together they are learning the ins and outs of married camp life.

Enjoy!

I have been pondering what humility looks like in servant leadership. Humility, to me, is when someone remembers who they are in light of who God is and doesn’t desire to elevate themselves more than their fellow man. I find that humility is a biblical model for leading people but I am searching for the phrase, or even foundation, for being a servant leader. In my mind I pictured someone who is trying to please everyone and will do whatever it takes to see their followers still smiling. But that isn’t the picture I’ve been finding as I look through the pages of Scripture.

I think that lately some Christians have thought that putting two good words together will make the phrase even better than if there were only one. Moses led the people with the authority given him. Peter pronounced judgment on Annanias and Saphira without making sure they would be happy first. And even though Jesus was a servant to all he called the baby by its name when Peter wanted to make sure the Son of Man wouldn’t have to suffer and die. Humility appears to be something God-oriented and being a servant or leader sounds like an attribute judged by our human interactions. Therefore to “learn humility in servant leadership” seems paradoxical.

To call oneself humble in regards to people before we approach God’s throne on our faces is lying. The best case scenario would be us assuming a door-mat position with other people. This, in reality, is allowing other people to define where we should be going and who we should become. It leaves little room for God. We would profess to put others before ourselves but we are also putting others before God. When God comes in second or third all who compete lose because God doesn’t win.

My pondering boils down to this: What order does humility, servanthood, and leadership come in? To be a leader first - without humility and a servant-heart - is cold at best and tyrannical at the worst. And without first grasping the kingdom-reality of who we are we could become self-deprecating and diffident where we lack all self-confidence and the boldness we should have in our God-given gifts. In other words, for a servant to bloom into a leader they must first learn humility.

Humility is plainly remembering who we are in Christ; not more or less. Wretched yet saved; redeemed but not all there yet. I will cede that we can learn this in the throes of serving and leading but if we as yet don’t possess a humble attitude there will be an extreme level of patience necessitated from those whom we are serving or leading. The polite and loving boldness we can have in all areas of life, if we possess true humility, is worth opening ourselves to be taught such a foundational treasure.

Isaiah 2:11
The eyes of the arrogant will be humbled
and human pride brought low;
the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.

This week in STUCO World

2011-03-17T07:28:00.000-06:00

- Student leader discernment in process. List of names for STUCO elections will be posted soon. See Hillary K or Nick P if you are a late inquiry for any position.

- Blood drive - see Spencer for details.

- Games night called “Shuffle your buns” – like musical chairs and other group games – Fri March 25, evening 7/8pm.- Coffeehouse - Sunday, March 27 in the mall, 9pm start – joint event with Social Rec, Music and Café Committees. Free regular coffee from Café, fancy drinks still for $$.

- Fan Van to Nipawin - on weekend of March 25 or 26, details to come.

- Film festival - Friday April 1, evening.

- Square dance event - Saturday, April 2 – open to the Hepburn community, student fundraising projects, dessert auction, more details to come.

- Twin day - Tuesday, April 5.

Lent is a time for listening

2011-03-17T06:35:00.000-06:00

I am not by nature an early riser. It has been quite the joke in my family of origin because my middle name is "Dawn."

If given the choice and the space, I could still sleep in like the best of them, leisurely rising around mid-morning followed by brunch and several strong cups of coffee. These days, however, my morning starts between 7.00 and 8.00am and includes my own routine, Maddie's school checklist and sing-songs, the random ideas of Joshy-boy always at full-speed, Rob and his quiet patterns, and our bonus family member, Kaylee. Good times.

Back in my cow-milking days, I was up before 7.00 to go hand-milk 1-3 cows before breakfast. Yikes. My parents were convinced it was a plan to ensure I could be at least civil by the time the porridge hit the table. Not always successful.

Somewhere along the way, I took back the morning. (This is probably another whole post or reflection). So, I may not be an early riser on a consistent basis, but these days before my feet hit the floor, I grab gratitude, peace, and wisdom for the day from the One who generously provides. I pray breath prayers. I give up my day and myself to my Maker. And I start.

But back to today. Today I opened my eyes, awake, fully awake, and thinking clearly. I rolled over to see the clock, and it shocked me with a 5.30 reading. Seriously. Seriously?

First step, pray for my sister (because she lives in a different time zone).
Second, give up any concerns or stresses that might be rattling around in my head.
Third, snuggle back under the covers because my alarm is still set for just after 7.
Fourth......I am still awake.
Fifth, listen.

Then, an amazing and crazy idea popped into my head. And I bolted out of bed to write it down, to write an email. And now I am writing here.

And I was reminded.....Lent is a time for listening.

Listening to pray
Listening to surrender
Listening to rest
Listening to respond
Listening to create
Listening to act
Listening to encourage
Listening to challenge
Listening to share

Lent is a time for listening.

Maybe Lent is not so much about merely "subtraction",
about what we are in a rush to give up
candy, coffee, chocolate, unnecessary grumbling....
or even about "addition",
about what we take up because we ought
prayer, giving, service.....
but more about "multiplication"
through listening and obedience.

"O Lord in the morning will I direct my prayers
unto You I will look up" (Psalms 5).

Blessings,
LB

On writers and writing

2011-03-08T21:59:00.001-07:00

By Lisa Braun

"In a mood of faith and hope my work goes on. A ream of fresh paper lies on my desk waiting for the next book. I am a writer and I take up my pen to write"
(Pearl S. Buck).

Writing. Since I was about 14 years old, maybe even earlier, I have been keeping journals. Sometimes on one-sided paper (thanks Dad) that was holepunched to fit in my red Herbert Laurels school binder, sometimes in hard-cover lined journals from Zellers, but I was writing. Perhaps it started around the time each of us Peters kids got into the Pioneer Girls/Brigade devotional magazines, but it hasn't stopped. There have been fits and starts at various points in my life with journalling, but I write on. My favorite forms today are the black hardcover journals from Shoppers, or the sometimes short, sometimes long facebook notes (the lazy girl's blog, I call it).

Writing. Two years ago for Lent, I gave myself over to writing. Not willingly, but with great will. Not necessarily filled with joy, but rather with choice. I called the 40 days (plus a good chunk more) my penance, petition, sacrifice, and offering. Not because I wanted to, or at least not completely. But because I had to. I was compelled. By something outside myself, but not particularly divine or holy, or at least it didn't seem so at the time. But rather, by the university. The deadline for my Masters Project was looming, and I couldn't see any other way to completion except to carve out daily time -- as much as I could grasp -- from every possible other option. Sometimes I managed 1 hour, some days I wrote for up to 8, but did I ever write. At the keyboard in my office, at the kitchen island, at the computer nook. I got up early, and I stayed up late. I was whole-hearted in my devotion. Somewhere early in the process, I decided that this offering would be my joy to give that Lenten season. Man, it was hard, but I experienced something incredible in those many hours alone with my work and my God. Something about being consecrated and set apart. There's a lot of stories in that season, just ask me sometime. I wrote every day. Every day. I feel overwhelmed just thinking about that time.

Writing. A few days ago, I spent some time brainstorming and scribbling with two scraps of paper and a good black pen on the ride home to Hepburn from Regina. Comfortably settled in the co-pilot's chair. Trying to capture my vision for why I write, and why I want to share what I write, and why I want to create space for others to write. And I came up with some ideas for the blog. I hope to reveal a bit here and there, especially as I learn more about designing pages, making links, and other great blogging basics. If you are good at this stuff, stop by and teach me something new sometime. But I will write. And if you don't see something for awhile, ask me.

I've been thinking about
Feature ideas and topics like
Church
Sabbath
Collaboration
Trust
Love
Finding other writers
Staff, faculty, students, alumni, and friends
Special review columns (on music, coffee places, etc)
Stories about people
Links to cool things
Starting to add blogs to follow
and more.

