stories from the people of Park View Mennonite Church September - November 2009 Park View Mennonite as a member of Virginia Mennonite Conference (VMC) by John L. Horst Virginia Mennonite Conference—Nine districts, 65 congregations, 8,292 members as of 2009. Yes, Park View Mennonite belongs to a wider network. “Virginia Mennonite Conference, a member of Mennonite Church USA, is a network of congregations and ministry organizations linked by history, theology, and geography with a shared call to Christian faith, evangelism, discipleship, peacemaking and service.” Now within this broad unifying theme there is a wide variety of world views. Conference minister Owen Burkholder says it this way: “Our world views and practices range from academia to Appalachia.” All institutions have faces. Let me introduce the paid staff. It totals eight persons with a total of four FTE: Owen Burkholder, Conference Minister (the only full time person); Linda Alley, Director, Congregational Resource Center (located in the Seminary Building); Steve Carpenter, Conference Coordinator; Jason Gerlach, Conference Youth Coordinator; James O. Lehman, VMC Archivist (located in the EMU Library). The last three persons share duties with Virginia Mennonite Missions: Diane Bowman, staff assistant and receptionist; Lavonne Lehman, director of Financial Services; and Jon Trotter, Communications Associate. Stop by the conference headquarters sometime. It’s a busy but friendly place that’s located nearby on the corner of Parkwood Drive and Route 42. Conference offices are downstairs and Virginia Mennonite Missions is upstairs. They are distinct entities under the same organizational “umbrella.” Many persons donate significant volunteer time. I’ll just mention these three: Beryl Jantzi has served for five years as Conference Moderator, our own Ross Erb chairs the Congregational Life Commission, and Joseph Longacher chairs the Faith and Life Commission. Talk to Ross Erb to get a special feel for the work of these commissions. Phil Kniss reporting on the Corinthian Plan to delegates at the 2009 VMC Assembly; Seated: Steve Carpenter, Beryl Jantzi, Lois Shank (conference secretary), and Diane Bowman .
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stories from the
people of Park View
Mennonite Church
September - November 2009
Park View Mennonite as a member of
Virginia Mennonite Conference (VMC)
by John L. Horst
Virginia Mennonite Conference—Nine
districts, 65 congregations, 8,292
members as of 2009. Yes, Park View
Mennonite belongs to a wider network.
“Virginia Mennonite Conference, a
member of Mennonite Church USA, is a
network of congregations and ministry
organizations linked by history,
theology, and geography with a shared
call to Christian faith, evangelism,
discipleship, peacemaking and service.”
Now within this broad unifying theme
there is a wide variety of world views.
Conference minister Owen Burkholder
says it this way: “Our world views and
practices range from academia to
Appalachia.”
All institutions have faces. Let me introduce the paid
staff. It totals eight persons with a total of four FTE:
Owen Burkholder, Conference Minister (the only full
time person); Linda Alley, Director, Congregational
Resource Center (located in the Seminary Building);
Steve Carpenter, Conference Coordinator; Jason
Gerlach, Conference Youth Coordinator; James O.
Lehman, VMC Archivist (located in the EMU Library).
The last three persons share duties with Virginia
Mennonite Missions: Diane Bowman, staff assistant and
receptionist; Lavonne Lehman, director of Financial
Services; and Jon Trotter, Communications Associate.
Stop by the conference headquarters sometime.
It’s a busy but friendly place that’s located nearby on
the corner of Parkwood Drive and Route 42.
Conference offices are downstairs and Virginia
Mennonite Missions is upstairs. They are distinct
entities under the same organizational “umbrella.”
Many persons donate significant volunteer time. I’ll
just mention these three: Beryl Jantzi has served for
five years as Conference Moderator, our own Ross Erb
chairs the Congregational Life Commission, and Joseph
Longacher chairs the Faith and Life Commission. Talk
to Ross Erb to get a special feel for the work of these
commissions.
Phil Kniss reporting on the Corinthian Plan to delegates at the 2009 VMCAssembly; Seated: Steve Carpenter, Beryl Jantzi, Lois Shank (conferencesecretary), and Diane Bowman .
