TheExperience-Spring08

THE EXPERIENCE

The magazine of Warner Pacific College

Spring 2008

UNTO OTHERS

FROM THE PRESIDENT

THE EXPERIENCE

Keeping WPC accessible

TheExperience@warnerpacific.edu

n Februrary, Warner Pacific College announced a change in its traditional undergraduate tuition and financial aid structure. At $16,630, tuition and fees for new students in the 2008-09 academic year will be 37% lower than the current average tuition and fees for four-year private colleges and universities in Oregon and Washington (source: College Board).

While Warner Pacific has been generous in granting institutional aid to its traditional undergraduates - over $3 million this year alone - many families and students might still experience “sticker shock” when they see the listed price of private college tuition. We believe that our new tuition will give prospective students and their families a much clearer view of the net affordability of a Warner Pacific education.

The new tuition structure will not affect current traditional undergraduate, graduate, or Adult Degree Program students. Their tuition plans, including scholarships and aid awards, will remain on the current model.

We make this move at a time of institutional strength. Warner Pacific ranked #11 among western region baccalaureate colleges Jay A. Barber, Jr. ’64

by U. S. News & World Report magazine’s 2008 “America’s Best Colleges” edition. In April, President we will begin work on a $5 million renovation project of Egtvedt Hall that will transform it into a one-stop student center, including a new cafeteria, book store, and coffee shop. In addition, we will add music practice rooms, rehearsal rooms, faculty offices, and a recording studio to McGuire Auditorium (see more on page 5).

The world has great need for people equipped with the qualities that our graduates possess: critical thinking skills, ethical values and a commitment to service. Consistent with our core values, we want the unique education that only Warner Pacific can deliver accessible to more students. If cost is an obstacle to students obtaining this type of education, we feel compelled to take action. We must remain true to our educational mission and values of providing education that is inclusive and that serves students from diverse backgrounds.

If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to call us.

Thank you for your continued faithful support and prayers for Warner Pacific College. These are truly exciting times at WP!

EDITOR / PHOTOGRAPHER / DESIGNER SCOTT A. THOMPSON sthompson@warnerpacific.edu 503-517-1123

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Sincerely,

Jay A. Barber, Jr. ’64 President

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS JAY A. BARBER, JR. ’64 JOY GREEN ’00 KATY STEDING CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS TROY HUTCHINSON BEN RABER ED BERGLER “The Experience” is produced three times a year by Warner Pacific College for its alumni and constituents.

Opinions expressed are those of individual authors and do not necessarily reflect official policies of Warner Pacific College. Contact us at TheExperience@warnerpacific.edu or write to The Experience, Warner Pacific College, 2219 SE 68th Ave., Portland, OR, 97215.

Warner Pacific is an urban, Christ-centered liberal arts college dedicated to providing students from diverse backgrounds an education that prepares them for the spiritual, moral, social, vocational, and technological challenges of the 21st Century. WPC is affiliated with the Church of God, Anderson, Ind. PRESIDENT JAY A. BARBER, JR. ’64 jbarber@warnerpacific.edu 503-517-1212 VICE PRESIDENT FOR INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT ANDREA COOK, PH.D. acook@warnerpacific.edu 503-517-1246 DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COLLEGE RELATIONS KATY STEDING ksteding@warnerpacific.edu 503-517-1369 Warner Pacific College 2219 SE 68th Ave Portland, OR 97215 503-517-1000 www.warnerpacific.edu ©2008 Warner Pacific College All rights reserved.

Cover photographs by Scott A. Thompson

THE EXPERIEN C E Spring 2008

FEATURES 5 COLLEGE LOWERS TUITION With tuition and fees at $16,630, WP will be one of the most affordable private schools in the Northwest.

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9 SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE Renowned author Dr. James E. Massey shares his thoughts on personal faith and the intercultural church.

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LONG JOURNEY HOME Raised amidst civil war in Liberia, freshman Titus Palmquist ’11 pursues life with the gratitude and purpose of a survivor.

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CARING FOR LOS NIÑOS Steve ’86 and Jackie (Mouser) Scott ’70 provide day care for children of field workers, host short-term mission teams in Vicente Guerrero, Mexico.

12 BEYOND BORDERS WP students examine faith in a diverse world through an eclectic study abroad program.

13 ENRICHING FAMILIES IN ASIA Professor Phyllis Michael helps train a new generation of marriage and family therapists in Shenyang, China.

