A Word from the President

May 1, 2001

Bethel Community Members,

It is my dream that Bethel College & Seminary become a Christian learning community where all people and races are respected, valued, and made welcome, where all expressions of racism are eliminated, and where genuine biblical reconciliation is practiced. I know that this is a dream shared by many of you and one that the Board of Trustees fully endorses. We will be conducting anti-racism workshops which are the beginning of a deliberate effort to follow the Lord's command that we truly love our neighbors as ourselves (Luke 10:27), affirm our oneness in Christ (Galatians 3:28), and demonstrate a love which is the distinguishing mark of a follower of Christ (John 13:35).

Last spring at a Royal Rally and again in August at the faculty retreats I announced my intention of conducting a new series of mandatory workshops and employee development sessions that would help us to make progress toward our goals of eliminating all expressions of racism and practicing genuine biblical reconciliation on our campus. During the summer and fall a small group met with various consultants to request proposals for such educational workshops. I appointed a task force comprising 12 faculty and staff members to assess the proposals and make a recommendation. The core of this team will continue to provide leadership to this initiative as we go forward. The current task force members are listed on the reverse side of this letter.

I am pleased to inform you that we have selected the Tri-Council Coordinating Commission (Minnesota Churches Anti-Racism Initiative) and its director Jim Addington to facilitate the scheduled sessions. Jim will facilitate the series of workshops designed to help us understand and dismantle racism.

The first scheduled session will include the members of the President's Leadership Team and me, along with another contingent of Bethel employees. I look forward to being a participant in that first session and I encourage you to reflect prayerfully on the vision we have and view these workshops as an opportunity to become better followers of the Christ we serve. To help facilitate your participation in a way that respects your schedules, a list of workshop dates are included on the reverse side of this letter. Please sign up promptly and we will try to honor your first choice. Each employee—faculty, staff, full-time, part-time—is expected to attend one four-hour session. Each workshop will have between 20 and 40 participants. If you have questions about this initiative, please contact any member of the task force.

Throughout its history, Bethel has taken steps toward this dream. The current Bethel Community Council has furthered this dream through many excellent initiatives. All of those efforts and the coming workshops are part of an ongoing journey that will continue as we strive to become the individuals and the institution God wants us to be.

George K. Brushaber
President