Over the weekend, a tradition of winter term was continued: the staff-student social, famous for homemade doughnuts from the FB kitchen. The social is an evening of games, relaxation, conversation, and food…a chance to gather after being scattered in different places, with different tasks. It was a fun evening!

Our Summer Term brochure is headed to press and the online application is ready! Join us for five weeks of study and renewal this summer. More information is available here.

We are at the two week mark of winter term. That means a number of classes have ended and there are good-byes to say. Thank you, instructors and two week students, for your part in participating in winter term this year!

The first week of classes, Winter Term 2012, has finished. It’s been a good week filled with the energy of a new beginning.

The week began with the first lake effect snow of the season. We are grateful that winter term students arrived safely.

This year, Faith Builders is pleased to again offer a number of classes by guest instructors. Classes offered for the first time this year include Anabaptist History, Starting and Running a Christ-Centered Business, Cross-Cultural Understanding, as well as others.

Our spring issue of the newsletter is posted! Click the newsletter below to read the latest news from Faith Builders.

As 2012 marks the 25th anniversary of classes offered by Faith Builders, we are reprinting articles describing the formative vision for Faith Builders. This article was written by John D. Martin and first printed in Articles of the Covenant in December, 1984.

Here’s your chance to plan ahead! Faith Builders has opened registration for our annual College student Seminar and Retreat, scheduled for July 5-8, 2012. Registration is available via a printable PDF application or an online registration form; take your pick. This encouraging weekend for college students is limited to 42 persons, so get your name on the list now!

College Student Seminar and Retreat

Our winter issue of the newsletter is posted! Click the newsletter below to read our annual reporting issue.

Newsletter 101, annual report issue

I’ve posted photos of last weekend’s Teachers Conference. You can view the photos here.

Our Teachers Conference and Administrators Conference concluded on Sunday. We were delighted with the strong interest in this year’s event. We asked those attending why they were attracted to the conference (88 responses, some selected more than one choice).

• 47% – School decided to attend this conference instead of or in addition to ACSI, CMTI, or MACSA
• 23% – John D. Martin as keynote speaker
• 19% – Topical theme of weekend
• 17% – Hearing about conference at Teachers Week or Summer Term or through FB staff and students

The size of the conference this year added some challenges, primarily in making space for main sessions and meals. We were grateful for the committed efforts of staff and students to make hosting the group work so well. Beatrice calculated that the kitchen served 187 persons at Saturday brunch, 179 at Saturday supper, and 178 at Sunday lunch.

Our format for  Teachers Conference this year was a bit of an experiment with the effort to combine an event for administrators with Teachers Conference. In general it seemed to go smoothly. The administrators expressed appreciation for the administrators’ track, but clearly they feel that a dedicated weekend for administrators is of more value. We welcome additional input as we consider which education-oriented events will be most valuable and appropriate for Faith Builders to offer.

Here is a sampling of feedback from attendees.

• “Please keep this going! Don’t stop! I would love to come next year!”
• “What you are doing for Mennonite schools is so significant.”
• “I wish my entire school administration and staff could have been here. Please keep it up!”
• “It has been a much-appreciated inspiration at this point of the school year. But please don’t do it at the expense of your other programs.”
• “It is life-giving.”
• “I’m a first-year teacher, and I found the weekend conference very helpful. Thank you! P.S. The food was DELICIOUS.”
• “Thanks for pampering us! The coffee bar was great.”
• “How could more people be accommodated? In other words, how could I get more teachers to come without overfilling the facilities?”

In general, those who attended indicated that they appreciate the size of this conference (in comparison to Teachers Week or other conferences) and hope that it continues in this format. They offered a variety of input about what would make the conference more attractive and helpful, which we will review in our planning for the future.

Thanks to those who helped and those who attended this weekend!

Forty-one men will be sharing two programs of choral music in the Plain City, Ohio area on Sunday, November 13, as follows:

• Urbana United Methodist Church, Urbana, OH, 11:00 AM
• United Bethel Mennonite Church, Plain City, OH, 2:30 PM

Choir members come from Canada, Michigan, Wisconsin, Missouri, Maryland, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, South Carolina, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The men learn the music prior to coming for a weekend of rehearsal and workshops on choral singing and vocal technique. The programs are presented as a culmination of the weekend activities. The program includes a variety of choral musical styles, including samplings of church music, classical selections, American spirituals and gospel music. It is presented in the mood and format of a musical worship service. The choir is directed by Brandon Mullet, an instructor at Faith Builders Educational Programs.

For more information call Faith Builders at 814-789-4518, ext. 224