Tuesday – Linford and Janet Stutzman; “Navigating the Voyage”
Life is a voyage of change and discovery, of unexpected blessings and challenges with every new passage. Jesus calls this “life in abundance.” Safe and joyful navigation includes awareness of self, trusting God, reliable guidance, and discerning our changing environment. Our experiences of 22 years on SailingActs sailing the beautiful and dangerous Mediterranean Sea, helped Janet and me to move from surviving to celebrating those voyages, and life.
Linford and Janet both grew up in Oregon and have spent the last fifty years in mission assignments (Israel, Germany, Australia) and in Immanuel Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, Virginia. When at home in Virginia, Linford taught Culture, Religion, and Mission at Eastern Mennonite University, and Janet was Director of Alumni Relations at EMU, then served in Advancement for Virginia Mennonite Missions. For the past twenty years, Linford and Janet have been exploring the world of Paul and the Christian movement in the Mediterranean and leading groups of students to the Middle East for EMU and others on sea-based learning adventures with their educational travel company called SailingActs Journeys. Several publications from these experiences have resulted: SailingActs: Following an Ancient Voyage (Good Books), With Paul at Sea (Wipf and Stock), and On the Face of the Deep: The Sea in Scripture (Baker). A recent production is “On the Face of the Deep,” ten biblically based sea shanties, which includes a CD recorded by Cantore, and a Study Guide for individual or group use.
Wednesday – Peggy Reiff Miller; “The Brethren Service Committee, the Heifer Project, and the Seagoing Cowboy Program: Birthed from the Wilderness of World War I”
World War I was a wilderness period for the Church of the Brethren. Out of that wilderness came leaders dedicated to building peace in the world, such as Dan West and Virginia’s own M. R. Zigler. This session, illustrated with historical photos, will look at the emergence of the Brethren Service Committee and its Heifer Project and Seagoing Cowboy programs from that wilderness.
Peggy Reiff Miller has passionately devoted the past 24 years to the documentation and sharing of the little-known history of the seagoing cowboys and the related history of the Heifer Project, today’s Heifer International which she serves as historical consultant. She is the author of the children’s picture book The Seagoing Cowboy (Brethren Press, 2016) and is currently working on a history of the first decade of the Heifer Project for adults. Her website and blog have brought her inquiries from as far away as Poland, Germany, Finland, Japan, Korea, and Canada for information to assist with projects from doctoral papers and books, to museum displays, to public TV documentaries. She has traveled to Poland, Germany, and Finland to conduct research and attend events related to her work. Peggy is a lifelong member of the Church of the Brethren which founded the Heifer Project. She lives with her husband Rex in Englewood, Ohio. When not absorbed in her office, she enjoys reading, walking, playing the piano and accompanying soloists and choirs, and spending time and playing games with her married twin daughters, their husbands, and two grandsons.
Thursday – Paul Mundey; “Serpent or Fire? Choosing a Focus in the Wilderness of Aging”
In the wilderness of aging, we cannot eliminate every challenge that unsettles us. But we can choose where we fix our gaze: whether we focus on the “serpent” that provokes fear or the “fire” that reveals God’s faithfulness and steady guidance.
Scripture: Isaiah 30: 6-9; Exodus 13:21-22 (New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition)
Paul Mundey is a minister, consultant, and writer. He has served as a church leader for over 45 years in various roles, including pastor, church administrator, denominational officer, workshop leader, denominational staff member, and teacher. He served as the Moderator of the Church of the Brethren from 2019 to 2021. During the 2016-2017 academic year, Paul was a Visiting Scholar at Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, New Jersey. Before that appointment, Paul spent 20 years as the Senior Pastor of the Frederick Church of the Brethren in Frederick, Maryland. From 1983 to 1996, Paul was Director of Evangelism and Congregational Growth for the Church of the Brethren General Board (now Ministry and Missions Board). In addition to that portfolio, Paul coordinated the stateside Korean ministry of the Church of the Brethren, while also contributing to the development of other denominational programs, such as People of the Covenant and the church’s identity statement/tagline. Currently, Paul serves on the Executive Board of the Ecumenical Institute at St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, MD, and is a member of the Board of Trustees of Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, VA. Paul earned an M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary and a D.Min. from Princeton Theological Seminary. Paul is married to Robin Risser Mundey, the Director of Traditional Worship and organist at Central Presbyterian Church in Baltimore, MD. Their son, Peter, is a sociologist, while their daughter, Sarah, is an interior designer and freelance blogger. Paul and Robin are the grandparents of three grandsons: John Dorsey, Jacob Dorsey, and Ryder Mundey.
