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FROM THE PRESIDENT
Opportunities thrive
The 2005-06 academic year has drawn to a close and as I reflect on the many
wonderful things that have happened here atop McMahan Hill in Mankato, it
never ceases to amaze me how richly the Lord has blessed Bethany Lutheran College.
In the spirit of thankfulness, allow me to single out just a few of the highlights.
Enrollment
growth continues to be positive. The college was recognized in a Minneapolis
Star Tribune report published in January 2006 for the thirty-five percent
growth that has occurred at BLC during the past five years. This growth has
been primarily in the enrollment of upper division students, reflecting the
increase in the number of majors offered. During the 2005-06 academic year
we awarded diplomas to eighty-nine baccalaureate graduates. It is humbling
and exciting to know that more and more students who have trained for four
years on our campus will enter the work force armed with their BLC degree rooted
in the knowledge of the "One Thing Needful."
Bethany graduates are
prepared for a life of leadership. The idea of service to others is recognized
as an important aspect of Christian life. In this issue, you will find an
article about the new Bethany Student Leadership Institute. This program,
administered by Dr. Janet Moldstad, involves students identified for their
leadership potential in their sophomore year. As the article details, the participants
spent numerous hours learning about a life of leadership in the Christian
spirit. The graduates of the Leadership Institute will be equipped to be
campus leaders and mentors. They will practice these skills as they continue
their undergraduate studies at Bethany next fall and in the future as graduates
of this institution.
Every corner of the campus at Bethany Lutheran College has
contributed to this successful year. Academics, as well as a wide array of
co-curricular activities such as athletics, debate, music and the arts, play
an important role in constructing the rich fabric that makes Bethany what
it is. We offer the student an opportunity that few colleges and universities
can—that
being a Christian, liberal arts education that embraces the philosophy of
multi-dimensional learning. Bethany students have the opportunity to learn
from experience, whether it is in the classroom or through the many co-curricular
activities available and open to all of our students. It is indeed a blessing
to be a part of this dynamic college environment. I ask for your continued
prayers and support.
FROM THE CHAPEL
April 19, 2006
Dr. Steven Reagles, Communication
Luke 24:13-16, 30-31—Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. 14And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. 16But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.... 30Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?”
This charming story from Luke has been called one of the “best loved of all the resurrection stories.” And it has provided subject matter for hundreds of older painting masters: Rembrandt, Velazquez, Vander Velde, Titian, Altobello Melone, and more recent artists like Sallman, Bloch, and Hole. Just this past January, historians delighted over the discovery of Carravagio’s “Pilgrimage of our Lord to Emmaus” under an organ loft in France. Most everyone is familiar with Robert Zund’s classic painting of the Road to Emmaus, where Jesus accompanies the two disciples of the text on the Emmaus road, winding itself through a beautiful alcove of leafy trees. Artists focus either on the journey to Emmaus—Jesus talking with disciples whose eyes are restrained from understanding—or that moment at the destination where Jesus breaks bread with disciples opening their eyes.
Now these are the key ideas. During the journey “Their eyes were restrained” and while breaking bread “Their eyes were opened.”
Like painters who must choose the moments they wish to emphasize, our text this morning is truncated. It hints at, but leaves out, the story in-between, giving us the charming subject matter the masters love to paint—beautiful scenery, the moment of epiphany at the table. But for all the Easter morning charm, the glory of the Gospel of resurrection... let us recall that in Jesus’ conversation on the road with the disciples—the in-between that Luke presents us with the Easter Christ rebuking the disciples.
The disciples on the Emmaus Journey explain to Christ the events that had taken place, and Jesus—whose identity has been kept from them—plays along as if ignorant, but ultimately these disciples are filled with doubt about whether or not Jesus has indeed risen. And this is the key issue to which Christ responds “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory?”
All through the days prior to his crucifixion, Jesus alluded to Old Testament prophecies predicting that He would rise again. The Emmaus account is conditioned by the critical importance of believing God’s written prophetic word. What restrains our eyes and ears from believing is our sinful nature. Unless Christ’s spirit opens our understanding today, we, as post-Resurrection believers, doubt. Luke is not only the author of the Gospel, but of Acts, and at the end of that book he cites Isaiah to, similarly recall the malady at the heart of God’s chosen people, the Jews. And these words are, equally, a warning today describing our malady. Luke warns against our Old Adam even as he directly addresses the Jews, God’s chosen people: “Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand. And seeing you will see, and not perceive. Their ears are hard of understanding and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.”
