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Within the framework of the council’s mission and purposes, what we do follows the interests of the members, and so is in a continuing stage of development. There is a weekly seminar, an annual luncheon and access to on campus lectures.

The weekly seminar, however, serves as a core, common activity of the council. This seminar series runs each year from September to May. While a membership activity, guests are also welcome to attend seminars of interest. People who wish to attend regularly should consider becoming a member of the council.

FRESNO PACIFIC UNIVERSITY AND BIBLICAL SEMINARY
COUNCIL OF SENIOR PROFESSIONALS 
SPRING 2025 SEMINARS

The Twenty-Second Year of the Council   

Wednesday, 2:00-4:00 p.m.   
Pioneer-Johanson Conference Room, ������ý Steinert Campus Center  
SCC 103 
(unless otherwise noted) 

January 8 - Jordan Ringhofer: “The future and priorities of the Pacific District Conference of the U.S. Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches”

• Jordan Ringhofer is the District Minister of the Pacific District Conference.
• Moderator:  Hope Nisly

January 15 - Ken Friesen: “Electrifying America”

• Ken Martens Friesen, Professor of History and International Studies at ������ý will discuss the need to electrify America.  The challenge of climate change requires a dramatic shift to electrify everything around us, from transport to homes to business.  The challenge is an enormous as the stakes - the future habitability of our planet for our children and grandchildren.  Ken is the  author of Energy, Economics, and ethics: The promise and peril of the Global Energy Transition.” He will share about this energy transition from an international and national perspective, as well as his own personal experience.

• Moderator: Pat Unruh

January 22 - “Anabaptism at 500 Year Commemoration”

• 10:00am - Dr Brian Schultz: Chapel 

  • In E. Lyles Main Stage Theater, Warkentine Culture & Arts Center

  • Dr Brian Schultz is a professor of Old Testament Studies and Hebrew at ������ý.
• 11:30-1:30pm - Dr Valerie Rempel
  • Luncheon in BC Lounge (sign up by clicking on this link: or at a CSP meeting.
  • The Anabaptist Movement began in Zurich, Switzerland on January 21,1525 when a small group secretly met to worship and confirm their belief that the Bible taught baptism should be voluntary and limited to believers. Although many of the early believers were persecuted, imprisoned and even executed for their beliefs, their particular vision of discipleship that follows the way of Jesus continues to inspire people to this day.
  • Dr Valerie Rempel is the current Director of Accreditation for the Association of Theological Schools and the former Vice president and Dean of Fresno Pacific Biblical Seminary.

January 29 - David Dominguez: 2025 Jean and Louis Janzen Visiting Writers Series.

• THIS SESSION BEGINS AT 2:30 PM
• David Domingez is the 2025 Visiting Writer for the Jean and Louis Janzen Visiting Writers Series. He is an English instructor at Reedley College where he teaches composition and poetry writing. He is a poet and the author of three books of poetry.
• Moderator: Hope Nisly
   

February 5 - Yuya Ono: “Bearing the name of Christ in Japan”

• Yuya Ono will tell us his life story and how he came to study at FPBS. He will also talk about the Christian Church in Japan and how he plans to be     involved with the church in the future.  He is currently     pursuing an MA in New Testament at Fresno Pacific.  He was born into a typical Japanese family and lived as a cultural Buddhist/Shintoist until he became a Christian when he was a college student.  
• Moderator:  Pauline Kliewer
   

February 12 - Garry Prieb - “Do You Hear the Drum Beat?”

• As a missionary kid growing up in Congo, I have always had a love for the African people. I have frequently returned to Congo since 1994 to encourage the Mennonite Brethren church there. Our ministry is primarily involved in supporting Bible distribution; scholarships to attend local Bible schools; and evangelism and church planting. The MB Church Congo is vibrant, growing, and this past August celebrated 100 years of ministry.

• Moderator: Steven Redekop

February 19 - Ashley Swearingen & Julie Vue: “Facing Fresno Initiative.”

• Facing Fresno is a community learning and engagement initiative to explore the impact of racism in Fresno.  It is a journey through the past, present and future of racial and economic justice in our community.  As participants face the history of injustices in Fresno, they are encouraged to also look inward to understand how history has shaped us and how we can begin to shape to future of Fresno.

• Moderator: Hope Nisly

February 26 - Jeff Wilson and ������ý Concert Choir: “Selections from Handel’s Messiah”

• Moderator:  Katherine Herms

March 5 - Lowell Enns: “The Journey of a Family with a Child with Unique Needs in California.”