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19 YOU’RE ALL THEY’VE GOT Advice from an American volunteer at a South African orphanage during her last week on the job.

DEPARTMENTS 2

From the President

4 Campus News

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14

Class Notes

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Alumni Profiles

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In Memoriam

We welcome comments, story suggestions, and corrections.

TheExperience@ warnerpacific.edu Scott A. Thompson, Editor 503-517-1123.

CAMPUS NEWS

Collins grant to fund development of Urban Studies program

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arner Pacific has received a $290,000 grant from the Portland, Oregon-based Collins Foundation to support the development and implementation of an undergraduate Urban Studies program. The three-year award will assist the college in developing curriculum, hiring personnel, and establishing scholarships, with the expectation of classes starting in the fall of 2009.

“The development of the Urban Studies degree is central to the educational mission at Warner Pacific College,” said college

“We will work to re-configure existing courses to give them an urban studies focus while new courses will have to pass through the normal approval process,” said Dr. Cole Dawson, Vice President for Academic Affairs.

This is the second major grant Warner Pacific received in 2007. The M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust, based in Vancouver, Wash., awarded a $231,000 grant to support WP’s participation in the Orbis Cascade Alliance, a library-resource organization comprised of Northwest colleges and universities.

LETTERS

Past disappointments prove blessings in disguise I attended Warner Pacific from 1991 to 1994. I was on the last varsity basketball team Warner Pacific had before intercollegiate athletics were shut down in 1993. Even without Athletics, I decided to return to Warner for my senior year because I had grown to love the school, the staff, my friends, and the Lord.

I was fortunate to be elected as the ASWPC President. I was also fortunate to complete my student teaching and to begin coaching at West Linn High School with then-varsity boys’ coach Bart Valentine ’75.

I served as an Assistant to Coach Valentine for two years before I was honored with my first full time teaching and head basketball coaching position at Central High School in Independence, Ore. After three years at Central, I returned to West Linn High School, where I taught social studies for six years and served as the varsity girls basketball coach.

When Warner Pacific brought back Athletics in 1999, Bart left West Linn to become WPC’s athletic director and varsity men’s basketball coach. I still remember our conversations about how excited he was to take on this challenge. What a wonderful choice for all involved!

I’m currently in my third year as Vice Principal and Athletic Director at Henley High School in Klamath Falls, Ore. My wife Corina and I have a five-year old son named James who sat on my lap while we cheered the

president Jay A. Barber, Jr. ’64. “We will align ourselves more effectively with the urban environment of our campus, as well as the changing face of the urban Christian liberal arts college student.”

WP will become only the fourth school among the 105 North American institutions affiliated with the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities to offer an Urban Studies major, and the only member institution in the Northwest. The college expects to hire a director this spring and to begin the careful process of building coursework.

WPC men’s basketball team on to victory over Oregon Tech, January 19 (the third year in a row in Klamath Falls). The Lord had a plan for me, Bart, the college, and for many others during that tough time in the college’s history. And the plan is continuing to unfold. Go Knights!

Todd Moore ’94 Klamath Falls, Ore.

Child of WPC alumni shaped by college’s legacy I did not attend Warner Pacific College, but my paternal grandparents, James ’43 and Doris (Johnson) Dougherty ’43, met as students at the college, as did my parents, Douglas ’68 and Shirley (Dietz) Dougherty ’70.

As I grew up, my parents spoke glowingly about their time in college. They were strong advocates of Christian higher education.

Dad became a Church of God minister and Mom put her degree in Christian Education to use at home raising seven children.

A love for learning, nurtured in our family, led me to doctoral studies in sociology and now a professorship at Baylor University. Though I am not one of the thousands of alumni of Warner Pacific College, I am one of countless others touched by the college.

And I am not unique.

The reach of the college extends through its alumni into classrooms, churches, business, government offices, and households around the globe. I am grateful for the imprint of Warner Pacific College on my life.

Kevin Dougherty Waco, Texas

The Experience

WPC experience as good as graduate work While I wait to begin medical school at the University of Colorado, in Boulder, I’ve been working as a professional research assistant and study coordinator at the university’s School of Medicine.

Though I didn’t have a graduate degree at the time, I was hired with this research group because of the tremendous level of instruction and internship experiences I had during my undergraduate years at Warner Pacific.