If you want to write, join me, be brave, and step up to the blog.

PS I think I recruited my first official writer, Sara Jantzen. First post on music you gotta give a listen to, coming soon! Sara, what's going to be your first deadline?

STUCO Updates

2011-03-08T15:46:00.000-07:00

1. Missions – Spencer Nikkel

- Blood drive – coming next week (March 14th week).

- Square dance event - Saturday, April 2 – open to the Hepburn community, student fundraising projects, dessert auction, more details to come.

2. Social Rec – Cam Kerney

- Coffeehouse - Sunday, March 27 in the mall, 9pm start – joint event with Social Rec, Music and Café Committees. Free regular coffee from Café, fancy drinks still for $$.

- Twin day - Tuesday, April 5.

- Games night called “Shuffle your buns” – like musical chairs and other group games – Fri March 25, evening 7/8pm.

3. Sports Rec – Steve Johnson

- Blades games - Wednesday, March 16, evening.

- Fan Van to Nipawin - on weekend of March 25 or 26, details to come.

- Handball - Thursday, March 10, 9pm.

- Life sized fooseball - Friday, March 11 aft.

4. Drama – Dwight Bennett

- Improv night - Sunday, March 13, 9pm

- Film festival - Friday April 1, evening

5. Spiritual Life – Rebecca Davies

- Day of Prayer - Wednesday, March 9, starts with brunch at 10am

- Day of Prayer Worship Night - Wednesday, March 9, starts at 7pm, community welcome

It's Tuesday

2011-03-08T13:08:00.000-07:00

It's Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday, also called Pancake Day, and I found a poem to honor today. Salute to Allison Preston from the lunch table earlier.

Royalty

He was a plain man

and learned no latin

Having left all gold behind

he dealt out peace

to all us wild men

and the weather

He ate fish, bread,

country wine and God’s will

Dust sandalled his feet

He wore purple only once

and that was an irony.

(Luci Shaw, Polishing the Petoskey Stone, p.58)

Note below is an excerpt directly from wikipedia: See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrove_Tuesday for more.

Shrove Tuesday is a term used in English-speaking countries, especially the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia,[1] New Zealand, Philippines, and parts of the United States[2] for the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of fasting and prayer called Lent.

The word shrove is the past participle of the English verb to shrive, which means to obtain absolution for one's sins by way of confession and doing penance. During the week before Lent, sometimes called Shrovetide in English, Christians were expected to go to confession in preparation for the penitential season of turning to God. Shrove Tuesday was the last day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, and noted in histories dating back to 1000 AD. The popular celebratory aspect of the day had developed long before the Protestant Reformation, and was associated with releasing high spirits before the somber season of Lent. It is analogous to the continuing Carnival tradition associated with Mardi Gras (and its various names in different countries) that continued separately in European Catholic countries.

In the United States, the term Shrove Tuesday is less widely known outside of people who observe the liturgical traditions of the Episcopal, Lutheran, Methodist, and Catholic churches.[3][4] Because of the increase in many immigrant populations and traditions since the 19th century, and the rise of highly publicized festivals, Mardi Gras has become more familiar as the designation for that day.

Celebrating Bethany Traditions

2011-03-01T10:08:00.001-07:00

Tradition. Tradition. (Hey Randy, a little salute to last April's concert choir event).

Do you know where certain Bethany traditions come from? Sometimes there are different even conflicting stories surrounding the origins. Like the Bushburger.....but I'll tell that story another day. Or why we sit at round tables in the cafeteria? Why did "Chapel" change to "Selah"? By the way, if you have questions, ask and I'll hunt down the history.

Gather round the armchair friends....Today, the story is about "Jean Friday."

In 1999-2000, my second year at Bethany, the third year class was looking for interesting ways to fundraise for their trip to South America (Peru I believe it was). And the ever-motivated, ever-change-things-for-the-better, and sometime outspoken Naomi Esau (now Petkau) approached the college about creating "Jean/Casual Friday" and people could donate $$$ to a jar for trip fundraising.

Now you might be thinking, what's the big deal? Doesn't everyone do Casual Friday? Doesn't every business have a jar for a charitable fundraiser? Yes, possibly now that is the case. But it was not that way at that time at Bethany. In fact, the general style of dress for faculty and staff was pretty formal in comparison to how it looks today. Many male faculty and administrative staff wore ties frequently, sports jackets, dress pants, sometimes even suits. The female faculty and staff were definitely to the formal side of "business attire" - dress pants, skirts, and clothes that generally required ironing. But definitely not jeans, except maybe on Youth Advance Work Bee. I don't sound bitter, do I? Did I mention I hate ironing?

I don't remember the whole process of how the change was implemented, but I do remember happily encouraging Naomi about her great idea. I do remember a jar of sorts in the reception office. I do remember wearing jeans EVERY FRIDAY with great delight. I do remember that students loved seeing the faculty and staff in their casual attire.

And by the next year, Jean Friday was a tradition. Now business office attire around Bethany looks a bit different these days. Khakis, sweaters, cords, and nary a tie, but I still love Jean Fridays. I don't know if every third year class took the chance to put out a jar, or when they turned to other fundraisers, but let me say "hear hear" to Nomi. I still think of you every now and again on a tired sort of Friday morning when I pull out my favorite jeans.

I expect Naomi is still a change agent. I hear she's into building and carpentry, projects, and investing in the future (there are some fine young Petkaus running around out in BC, I understand). Here's some words from Naomi herself from back in the day, straight from the Bethany Ray, Disciples edition 1999-2000, page 20 (credit the source!):

"As I look back on our years spent at Bethany, I am reminded of the many ways Bethany has influenced us and the many ways we have influenced Bethany.

I know God has used Bethany to change us and strengthen our relationships with him. Bethany has also given us a new desire to serve within our families, churches, communities, and world. It has expanded our skills in drama, music, sports, and leadership in order to serve better. I am confident that God will use each one of us to further his kingdom. I am grateful for how Bethany has influenced us and for things we can take with us.

We've also influenced Bethany in many ways. Bethany saw the biggest faculty and staff turnover during our years!? I can't explain this but it could be because during our freshmen year we almost abolished the term "freshmen rush" by our mediocre interest in relationships. Or it could have been because during junior year we ruled the school by getting highly involved in sports, drama, music, and leadership and then couldn't understand the concept that Genesis is not merely about creation. Maybe it was because in senior year we bet money on who could drink a jar of syrup (Toews!), or it could have been that we kidnapped the president on a sub run! Who knows?

What will matter when we leave Bethany is how God has drastically changed us into young men and women of God, what we will do what we have learned, and how we will influence the world like we've influenced Bethany.

I know our memories of each other will fade with age, but may our knowledge of God grow clearer and stronger for eternity. Thanks for all the "good times."

Adios, Naomi."

Well said my friend.

Till another story finds me,

LB
lbraun@bethany.sk.ca

PS Naomi, if you have a current family photo to share, I'll post it!

PS again for all current students - if you find any typos in my posts, I'll buy you a Pepsi. Grammar errors are exempt - I am blogging after all, not writing a paper.

Featuring Alumnus Phil Wiebe

2011-02-17T08:38:00.001-07:00

Name: Phil Wiebe
Hometown: Killarney, Manitoba
Program: Bachelor of Arts in Pastoral Studies 2008; Bachelor in Christian Ministries 2003
Employment Role: Associate Campus Pastor
Employer: South Mountain Community Church, Saint George, Utah, USA
Email: phil.springs@gmail.com

Update:
After a missions trip to Salt Lake City in 2002 with my Bethany class, I landed a position as a youth intern at South Mountain Community Church in Draper, Utah, which is just south of Salt Lake City. The cool thing about Utah is that it is a very different mission field as the Christian population is less then 3% while the Mormon population is well over 80%. The best part of SMCC is that its mission is to reach the Mormon population and around 50% of its growth comes from Mormon converts.

