Envoy - December 2000

Envoy
December 2000
Back Issues



		Nearly 400 students, faculty, Trustees, Associates, donors, and friends of Emmanuel School of Religion gathered to dedicate the Emmanuel Village on October 25. The Emmanuel Village provides the first on-campus housing for Emmanuel’s students. Dedicated were 26 cottages in seven courts, which have been donated by individuals and churches from around the country. Also dedicated were the Ahlgrim Carriage House, a maintenance facility for the entire Emmanuel campus; Phyllis’s Green, a large park at the entrance of the Village; and the Cross of the Risen Lord, a 15-foot tall bronze sculpture on Phyllis’s Green.

Without the help of the following donors, the Emmanuel Village would not have been possible.			KRAFT COTTAGE: Howard and Mary Ann Kraft, Paradise Valley, Arizona MARY PHILLIPS COTTAGE: Mary Hulton Phillips, Butler, Pennsylvania NEWTON COTTAGE: Karl and Ada Newton, Dinuba, California		SIZEMORE COTTAGE: George and Louise Hobbs, Painesville, Ohio, in honor of Alva Sizemore, Mason, Ohio, Denver Sizemore, Lake Wales, Florida, and Foster Sizemore, Cincinnati, Ohio TAYLOR COTTAGE: Westwood Hills Christian Church, Los Angeles,
	BUSH COURT: J. Timothy and Patricia Bush, Malvern, Ohio ELLIS COURT: Lowell and Wilma Ellis, Jonesborough, Tennessee KEEFAUVER COURT: Joseph and Rubie Keefauver, Johnson City, Tennessee NUTTER-BRADLEY COURT: Martha Bradley, Johnson City, Tennessee
	CALVIN PHILLIPS COURT: J. Smith and Betty Lanier, West Point, Georgia, in honor of Calvin L. Phillips		NUTLEY COTTAGE: Byron and Joanne Nutley, Woodinville, Washington		California, in honor of Myron and Sarah Jean Taylor
		SCHNELLE COURT: Ronald and Kay Schnelle, Abilene, Kansas STRICKLAND COURT: Jack and Joy Strickland, Johnson City, Tennessee	O’NEAL COTTAGE: Randy and Debra O’Neal, Sedgwick, Kansas PARISH COTTAGE: John and Erma Jean Parish, Yuma, Arizona PISGAH COTTAGE: Stanley and Janet Clark, Covington, Indiana PRATT COTTAGE: Delbert and Itha Pratt, Enterprise, Oregon, in honor of daughter Joyce Pratt		TRINKLE COTTAGE: Charles and Lucile Trinkle, Johnson City, Tennessee VONHOFF COTTAGE: Robert and Nancy Vonhoff, Aurora, Illinois CALVIN PHILLIPS DRIVE: In honor of Calvin L. Phillips, Elizabethton, Tennessee FOX WAY: Doug and Phyllis Fox, Johnson City, Tennessee
	BEAMER COTTAGE: David and Margaret Beamer, Potomac, Maryland BISSETT COTTAGE: James and Libby Bissett, Fulshear, Texas BLEDSOE COTTAGE: Charles and Rheba Bledsoe, Phoenix, Arizona CHAFIN COTTAGE: Robert and Jean Chafin, Marietta, Georgia DEAN COTTAGE: Roger and Verna Dean, Heyburn, Idaho HELSABECK-HOBSON COTTAGE: Dennis and Eleanor Helsabeck, Johnson City, Tennessee HOLLOWAY COTTAGE: Jeff and Kim Holloway, Scottsbluff, Nebraska JOHNSTONE COTTAGE: Graham and Marilyn Johnstone, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in memory of W. Milton and Grace Johnstone KRAEMER-BOTT COTTAGE: Robert and Jane Kraemer Mason, Ohio, in memory of daughter Linda Bott		RAMSER COTTAGE: Forrest and Helen Ramser, Athens, Georgia ROBERT THOMPSON COTTAGE: Robert and Josephine Thompson, Cayuga, Indiana ROBISON COTTAGE: Wilmer and Judy Robison, Tiffin, Iowa		DOROTHY KEISTER WAY: Dorothy Keister Walker, Johnson City, Tennessee OOSTING WAY: Cornerstone Christian Foundation in honor of Kenneth Wayne and Angelica Oosting, Cocoa Beach, Florida TRUE WAY: Roy and Vivian True, Johnson City, Tennessee PHYLLIS’S GREEN: Phyllis Rowell Jackson, Roswell, Georgia, in honor of her parents, Phil and Ruby Rowell, and her children, Ashley Jackson and Jeff Jackson AHLGRIM CARRIAGE HOUSE: Friends from First Christian Church of Johnson City, Tennessee, Rocky Mountain Christian Church of Niwot, Colorado, and First Christian Church of Chicago, Illinois, in honor of Eugene Ahlgrim