Many of our church institutions are affiliated with
Virginia Mennonite Conference: Eastern Mennonite
School, Pleasant View, Inc., Highland Retreat,
Mennonite Disaster Service, just to name a few. You’ll
find their annual reports in the Virginia Mennonite
Conference Reports and Statistics 2008 - 2009. I
counted a total of 26 agencies (local, regional, and
national) that gave an annual report to VMC! I
recommend being informed about the work of the
Mennonite Church beyond the walls of PVMC. Check
out a copy in our church library.
With this brief overview in mind I interviewed Owen
Burkholder, Steve Carpenter, Beryl Jantzi, and Diane
Bowman. I posed four basic questions just for starters:
What does Park View Mennonite have to offer VMC?
Park View Mennonite
is at the heart of
VMC, geographically
and in terms of
leadership and
academic training.
Phrases such as
anchoring resources
of encouragement
and pastoral care for
leaders in small
congregations were
strongly affirmed. Of
course we can also
offer good facilities
for many events such
as the conference assembly prayer breakfasts, as well
as our own men’s and women’s Bible studies and Taize
services that are open to the community. Steve
Carpenter noted that PVMC has contributed an average
of $24 per member to the operating budget over the last
several years. This is deeply appreciated, since some of
the small congregations have very limited financial
resources. At present VMC is experiencing a deficit due
to the tough economic times.
What does VMC have to offer Park View Mennonite?
This is a little less obvious since Park View Mennonite is
a relatively large well-established congregation. The
benefits are more behind the scenes. VMC sponsors
retreats for youth and youth leaders and provides
various resources for leadership development and
equipping ministers. VMC is quite active in working with
Special thanks are given to Milly Stoltzfus, President
and Virginia Shenk for their past leadership.
A special thanks to the PVMC family and the
Working Committee who made it possible to send
1,001 School Kits to MCC, through donations of
$2,226.43 and through participation in the MCC Work
Night on August 12. There are many who worked
behind the scenes—custodians, John Kauffman, John
Fast (who also provided his truck to transport supplies),
Joan Horst, office, David Brubaker and Sharon Kniss
who set up the tables, and those who sewed the 1,000
school kit bags. For
this year, MCC has
received requests for
school kits from
Sudan, Ukraine,
Honduras, and
Nicaragua.
—Milly Stoltzfus and
Dorothy Logan
Developing Countries Capital Projects: A HistoryRecently, the Shalom Sunday School class devoted one
session to reviewing the history of the Developing
Countries Capital Projects (DCCP) carried out by
PVMC. The program began when the new sanctuary
was being built in response to a concern that we were
spending a great deal of money to build our own
worship space when others in various parts of the world
were struggling just to have a roof over their heads on
Sunday morning. The plan was adopted to direct a
portion of the funds we raise each year toward a
specific project, such as completing a roof on a church
building, as long as our own structure was not paid for.
As you know, Climbing the Peak is still in progress.
The review is timely, as this is the 15th year of the
DCCP program. Following is a list of the projects funded
to date. We are not aware of any other congregation
that has sponsored such support to brothers and sisters
elsewhere in the world. Perhaps it should be noted in
some way by Mennonite World Conference.
The process involved formation of a DCCP
committee of about five persons from PVMC to consider
projects for funding each year. A set of guidelines was
developed to help make choices. Ideas and proposals
were solicited from the congregation, and preference
was given to projects that included possible on-going
interaction with receiving congregations through our
members who are acquainted there. Both Virginia and
Eastern Mennonite Missions also were given opportunity
to suggest projects. There was never a lack of
proposals and choices were often difficult to make
because of dire needs. Sometimes a second project
sneaked into the process, such as the sand dam
building project in Kenya in 2007. Last year, given the
strong desire to respond somehow to the destruction
from hurricanes in the South, the Missions Commission
considered changing the name from Developing
Countries Capital Projects to “Developing Communities
Capital Projects” to reflect openness to helping
domestic congregations to recover from destruction and
to put a roof over their heads.