I eventually became the youth pastor there and spent 6 1/2 years blessed by some awesome teenagers. While there, I met and married my wife Melissa and began the greatest adventure of my life!

In 2008, as part of a church merge in which Desert Springs Church -- a church of about 90 people, 300 miles away in St. George, Utah -- joined the SMCC family, I was part of the transaction and was given the opportunity to try something new. I was sent out to Saint George to help the new SMCC campus up its game.

The past 2 1/2 years, SMCC the Springs (new name) has grown to 300 people. God is amazing! In my personal adventure, Melissa and I had a little baby girl named Ella in 2010. She rocks!
Aside from that, I am a part of an organization that is attempting to put a permanent ice rink in Saint George so we can have hockey, and I love driving my jeep whenever I can.

All the best,
Phil

NOTE from LB: I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to do more features like this on alumni and current students. If you want to be featured, or you would like to recommend someone, drop me a note at lbraun@bethany.sk.ca.

Change

2011-02-16T10:22:00.000-07:00

I like change.

Quite a bit.

Sometimes I think it might occasionally annoy the people I live and work with.

But that doesn't stop me.

I hope that this quality about me brings about good things.

I like to ask questions like....

"What is something that needs attention?"
"How could you make life better here?"
"What could you do to make this area more beautiful? or functional?"

And I've got a few answers lately.

One was:
"Put more entries on the blog!"

So here is the first one of many more to come.

Here is my resolution list:

1. Get faculty/staff writing who haven't done an entry yet - any requests for people and topics for them?

2. Get students writing. There are lots of gifted thinkers, writers, theologians, and poets out there. Suggestions?

3. Write more myself. My goal for 2011 was to take every writing opportunity that came my way......so I will pledge to write more. Once a week might be too much, but once a month too little. So if you've heard me say something that I should blog about, tell me.

4. Get a schedule going so that there is for sure someone committed on a weekly basis to submit entries.

5. Invite alumni to write. Alumni if you read this blog - let me know! There are some great writers out there that we'd love to feature - your stories, experiences, etc.

Thanks to Jeff and Erick for an inspirational Friday afternoon last week.

Blessings,
LB

2011-02-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

Bethany College Selah - January 17, 2011

Dear Bethany students, leaders who were out, new students, and all staff, faculty, and students who stayed back here. It is joy to welcome you here to gather and pause together, and a joy to speak words of blessing and challenge to you as you return and start again.

Here is a message that I posted on facebook, and some prayers that I have been praying for you while you were away, and that I will continue to pray….

While you are serving and learning and being a part of a team, be assured that we the Bethany community is praying for you. I am praying for miracles of all sizes, and spiritual breakthroughs in your lives. For a clear understanding of "how to serve", not in the mechanics necessarily, but in the motivation and attitude behind the doing. For a clear understanding of your gifts and some of the ways God wants to use them in you for his glory. For a clear understanding of putting aside your own rights, in order to love and put others ahead of your own convenience and comfort. For a clear understanding of being a disciple of Jesus first, and (fill in the blank) after that.

By the way, I would love to hear your stories and celebrate what you’ve learned. Stop by and tell me, or write me a note, or read me an excerpt from your journal.

Here is my challenge to you for today for this new start, Monday January 17…..

Do the work and pondering to make sense of what you’ve experienced. I’ll say it again, Do the work of pondering and thinking and journalling and discussing and praying and whatever you need to do to make sense of what you’ve experienced.

I think of Mary, in Luke 2.19 “Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” She pondered all her experiences until she absorbed them all, and they became a part of her. I think of Jesus, in Luke 5.16 “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” He went away to a silent place to be with his Father….I think Jesus too was pondering all his experiences, and was making sense of the events of his life.

We are meaning-makers. We take the new things we encounter and we add them into our lives in a way that makes sense. Or they don’t get added. Think of your life and learning like a scaffolding of some sort, the worldview and the sum total of all your experiences. Each new experience needs to find a connection to what already exists, take time to make the connection. Sometimes even parts of the scaffolding need to be reassembled to add in the new learning, take time to do this rebuilding and renovating. You may have learned all kinds of things in the past two weeks wherever you were. You may have learned more about God, or about the world around you, or about yourself, or your team, or a combination of the above….take the time to reflect on it, and make sense of it, and make it a permanent part of you.

We all start a new semester today. I trust that you will take what you have learned in your past two weeks, and move forward in your walk with Jesus to be teachable, adaptable, and flexible.

I pray that you are more teachable than you were 2 weeks ago. Being teachable mean being ready and willing to be taught, to learn something new in any situation in any moment. It involves putting our pride aside, and picking up a humble spirit. Being teachable means being ready to listen and waiting to speak. It means being able to admit our inexperience in a new situation and be willing to step out into new things. How are you more teachable?

I pray that you are more adaptable than you were when you jumped in the van on January 6. It means to make suitable or fit for a new use of for different conditions. You have learned to work within a new team, with a new leader, in a new setting, new travel routes, streets, seeing a new or familiar city or area in a new way. You have been asked to fit with the host and the plan that was laid out for you. How are you more adaptable?

I pray that you are more flexible today than you were in 2010. This means being capable of being flexed, pliant, yielding to influence, resilient, springy, readily changed, not brittle or resistant. But flexible ready for action, agile. You have learned to be respond to changes in the plan, respect people around you even when you see your differences, live with the realities of serving in simple and sometimes unglamourous ways. How are you more flexible?

Before I close with a passage from Ephesians, let me say one more time, I urge you, take what you have learned to heart.

“For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1.15-19).

With love and blessings,
LB

Terry Fox Humanitarian Award Pesented to Bethany Student

2010-11-17T08:49:00.000-07:00

The Terry Fox Humanitarian Award recognizes those who reflect the ideals of courage, humanitarianism, service and compassion. Lisa Braun sat down for a visit with Saskatchewan’s 2010 winner, Erin Bader, a 1st year student, from Saskatoon.

Erin, how did you decide to attend Bethany College?
The question of “should I go to Bible College?” was in my mind, and I had thought of Bethany because of friends. I had applied for nursing already, but one evening checked out the Bethany website, decided that I wanted to go, and applied the next week. I have a number of friends who attended here including Joeline Magill (BA, 2009), Jaylin Braun (2009-2010), Katie Pauls (2009-2010) and Steph Neufeld (Diploma, 2008).

How did you first hear about the Terry Fox Humanitarian Award Program?
I was checking out scholarships through my high school’s student services website, found the Terry Fox award, and applied. The application covered three parts of an individual’s life: athletic involvement, community participation, and overcoming obstacles.

Why do you think your application stood out among all the applicants from across Canada?
My experience in high school could be described as a lot of everything, a wide variety of involvements. After the initial application, the process was narrowed down through an interview. I talked about my experiences in going to Nicaragua on my own, paid for myself, even when my family didn’t want me to go initially. I had been to the country before on Project Serve 2009 with Youth for Christ Saskatoon, and I wanted to go back. I needed to get out of my comfort zone completely, and do something that would be a clean break from high school, something different, something to challenge me. So I went back as an intern with Open Hearts, an organization that I found on the internet. My parents were concerned about safety and were reluctant about me going on my own as a 17-year old. But they knew I had my mind made up when I said, “I’m going.”

So Erin, what is the value of this award?
The award is up to $7000 per year for 4 years. I qualified for the maximum.

Wow! How many were awarded this year?
I received the only one for Saskatchewan, and there were 19 given out across Canada.

Erin, what are you enjoying most about your education at Bethany?
The community here. Being surrounded by a larger group of Christians is a new experience for me. I am glad to be taking classes and learning things that I really want to learn.