Lift High the Cross
by Dr. C. Robert Wetzel, President The Dedication Service for the Emmanuel Village concluded with Professor Robert Hull leading the congregation in George Kitchin’s famous hymn, “Lift High the Cross.” It was a fitting conclusion for a glorious occasion. Two years of developing the Village and weeks of preparation for the Dedication Service had all come together in a moment of beauty. The Emmanuel Village provides comfortable student housing at an affordable rate. But the concept of the Village is to create a sense of Christian community that will enhance Emmanuel’s program of preparation for ministry. Both married students with families and single students will more readily be able to share in a fellowship that encourages and enriches their commitment to Christian service. Furthermore, in 1999 the Emmanuel Trustees instituted a policy of spouse tuition scholarships. These scholarships enable the spouses of full-time students to enroll for courses and enter into the life of the School in a way that has not ordinarily been possible in the past.				above Randall Secrest of Phoenix, Arizona, sculpted the Cross of the Risen Lord, a centerpiece of The Emmanuel Village.
Each cottage in the Emmanuel Village bears the name of the donor, as does each court and lane. This was done to remind students for years to come that the Village did not simply drop down out of heaven, but that there were Christian people who wanted to share in the students’ preparation for ministry. Following the Dedication Service, donors were invited to the cottage homes of students for an opportunity to get acquainted and to see the interior of a cottage. By all reports this proved to be a mutually satisfying experience. An unanticipated addition to the Village was the Cross of the Risen Lord, created by Arizona sculptor Randall Secrest and funded by Mr. Albert (Bud) Newhall. Well after plans for the Village were underway, Dr. William Boice informed us of Mr. Newhall’s desire to provide the cross for the Village as a surprise wedding present for his new bride, Penny, and in honor of other members of his family. And it was a surprise! Penny was so overwhelmed when the plaque was unveiled that she was speechless and could only respond with a loving kiss for her husband.
The Cross of the Risen Lord is a unique creation by artist Randall Secrest. Its very concept resolves a long-standing disagreement as to how the cross should function as a Christian symbol. Today when one sees a crucifix, that is a cross on which the body of Christ is portrayed, it is usually thought of as a Catholic symbol. And many of us will have heard non-Catholic Christians interpret the empty crosses of their own churches as affirming a belief in the risen Lord. “We do not believe in a dead Jesus still on the Cross; we believe in a risen Lord,” they might say. But, of course, Roman Catholics believe in a risen Lord as well. On the other hand, those who only see the empty cross may forget that we serve a crucified Christ who enables us to make sense of our own suffering. And, as the Apostle Paul often was, we are comforted in our suffering by knowing that we are sharing in the sufferings of Christ.						left Bud & Penny Newhall, donors of The Cross of the Risen Lord, with sculptor Randall Secrest
Randall Secrest has captured both the meaning of the Crucified Christ and the Resurrected Christ in the Cross of the Risen Lord. Although the body of Christ is not there, His body has left its imprint vividly imbedded in the cross. Thus we can be inspired to sing, “Were You There When They Crucified My Lord” or “He Lives.” In either case it was especially appropriate to sing “Lift High the Cross” on Dedication Day. As Christians we affirm that Jesus did suffer under Pontius Pilate and was crucified, and we also affirm that on the third day Jesus arose again from the dead. The Cross of the Risen Lord affirms both messages. And it stands as a permanent reminder for all those living in the Village of why we are at Emmanuel School of Religion.