Current chairperson of the committee is Kathryn
Fairfield. She would be delighted to receive proposals to
be considered for the next church year. —Ervie Glick
Projects of the
Developing Countries Capital Projects CommitteePark View Mennonite Church 1994 to 2009
1. 1994-95 $?? Roof completion, Kataraharjo Mennonite Church, North Lampung, Sumatra, Indonesia2. 1995-96 $4,270 School construction in Ethiopia3. 1996-97 $4,680 Church construction, Yalva Sanga Chulupi Church, Paraguay4. [1997-98 nd Rebuild typhoon-damaged school and free clinic, Vietnam]5. 1998-99 $2,825 Land purchase, Faith Mennonite Church, Spanishtown, Jamaica6. 1999-2000 $6,000 Constructed roofs for some churches, rebuilt Busumi church, Tanzania7. 2000-01 $3,500 Church construction in Trinidad;
$2,500 Two classrooms for Wellega Bible school in Ethiopia8. 2001-02 $2,287 Construction of Semilla Seminary, Guatemala
$3,283 Church construction, Faith Mennonite, Spanishtown, Jamaica9. 2002-03 $6,500 New classroom buildings, Meserete Kristos College, Ethiopia10. 2003-04 $6,402 Roof for Faith Mennonite Church, Spanishtown, Jamaica; includes $970 for work crew
sent summer ‘0411. 2004-05 $6,000 Construction of church for Anren, China12. 2005-06 $6,000 Hosted delegation from Kartaraharjo Mennonite Church, Indonesia13. 2006-07 $5,000 Church benches and windows, Lumban Mennonite Church, Philippines
[2007 $10,683 Sand Dam project in Kenya; includes travel assistance for work team. Not officially aDCCP project]
14. 2007-08 $5,000 Roof for Hope Mennonite Church, Trinidad15. 2008-09 $5,000 Church floor, Colca Mennonite Church, Cuzco, Peru &
greenhouse repairs, Lucre Mennonite Church, Cuzco, Peru
Reflections on Leaving London...Having just engaged in a 30-minute conversation with
the last participant to leave the London Mennonite
Centre, I leaned against the door frame heavily and
sighed. I was tired; it had been another week full of
training. As with most courses I was also energized by
the training which had happened, and this time I was
particularly pleased to be able to lead mediation skills
training, which I hadn’t done for nearly a year since we
changed our course
programme. But unlike
all other courses, this
was my last. My time
was done; at the close of
the door as the last
participant left, three
years of work with
Bridge Builders at the
London Mennonite
Centre were over. I still
had one final day in the
office to attempt to tie up
three years’ worth of
loose ends to enable a
smooth transition for my
future successor and a
clean departure for
myself, but the main work was done.
I was relieved. It is a good feeling to complete
something which you are proud about and which has
wholly been a positive experience. I also felt within
myself that this was indeed time to move on. I didn’t
know to what, I still don’t know, but I knew I had served
my time in London and that the whispering of God was
starting to stir again.
Three years…of experiencing and learning the
“British” life: I took part in a regular “Breakfast
Wednesdays” group of friends who got together at
different English cafes in the city to sample their fare
(and particularly their fry-up) once/month.
[www.breakfastwednesdays.org.uk] I can now talk about
(and sometimes dream about) beans, eggs, toasts,
veggie alternatives to meat, tomatoes, mushrooms…in
that morning classic breakfast.
I walked Wainwright’s Coast-to-Coast path, 200
miles stretching from the west coast to the east coast of
the North of England. I experienced Northern hospitality,
the beauty of the stunning lake district to the stark
Yorkshire Dales, and the quintessential English
pastime, walking (or hill-walking, or fell-walking…).
I played tennis at the local tennis club and
discovered grass courts, artificial grass courts, and the
thrill of Wimbledon.
I mediated conflicts with church-goers, and learnt
more about the distinction between the Christian
precept of loving your neighbour versus its sanitized
understanding as “being nice at all costs.”
I trained church leaders in dealing with conflict while
I learned that I still
needed training in
dealing with my own
conflicts.
I worshiped in a
post-Christendom
context where churches
are likely to inspire
tourists for their beauty
but less likely to attract
worshipers on a Sunday
morning. I heard stories
of Christians
rediscovering that faith
in the way of Jesus has
impact on the way you
live your life, and that
Jesus had a message of
peace and social justice to proclaim, a message which
was also a call for those who followed him.
I was convicted through a course on community
work that the church needs to be a place of
encouraging and equipping its people for partnership
with God’s work in the world, and not a building which
hosts all our spiritual experiences; that the focus is not
on “gathering in” but rather “sending out.”