Erica Ray, Associate Dean of Women, describes Erin as “intelligent, caring, loyal…there is more of her yet to discover and grow. She’s going somewhere, and she has the courage to make things happen.” We are very excited to have Erin as part of the Bethany College community. If you would like more information on Bethany College visit our website at: www.bethany.sk.ca.

To find out more about this awards program, check out the website at: http://www.terryfoxawards.ca/.

~Lisa Braun, Dean of Student Development

Falling Asleep On Life

2010-11-05T16:08:00.000-06:00

I was in the middle of the Ad, on one of those black couches by the “fireplace”, earnestly trying to stay awake and focus on the book of Ephesians in front of me. It was Day of Prayer and we had all been given an hour and a half to be silent and spend time with God in the middle of a busy week in the middle of our busy lives. I had been looking forward to this set aside time in which I planned to read Scripture and reflect on life together with God without distractions. However, while I was free of a pressing need to check emails and didn’t have people coming to me with requests or good conversations, I still couldn’t focus on what I was reading, or Who I was trying to hear. Lethargy and apathy are sneaky and ugly enemies! I ended up falling asleep for something like half an hour and awoke to the embarrassing realization of a wet cheek. Frustrated, I decided I needed to be moving in order to stay awake and went for a walk. Along the short journey from the Ad to the dorm to get a coat I passed three girls wrapped up in blankets, lying on the grass with their Bibles, in various stages of consciousness. This triggered in me an intense frustration with our constant state of tiredness, bordering on exhaustion, here at Bethany. Just a quick clarification: I am not saying it’s always a bad thing that we fall asleep while trying to spend time with God. I am sure He is happy to sometimes give us the gift of rest in those situations. But I am also sure that He sometimes hates that we fall asleep on Him, as well as the fact that we don’t take care of ourselves well enough to live life as fully as He intended. I will be the first to admit that I am not a regular advocate for going to bed at a reasonable hour, or giving up a good time for the sometimes wiser choice of sleep. I get so frustrated when an adult, upon hearing about a fun late night adventure advises me of the benefits of regular sleeping hours or implies the foolishness of “young people”. It’s just the way it is in college, right? But honestly, I wonder how much is too much. Admittedly, the good talks and most fun/crazy times happen after midnight. But at what cost? I can attest to the fact that stress is not handled well when tired. This only multiplies when reading textbooks lulls us into much needed sleep and homework doesn’t get done until an impending deadline gives as enough adrenaline to accomplish it. Misunderstanding and annoyances in relationships also seem a lot larger when sleep deprived, which makes for a fun time when living in dorm. I’m not saying lack of sleep is the only thing to blame for our lack of energy. Our culture as a whole doesn’t know what it means to truly rest, and Christians don’t seem to have a great handle on it either. I don’t mean to paint a terribly negative picture, but am asking the question, (while trying to figure out for myself), whether we should accept this tiredness as a part of life and learn to live with it, or whether a bit more sleep isn’t an unreasonable (or elderly) thing to aim for.
~Elya Penner

A Hunger for Something Deeper

2010-10-20T16:46:00.000-06:00

I am bored and uncertain of what to fill my time with. How can I spend my time today to meet my own needs and desires? These are common questions I ask myself each day. But what if I viewed time as a gift like grace is a gift. Time is something that is not owed to me. Time is a part of almost every conversation...Hey what are you up to tonight...What time is the game...When is the due date for the next major paper. Time is everywhere and it is not going to disappear anytime soon.

Lately I have been asking myself, largely in part to a recent book I read called “Blue Like Jazz” by Donald Miller, how can I use my time for God’s purpose. Or rather how can I use God’s time He has given me to invest in life. I do so many things out of habit. I play video games or watch movies because that is the first thing that comes to mind when I am bored. Almost every time I ask myself the question of what to do next, I have no regard for other people or God...it becomes all about me. How can I make my story a happier one? I was challenged by my father many years ago to “not simply spend time, but to invest in it”. Just like one should spend time investing in a spiritual gift that they have been given; one should also use their time investing in things that matter such as relationships, reading of Scripture, prayer, solitude etc. One of Satan’s tricks is to make us waste our time. All he wants from us is to have our focus on something other than God because he knows that when our focus is on God we are going to like what we see.

As I have thought and wrestled with this idea of investment, I have been challenged to spend a good chunk of my time in the Bible and in prayer. Simple hey? It is what I have been taught since a little child. Read, pray and everything will be ok. HEY EVERYONE THAT SAYING IS BASICALLY TRUE! Spending time in the Bible and prayer are fulfilling! I have found a new love for these things because they do what time wasting events do not do. I have feelings of satisfaction and meaning. But the craziest part is that the more I read the Bible the more the things I just read about come into play that day. Recently I read in Mathew...

“For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you”

The day after I read this verse, I was tempted to make a joke about someone; a joke that would have obviously been selfish because I would have said it for my enjoyment without any regard for the other person’s feelings. But I was reminded through the simple discipline/oppertunity of reading the Word that I needed to hold my tongue and rather speak words that direct one’s gaze to the Lord and away from me.

Basically I want to encourage all of us to invest more of our time in things that matter and less time in things that draw our focus away from our BEAUTIFUL LORD. Only He will satisfy! God wants to share time with us. How incredible is that?

Michael Brandt

Daddy, What’s a Christian?

2010-09-22T11:25:00.000-06:00

Life with small children is pretty much a constant education. I’ve been doing this parenting thing for about seven years now and I never cease to be amazed at how different things can look when you see them through the eyes of a child or how words and phrases that we use every day (often without thinking) can sound in the mouth of a child.

That’s not to say it’s always an easy process. One of the delicate skills that you have to learn as a parent is how much or how little you can say in the presence of inquisitive little ears and brains that soak up every word you say like a sponge. We learned this again last night over supper as Shelley and I talked about a couple that we know that had made the decision to pull their kids out of the public school system and enrol them in a private Christian school.

We were talking back and forth about how difficult a decision like this must be and all of the different implications that it would have. As we were solving the world’s problems, Julie (who until this point hadn’t appeared to be interested in the conversation) piped up, “Daddy, what’s a Christian school?”

“Well,” I said, “in your school you don’t take any classes on Jesus or the Bible and not all of your teachers are Christians. In a Christian school there would be some classes like that and all of your teachers would be Christians.”

She paused for a moment, looking a little dissatisfied with her dad’s answer.

“Daddy,” she continued quizzically, “What’s a Christian? And am I one?”

I’ve been teaching Bible and theology for just over seven years but I’ve never had a question bring me up short like this one did. After taking a moment to recover from the wonderful reality that Julie really didn’t yet have the world divided into the categories that I did, that the word “Christian” actually didn’t mean anything to her, I said, “Well a Christian is someone who loves and wants to follow Jesus.”

Without missing a beat Julie casually responded, “Well then of course I’m a Christian.”
And the longer I’ve thought about it, the more I agree. In some ways it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

~Gil Dueck

2010-08-19T11:02:00.000-06:00

At the start of July, while most staff departed for their summer holidays, I hit the busiest part of my summer: sports camps. Having never been involved in sports camps at Bethany before, I relied on the expertise of Jaylin, a seasoned pro and conveniently also a summer worker helping out specifically with the camps. The weeks leading up to the camps were spent planning, scheduling, re-scheduling, re-scheduling, staffing, re-staffing etc. So when the first day of camp arrived, I was nervous and excited, nervous because I didn’t know what to expect and excited because all the work done in preparation was finally going to go into effect.

The main way that I was in front of the campers was during Courtside (similar to our Selah time). I had prepared a four part series coming out of Romans 8 and although slightly apprehensive as to how the campers would take it, I was mostly looking forward to being able to share. At Bethany sports camps we attempt to bridge the gap between faith and athletics, trying to explain the connection that naturally exists, not create one. I went into the first Courtside with optimism that what I had prepared would make huge waves. Perhaps this was too idealistic or simply proud, but when I spoke it seemed like the campers simply didn’t care, that they weren’t interested in what I had to say. Insert extreme disappointment and discouragement. Here was my major opportunity both to connect with the campers and share about what Jesus has already done for all of us, and indeed what God is doing in and through our transformed lives, and it seemed like it was missing the mark.

