Faith and memory

In times of social, political, economic and institutional disruption, as well as personal uncertainty, human communities and individuals have turned to faith and to memories of faithfulness as sources of hope and guidance.

The relationship between faith and memory is illustrated by the writer of the New Testament epistle to the Hebrews, who in Chapter 11 defines faith as “the assurance of things hoped for” before recalling the faith stories of biblical characters from Abraham and Sarah to Rahab and Gideon. Faith has a history, in other words, with saints and stories by which we remember how to act faithfully—with the assurance of hope rather than the certainty of outcome.

During the 2024-25 academic year, our civic engagement theme activities at Bluffton have focused on this relationship between faith and memory as we face significant challenges: from destructive wars in Gaza, Sudan and Ukraine, to a polarizing national election in the U.S.

We have commemorated two significant milestones in Bluffton’s faith history: 125 years of peace church education beginning with the founding of Central Mennonite College on our campus and 500 years of Anabaptist faith from the beginnings of the Mennonite church during a baptismal ceremony in Zurich, Switzerland.

As we remembered the stories of Bluffton and of its Christian heritage, we have considered how these memories of faithfulness may help us face the challenges of our time with resilience and hope.

Keeney Peace Lecture

Dr. John Fea, distinguished professor of history, Messiah University, presented the annual Keeney Peace Lecture Forum.

The author of many books on U.S. religious history expanded on how American evangelicals considered and rejected alternative paths of political witness to the current embrace of fear, power, nostalgia and culture wars.

Spiritual Life Week

Rev. Dr. Maxwell Kennel, editor of the Anabaptist and Mennonite Studies Series, was the Spiritual Life Week guest speaker.

Kennel worked with students as they explored Deuteronomy 6:4-9 and the theme “Faith and Memory.” A key point raised by Kennel was the critique of theological and historical traditions that oversimplify or idealize the past.