Windsock

These Brothers of Mine

“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me….whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”
-Matthew 25: 35-36, 40

Listening to Anna Gant, Emily Anderson and Becca Crist in chapel a few weeks ago, I was filled with admiration for the passion that took these girls to Washington D.C. to join the AIDS Walk. I often feel compassion and a desire to help alleviate the pain that overwhelms the world, but I have rarely acted on my convictions.

I have no end of excuses for myself. I am too busy. I don’t have time. I don’t have enough money to make a significant contribution. I haven’t found the right opportunity to help. But these excuses did not keep Anna, Emily and Becca from acting. They found the time, they found the opportunity, and they made a significant contribution. How could this story fail to inspire?

The thought of anyone finding offense in what these girls said had never crossed my mind. But, while talking to people after chapel, I realized that I had assumed far too much. Some people were outspoken in their objection to the AIDS walk.

Why? Because the AIDS walk was “for gays.” Though there are many “innocent” AIDS victims, a walk specifically to benefit gay AIDS victims is an insult. Gay AIDS victims deserve what they are getting because it is the logical outcome of their immoral behavior. Why should we support them?

At first, I was at a loss as to what to say in response to this. I had thought that I was relatively “on the same page” as these people, but I was not even in their book. I couldn’t begin to say anything that would help them understand me, because we were operating under such different assumptions. I felt that I was speaking a foreign language, and the words that I heard were no more coherent.

The question I was not able to answer has not left me.What is the justification for helping gay victims? This is where I ask myself: why should we help anybody? Why should we love anyone or act on that love?
The answer is simple. Because He first loved us, and died in an act of love we will never be able to fathom. Do we imagine that because we are rich enough, because we have “good” parents who made us go to Sunday school and who now pay for our Christian education, we are in any way better than people who have not been so blessed? Can we claim our morality, our “good behavior,” for ourselves, and say with a smile that we would be the people we are today without the advantages had from birth? Can we look on any people, whom the Lord Himself has looked on with unbearable love, and say that they do not deserve our time, our money, and all our hearts?

This is not a matter of Gay’s Rights. It’s not a question of whether being gay is "okay." This is a matter of helping the sick.

Christ claims as His brothers the hungry, the thirsty, the naked, and the sick. He tells us that anything we do for these, we have done for Him. Does Christ claim as His brother the gay AIDS victim? I believe that He does. I believe that when Anna, Emily and Becca joined the AIDS walk, they walked side by side with Christ.

- Hannah Cranston

Living the Balanced Life

            It’s a Thursday night and you are at home pulling an all nighter to finish what’s left of your homework. The stress of the week is beginning to pile up on you like a truckload of elephants. You anxiously look at the clock as it sleepily chimes 2 am. Exhausted you wonder, will there ever be an end to the craziness?!?

The fact of the matter is the average EMHS student’s school day is filled with classes meant to stretch them intellectually. We as a student body are presented a challenging curriculum that in the long run will help us to succeed. However, in the mean time, the academics we pursue can be a strenuous journey. The stress of homework and extracurricular activities could cripple the unique joy our high school years. Is there any way that we can control the amount of stress we are under?

Believe it or not, I think there is! I believe that we are capable of balancing our lives in a way to eliminate the stress, get the schoolwork done and still have time for the activities we enjoy. At the beginning of this year, I had committed myself to too many activities, making my life a constant circus act. I hardly had any time at home, and the time I did have I found occupied with all my commitments. I could not continue this lifestyle or I would indeed come to a crashing halt.

If you feel this way about the year, here are a few tips that could help you on your journey. First of all, prioritize your life activities. Having an idea of which activities in your life hold the greatest value helps to prioritize what truly matters. Secondly, have a support group of friends and family who will keep you accountable to staying on the track to success. As stated by Desmond Tutu, “When you are in a crowd and you stand out, it is only because you are being carried on the shoulders of others.” Finally, remember to keep God’s word in your daily life. Take time to read the life lessons God has given us through His word. Having a deeper understanding of how God wants us to prioritize our life can help guide us in balancing our lives.