So I gave it up. Not “gave up” but I gave it up. I gave up my expectations of how I expected God to work (this was far more out of necessity than some super-spirituality complex). I wanted to see the fruit immediately. Oddly enough, one of the great encouragements of Romans 8 is that God is indeed at work; we sometimes don’t see it, we sometimes wonder if it actually is happening, but He is. Christ’s sacrifice is evidence that God is at work, that He loves His world, and desires to restore it. He desires to restore us. I think that maybe this experience was restoration for me. It restored me to a proper place in my relationship with God and my expectations of how He would use what I offered.

Of course God did use it, to what extent I’m unsure of, but He was generous enough to give me a glimpse. A camper approached me during basketball camp (the second week of camps), after the first Courtside of the week (an interesting restoration of the first day of the first week). He explained that he had never before heard of Jesus’ sacrifice, of God’s love in the way he had heard it that night. I give more credit to God than to whatever I may have done differently that second time through but knowing that I could be a part of what He was doing, of what He wanted others to hear was an encouragement that was even sweeter after having my experiences of the first week.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angles nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depths, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39)

Nick Boschman

Athletics Director

Word of the Week - Summer Edition

2010-08-05T10:15:00.000-06:00

Unbeknownst to most, the Word of the Week club has not been inactive over the summer months. Here are several words that are being nominated by Randy Klassen as particularly evocative of select portions of his aestival peregrinations (a.k.a. “summer travels”):

myriad (ME-ree-ad, adj, from the Greek murias, muriados “ten thousand,” as in Rev 5.11: “I heard the voice of many angels, numbering…ten thousand times ten thousand”):

1. any large, almost incomprehensible number, “gazillion.”

2. the number of kilometres the Klassen family drove in a three week span, visiting both Dallas, Texas, and Abbotsford, BC.

Titan (TIGHT-un, noun):

1. member of (ancient Greek) race of giants or gods (such as Prometheus).

2. Something of superhuman size or strength.

3. Tallest, fastest, longest roller coaster in Texas (250 feet tall, reaching speeds of 135 km/h), located at Six Flags Dallas, upon which Randy rode, to placate his son. (Once was enough.)

conference (KONF-runts, noun, from the Latin conferentia, from verb confero [co-, con ‘together, with’ + fero ‘bear, bring, carry’ =] to bring together, contribute, unite, connect, engage, interchange, discuss, join oneself to):

1. a consultation

2. (esp. annual) meeting of any organization

3. the inspiring gathering of Mennonite Brethren held in the Fraser Valley in July, representing some 430 MB congregations (= 72,000 members) in Canada and the US, plus a number of delegates from some of the other 19 countries with MB churches, to mark the sesquicentennial (150^th) anniversary of this small but lively branch of God’s global family. Combine the following in liberal amounts, and you’ve got Conference at its best: reunions with friends far and near, sessions that offer food for thought, food for the body, food for the soul, all served up with spectacular surroundings and a cooperative climate. Some surprising glimpses of God at work: in reconciliation (did you know that 15 years ago, a dance at an MB youth event at Banff set off a wave of concern across the country? we heard words of reconciliation!; but another, and more significant, moment of peace-making was noted with the Lutheran World Federation making a formal apology to Anabaptist/Mennonite churches for their persecutions in the Reformation), in mission (it’s no longer just N. Americans going out to the “other countries”—for example, the Congolese have a mission among the Pygmy peoples of the African rainforests), in service (prison ministry among the African-American MB churches in N. Carolina), in proclamation (evangelist Samir Youssef, based in BC, is widely known as the Billy Graham of the Arab world because of his media ministry). Gil, Howie, Rob and myself attended the Conference to represent Bethany among the several hundred delegates (click here for a glimpse of Gil’s workshop session). The week spent at the Conference was exciting, and it reassured me to see that Bethany is part of this large and well-supported network of Jesus-scented service and scholarship.

—Randy Klassen

2010-07-19T14:55:00.000-06:00

The Blue Jays lost to the Red Sox, Spain’s playing the Netherlands in World Cup soccer, Carl and Charlie are napping and in respite from the constant rain, it’s sunny and hot outside. This, the third day of warmth in a row, and I finally have to water my flowering plants outside. Coughing up phlegm, I come inside to write this Blog post that is already four days late. Having allergies, something that inhibited my late teens and early twenties, hardly concerns me now except for the blooming canola that gets me every year. It started two weeks ago, full sinuses and a tickly cough, that’s when I knew that despite the horridly wet and cold weather, God had intervened and the canola crop, that did not look like it would make it was growing. The perseverance of nature to grow and emerge in its time, reminds me of God’s perseverance in his love for us and his desire for us to be mentored to his will. Even in the rain and the cold cloudy weather, God was at work in the seed to push it to germination and sprout to flower. What shall the Lord do in us through this summer depends on our willingness to endure the wet and cloudy seemingly unhelpful days of our summer, to discover that through it all we really have learned to flower in his presence.

I have been pondering the process of education lately. Surely stimulated by my recent studies at the U of S. But, what keeps us learning? Why do I forget things I once knew, promises, truths, ways of doing things? I was told that, while in voice training, I shouldn’t take any time off but continue to train, listen to music and learn repertoire until the degree is finished or I will be behind as the knowledge compounds and accelerates to culminate in what I will need to know at the close of the degree. Biblical training is the same. Why can’t we get all the knowledge that Bethany classes offer in our own churches and Sunday school teaching? Perhaps because nowhere else is the persistent and concentrated study of the Word so encouraged, admired, pushed and deemed the ‘cool’ thing to do. It is the daily work in the Word to understand, and pursue truth that ingrains it in our hearts and changes how we act. We can’t leave important learning for six days (or in my case years) to sit and slowly degrade unused and un-stimulated. Like the perseverance of nature we must persevere in our study of God and scripture memorization past the school session and into summer and beyond so that all we would grow to be all that God has for us in this life. It has to continue on, even if the intensity is lessened or we will forget. (cough! cough! COUOUGH!!) Just scared Carl and Charlie so bad I jumped too. No one has scored in the soccer game though the orange guys, no the navy guys have the ball. Anyway, even in our wet and dry seasons of life let’s not let up in our perseverance for God. “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” PS. 119:11. And see you all in September. Oh! I have some incredible costumes-sets-props to show you, but that’s another story.

Bye for now,

Susan J Schmidt Goerz

Instructor

Introducing the Assistant Food Services Director....

2010-07-14T08:50:00.001-06:00

By Lisa Braun

We are pleased to announce that Kayleigh (Willms) Klassen is joining the Bethany team in fall 2010 as Assistant Food Services Director.

Highlights from Kayleigh's Journey:

Went to Nicaragua with Youth for Christ on a missions trip - 2006.
Decorated cakes at Cakes G'lore, Saskatoon - 2005-2010.
Graduated from Hepburn High School - 2007.
Volunteering at Hepburn MB Church as a Junior Youth Sponsor - 2010-present.
Recently married to Brendan Klassen - July 17, 2009.
Building a house in Hepburn - 2010.

Interesting Facts about Kayleigh:

Loves to go camping.
Has a passion to work with kids.
Is excited to work at Bethany in a God-filled atmosphere.
Loves to go out for dessert!

If you have any questions for Kayleigh about her interests, cake decorating, recipes, ministry experiences, or life in Hepburn, drop me a line (lbraun@bethany.sk.ca), and we'll get her email address up when she is fully on campus for fall. She is working a few shifts during sports camps if you want to stop by and meet her. Glad to have you here Kayleigh!

