Registration for upcoming events at Bethany Theological Seminary

Registration deadlines for upcoming events at Bethany Theological Seminary have been announced, including the deadline for the early registration discount for the Presidential Forum on April 4-5 at the campus in Richmond, Ind.; and closing of online registration for the junior high event Immerse! on June 12-17 at Elizabethtown (Pa.) College and Explore Your Call (EYC) for senior highs in advance of National Youth Conference on July 15-19. Junior high youth having completed 7th, 8th, or 9th grades have one more month to register for Immerse!, the seminary’s junior high Bible immersion and Brethren history program; online registration closes March 14. Go to www.bethanyseminary.edu/immerse. The EYC online application deadline is March 31; go to www.bethanyseminary.edu/eyc. EYC will be held July 15-19 at Colorado State University immediately preceding National Youth Conference. Rising juniors and seniors in high school may attend this free, grant-funded discernment program. For more information about Immerse! or EYC contact Bekah Houff, coordinator of outreach programs, at houffre@bethanyseminary.edu or 765-983-1809. Those who wish to receive a discount rate for the Presidential Forum have until midnight Feb. 15 to register (registration at the regular rate will remain open). The forum on “Living Love Feast” will be April 4-5 on the Bethany campus. For information and to register, go to www.bethanyseminary.edu/forum2014.

Source: 2/15/2014 Newsline

Applications are due April 12 for this summer’s Exploring Your Call (EYC)

Applications are due April 12 for this summer’s Exploring Your Call (EYC) at Bethany Theological Seminary. EYC takes place June 14-24. Sponsored by the seminary’s Institute for Ministry with Youth and Young Adults, EYC is a grant-funded leadership and discernment program for rising high school juniors and seniors. Participants value the hands-on ministry experiences, college-level classroom learning, and connection with peers who are asking similar questions about life, faith, and ministry. Students need only pay for transportation to and from the event, held on the Bethany Seminary campus in Richmond, Ind. For more information and to apply, go to www.bethanyseminary.edu/eyc-apply.

Source: 3/8/2013 Newsline

Bethany Seminary hosts annual Exploring Your Call event.

“I loved my time at Exploring Your Call and speak of it constantly. If it were possible for me to go again, I would--in a heartbeat,” says Laura Brown, a 2012 participant in this annual discernment event held by Bethany Theological Seminary.

Brown, from Happy Corner Church of the Brethren in Clayton, Ohio, was joined by Issac Brunk and Autumn Ehrig from Ivester Church of the Brethren, Grundy Center, Iowa; Michael Himlie, Root River Church of the Brethren, Preston, Minn.; and Sarandon Smith from Palmyra (Pa.) Church of the Brethren. From June 14-24, these high school students gathered to consider what God’s call might mean in their own lives and faith journeys.

The Bethany campus in Richmond, Ind., served as the central space for learning sessions, group discussion and reflection, and worship. The group also had some hands-on experience in assisting with Vacation Bible School at the local First Christian Church in Richmond.

Russell Haitch, director of the program, was joined by current faculty and students in leading the group sessions. Haitch is associate professor of Christian education and director of the Institute for Ministry with Youth and Young Adults. Marla Abe, a 2008 Bethany graduate and copastor of Carlisle (Pa.) Church of the Brethren, assisted in directing the week’s activities.

Beyond Richmond, the group was introduced to ministry at the Brethren Retirement Community in Greenville, Ohio. They also traveled to Reba Place, an intentional Christian community in Chicago, Ill., and visited the Church of the Brethren General Offices in Elgin, Ill.

Each participant also spent time shadowing regional Church of the Brethren pastors and being hosted by their congregations. Brown highlights her connection with copastors Charles Bell and Mike Cassidy at Buck Creek Church of the Brethren in Mooreland, Ind. “The experience I had with them--including talking with and being hosted by church members, Sunday school, etc.--made the most impact on me.”

Michael Himlie says that EYC gave him additional insight into what he feels led to do in his faith journey. “My favorite part of EYC was the opportunity to experience all types of ministry. Some may not have fit with our interests, but we all took a lot away from each and every setting.”

The EYC program was reinstated in 2011 after a hiatus of several years. "With smaller groups these past two years, we've been able to travel more, and it has meant that wonderful family-like friendships could develop,” says Haitch. “Our goal is to expand enrollment while keeping the quality of the program and closeness of relationships."

Registration for EYC 2013 opens Sept. 1 for rising high school juniors and seniors. Through a generous grant from Barnabas, Ltd., in New South Wales, Australia, all expenses for participants are covered except for transportation to and from the event. Bekah Houff, coordinator of outreach programs at Bethany and former EYC participant, is organizing EYC 2013. “It is my hope that next year’s EYC will be an eye-opening experience as young people discern God's call in their lives while exploring different kinds of ministry."

Information is available by contacting eyc@bethanyseminary.edu or on the Bethany website at www.bethanyseminary.edu/eyc.

In more news from Bethany, the seminary held Opening Convocation Aug 23 in a joint service with neighboring Earlham School of Religion (ESR). The service was in Nicarry Chapel, in the Bethany Seminary building. All were invited, and especially welcomed were new and returning students in theological and religious studies. ESR professor Nancy Bowen offered the message. The convocation was webcast, as will be other services throughout the year, so that distance learning students and anyone else who might wish to worship with the seminary could also participate. Find a link at www.bethanyseminary.edu/news/OpeningConvo2012.

-- Jenny Williams is director of communications and alumni/ae relations for Bethany Seminary.

Source: 9/6/2012 Newsline

Exploring Your Call - June 15-25

Dear fellow friends, mentors and ministers of youth,

Bethany Theological Seminary is glad to offer once again, Exploring Your Call, a summer discernment event for high school youth, June 15 -25, 2012.

EYC is an opportunity to have in-depth classroom discussions, combined with real-life experiences of ministry (such as shadowing pastors), plus an opportunity to form meaningful friendships. As just one example of how learning happens at EYC: last year, we studied patterns of communal living in ancient Israel and the early church, then visited Reba Place in Chicago, an intentional Christian community where people share their possessions and property in common.

Participants of previous years have reported that EYC has been fantastically enjoyable and life-transforming! Last year’s participants created an Exploring Your Call page on Facebook (feel free to check it out).

Many EYC alumni have gone on to become Bethany students…but a call to seminary or pastoral ministry is by no means a requirement for EYC. We are simply looking for young people who eager to explore a variety of ministries that flow from faith; youth who want to talk about their faith and who enjoy “going deeper.” The event is for rising juniors and seniors.

For more information, go to the Bethany website and click on the link to EYC. There you can see that:

• The ten-day event is FREE; participants are responsible just for their transportation to and from Richmond, Indiana.
• EYC will be led by Russell Haitch (professor at Bethany) and Marla Bieber Abe (co-pastor, Carlisle Church of the Brethren)
• There are “rolling admissions,” so it is not too late for youth to complete this year’s application; however, the sooner, the better. The link to the application is also on the Bethany website and here: http://www.bethanyseminary.edu/eyc-apply.

It is our hope that you will encourage rising juniors and seniors you know to apply, and also contact leaders and pastors in your area who can do likewise! Please contact us if you have any questions, or if would like us to speak to a young person directly.

Peace in Christ,

Marla Abe marbieabe@gmail.com, 717-243-4984
Russell Haitch haitcru@bethanyseminary.edu, 765-983-1827