Spring Break Trip Highlights

Spring Break offers a week for students and faculty alike to get some much-needed rest and relaxation, as well as unforgettable travel experiences domestically and abroad through the Department of Music’s groups, Office of Campus Ministries, and athletics trips.

The Department of Music’s ensembles traveled across the country this year to the south and the East Coast. Choral Director Gene Peterson led the Bethel Choir on tour in Missouri, Tennessee, and Minnesota with a total of 11 performances. The Wind Symphony, conducted by Steven Thompson, played seven performances on the East Coast at churches and schools. A particular highlight was their performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in the heart of Washington, D.C. The Women’s Chorale toured through Minnesota and Wisconsin, under the direction of Nancy Reimers Parker.

The Office of Campus Ministries facilitated many annual student mission trips. The 2016 trips sent teams around the country and around the world to: Appalachia, Chicago, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, New Orleans, and two teams to Belize. Also sponsored by Campus Ministries was the annual reconciliation and learning trip called Sankofa. “Sankofa” is a word from the Akan people of Ghana, West Africa, which is part of an expression meaning "it is not taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot." This trip traveled throughout parts of Minnesota to areas significant to the history of the Ojibwe and Dakota Nations and offered opportunities to meet local leaders, learn from experts, and visit historical sites. The trip, open to students, staff, and faculty, helped them discover the role of faith, sacrifice, and commitment that formed the spirit of the Ojibwe and Dakota Nations and how that applies to our community today.

In athletics, Bethel’s tennis, softball, and baseball teams spent the week in the Orlando, Florida, area. The softball team played 10 pre-season games. Both tennis teams had a successful week, with the men beating regionally-ranked University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, adding to their 7-0 Spring Break, and the women finished 6-0, including a win against Calvin College in Michigan. The baseball team played 11 games, including their annual game against the Minnesota Twins Rookie team. The women’s golf team spent the week in Phoenix, Arizona, and the men’s golf team was in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.