Textbook Lists

2010-07-13T13:51:00.000-06:00

Greetings from the Bethany Bookstore! We invite you to access the Fall 2010 course and textbook listings on the Nuskule website. Books will be available at fall registration.

The URL for Nuskule is as follows: http://www.textnet.ca/.
There you will see a listing of schools on the left side of your browser screen under "Categories."
Click on "Bethany College-Fall 2010" which will lead you to our course listings.
Click on the individual courses to see the text listings/prices (as of today) for that particular course. These listings may not all be complete & things will be added as we receive more info from faculty.

Knowing God

2010-07-12T13:28:00.000-06:00

By Colin Willms

I don’t often find myself drifting towards the book of Judges in my devotions. However, this sometimes depressing, yet surprisingly encouraging book has left me to ponder a nugget of truth that has reaffirmed my time spent at Bethany and has given an even clearer meaning to the work I do here.

If we think back to Gil’s Intro to the Bible class, we can all correctly answer the keyword for Judges...anybody...anybody? Yes, it is indeed cycles. Most of us are familiar with the cycle of sin that the Israelites encounter repeatedly. But there was something unfamiliar that struck me when I read Judges 2. It says in verse 10 that “After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel”. Now I know that this was the next generation (and I’m not talking Star Trek), but I find it hard to believe that the Israelites did not know the Lord as I’ve often read it. That is, that they would have never heard Him being spoken of. The passing on of stories was in fact the custom of the early Israelite culture. So to the concordance I went (thank you Intro to Biblical Interpretation).

This word "knew" is Yada’ in Hebrew and is used throughout much of the Old Testament. It is in fact the same word that Pharaoh uses when talking to Moses and Aaron when he fails to acknowledge the God of Israel. You can be sure that Pharaoh has indeed heard of this God; many of his slaves were worshipping this God in his land. In the same way, in Judges 2, these Israelites were fully aware of who God was. The Hebrew Yada’ means to be acquainted with, to be revealed, to have the knowledge of, to know by experience. This new generation in verse 10 was fully aware of God via the oral stories passed on by their fathers. What they lacked was the experiential relationship with the living God. Unfortunately, the verses following verse 10 (which I encourage you to read) describe what happened when the Israelites failed to cultivate that relationship.

As I read this chapter in my devotions, it occurred to me that this was not a situation unique to the Israelites. I think all of us at some point have that decision to make whether we are going to acknowledge the God that we’ve heard about in church, or from our parents, or at camp. As we face challenges in our life, we realize that simply believing what our parents believed doesn’t quite work. We need that experience, that revealing, that acquaintance with God that can only come from a personal relationship with Him.

The Bethany community encouraged this opportunity for me. I didn’t always understand why I needed to invest all this time and money into four years at a school, but I am indeed grateful for it. No longer being surrounded 24/7 by Christian friends and facing new challenges outside the Bethany walls has forced me to not only rely on what I learned during my time but on the person of Jesus and my relationship with Him.

I’m not sure where you are at, but Judges 2 is a great reminder of what can happen when we become complacent and allow our hearts to harden towards God. Sometimes it isn’t even a conscious choice and is extremely hard to recognize while we’re in it. But let’s not take our relationship with God lightly. Find that place where you feel alive in Him, where you are growing, and where you can truly know Him.

Looking for Work?

2010-07-07T12:48:00.000-06:00

By Lisa Braun

Are you still looking for work? Or know someone who is? Me too.

This topic had almost become a hobby for me each spring - helping match up students and employers. So this year in April, I set up a facebook page called Lisa's Job Posting Page as an "event" that is ongoing. My objective has been to more effectively share information that people keep telling or asking me: "Lisa, do you know someone who would want to work at....(fill in the blank about the position)?"or "Lisa, have you heard of any good jobs in.....(fill in the blank about the type of work)?"

I post things that I see in the local papers, in magazines I read, from things that get emailed to me at the College, and from any stuff that friends pass along, etc.

Special thanks to any and all who share job openings via any means with me! Three of my latest posts come courtesy of the lovely Dana (Barrand) Krushel, thanks Dana!

Here is the link to the facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=112573288768999

Returning to Student Development....

2010-07-06T15:09:00.000-06:00

By Lisa Braun

We are pleased to announce the return of Randi Rempel to the Student Development Department. Randi comes with two years of quality experience with our team, one as an intern in the residence, and one as a staff member in residence leadership along with department administration.

Highlights from Randi's Journey:

Thinking about coming back to Saskatchewan.
Fastball coach, Manitoba, 2010.
Spending time with her family in Manitoba, the States, etc, 2010.
Tax office administrative support, 2010.
Travel to England, Ireland, etc, 2009.
Daycare Worker, 2009.
Student Development Assistant, Staff, Bethany College, 2008-2009.
Student Development Intern, Bethany College, 2007-2008.
BA, Bethany College, 2008.

Interesting Facts about Randi:

She knows more about Bethany life and culture than most people you'd meet.
She loves children and the joy and surprises they bring. She will be a well-loved caregiver to the Braun and Carey children part-time for the coming year as well.
She is a fabulous Greek student (ask Randy Klassen).
Her favorite stops in Saskatoon include: Las Palapas, Chianti's, and Tim Horton's.
If you want to make her happy, take her to a bookstore (Indigo, McNally, Parables, etc.).
She is a fine fastball player.

If you have any questions, comments, or words of welcome for Randi, drop me a line at lbraun@bethany.sk.ca. Randi starts works on August 9 and we'll post her email address once she is on campus.

The President has arrived....

2010-07-05T16:58:00.000-06:00

By Lisa Braun

Howie Wall, our new President, is on deck! He has been officially settling into his office since Friday, July 2. He has selected a peaceful time to begin reading, listening, and preparing for the new year and his new role.

Highlights from Howie's Journey:

Director, Operations and Maintenance, University of Saskatchewan, 2004-2010.

Financial and Operational Analyst, University of Saskatchewan, 2003-2004.

Operational Auditor, University of Saskatchewan, 1993-2003.

MBA, University of Saskatchewan, 1991.

Assistant Residence Manager, University of Saskatchewan, 1981-1993.

BA, University of Saskatchewan, 1981.

Diploma, Columbia Bible Institute (now College), 1978.

Interesting Facts about Howie:

Howie enjoys golf, reading, and gardening. His favorite restaurants include: The Spaghetti Factory, Sardinia's, and Kelsey's on 8th. He likes serving on boards and committees, and has many years of experience in church, conference, and college settings. He is married to Judy.

If you would like to connect with Howie, contact him via Ruth at the main Bethany office number, or email hwall@bethany.sk.ca with your comments, questions, or words of welcome. Feel free to stop by the campus and say "Hello" to him (or any other Bethany team members, who are happily working away during the quieter month of July). P.S. Slurpees always welcome, says LB.

Introducing Luke....

2010-07-05T13:26:00.000-06:00

By Lisa Braun

We are pleased to announce that Luke Heidebrecht is joining the Bethany team in fall 2010 as Associate Missions Director (half-time).

Highlights from Luke's Journey:

Recently married to Myriam Ullah on July 2, 2010.

Co-faciliated Films for Change, MCC initiative at Bethany with STUCO, 2009-2010.

Worked with Ian Eaton and bees, Summer 2010 (and many summers previous).

In process on studies for MTh in Contextual Missiology, International Baptist Theological Seminary, Prague.

MBMSI MIT Institute, Abbotsford, and ACTS studies, 2008-2009.

MBMSI GAP Internship (India), 2007-2008.

BA in Intercultural Studies, Bethany College, 2007.

Bethany College Epsilon Chi award winner, 2007.

Interesting Facts about Luke:

He enjoys Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, strategy board games, engaging conversation about theological topics, building relationships, and learning.