I came not knowing anyone in the entire country,
and left having experienced the grace and faithfulness
of God through significant friendships.
I continue on the journey, grateful for the support
Park View and many of its members offered to enable
the opportunity of the previous three years of this
journey. Thank you, and I continue to welcome your
prayers as I transition to the U.S. and listen to the
whispering of God.
—Sharon Kniss
The London team; Sharon is in back, third from left.
La Florida, Peru A seed was planted in my heart several months ago
when Millard and Linda Fuller spoke at PVMC one
Sunday morning. He mentioned a work project in Peru.
That’s all it took; I was hooked! By May, everything was
pretty well settled. Our team leader challenged us to
pack in one backpack so that we would not have to
check luggage. First mission accomplished, even if my
hiking boots had to dangle off the bottom of the pack.
In Atlanta, I met Jim and Margaret Favre, directors
of the Fuller Center’s Global Builder Programs. When
we finally arrived in Lima, we met the other five team
members plus Wendy, a Fuller volunteer and our
“house mom” and Zenon Colque, the spirit of Millard in
Peru, though he would
modestly deny that.
He knows everyone
and can make things
happen.
From Lima, it was
a two-hour bus ride.
From that town, we
took the local mini bus
to our dorm house
about a mile and a
half from the actual
building project in the
town of La Florida. I
now know where the
“middle of nowhere”
is. No TV and no
computer, only rarely
a phone—life just got a lot simpler.
Because we are the first work team, the whole town
is out to greet us. There are speeches, fruit baskets,
pictures from the children, and plenty of music and
dancing. Along the canal road, there are newly planted
trees—one for each year of Millard’s life. A family is
assigned to take care of each tree. They build a fence
around their tree and water it daily. This day, the trees
were also decorated with signs, balloons, and
streamers. In a dry desert pueblo, these trees have
brought hope and are a source of pride for the people.
The next morning begins with a visit to the local
school. We were introduced and took a picture in every
class from kindergarten through high school. The
teenagers’ dreams were no different than those of our
own children—a lawyer, doctor and architect. The
difference is their path—the opportunities for the
students are few and far between. Most of their parents
are field workers in the irrigated fields outside of town, if
they are lucky.
The next day, the building begins. Here the houses
are built in stages. The group of houses we are to work
on have had foundations poured and brick walls erected
inside and out. Our job is to build forms atop the walls
and fill them with concrete to form the support for the
roof. This involves lots of wood, rebars, and twisted
wire. One group takes the huge fiberglass container and
buckets to the canal. There is no running water. Once
there is water and the forming is done, cement is mixed.
No, there is no cement truck. Fortunately, there is a
portable gas powered mixer. One bag of concrete, 37
shovels of a sand, dirt,
rock mixture, and one
and a half buckets of
water. That’s the
Peruvian recipe for
concrete. The job is
finished with
wheelbarrows, shovels
and buckets. The
family members help
as much as their work
schedules allow. Many
are women with young
children. Together, we
finished about a house
per day.
Zenon loves any
excuse to celebrate!
We have an
impromptu party for Edwin, one of the hired workers and
a July 4th cookout that Zenon wanted to have for us.
Yet another fiesta took place in La Florida. Each of the
team had purchased a new tree to be planted along
side the others. So, following speeches, a parade with
clowns and Paso horses, a live band, and more
dancing, we were paired with a family to plant our trees.
On those days, we went home with faces stuck in
perpetual grins and sides sore from laughing.
The day of our last house was very hard. Goodbyes
were very difficult. Several of us were taking a side trip
to Machu Pichu before heading back to the States.
That meant a trip back to the Lima airport. For the
second time during our visit, there was a strike by the
public transportation workers in progress. Zenon found
two men willing to drive us into Lima, at night, after the
The work team; Carla is seated in front, wearing the hat.
strikers had gone home. It was a quiet, eerie ride.
Cuzco is a quick ride by plane. The tour operator
collected us at the airport and took us to the center of
town where our hotel was. We had the rest of the day to
adjust to the altitude. We left about four in the morning
to be transported to a train station about an hour away.
