Greeting summer from the streets of Frankfurt, Germany, 11 EMU students adventured through the cities and countryside of Germany and Switzerland. Students visited many Anabaptist congregations, historical sites, and community projects. Some of these sites include visiting the Frankfurt Mennonite congregation, which focuses on environmental sustainability and peace building, and the German Mennonite Peace Committee, who work with Comet-ME, an Israeli-Palestinian organization focused on providing clean water, internet, and energy services to isolated communities in sustainable ways. Students were able to learn more about Anabaptist history as well as connect the past to the present through taking in the cultures around them and peeking at the communities built on support and care for one another.
Fourth-year student and a member of the Counseling Master’s program, Daisy Hamsher, noted that this experience was “very meaningful” to her. She proceeded to say that while she is no longer religious, she resonated with “how much support and community exists with the Mennonite/Anabaptist community.” While students need to apply classroom knowledge to broaden their academic comprehension, they get to experience local life and culture in order to grow socially. Hamsher reflects on the experiences within German society by stating that she appreciates how German culture “focuses on cultivating honesty and care for one another’s experiences.”
Interculturals serve as an academic experience for hands-on learning to expand upon and apply knowledge from the classroom. Associate Professor of Religious Studies, a Germany native, and Intercultural Leader for the trip, Dr. Heike Peckruhn, comments that for her “it was wonderful to take students to places that have formed me when I was younger,“ exhibiting that these worldwide experiences are more than just educational, they’re transformative.
EMU has been offering intercultural excursions for over 40 years. These opportunities allow students to stand out to future employers, gain a hands-on understanding of the world around them, and value differences in all cultures. “It’s a terrific opportunity to learn – not just course content, but about yourself, being with others, about making mistakes and getting over it, about the complexity and interconnectedness of people and communities in our world,” commented Peckruhn.As the trip came to an end, students landed in Zürich, Switzerland, where they attended a large international gathering that celebrated 500 years of Anabaptism. This celebration drew a crowd of over 3500 people from all around the world to commemorate the first baptisms which spoke out against the state religion in 1525. Alongside the Germany/Switzerland intercultural group, EMU Chamber Singers was selected as the choir to represent North America. Only five choirs were chosen.
