School year begins with blessing

In the opening service of the 2009–2010 school year at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary on September 8, George R. Brunk III, interim president, encouraged students to give priority to how God knows them, and he received a blessing for his new role at the seminary.

Using the text from Galatians 4:9, Brunk explored how students pursue knowledge of God and how God knows them. In this verse, Brunk noted, Paul begins with a reference to how the reader knows God, then stops and corrects himself to emphasize that the reader also is known by God.

Brunk acknowledged that seminary students are obligated to pursue learning with all the energy and intellegence they can muster. However, he continued, “what counts is whether that learning supports and enhances a relationship with the great Knower whose knowledge alone will stand you in good stead from here to eternity.”

Janice Yordy Sutter, member of the AMBS board and a pastor of Kern Road Mennonite Church, South Bend, Ind., led a blessing for Brunk and the seminary community. Speaking for the board, she affirmed Brunk’s gifts for the interim president position, which he assumed in late July. She said, “We are delighted that God led us, and that George assented to become interim president during this year.”

She noted Brunk’s service as vice president and academic dean at Eastern Mennonite Seminary and in a variety of leadership roles in the church. “You have a passion for the Bible, for the mission of the church, for education and for administration. You bring many gifts that are needed in this time,” she concluded.

AMBS welcomed 34 new students for the fall semester, including those studying on the campus in Elkhart, at the AMBS-Great Plains program in Kansas and in online courses. Complete enrollment numbers will be available later in September.

Mary E. Klassen / September 2009