An hour and a half later brought us to Aguas Calientes,
the entrance to Machu Pichu. It is a tiny town with the
Urubamba River cutting it in two. The bus ride to the city
of Machu Pichu began at six a.m. in the pouring rain
(the climate has changed). The little ladies selling
ponchos seemed quite pleased! Our tour continued rain
and all. All the pictures have a mysterious, misty quality.
Down the mountain, back to Cuzco, then back to Lima
to catch the “midnight special” back to Atlanta and
beyond.
Writing about the trip is easy because it was a
cram-packed two and a half weeks. Writing about how it
has affected me is something else. The words just don’t
come easily. I know it has affected me deeply and for
the long term. I feel like I left things there unfinished.
Zenon always introduced me as a teacher. Somehow
word got out that I love to plant and grow things and do
crafts. There
was a little time
for those things
during our visit.
On our last stop
in Lima, we met
Zenon for a
meal. He read us
a letter written by
the La Florida
home owners
group. The entire
second
paragraph was
asking me to come back and teach them. I would feel
like a hypocrite to refuse such a heartfelt request. Then,
the two big questions echo in my head. How can I not
go back? My joblessness seems perfectly timed, so I
have time to return to La Florida. On the other hand, I
also have a family to consider and financing the trip.
The questions will keep echoing, but the dilemma itself
has been given to God. Phil’s sermons of the past few
weeks have been meaningful to me. Thanks, Phil!
—Carla Zook
Have You Met Jeongih, Yunjeong and Yejeong?
It was December 31, 2008 when a family of three
left their homeland of Korea and arrived in
Harrisonburg. Jeongih Han graduated with a BA in
Biblical studies from Korean Bible University in Seoul,
and at that time she was encouraged to come to EMU
to continue her studies in theology.
Jeongih has learned that through tough times God
is faithful and provides her peace.
In 2000 her husband Hakyun, a faithful servant of
God, died from a non-curable illness, leaving her with
two beautiful daughters. Jeongih testifies that times
were tough, but “I have been blessed on my journey by
God’s grace.”
At EMU Jeongih must continue studying in EMU’s
Intensive English Program (IEP), which she began this
last January. Her daughters, Yejeong and Yunjeong, will
be in seventh and eighth grades respectively at Thomas
Harrison Middle School. Both girls play piano. Yunjeong
also plays violin and Yejeong plays the flute.
Jeongih’s education includes an early childhood
education certificate that prepared her for operating a
church daycare center from 2001-05. This experience
deepened her love and desire for the Word of God, and
that’s when she enrolled in the Korean Bible University.
Pastoring Sunday school youth at her Presbyterian
church in Seoul, studying, her involvement in the
daycare center and the role of mother kept her busy.
Jeongih admires St. John. She claims, “I feel safe
just thinking of John in the arms of Jesus. Since I was
young the church has been a safe harbor for me. In
2003 I experienced the rebirth of my life and my faith.
In 2008 I found my diary where I had written a dream: ‘I
wish to study in America and then give my life to God as
Yejeong, Jeongih, and Yunjeong Han
a missionary.’ This dream happened 13 years ago, but
God remembered and put this desire back into my
heart. One of my Korean professors directed me to my
destination.”
Learning English is her big challenge. Presently she
has English conversation with two members, but she
wants more regularly scheduled one-on-one
conversations and Bible study opportunities. Jeongih
would welcome the opportunity of joining a family in
their household or connected apartment that would
lower her financial costs and help with conversation.
Jeongih and her two daughters live in an EMU Village
apartment. Her daughters wish they could continue
piano lessons.
The family likes the neighborhood of Harrisonburg.
“It’s so different from Korea’s small apartments,”
Jeongih expresses; “United States has big homes.
Korea’s shops are small; here there are large stores.”
She appreciates Park View’s formal worship style and
the kind, friendly welcome she receives. She keeps in
touch with her three sisters and two brothers in Korea
via email.
Jeongih hopes to
complete her IEP
courses quickly so she
can study at Eastern
Mennonite Seminary to
receive an MA in Church
Leadership. And along
the way she trusts that
her daughters will
become faithful servants
of God. Her goal: “I’d
like to serve God the
rest of my life as a missionary of the third world. I desire
to give my life while keeping my eyes on St. John in the
arms of Jesus.”
Her bravery in joining a new culture, learning a new
language, with ambition to study theology is remarkable.
