Courts approve Pearson Challenge gift

Last spring, Bethany College announced it had raised $1 million in gifts and pledges for the Bud Pearson Swedish Chapel, successfully meeting the challenge bequest from the late Gerald “Bud” Pearson, two months before the deadline of June 23.

On November 8, the executor of the Pearson estate, having reviewed the project fundraising efforts and results, presented his findings to the Iowa Probate Court of Dickinson County. Agreeing that Bethany College had, indeed, met the challenge requirements, the court issued its approval and authorized release of the matching gift.

This brings the total amount raised to $2,228,480! Efforts are now underway to raise the remaining funds needed to complete the $3.5 million project, which, in addition to the Bud Pearson Swedish Chapel, will also include a welcome center with hospitality areas and workspace for the admissions program and the campus pastor.

Public Invited to Planning Charrette

Bethany College will host a planning charrette September 30-October 2 for the planned Pearson Chapel and Welcome Center.

Bethany’s charrette will include three major components: a design workshop, fact-finding events and a public presentation. Members of the Smoky Valley and Bethany community are invited to the public presentation on October 2 from 9-11 a.m. in Lindquist Hall.

“The goal is to plan and build the Pearson Chapel and Welcome Center efficiently, effectively and faithfully,” said Bethany College Vice President for Finance and Operations Bob Schmoll.

A planning charrette is a collaborative process in which designers, planners, end-users and all people associated with the building are present. This multiple-day process, with a variety of sessions, will provide for maximum information sharing and education. Bethany College received a grant from the Kresge Foundation in order to host this event and other planning activities to ensure a LEED certified building.

Chapel begins again!

Yesterday, August 30, chapel services began for the 2010-2011 academic year and it was packed! So many were in attendance that people were seated in the aisles and sharing hymnals! Campus Pastor Noni Strand gave the sermon welcoming everyone.

On Wednesday, September 1, this fall’s Pearson Professor of Swedish Studies Per Harling will give his first chapel talk at 10:30 a.m. Harling is an ordained Lutheran pastor in the Church of Sweden. He also composes liturgical music and has written several books on worship life, hymns and biographies.

Harling has composed a morning prayer service that will be premiered during a special convocation on October 1 at 10 a.m. in Presser Hall. More information about Per Harling can be found online at www.bethanylb.edu/harling.

Bethany Receives $200,000 Grant for New Chapel

Bethany College has received a $200,000 grant from the Earl Bane Foundation for the Pearson Chapel and Welcome Center.

"Over the last 15 years, the Earl Bane Foundation has supported scholarships, general operations and enhancements to campus information technology at Bethany College. Students have been the primary beneficiaries of the foundation's generosity and we are deeply grateful for their previous support as well as their continued support of a new chapel and welcome center," said Bethany College President Edward F. Leonard III.

The Pearson Chapel and Welcome Center will utilize principles of sustainable design. To be located in the heart of campus, the welcome center will signify Bethany's core values as a place of open hospitality to all who come to live, study, work or visit the campus. The chapel will be a place to exemplify and affirm a life of faith and learning.

"We hope this gift encourages other foundations, congregations, family groups, alumni and friends to support the project," said Vice President of the Earl Bane Foundation Mindy Tillberg.

Bethany has raised $1,260,000 towards the Pearson Chapel and Welcome Center.

Bethany College Meets Challenge for New Chapel

Nearly two months before the set deadline of June 23, Bethany has raised more than $1 million toward the Pearson Challenge for a new chapel and welcome center. The Pearson Challenge was a $1 million challenge from the late Gerald "Bud" Pearson.

"For the past two plus years, we have been excited by this challenge - truly a significant demonstration of faith in Bethany's future - and the eventual Swedish chapel and welcome center that it will bring. The welcome center will most assuredly represent the exclamation point on the campus green project and the Swedish chapel will represent a re-centering of Bethany College on our Lutheran and Swedish heritages," said Bethany College President Edward F. Leonard III during a celebration gathering on May 1 to announce the meeting of the Pearson Challenge goal.

To date, $1,039,009 has been raised for the new chapel and welcome center with a projected total cost of $3.5 million. Fundraising will continue and donations can be made by calling (785) 227-3380, ext. 8270.