- Rose Jantzi

A Mere Interpretation on the Pursuit of Knowledge

What is humanity’s purpose in life, why does humanity exist, or more importantly, why is the race of Adam and Eve special compared to the rest of the living world? For thousands of years, the ancients dreamed of deities and demigods and sought to explain existence through the mysterious and unattainable. Later, intellectuals attempted to answer such profound questions with reason and observation; thus, philosophy was conceived.

            The fledging philosophy society at EMHS stimulated a few thoughts along the lines of those unfathomable questions. Most seniors recently discussed human nature and mankind’s part in the universe during the Kingdom Living classes. Other than the occasional source of theological study and the single philosophical query at EMHS, little is devoted to furthering the ideas that truly matter. The dilemma exceeds the parameters of Eastern Mennonite High School and plagues the American culture on a whole. Questions that weigh ultimate reality and existence humiliate the studies that society wishes its drones to perform with such excellence. Yet, society has taught individuals that the importance of dividing the square root of x by the function k times the cubed root of the cosine of 23.4 deserves priority over the capacity to articulate such fundamental thoughts of life and self-awareness. Obviously other studies bear importance and necessity, but the proportions have entered a state of disarray and inequality, with philosophy courses introduced in colleges, if at all, and students in high school attending advanced math and science courses. Philosophy resembles a seed, one that must flourish with time and experience; young individuals need a basic understanding of their race’s greatest and most enduring questions.

            However, philosophy appears not to be the only one receiving the ax, but the arts as well. Although different than philosophy, the arts struggle for survival against the same type of plague, reflecting the American culture's silent purge of certain pursuits. Creative writing and experimenting with sculpture, paint, and the infinite variety of mediums have suffered a sentence of apathy and faded appreciation. Music seems to have faired better than the alternative forms of expression, but has only excelled with the promises of wealth and fortune. Long forgotten are the days when willing patrons supported skilled individuals whose works could stir the emotions of the human soul. This day in history, one might have to pull a shift at the local burger joint to pursue life’s great concepts or follow his or her calling to write or form artwork.

            Hypothetically, when some advanced race stumbles on earth and discovers its residents extinct, what will they find? A translated sequence known as the human genome, computers boasting processing capabilities greater than living organisms, perhaps a monument on Mars. Let humanity forget not why they traveled into space and sought to conquer that ominous frontier or what inspires them decode the complexity of the human body. Sometimes the greatest calling is simply finding out who is behind the message and why humans received it.

  -Kyle Smith, Co-Editor

Flu Season is Here Already?: An Editorial

     This time of year is upon us once again – the time when chapel is disrupted a dozen or so times every morning by sneezes or coughs, the time when tissues are as valued as Orbit gum, and the time when teachers postpone tests in light of absences. Flu and cold seasons is back early and with a vengeance this year, and it’s no longer a question of if you’ll get sick – the question is when, and from whom.

      It’s easy to feel pretty, well, sick when you “catch a bug,” so to speak. Everyone knows that stuffy noses, lungs full of gunk and constant nausea aren’t exactly a day in Park Woods. To make matters worse, sick EMHSers are faced with two unpleasant choices. They can either come to school regardless of their symptoms, enduring their illness while attempting to learn something (or worse, try to take a test without dripping phlegm all over the paper). The alternative is to stay at home, stock up on legendarily strong cold medication, and try to feel better – while getting homework done between naps, coughs, and rushes to the bathroom.

     But wait! Since when has being sick become all bad? I remember (back in the good ol’ days) when being sick was like a vacation. I hope that I wasn’t the only fourth-grader who was always pleasantly surprised to wake up feeling a little under the weather. A sick day meant freedom from the drudgery of school, a day or two of grace from all assignments, and a day of being catered to by a concerned Mom or Dad. A sick day was like a snow day’s little brother – most of the benefits, but with a few hitches (such as, well, being sick). The occasional sneezing fit or mountain of used tissues next to the couch was always worth the one-day vacation and heart-warming “get well soon!” calls from friends.

     When you feel yourself getting ill this season (as you will, I promise) try not to curse cruel Fate too much. Take the much needed day off, and enjoy yourself. Do a dose of Nyquil and enjoy its psychedelic effects. Drag out the old Nintendo 64 and try to beat your Super Smash Brothers record. Ask your Mom or Dad to make you some chicken noodle soup, but specify that you’d like Goldfish crackers in it. Or, just stay in bed all day watching soap opera after soap opera, making bets about who will hate whom next. Being sick need not turn into a week-ruining event – it can be a much needed vacation from first quarter’s stifling stress. Who knows, you might actually find yourself a little sad when your symptoms pass.

