Back in the 1970’s, my neighborhood on Rockingham Drive held an annual summer block party. People grilled hotdogs, served mac and cheese, and ate watermelon. Favorite foods brought neighborhood kids around the table, but before long basketball hoops and backyards beckoned us for games lasting past twilight. Each year as new people joined our growing neighborhood, the block party turned acquaintances into friendships and our street as a place of belonging.
EMS’ Centennial Homecoming is our block party for you! There will be great food to bring you to the table, but events and friendship sightings will quickly grab your attention. Held during a shared weekend with EMU, October 12 – 15, 2017 will fill your life with opportunities to reminisce, rekindle, and remember alongside friends from over the years. It will also be a chance to hear about future vision, break ground, and watch today’s generation speak, play, and perform.
Pictured below are the faculty and staff of Eastern Mennonite School’s Centennial year. Can you identify the 19 alumni in this photo? Alumni called back to teach and serve represents a powerful testimony of the influence EMS has in shaping lives for the future. Shouts of confidence in EMS also come from the 59 children of EMS employees who currently attend the school.
Over the past 100 years, Eastern Mennonite School has formed neighborhoods of belonging and friendship which last a lifetime. Learning together and being part of events and activities during formative years create stranger-no-more communities. . . and we are so blessed to have thousands of graduates and friends who give of their talent, time, and treasure as part of God’s faithfulness and blessing to EMS.
Visionary ideas from the early 1900’s sprouted and have been carried forth by generations of many loyal families. The early vision for a Bible, music, and vocational school grew into a college, and now a university with a seminary, graduate programs, a satellite program, and world-renowned Center for Justice and Peacebuilding. This early vision also grew deeper, attracting young families with today’s unified elementary (EMES), middle (EMMS), and high (EMHS) schools. On October 12th, we’re excited to break ground on the next century of our K-12 campus as we begin work on our new elementary location through Let the Children Come campaign.
Our one-of-a-kind school environment where everyone belongs has attracted many newcomers to the EMS neighborhood. Our doors are open wide for families seeking Christian education from an Anabaptist perspective, where each student is known, is taught and encouraged to follow Jesus, belongs to a caring community, explores and thinks constructively, practices leadership, serves, and learns peacebuilding skills. Presently, our neighborhood includes 15 denominations and 48 congregations … and growing. We love our neighborhood where God’s love rules and strangers become friends for a lifetime. Come join in our “Block Party” and celebrate with us this Centennial year!