During this Easter, let us give thanks to God’s Spirit, who through the Word opened our ears and eyes, enlightening our understanding to recognize Jesus as Christ. Once the eyes of these Emmaus disciples are open they rush to Jerusalem to tell others, and while the chosen disciples have joy over the report of Christ’s resurrection, once again it takes Jesus’ appearance to vivify the Old Testament prophecies of Moses and the prophets. Déjà vu—as in Christ’s conversation with the Emmaus disciples— it took Jesus to “open their understanding, that they might comprehend the scriptures.” Things haven’t changed.
Communication theory teaches us to distinguish between listening and hearing. Hearing is a physiological process whereby we merely hear sounds. But this doesn’t mean that we understand meaning or truly understand the import of a message, which is listening. Similarly, a popular visual gestalt reminds us that in an optical illusion, e.g., where you can see either the profile of two figures, or a lamp, but not both, parallels the spiritual truth about Christ. The disciples that first Easter morning at first did not see the lighted lamp, which is Christ. It took Christ’s Spirit to open up their understanding through Scripture to truly perceive the Truth.
How many times in life haven’t we had “Aha! I get it” experiences after going for days, weeks, even years trying to “get it!” This text teaches us important Easter lessons about how to “get” the truth: 1) Our own mind and intellect are incapable of perceiving the Truth unless God’s Spirit opens our understanding, by a Word and Sacrament-based Faith, so that we truly perceive. Seeing is not the same as perceiving by faith. 2) God has given us Holy Scripture, just as He gave those early disciples His Word, a divinely authored, record of historical events, testified by faithful witnesses, which is the means of grace for working Faith.
And consider our advantage over the Emmaus disciples. Not only do we have the Old Testament, but we also have the faithful New Testament historical account of the Easter narrative. Against the false claims of the so-called lost Scriptures—the Gnostic Gospels of Thomas, Judas, Mary Magadalene etc., recently making news again—drafted sometimes centuries after the Apostolic Scriptures and which offer another Gospel, we do well to follow Christ’s advice to turn to the authentic Word of Christ—thirty-nine Old Testament and twenty-seven New Testament books. All other Gospels are fabrications.
If you have come to appreciate the power of conscience to recollect the guilt of your sins as it burns its way into your heart, creating sadness, despair, sorrow over sin and death, then let the charm of the Emmaus account recollect for you Christ’s much larger love. Let this Easter account and season with all the springtime cheer of its victorious Easter Gospel restore within your heart another kind of burn—the impassioned joy of the Gospel and its love. Appreciate the charm of today’s story for its grace and power because it packs a narrative vigor in artful brush-strokes, a portrait about the power of Christ’s love, who forgave us our sins, destroyed death and who, by rising from the dead, brought righteousness, forgiveness, salvation, and everlasting life to light and to our lives through the happy Gospel of peace.
Lillos, Wiechmanns retire from BLC
Lance Schwartz
Director of Marketing and Public Relations
Three faithful servants are set to take their leave from Bethany Lutheran College after sixty-three years of combined service. Ernie Lillo, Director of Maintenance, Marge Lillo, Assistant to the Registrar, and Jean Wiechmann, College Registrar, will all be retiring after the close of the 2005-06 academic year. Another familiar face on the campus, Richard Wiechmann, who has served the College in both the admissions and development offices, and has been employed as the Evangelical Lutheran Synod’s development officer for nearly twelve years will also be retiring.
Ernie Lillo has been the College’s Director of Maintenance since 1982. After serving in the United States Air Force, Lillo began his duties keeping the Bethany Lutheran College campus in good repair. Lillo has seen the campus grow from a small five-building enclave to its current size of twelve buildings. Throughout all of those changes, Lillo and his maintenance crew have kept the campus safe and in top shape. Lillo’s duties haven’t been limited to maintenance though, for nearly twenty years on a certain crisp fall day you could find him cutting and preparing about 500 pounds of Lutefisk for the annual feed held at BLC each October. We still don’t know how he will be replaced in that capacity!