If you have any questions for Luke about his interests, background, topics in missiology, or the Intercultural Studies program at Bethany, drop me a line for now (lbraun@bethany.sk.ca), and we'll get his email address up when he is officially on campus. Watch for more updates on new Bethany Team members coming soon.....

Summer Worker Adventures

2010-06-30T11:55:00.000-06:00

By Becky Friesen and Jaylin Braun

Greetings from J & Beck! As most of you know, we are spending the summer working here at Bethany College. Despite the lack of noise and chaos, there are still many exciting moments to be had during a Bethany summer. Some key elements: Gil Dueck’s obsessive fascination with the World Cup (word is he watches every single game, even those at 5:00am), working with our very strict and serious supervisors (Nick & Colin), traipsing across a muddy parking lot as a result of heavy construction and non-stop rain, fun carpools (including the time an unnamed person slept in and made 8 people wait in Randy Klassen’s Astro), being led astray by the TomTom while in Edmonton for YC 2010, and many other adventures caused by the combination of Jaylin and Becky’s youngest child syndrome.
On a more serious note, it’s been great hanging out at the school and getting to know the staff better. We are seeing how hard the staff work to make this college an awesome place, and we really appreciate it! It’s great to be on the inside track with everything that’s happening at Bethany. Our 2010 first year count is up to 61 so far. This is very exciting, as first year enrollment is the highest it has been since 2006!

Jaylin has been busy preparing for Sports Camps, which begin on July 5th. We have lots of registrations and are looking forward to having the school alive with activity again. The staff coming out make up a great team and we’re pumped to have some Bethany Alumni involved. Becky has been doing lots of administrative work and has arranged camp visits to Redberry, Ranger Lake, and Dallas Valley. She is looking forward to building relationships with potential students and reconnecting with some of you! Our summer at Bethany has been full of laughs, learning and, of course, work. We hope you are all having a terrific summer as well!

POI Tour Update

2010-06-28T11:11:00.001-06:00

By Katie Pauls

So off we went, fifteen team members, two vans, instruments and a ton of pillows and bags. I don't think that any of us realized how much we would learn in the upcoming two weeks. We had many team bonding times and some of the highlights were going to Bath and Body Works in the St. Vidal mall, trying to find an owl in every billet's house, beat boxing battles, and making friends with each other.

Personally, I came ready for the trip with a stomach housing both excitement and butterflies. I felt ready to sing on stage and show each church how much God loves them and how incredibly awesome his grace is. My goal was to be a servant wherever we went and to pour out Jesus into other people's lives. I realized, however, that my vault of strength, joy and energy was running on empty sooner then I thought.

It was around the time of our second deputation that all of the lyrics of the songs, the words of scripture, and the Spirit of God impacted me the strongest. I was short on sleep, I was beginning to wonder how I would handle living in a van for two weeks, and I knew that my relationship with God was not where it could have been. During that service, God reminded me that though my intentions for the trip were good, they were impossible to accomplish without his help. How we would look on stage, whether the congregation would accept what we had to say, and whether we would see God working in the church were all the wrong things to be wondering about. God gently told me that he was working in each of these churches; He had invited us to be a part of that work and no matter how we looked or sounded, He was the one who deserved the glory and the honour. In him, all things held together on that trip. Fortunately, they are still being held together and will continue to be in his hands for eternity. What a God we serve!

A Day In The Life...

2010-06-22T10:30:00.000-06:00

A Day In The Life of a Bethany Player on Tour

By Chris Frostad

Bon jour Pals! I hope that you are all doing well. I have been asked to talk about spring tour from a Player’s point of view, so I shall try to cover a span of 2 weeks in approximately 300 words, (unlikely), to inform you of our brilliantly powerful Bethany Players tour. The first week we toured with 3 brave people from M.C.C.; James Loewen who works for the Restorative Justice department of Canada, Willma Derksen, who works for Victims Voice in Manitoba, and Stephen Siemens, who is the director of Restorative Justice for M.C.C. Saskatchewan.

With them, we boldly performed a brilliant play called Re-Connections, written by Willma Derksen. After the baffling performance, James and Stephen facilitated a converzation that got the audience thinking about true justice. I think I can say on behalf of the team that it was really eye opening. We were acting a story that none of us had lived, and learning new things every day about what it was like to be an offender and/or a victim of a serious offence. There were a few places along our journey where we met with people whose story was similar to the story we were beautifully portraying; victims and offenders alike would often share their stories, and after seeing the beloved play, express a desire to reconcile with the other party.

This play was a lens into another world that none of us had ever seen or could imagine. Another way for us to see into this world was through the eyes of the brave people we were touring with from M.C.C. James informed us of the low self worth attitudes the prisoners world get in the sometimes brutal prisons. We also heard Wilma’s powerful story of how her life changed after her daughter Candace was murdered. It is hard to explain the lessons we learned and the things we experienced in writing or even in conversation… it’s something you have to boldly participate in yourself.

After the Saskatchewan portion and the M.C.C. people left us, we went to Alberta to blissfully perform Fish Eyes. It was good to do something more on the lighter side for a change. Even though we had been doing Fish Eyes all winter semester, we still saw new ways to see the story of the gospel. I think Re-Connections gave us a new lens to see the gospel and our eyes were opened to new things in the story of Peter and Andrew.

Tour in general was a great experience. As a group we grew closer together and bonded pleasantly as a team. In Clark’s Bethany Players write up for the yearbook, he said that it’s behind the curtain where a lot of the magic happens on Players. In front of the curtain, we act and blissfully perform a play or a series of skits to entertain and hopefully to blatantly portray a biblically prominent message, but behind the curtain is where we build each other up. Behind the curtain is where we laugh together, cry together, and bond powerfully together. If I were asked to be stuck in a van for 2 more weeks with the same group of people doing another tour, I sure would do it again.

As a final message for my fellow Players reading this it was fun (hair flip) acting with you and I send you a C.T. if you know what I mean. Thanks for the good times, it was an honor getting to know you better over the course of the year; it was delicious like chocolate everything.

Welcome to the Bethany Sun Blog!

2010-06-18T11:22:00.000-06:00

This is a blog set up for Bethany students (past, present and future). It is a place where you can find updates, announcements and from time to time hear thoughts from a variety of Bethany’s Faculty and Staff. Be sure to check out the tabs at the top of the page as we will be regularly posting important announcements and calendar dates for the upcoming year. Check in regularly for important information that you should know. Coming soon; Thoughts from Lisa Braun; Players and POI Tour Updates and lots of pictures.

Your SD3 (Lisa Braun, Erica Ray and Dave Carey)

Transcript Requests

2010-06-16T16:13:00.000-06:00

The Registrar will be away from June 25 to July 20. All transcript requests made during this time will be processed after her return.

The Registrar section of the website can be found at - http://bethany.sk.ca/?page_id=118

New directions for campus breaks....

2010-06-15T12:03:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone,

Thanks for your cooperation and input on campus breaks over the past two years. As you know, the College went to modified services in the library, cafeteria, and ad building. Campus residences have remained open, and Student Development staff on supervision duty have responded to student need depending on numbers on campus and specific requests. These adjustments have been done to improve our stewardship of resources in people and finances.

For your awareness, here is the new section of the Student Handbook 2010-2011:

Facility Use and Services:
Campus facilities are centralized in the main Administration Building (Ad). General hours will be posted on campus in relation to the various departments and services. Any changes to hours will be posted in advance when a change is required.

During long weekends, facility use and services for students are modified. The breaks are as follows: Thanksgiving (October), Term (November), Winter (February), and Easter (when applicable). Room and board fees do not include food services fees for these breaks. The residences remain open and available, as does the mall area of the ad building for washroom, satellite television, common lounge, and internet usage. Student Development Staff on supervision for these breaks reserves the right to limit access to the Ad Building dependent on student numbers. See any updated posted information related to each break.

