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.