Marge Lillo, who just happens to be Ernie’s spouse, is also set to retire from her position as Assistant to the Registrar. She has helped countless numbers of students during her eighteen years at BLC. Lillo, just as the others who are retiring, will be greatly missed for her encouraging words and Christian guidance she provides for BLC students. The Lillos are excited to begin a new phase of their life together as they plan to sell their home in Mankato and travel the United States in a large motor home.
Jean Wiechmann came to Bethany Lutheran College in 1985 and has served the College as both instructor and registrar. She has been a mentor and advisor to many students at Bethany while assisting them in the selection of classes and planning their courses of study. Other responsibilities of the registrar include the scheduling of classes and preparing the college catalog for publication. Bethany Lutheran College will miss her commitment to the students and her love for serving God.
Richard Wiechmann began his work at Bethany Lutheran College in 1985 as a member of the admissions department. He served in that capacity for three years before moving into the College’s development office where he worked in virtually all aspects of fund raising. Wiechmann possesses one of the friendliest demeanors you’ll ever come in contact with and his smile and sincerity will be missed on the BLC campus.
Bethany wishes these retirees the Lord’s blessings as they begin new chapters in their lives.
Leadership
By Lance Schwartz
Director of Marketing and Public Relations
The Oxford American Dictionary’s definition of leadership offers a common explanation of how most people understand leadership. Of course, the meaning of leadership is often talked about and debated. What does it take to be a leader? Can anyone be a leader? Are leaders born with inherent leadership traits or can leadership be learned?
The mission of Bethany Lutheran College states: “Bethany aspires to produce students with a clear understanding of Christian vocation, which calls people to make the most of their God-given talents in whatever walk of life they pursue.”
When Dr. Janet Moldstad (business administration) was appointed the Glen Taylor Chair of Business and Leadership, she made a point to consider Bethany’s mission statement and its importance in the training of future leaders. The product of her consideration led to the establishment of the Bethany Student Leadership Institute.
The Student Leadership Institute concluded its inaugural year in April 2006 with the goal of leadership training with a Christian viewpoint. The institute’s curriculum, a comprehensive seven-month program, was established with the idea of identifying and developing future leaders.
Seventeen BLC sophomores submitted applications for the Leadership Institute from which nine were chosen to become part of the first class. Applications and letters of interest were reviewed and judged by Moldstad and four other faculty members. Students were chosen on the basis of their potential to become leaders on and off the campus.
The program sought to strengthen leadership skills and community awareness and to prepare students for leadership roles on campus and after graduation.
Leadership training with a Christian view
Moldstad’s objective was to develop a concept of leadership that focused on serving others. Topics discussed helped the participating students to understand various leadership themes including: self awareness of behavioral style; time management; effective meeting management; teamwork; oral and written communication; community, church, and government awareness; understanding your own talents and appreciating the talents of others, personal behavioral style assessment, discussion, and personal development activities, and service that grows from a Christian perspective. The group met for seven monthly meetings during a two to three hour evening session.
When asked if the program achieved the objectives Moldstad envisioned, both the instructor and students agreed. “The concept of a servant leader was something completely foreign to the students,” said Moldstad. “When the course was completed, all of the participants had moved from an understanding of a leader in the secular sense to the concept of leadership being a form of service to others.”
Several students who completed the program have already taken on leadership roles for the upcoming academic year including responsibilities as resident assistants, community volunteer positions, and the newly elected student body president, Nate Abrahamson (Junior, New Hampton, Iowa), is a graduate of the Leadership Institute.
Studio Art
Article contributions by Bill Bukowski,
Andrew Overn, Eric Ouren, and Denice Woller
Art Department Faculty
The world needs more Christian artists. The art department at Bethany Lutheran College exists to help young adults take the gifts that God has given them and utilize them to actively engage in contemporary culture. Bethany’s art department is challenged to enable students to become productive, creative individuals with the ability to produce work that is consistently innovative, significant, and compelling.
Bethany’s first studio art major graduated in the spring of 2003. In May 2006, eleven students earned a BLC studio art degree.