• Follow the journey of navigating complex and disconnected systems of support for a family in California who begins to observe the unique needs of their young child. Lowell will share about the work of Exceptional Parents Unlimited in the Central Valley (and beyond) and how their 48-year history has contributed to helping tens of thousands of families seeking help to allow their child to thrive.

• Moderator: Pat Unruh

March 12 - Olga Shmakina: “Looking Back on Life in Russia and Ukraine”

• Olga has experienced the mind-boggling transformation of Russia and Ukraine during her lifetime.  Born to a Soviet air force pilot and his Jewish wife, Olga has journeyed through a life beginning in a Russian communist setting, then experiencing the birth of Ukrainian independence, and now in our own Mennonite brand of “Life in Fresno.”  She will share her own memories and reflections on this provocative and unusual journey.
• Moderator: Alan Peters

March 20-22 - Janzen Lectureship:  Dr Gale A Yee, Nancy W. King 

• Thurs, March 20, 7pm, main lecture of ������ý campus (dessert at 6pm) – location TBD
• Fri, March 21 - student lecture in College Hour – location TBD
• Sat March 22, 9am - noon.  Lunch to follow – location TBD
• Dr Yee is a Hebrew Bible scholar with a specialty in postcolonial and cultural criticism.
• Dr King is Professor of Biblical studies emerita Episcopal Divinity School, and currently with the Center for& Library for the bible and Social Justice.
• Moderator: Alan Peters                                                          

March 26 - Christine Wall & Bruce Porter - “Future of the MCC Relief Sale”

• The West Coast Mennonite Relief Sale will take place on April 11 and 12, 2025. The sale board has some new leaders this year.  Chair Christine (Chris) Wall and Vice-Chair Bruce Porter will talk about the upcoming sale.  There will be some     changes, but many features of the sale will remain as they have been.  Chris and Bruce will discuss these changes and answer questions from the group     regarding the sale. As an added bonus, Chris will share just a bit about the Mennonite Central Committee Learning Tour which she and her husband Sam will be taking to India in January.
• Moderator:  Pat Unruh

April 2 – FIELD TRIP - TBD

April 9 - Phil Bergen: From Fresno Pacific to ‘mission accomplished’

• Phil’s Fresno Pacific experience changed his life, ultimately contributing to the birth of the Church in an unreached people group. He will share some of the principles that bore fruit in reaching “mission accomplished”—the Word became flesh among the Nanerige people, and they began explaining from experience how to take Jesus’ advice and build lives on it. Phil would appreciate the opportunity to tell you true stories of what God did so that entire communities could meet Christ and begin enjoying God’s promised blessings out in public for all to see.

• Moderator: Al Dueck

April 16 – Delbert Wiens: “A Meditation on Going Home”

• Delbert Wiens was born during the depression to an ethnic, German-speaking, Mennonite family. As an adult, he became the righteous older sibling, who wanted, oddly, to identify with his elders. Returning home to Corn, Oklahoma with a severe case of culture shock after living in Vietnam, he wrote "New wineskins for old wine" to tell Mennonites they were succumbing to Evangelical forms of "modernism." Unfortunately, the relentlessness of his analysis convinced many that he had a "dangerous mind." This book tells the story of his recovery of the wisdom of his elders.

• Moderator: Al Dueck

April 23 - Rod Janzen: “The Rise and Fall of Synanon.”

• The presentation will review the history of the Synanon community, whose last residential center was located near the town of Badger, not far from Heartland Christian Camp.  Synanon was one of the most successful communes established in the US during the 20th Century but is often recalled for its cultish characteristics.  25,000 people lived in Synanon between 1958 and 1991, and the group established important connections with political leaders (Thomas Dodd, Pat & Jerry Brown), social activists (Cesar Chavez & Bobby Seale), jazz musicians (Joe Pass, Charlie Haden and Art Pepper) and ‘self-actualization psychologist Abraham Maslow. Recent HBO and Paramount documentaries have renewed interest in the group.
• Moderator: Pat Unruh

April 30 – END OF YEAR LUNCHEON – Location TBD

• Nova Safo - “Opera Concert”

2023-24 Senior Professionals Steering Committee:

• Al Dueck
• Frank Duerksen
• Harold Ens
• Dalton Reimer
• Pat Unruh