-Whitney Showalter, Co-Editor

Which He Bought With His Own Blood: An Editorial

Eastern Mennonite High School prides itself on its well developed diversity in cultures, nationalities, and beliefs. One key testimony of this rich diversity expresses itself through the chapels that EMHS hosts four times a week. Speakers, musicians, travelers and individuals of exceptionally experienced backgrounds share their stories with the student body, and sometimes their theological opinions. The influence each speaker has over the dimmed chamber, dense with hundreds of listening ears, varies between the individual, but undoubtedly, the one with the message wields the power of words. And words can prove quite influential.

For that very reason, questions have emerged in the Chapel Planning Committee and throughout other student organizations affiliated with the school. Comments pertaining to the chapel of September 5^th sparked intrigue and debate in numerous classes and circles of discussion. The clamor started after chapel speaker, Jackie Milam, reflected on a story of her missions trip to a closed East Asian country. When her account revealed a decision where a young Asian woman, who seemed close to converting to Christianity, struggled between leaving behind Buddhism and her family of Buddhists or accepting Christ and suffering negative ramifications from her family, people suddenly straightened in their seats.

If anyone in the auditorium hadn’t given Jackie their attention before that sentence, they were certainly devoted listeners now. The proclamation that one couldn’t follow the teachings of Christ and Buddha simultaneously had certainly struck a sensitive nerve in a noteworthy populace of students. Immediately after chapel, conversations erupted in the hallways and second period classes. The fervor behind most of the discussions showed that preexisting tensions of subscribing to two religions had plagued the students prior to that day. The chapel had only served as a catalyst for the surge in controversy over the subject; many have pondered the unstable matter for years.

Meeting only hours after the chapel, the Chapel Planning Committee noted the disagreements within the student body and weighed whether or not Buddhism is considered another religion, or only a philosophy or lifestyle. Inevitably, the conversation quickly shifted to a related topic. The members began to call into question what denominations and religions represent appropriate beliefs for EMHS chapels.

Some students voiced their opinions by advocating for a greater diversity of chapel speakers, ones representing Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, while others in the meeting sat with uncertain expressions on their faces and retorted shortly after. When vocalizing resistance to such a different variety of beliefs, the opposition countered by stating that the students need to learn more about other religions and remove any preconceptions. Before the meeting could reach a heated intensity, the tone sounded, and everyone scattered to their fifth period classes.

Yet, the dilemma still remains; it doesn’t dissipate with a passing meeting: Who is appropriate in a Christian chapel?

“Christian” might just be the word that will guide the administration and Chapel Planning Committee in their wise decisions, or, if ignored, will permit the organizations to wander astray. Eastern Mennonite High School, although diverse in many aspects, is Christian and has always had a Christian foundation in their mission. Should individuals come to chapel, representing the name of a foreign god or fundamentally different spiritual leader, and share their ways and beliefs, the school will begin to erode its Christian identity.

If the school intends to invite other religions like Islam or Buddhism, why include only the white of Christianity and the gray of those beliefs and values? While we’re sending out invitations, let’s not forget the atheists, with their arguments of the superiority of science and reason over faith. The black component of atheism would provide an interesting perspective to add to the institution’s ever expanding spectrum of beliefs. God would certainly approve of a speaker who would deny His very presence and miraculous impact on the lives of both students and faculty. If the line won’t include only Christianity, then where will it be drawn?

The morning chapels of EMHS should remain Christian, bearing the Christian message to provide a clear and supportive direction for young individuals, who may even stand in the midst of trials that weaken their faith. A seminar or formal session outside of school hours would prove the most appropriate place for a speaker originating from another religion. People who have interests in the speaker’s message or beliefs could attend, and those who found the differences too controversial wouldn’t have to listen to the speaker. Even a world religions class or history course could provide an opportunity to learn more about religions outside of Christianity. Understanding the alternative religions is important, but integrating their words into a time, place, and element sacred to Christianity appears unwise.

- Kyle Smith, Co-Editor