“In the past, art students had to leave Bethany to finish a four-year degree, and over the years we’ve had alumni doing every kind of artistic activity from architecture, commercial art, teachers to starving artists,” art professor Bill Bukowski said.
Now a student can prepare for a variety of jobs in the computer graphics area, illustration, and photography, or prepare for post graduate study in any number of studio areas like painting, sculpture, photography, and ceramics while attending Bethany for four years.
Travel opportunities
A driving philosophy of the Bethany art department allows for students to think, see, and experience things beyond the Bethany campus. An annual trip to New York City has been a tremendous opportunity for Bethany students to visit world-class museums and commercial galleries in the center of the art world. Every other year since 1997, students have the opportunity to travel over spring break to Italy. The Italy trip has been very influential for students to visit an “art” infested culture.
“Students often have come back and said, ‘Now I understand what you were talking about,’” Bukowski said.
Study abroad has been a recent addition to the Bethany student’s choices.
“Last year, we had four students living and studying art in Florence, Italy. I am very happy that the Bethany art curriculum is not limited to our campus in Mankato. We try to help students identify and link up with programs that are compatible with their studies at Bethany,” commented Bukowski.
Combining traditional with modern
One of the unique aspects of the art major at Bethany is the opportunity that it offers students to combine the methods of a traditional course of study in painting and sculpture with newer methods afforded by modern technology. Graphic design, multimedia, and illustration enable students to make use of their God-given talents and intellect in an expanding creative marketplace.
Students choosing to study the graphic arts at Bethany learn design using industry standard software and state-of-the-art equipment. The digital curriculum currently includes coursework in page layout, image manipulation, drawing, multimedia authoring, and Web page development. Illustration students, on the other hand, utilize a more traditional set of tools to create innovative and compelling images geared towards publication in books, magazines, and other printed media.
Since every successful assignment begins with a great idea, the most important tool that a designer can possess is their creative mind. Bethany students spend a great deal of time studying the creative process and developing ways to produce truly innovative solutions to visual problems.
Design and drawing skills naturally lead into a variety of potential career choices including graphic design, advertising, public relations, and a variety of corporate and freelance opportunities. To better prepare students for these possibilities, interested Bethany students are encouraged to take advantage of internship opportunities toward the end of their academic studies. Recent internship sites have included a variety of local and regional organizations, such as Lime Valley Advertising, the Brown County Historical Society, and the Greater Mankato Chamber of Commerce.
Problem solving with materials
A student working in any of the 3-D areas is always faced with exercises in concrete problem solving. Because an object exists in space and in the world, students first need to come to terms with creating a thing that is structurally sound. The next step is to translate that knowledge across materials such as wood, stone, clay, cement, Styrofoam, paper, etc. (Objects that fall over tend not to be very successful or interesting, unless, of course, they are created with that purpose in mind.)
Consequently, students spend a great deal of time learning about the various working properties of material and how each one can be handled for maximum artistic expression. At the same time, they must deal with artistic impression; or how the audience perceives the object, and how well they understand its intent and purpose. All of this becomes knowledge and experience that the student can bring to any facet of the post-college working life, whether they stay within the art field, or go in other directions.
Processing information
Photography at Bethany is open to both art and non-art majors. A basis for the study of photography—the history of photography—is part of each semester of study. Within the photography curriculum, students are able to learn the art in four levels. In the first level, students learn the basics of photography, including how cameras function, how to use their film camera to its maximum capabilities and what makes a good photograph. They also learn how to process the images they captured by developing their film and making black and white prints. As they advance, the addition of using other types of film and paper, medium format photography, and studio lighting are added.
The advanced levels are for experimental photography and allow the students to learn over forty different techniques—from processes as old as the art to digital manipulation. While using color photography, students in the darkroom learn the techniques of color balancing and are able to make prints up to 20”x24” in size. Processing color gives Bethany students capabilities that they would not receive elsewhere in many other programs.
And not to forget the medium of choice for growing numbers of photographers, Bethany students also learn the most current digital photography techniques.
The art programs at Bethany offer excellent instruction for the serious student as well as those simply wishing to expand their knowledge of the world of visual art
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