During extended breaks, facility use and services are closed for students, except by request. The extended breaks are as follows: Christmas (Dec/Jan), Mission Trips Module (Jan), and Summer Break (May-Aug). The residences are closed. The Ad Building will be open during office hours of 8:00 am – 4:30pm, and students may request access to services through the receptionist or by appointment with appropriate personnel. Depending on the date, there would be varying levels of available access, services, and staffing. See any updated posted information related to each break.

Hours for Administration Building:
Weekdays (Mon-Thurs): 7:00am-11:30pm
Weekends (Fri-Sun): 8:00am-11:30pm

Hours for Bethany Place Gym & Weight Room:
Weekdays (Mon-Thurs): 7:00am-11:00pm
Weekends (Fri-Sun): 8:00am-11:00pm

Hours for Library:
The Library is normally open Monday through Saturday. Specific hours are posted on the door. Modified hours will be posted.

Hours for Cafeteria:
The Cafeteria is open Sunday through Saturday. Specific hours are posted on the door. Modified hours will be posted.

Hours for College Offices:
Weekdays from 8:00am-4:30pm. Specific hours for Bethany employees may be posted on or beside office doors. While all personnel are ready to respond to student needs and take time to spend with you, please be aware that times may vary when they are available on a walk-in basis or by appointment.
Contact Lisa at lbraun@bethany.sk.ca with questions or comments about this procedure.

Blessings,
LB

Important Dates for 2010-2011

2010-06-15T11:44:00.000-06:00

First Semester:
Returning Student Arrival – Friday, September 3, 2010 by evening
Returning Student Orientation and Registration – Saturday, September 4
New Student Arrival – Sunday, September 5, beginning at 2pm
First Year Orientation – Monday, September 6
First Year Registration – Monday, September 6
First Day of Classes – Tuesday, September 7
Photo Day - Tuesday, September 7
Residence Orientation - Tuesday, September 7, 8.45pm
Drop/Add Deadline - Monday, September 13
Modular Week – September 27-October 1
Thanksgiving Break – October 8 (noon) – 11 (evening)
Day of Prayer – October 20
Fall Theatre Production - November 4-6
Term Break – November 10 (noon) – 14 (evening)
Christmas Banquet - December 10
Last Selah (Chapel) – December 10
Last Day of Classes - December 13
Last Day for Assignments - December 13
Winter Registration Session - December 14
Exams December 15-17 (noon) **
Christmas Break – December 17 (noon) – January 2 (evening)

**Please keep this in mind while making travel arrangements for Christmas break. The exam rescheduling fee is $50/exam.

Second Semester:
All Student Arrival - January 2, 2011 by evening
Service and Learning Trips Orientation – January 3-5
Service and Learning Trips – January 6-14
First Day of Classes – January 17
Drop/Add Deadline-Friday, January 21
Youth Advance—February 4-6
Youth Advance Rest Day – Monday, February 7 – see campus postings for lessons; evening classes meet as regularly scheduled
Winter Break – February 18 (noon) – 22 (evening)
Day of Prayer – March 9
Continuance of Study Session - March 29, 2011 at 11.15 am (Chapel) - NEW
Student Government Elections – March 30
Last Day of Classes - April 8
Last Selah (Chapel) – April 8
Last Day for Assignments - April 9
Exams - April 11-13**
All Student Brunch, Survey, Grad Rehearsal, and Campus Clean-up Day - April 14
Year-End Party - April 15
Spring Concert - April 16
Grad Banquet - April 16
Commencement - April 17
Spring Tours – April 19-May 3
Summer Break – April 17 (evening) – September 2

Birds & Bs...

2010-06-08T14:55:00.000-06:00

Given where we live we get to see lots of interesting birds. It was american coots one year, grebes another, a pair of northern pintails in the dugout, and one year more snow geese than a guy could count. We have a great horned owl that returns to our pine trees to nest every year, a pair of merlins and a number of mallards which do the same. One Sunday morning as I got up to have breakfast with my children I looked out the window and spotted the strangest sight yet.

A pigeon.

It wasn’t that I hadn’t seen a pigeon before – although this one was quite pretty. It was that this one sat pecking in the middle of the driveway. Launching into the air to let us drive by, it flew in a large circle returned to the same spot once we had passed by. It turned out to be a racing pigeon (I won’t bore you with the details of my investigative process). By the time we discovered it perched and pecking among the pebbles of our pathway the race had long been won. If I recall correctly it had been at least a week since the other racers had returned to the comfort of their coops.

Now, I’m no pigeon expert but I understand that sometimes outside forces can cause a pigeon’s internal GPS navigational system to go bonkers. Lost, confused and exhausted our friend had paused to do what (so I’m told) pigeons do in these circumstances. They find a gravel road or driveway and peck small pebbles which somehow aid in their recovery. Once they are strong enough and regain their sense of direction they head for home.

Early in the morning, about five days later, I watched our new friend take off and head in the direction of home…

…that afternoon he returned.

…a day or so later he headed off again and as far as I know, this time, he made it safely home.

(In case you’re wondering how I know it was a “he”… if it had been a “she” it wouldn’t have gotten lost in the first place… according to my wife…)

Have you ever felt like that pigeon? One minute you’re in with the pack (or flock) the next you’re flying solo. One minute you’re on track, the next you’re lost. You had a real shot of winning… yesterday… a week ago… You’ve given up trying to reach the finish line… now you’re just looking for home.

I’ve been there. In fact, this past year was a lot like that for me in many ways.

What do you do when you find yourself there? What do you “peck” at?

For me I turn to the Word.

Now I know what you’re thinking but it ain’t like that… I don’t pile up the commentaries and dig into the “deep” truths of scripture. I don’t do word studies and mull over Greek grammar. I don’t parse or pick apart phrases while ploughing for principles. I simply read the stories.

I peck.

Honestly, sometimes I don’t even read the stories – I just lie back in a comfortable chair, or in my hammock, and think about the stories.

You were perhaps expecting more from the guy who pastored a dozen years and now teaches Spiritual Formation? You were hoping for a method perhaps? A spiritual discipline which would get you through the disorientation? Ten-steps to get on track… Five steps to win… Seven steps to Christ-likeness. Well… I could give you a list but they don’t work for me. I peck.

Do you know what I’ve discovered. I almost hesitate to say this because some of you are going to turn this into some sort of method. You’re going to go back over the article looking for the fine print, reducing a story to a 12-step program. DON’T DO IT!

I memorize Word and sit with it as story. What I’ve found is that when I sit with the stories I discover anew why I’m on this spiritual journey. I rediscover the One I so desperately want to be like and the One I’m trying to reach. …and I discover that I do not have to reach Him… He is with me still.

I discover I am not like that pigeon, lost and alone (though I still feel like it).

When I called the owner of my pigeon-friend he was completely unconcerned. I thought he was going to thank me effusively, rush out and rescue his bird and maybe give me a cash reward or something. But when I called him his response was something like

“…ah yeah… that bird… well, if it’s still there in a couple of weeks give me a call I might come out with some other birds to help coax it into a cage…”

A couple of weeks??? Might???

The stories of scripture affirm that no one needs to call the One I am pursuing and tell Him, “I think I’ve found something that belongs to you.” No one needs to provide Him with directions or offer to call again in a couple of weeks. No, not my Master. My Master sits in the gravel with me… and tells me stories.

Somehow that’s enough for now.

HIDE AND SEEK

I stop

trying to find

what’s not mine

I give up

the chase or race

I fall from the sky

not grace

where

is He?

He is not lost

but then

neither am I

How can I be lost

when the One I seek

has promised never to leave me?

By Paul Woodburn, Director of Ministry Arts
(From June '09 Bethany Sun)