Please pray for this family regarding seminary
scholarship and housing. Please say “hi” and catch
Jeongih’s beautiful smile the next time you see her and
her lovely daughters at Park View. They will welcome
your supportive friendship!
—Hannah Mack Lapp
Mary Florence Shenk
December 22, 1916 -
July 17, 2009Mary Florence Shenk died
Friday, July 17, 2009, at
Virginia Mennonite
Retirement Community. She
was born Dec. 22, 1916, in
Elida, Ohio, the fourth of 10
children of the late Levi J.
and Amanda Yoder Shenk.
The family moved to
Denbigh, VA, when she was a young child.
Mary Florence graduated from Morrison High School
in 1934 and from Eastern Mennonite University in 1959.
As a teenager she began teaching Sunday School at
the Warwick River Mennonite Church, where she grew
up. She taught in Bible Schools and Sunday Schools
most of her life. Mary moved to Harrisonburg, VA, in
1941. She was an active member of the Park View
Mennonite Church and participated in the Mennonite
Women's organization, where she often held offices.
She served 40 years as administrative assistant to
the deans of the college and seminary at Eastern
Mennonite University from 1943-1983 with deans
Chester K. Lehman, Ira E. Miller, George R. Brunk II,
Richard C. Detweiler and George R. Brunk III. In
addition, this included assistance in advising foreign
students. Her faithful labors enhanced the productivity
of those whom she has served.
After retirement, she was involved in a variety of
volunteer assignments. These included working in MCC
Ten Thousand Villages ministry in Akron, Pa. and at
Harrisonburg Gift and Thrift Shop, where she served on
the Board of Directors a number of years. She also
reviewed books for Choice Books. Mary Florence loved
to travel and was able to visit many points of interest in
the USA, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Alaska.
Mary Florence was a woman with many gifts, talents
and interests. She enjoyed entertaining family and
friends. Family was very important to her. She was very
diligent in planning family reunions.
Mary Florence is survived by three sisters, Mildred
and her husband, Sylvanus Moyer, Miriam and her
husband, Daniel Baer, all of Harrisonburg, Martha and
her husband, Ernest Godshall, of Newport News, Va.;
one brother, John M. Shenk and his wife, Evelyn, of
Harrisonburg; and many nieces and nephews.
Author Hannah with Jeongih
Work and Play in the Colorado Rockies
Ten days in the Rockies were filled with work and play
for us the last week of July and into August. Friends met
our flight into Grand Junction and then took us directly
to their ranch land for a vacation of hard physical work
and some relaxation. Our assignment this time was to
help them with interiors of their new yurt/cabin and
make land improvements.
Located at 9,200 ft altitude, Black Mesa is about a
mile from the rim of the Black Canyon River Gorge. The
land was homesteaded by a group of hearty ranchers
and then handed down through basically two families.
Our friends purchased some of this prime ranch land—
with water rights—several years ago as the first to ever
actually buy the land. Surrounding land is “free range”
pasture and aspen groves. Their land is fenced to keep
roaming cows and horses from contaminating the
spring. The rule is: you fence animals out— not in.
Cowboys spend the summer at this altitude following the
herds. They still tip their hats when the “ladies” pass.
We stayed alone in an old cabin with no electricity,
no cell phone, radio, TV or flush toilet. We did have
spring water, propane cooking gas and one of the most
compelling views of the distant Uncompahgre
Mountains you can
imagine. Alpine flowers
were in full bloom among
the sage brush. We
heated bath water in big
plastic shower bags left
out in the sun all day. A
solar panel powered a
generator to pump water to
a holding tank. The
nearest town was an hour
and a half away. The
second nearest was two
hours away.
Our work started early in the mornings. Ron was
often out before breakfast. We tore down about 800 ft.
of old border fence and wound about 4,000 ft of rusty
barbed wire that had to be untangled from sage brush.
Ron lifted the posts and Shirley stacked and helped
haul them to a place for disposal.
We fed horses, hauled high organic matter soil to a
raised garden area; hunted, shoveled and then spread
by hand wheelbarrow loads of horse manure; picked up
by hand and hauled loads of rock for a flower bed and
then harvested wildflower seed for planting by the cabin;
Ron hung sheetrock, installed cabinets, and Shirley
scrubbed the cabin floor “cleaner than it has been in the
past 30 years.”