Special Announcement on May 1

Bethany College will make a special announcement and presentation on Saturday, May 1 at noon in the amphitheatre in the center of campus. A lunch will also be served at this time. Please make plans to attend. Kindly RSVP by contacting Jane Asche at (785) 227-3380, ext. 8270 or aschej@bethanylb.edu.

Listen to the Messiah Festival on air and online

In addition to numerous stations' on-air broadcasts, the Bethany Oratorio Society's Friday, April 2 performance of Bach's "St. Matthew Passion" will be available as a webcast on two area stations at 7:15 p.m.:

• Topeka's WIBW 580 AM at www.580wibw.com
• Salina's KSAL 1150 AM at www.ksal.com

On Easter Sunday, April 4 at 7 p.m., Radio Kansas will air a tape-delay broadcast of the Bethany Oratorio Society's "Messiah" performance on FM stations 90.1 (Hutchinson-Wichita), 89.5 (Salina-Manhattan) and 90.9 (Great Bend-Hays). Visit www.radiokansas.org for the webcast.

The sixth gathering in support of the Pearson Chapel and Welcome Center was Saturday, March 6 in Andover, Kan. The event generated a warm and supportive response from those in attendance.

Alumni and friends from the Wichita area viewed plans for the project and received a fundraising update, while enjoying refreshments and the beautiful ambience of the Flint Hills National Golf Club. Hosts for the event were Tom Mack '82, Valerie (Lippoldt) Mack '83, Chris Crawshaw '87 and Tonya (Mueller) Crawshaw '87.

Special guests (pictured) were Brandon Simmelink '01 and Lisa (Mooney) Simmelink '02 filling in for Scott’s parents, PCWC Steering Committee Co-Chairs Scott Simmelink ’82 and Cathy (Mauney) Simmelink ’82, who were in Spain visiting their daughter Rachel.

Previous PCWC gatherings have been held in Lindsborg, Kansas City, St. Paul (MN), Denver, and Oakland (CA).

Alumni participate in Messiah after 45 year hiatus

After retiring this past year, Fred Nelson ’65 and his wife, Barb (Erickson) Nelson ’65 decided to return to Lindsborg, a place that has always been home even when they haven’t had a permanent address in town.

Barb, a retired educator, grew up in Lindsborg. Her dad owned a service station, which is now the Hemslojd, and she still has ownership of her parent’s home. Fred, a retired Lutheran Pastor, also has family ties to Lindsborg – his grandfather built the Swedish Country Inn.

Their connections to Bethany are also extensive. Barb played in the orchestra for the Messiah performances beginning as a sophomore in high school through her senior year of college. Fred also sang in the Messiah during college. Both will return to the stage this year, the first time since 1965.

Fred served on the board of directors from 1990-1994 and now, the couple serves on the Pearson Chapel and Welcome Center Committee. As they recalled, “when we were in college, chapel was in Old Main at the center of campus and it was mandatory. It was an opportunity to meet up with friends.” Their service to the new chapel comes from a feeling that chapel should always be a central place on campus. “We have always loved Bethany and while we were students, chapel was a major part of our week,” the couple said.

The Nelsons will remain in Lindsborg until after the Messiah Festival.

Chapel Update from Campus Pastor Noni Strand

We’ve had some meaningful services on campus in chapel this semester. Last week, our wonderful Bethany Handbell Ensemble performed and left us all entranced by their musicianship and skill! (I kept thinking how nice it will be when we have our new chapel and they don’t have to lug all their tables and bells over to Burnett Center from the third floor of Presser!)

The handbell ensemble recently returned from a tour through Iowa, including a concert at Bud’s beloved Lakes Art Center in Okoboji. For Ash Wednesday, the Chapel Choir sang adding such meaning and beauty to our worship. It was a full house that day as we began the season of Lent on campus.

Each year, we have a Lenten series to help us think about issues of faith and life. This year, we are focusing on “Wellness and Wholeness” in the midst of the national conversation around health care. We want to approach health and wellness, not from a political point of view, but as a broader conversation about what it means for us as humans in the midst of all of creation. What does it mean for us to be healthy, whole and well?

