A letter from President Phipps

At a time when there is so much division and polarization in our world, the need for reconciliation between God and humankind and among neighbors is of critical importance. A historic commitment to reconciliation is one of Messiah College’s greatest strengths. When the College community engaged a branding team of experts (resulting in our see anew campaign), the research identified Messiah’s distinction or “category of one” as the educational objective of preparing students for lives of service, leadership and reconciliation. Many colleges focus on the learning outcomes of service and leadership, but few address reconciliation.

To deepen Messiah’s understanding of and passion for reconciliation, we have sent teams of faculty, staff, administrators, students and trustees on an annual “Returning to the Roots of Civil Rights” bus tour. (See article on p. 20.) This profound experience has fostered shared understanding and honest dialogue about the challenging work of reconciliation.

In 2015, I joined Messiah’s team for the tour. After visiting iconic historical sites and listening to the testimonies of courageous participants of the struggle for equality in Montgomery, Selma and Birmingham, tour participants gathered together to hear Carolyn McKistry, a survivor of the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, and Lisa McNair, the surviving sister of a victim of that same bombing. With candor and clarity, Carolyn and Lisa described their painful lifelong journeys toward reconciliation – even with perpetrators of the horrible crime. I was humbled by their spiritual maturity and grace, and I questioned whether my personal Christian faith is mature enough to follow Carolyn and Lisa’s examples.

When I awoke the next morning, CNN was reporting that on the previous evening (as we were meeting to discuss reconciliation), Dylan Roof walked into a Charleston, South Carolina, church and murdered eight African-Americans who had assembled for Bible study. The juxtaposition between the previous evening’s discussion and the hate-filled act of violence disturbed me deeply. As I boarded the bus for the next leg of the civil rights journey, I was overwhelmed by strong emotions, and I made a renewed commitment as a Christian and as Messiah’s president to faithfully and steadfastly work for reconciliation. What a privilege it is to join with the members of the Messiah College community to seek to incarnate Kingdom principles of righteousness, justice and love as we fulfill our educational purpose.