A humorous event occurred near the end of our
stay. Late one afternoon, Ron and I rode the fence line
to hang signs that said, “Do not hunt without
permission.” The signs pointed outward toward the
bordering free range land. We were suddenly surprised
to see not one, but four, eight-point bucks watching us
work from the opposite meadow. They did not seem
afraid of us and
watched what
we were doing
with curiosity.
The next
evening we
saw them
again, but this
time it was on
our side of the
fence; we
concluded the
bucks could
read, and that
they knew they would be safer
inside rather than outside the
fenced area.
We usually quit work about 4
p.m. and relaxed until supper. If it
was warm enough, we ate our
supper outside so we could watch
the sun cast orange and purple light
onto the mountains. Following
supper, we rode the pickup out to
feed the horses. By the time we left
we knew their names and their
personalities. Horses fed, a large bonfire was usually lit
inside a stone enclosed fire pit. We often just reflected
on the day or sat in silence until the moon came up. We
tended to go to bed early and to get up with first light.
Ron usually built a wood fire in the cabin stove and
made coffee in the early morning.
We also played. On the weekend we rode into the
little town of Olathe for its eighteenth annual Sweet
Corn Festival. It was operated much as a county fair,
but once we paid an entrance fee we could eat all the
roasted corn we wanted free. The newspaper reported
the next day that there were 75,000 ears of corn
consumed along with 500 pounds of butter. We were a
little out of place without cowboy hats on.
We also visited the Delta County Fair on the
morning that they were judging the animals. (Hey, there
isn’t much going on in the rural counties of the western
slope on a hot August morning.) A pass through the
town of Montrose, and a stop at the local farm market,
brought another surprise. There was one somewhat
conspicuous Mennonite couple selling bread. We
introduced ourselves and discovered it was a second
cousin (Byler) of Ron’s whom he had never met. They
were every bit as surprised by Mennonite connections
as we were. His father had left Big Valley years ago for
weather that would help his arthritis.
A fascinating array of colorful characters has come
to visit our friends on this land over the years we have
been vacationing there. They all seem to be related in
some way, and they all stop to tell stories of conflicts
over property boundaries, “You know you should never
trust a surveyor. The old way is just to eyeball it.” There
are also conflicts over inheritance, water rights, mineral
rights, cattle grazing payments or general orneriness.
Several referred to how mean the second or third wife of
Uncle “X” was. We encountered one rancher who could
not find about 50 of his cattle. He wondered if we had
seen them on our hike to the lookout and across
another rancher’s land. He was quick to say that while
we could walk there, he could not because he and the
land owner just “did not get along.” For each complaint
we quickly learned there was another part of the story,
and we had heard the other part of that one the day
before. So we agreed that the rancher did not like him,
and said that we were sorry we did not know where his
cattle were, but we also replied that we would let him
know if we found them. (How we were to know they
were the ones he was looking for, we do not know, but
that seemed to be the polite thing to say.)
We were often reminded that we were not the first to
enjoy the Black Mesa. There is evidence that Paleolithic
Indians also lived on the same land. They left behind
stone tools and remnants of weapons that the ranchers,
our friends and we have found. According to local
history, this was mastodon hunting territory. We like to
think they lit their fires on the same volcanic lava cliff we
did; and that they, like we, went to sleep under the
aspens and looked up at the same bright stars; and that
they, too, rose in the mornings to see a dusting of snow
on the distant Uncompahgres. —Ron and Shirley Yoder
The LossI have experienced many losses in my life. But my
actual situation of joblessness drew more attention than
ever. I did not expect it to last forever. We are in a
recession. I did not expect it to be so long. Why do I
complain! I survive anyway. God continues to take care
of my needs through my friends, my church, and my
community. Oh, what blessings! What is the secret
behind all this survival?
After the loss of something we cherish (a home, a
loved one, a job, etc.), we feel pain, anger and a sense
of tremendous loss; we are upset. Sometimes we are
left with unresolved anger and a lingering or lifelong
feeling of unjustness and unfairness.