Five different people from campus will help us ponder seven types of wellness, based on a holistic wellness model from University of California Riverside. Together, we will consider social, emotional, spiritual, environmental, intellectual, physical and occupational wellness and how these intersect and interact in our lives as we seek to be people of health and wholeness. Then, during Holy Week, our series will conclude on Maundy Thursday with a Service of Healing.

We are fortunate, as a college of the Church, to be able to integrate faith and meaning into our daily life on campus and to think about issues together with thought and purpose. Chapel is a regular time for our community to gather, and we are blessed with so many talented people who share their thoughts. It’s exciting to think about how the presence of the new Pearson Chapel and Welcome Center will provide even greater visibility for regular chapel services and the faithful conversations that take place at Bethany.

Pearson Challenge nearly answered

Bethany College has received $100,000 for the Pearson Chapel and Welcome Center.

Bethany alumnus and current board member Sid Stolz ’83 has pledged $50,000 to the new chapel. The pledge, noted Stolz, “is a continuation of my faith and belief that Bethany College is a special place with its best years ahead. It’s also a chance to give back to an institution that so greatly enhanced my life.” The pledge is in addition to a gift of five distinctive pieces of sculpture to be featured for meditation. Previously, Stolz made major financial gifts in support of the recently completed Campus Green beautification project.

Also pledging $50,000 to the Pearson Chapel and Welcome Center are descendants of the Peter Nelson and Ed Sahlin families, Swedish immigrants who passed on to their children and grandchildren a commitment to faith, service and learning. “We are excited and honored to be a part of the Pearson Challenge for the Pearson Chapel and Welcome Center. The construction of this center is a tremendous way to celebrate what Bethany is all about,” said Bethany College Board Member Nelson Newcomer ’65, a descendant of the Nelson and Sahlin families.

These two gifts will support the new building to be located at the heart of campus. The Pearson Chapel and Welcome Center will be a hospitable place for all who worship, visit, learn and work in the Bethany Community.

“These gifts symbolize the importance of the new chapel and welcome center to friends and alumni of Bethany College. We are pleased that Sid and the families of Peter Nelson and Ed Sahlin have chosen to support this project that is so central to the mission and values of Bethany College,” said Bethany College President Edward F. Leonard III.

Bethany has raised more than $940,000 towards the Pearson Challenge, a $1 million challenge grant from the late Gerald “Bud” Pearson, to be met by June 2010. The total project cost is $3.5 million.

Photos Available Online

Please view photos from Pearson Chapel & Welcome Center events plus other campus photos online at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/41351739@N05/. (Go to our flickr site, click on "sets" and view our "Launch on the Lawn Event" photos plus more!)

Introduction

Yesterday morning in chapel, President Leonard told the story of the recent adoption of baby Thomas, a long hoped-for second child for the family. Sheila sat in the front row, holding Thomas in her lap. You could have heard a snowflake fall as he spoke movingly of the experience – full of ups and downs and moments of anxiety and uncertainty. It was, he noted, an example of the importance of never giving up, never losing faith that what is meant to be, will be.

It was a wonderful illustration of the role of chapel in the life of Bethany – a place to gather regularly as a caring community of faith, sharing each other’s daily burdens and joys. It was also a reminder of the role of faith and perseverance in any big undertaking!

This blog is about another kind of big undertaking, but one that will bring transformation and joy to Bethany’s campus – just as baby Thomas will bring transforming joy to the Leonard family.

The Pearson Chapel and Welcome Center at Bethany College, a $3.5 million project, will be located at the heart of the campus, and will be a visible statement for all who enter that we are a college of the church, and a place where all are welcome.

This would be an ambitious effort for any college, under any circumstances, but doing it in the midst of one of the worst recessions in American history? Well, let’s just say it’s given us plenty of opportunities to practice faith and perseverance!

In the last nine months or so, we’ve made our case to groups of Bethany alumni and friends in St. Paul, Lindsborg, Oakland, Denver, and Kansas City, as well as individuals and families throughout the region. There has been lots of enthusiasm, and, thankfully, lots of support.

Please join us on our journey of faith! In upcoming days and weeks, you’ll hear from many members of our team as we keep you updated on our progress. We have lots of good news to report, too!