Other times we experience a greater sense of
ourselves and our abilities. We realize that we can not
only survive but that we have intelligence, instincts, and
strengths beyond what we previously believed. We
realize that we have a tremendous source of energy
and enthusiasm for life: we have a family, friends, a
supportive church, a community. With the loss, our faith
and hope grow stronger and stronger. We shall
overcome any sad situation.
Sometimes we experience a peace that is more
profound than we ever imagined. Other times our
self-confidence expands. Many times we learn the
power of letting go. We learn that we are not the things
we own. We are not the things we do. We are neither
our titles nor our accomplishments. We are not what
other people think about us. We are simply who we are.
Unfortunately, during quiet moments, questions invade
our minds: What is life about? Why do these “losses”
befall us? Why are we here?
I believe that we are here to learn who we really are,
to grow in our faith, love, intelligence and sense of self.
We are here to demonstrate to ourselves that we can
survive and that after and through survival we rise to
higher levels of spiritual and internal power: that ability,
capacity and action of generating—of creating—this
divine power within that many times has lain dormant
waiting to be awakened.
God has set up for each of us a high level of
perfection we want to reach at a certain moment of our
life. Any event in our life must help to reach one more
level up toward that divine perfection.
—Jean Ndayizigiye
From The JUDITH to the Round Barn
by Ervie Lowell Glick If you decided to write your family history, how would
you begin? With what unusual title would you hook your
readers into your story? The publication of such a
history by a PVMC member provides an excellent
example: Ervie Glick’s 2009 ancestral history, From the
Judith to the Round Barn, has been newly added to the
church library.
Intrigued by the
mystery of his first
ancestor to America,
Ervie Glick sets out to
unravel the story of his
great-great-great-great-
grandfather, Peter Glick,
who arrived in
Philadelphia on the good
ship Judith in 1748,
probably from
Switzerland. After Peter’s
murder in an Indian
attack on the Glick family
in Berks County, Pennsylvania, the story continues with
3x-great-grandfather “Indian John” Glick, the one family
member—a very small child--who escaped and was
raised by a kind Amish couple. After several
generations in Pennsylvania, it is John’s great-grandson
Levi, Ervie’s grandfather, who goes West and eventually
establishes the Glick family farm in Minot, North Dakota,
where he constructs a round barn—the key landmark of
the book’s title. Ervie’s parents, Andrew and Amy, raise
their family on the farm with the round barn, where
Ervie’s brother John and his son were the last farmers
before dairying ended on the home place.
This Glick family history, while unique (they appear
not to be related to the Church of the Brethren Glicks of
the Shenandoah Valley) in many respects, is easily
identifiable for many Park View readers with similar
Swiss-German ancestry, but it is good reading, simply
for folks who like pioneer tales. I enjoyed the extensive
excerpts from Ervie’s father’s journal as well as his
mother’s and his brother’s memories in their own voices,
which enhance the tone of the later chapters.
How fitting that Ervie, youngest of Andrew’s
children, should be telling the Peter Glick family story,
preserving it for his own and other Glick progeny.
—Jay Landis
Eastern Mennonite University
Park View has 7 undergraduates there:• Peyton Erb, junior, elementary education• Doreen Ndayizigiye, senior, international business,
minor in economic development• Deb Nyce, senior, management & organizational
development• Jonathan Nyce, sophomore, history education• Grace Schrock-Hurst, senior, Culture, Religion and
Missions• Lucas Schrock-Hurst, sophomore, undeclared• Meg Smeltzer, first-year, music, & English
Undergraduates at other campuses
• Elizabeth Anderson, senior at James MadisonUniversity, history
• Laura Anderson, sophomore, VirginiaCommonwealth University, interdisciplinary studies /elementary education
• Tiara Coleman, sophomore, Blue Ridge• Amy Cousins, junior at Blue Ridge, sociology and
psychology• April Cousins, first-year at Blue Ridge, nursing• Hannah Cranston, first-year at Bridgewater College,
English• Christina Kniss, junior at JMU, graphic design• James Lofton, junior at William & Mary, political
science• Timmy Nguyen, sophomore at JMU• Austin Shank, sophomore at Bridgewater College,
biology• Julian Sider, sophomore at Goshen• Bergen White, sophomore at Butler University in
Indianapolis, harp / music, biology
Graduate students• Rachel Bowman, University of North Carolina,