I received an unmatched level of attention from my science professors, who guided me through the process of applying for the Murdock Scholars Program and later the U.S. Olympic Team’s Sport Science Program. These experiences have defined my future as a professional and as a scientist. As my current employer said when she hired me, “Kalen, you have the experience of someone with a graduate degree. That is why I hired you.” I can only thank WPC for this.

Kalen Abbott ’06 Denver, Colo.

Please send letters to: (e-mail) TheExperience@ warnerpacific.edu (mail) Editor, The Experience

2219 SE 68th Avenue

Portland, OR 97215.

Letters may be edited for space or for content prior to publication.

College lowers tuition 23 percent With tuition and fees at $16,630, WP will be one of the most affordable private colleges in the Northwest, improving access for middle income families.

Remodeled Egtvedt set for Fall ‘08 debut

students don’t pay full “We want our price. prospective “ We ’ v e a l w a y s known that a Warner students to know Pacific education was a that it truly is value but the message affordable to attend that ‘you can afford this’ wasn’t getting Warner Pacific and through to families,” get a high-quality said Vice President for education.”

Institutional Advancement Andrea Cook, - Andrea Cook, Ph.D. Ph.D. “It was time to V.P. of Institutional try something differ- Advancement ent – something that would turn people’s heads and make sense.”

The tuition changes will not affect current students, whose aid packages were calculated based on higher tuition levels. Tuition for the current 2008-2009 academic year is $ 22,000.

Though growth in Warner Pacific’s Adult Degree Program has increased overall enrollment at Warner Pacific to 832 as of spring 2008, traditional undergraduate enrollment has remained steady for several years in the 350-360 range. While increased enrollment isn’t the foremost goal, it would be a welcome benefit.

A n d r e a Co o k , Wa r n e r Pacific’s Vice President of Institutional Advancement, answers questions from KXL Radio reporter Doug Carter following a Feb. 25 press conference announcing WP’s tuition and financial aid restructuring plan.

“We want our prospective students to know that it truly is affordable to attend Warner Pacific and get a high-quality education,” said Cook.

To see samples of local television and radio news coverage or to learn more about the tuition plan, visit www.warnerpacific.edu.

McGuire Auditorium 4

Egtvedt Hall 5

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arner Pacific College is remodeling Egtvedt Hall into a one-stop location for students.

The new project includes a brand-new cafeteria with a state-of-the-art kitchen, coffee house and bookstore. There will be renovated spaces for admissions, financial aid and the registrar, as well as expanded space for the student business office.

The project is expected to start the first week of April 2008 and be completed in time for the new academic year later this fall.

Another part of the project deals with remodeling spaces beneath McGuire Auditorium, including new offices for music faculty, music practice rooms and a recording studio.

In order to reclaim the classroom space that will be lost due to the remodeling beneath McGuire, additional classrooms have been added in the library. Classroom space will be created in the basement of AF Gray Hall once the cafeteria moves to Egtvedt.

The project is expected to cost $5 million and will be paid for through contributions and financing. A webcam will make it possible to watch the construction’s progress at www.warnerpacific.edu.

Scott A. Thompson

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arner Pacific College has announced a bold plan to counter rising costs in higher education by reducing tuition to levels not seen since 2002. Tuition and fees for incoming traditional undergraduate students this fall will be $16,630 – 23 percent lower than in 2007-2008 and 37 percent lower than the $26,249 average cost of tuition and fees for four-year, private colleges and universities in Oregon and Washington in 2007-2008.

“A college degree is critical for vocational opportunity and economic stability,” college president Jay Barber told reporters at a Feb. 25 press conference on campus. “If cost is an obstacle for young people, then we are compelled to take action that reduces that barrier.”

Warner Pacific’s decision sheds light on a common practice among colleges and universities in the United States of raising tuition annually – sometimes more than twice the consumer price index – only to discount the listed price on paper through institutional aid. In Warner Pacific’s case, the college awarded over $3 million in institutional aid, with 97 percent of traditional, undergraduate students receiving assistance.

However, families unfamiliar with the financial aid process can easily feel “sticker shock” when they see a college’s overall price, not realizing that most

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New construction 1 - Music faculty offices 2 - Music practice rooms, music lab 3 - Redesigned entrance 4 - Multi-purpose room (upper level), bookstore / coffeeshop (lower level) 5 - Remodeled offices (upper level), new cafeteria (lower level) 6 - Food service kitchen (lower level)

Spring 2008

To read updates and to watch a webcam diary of the entire construction process, visit www. warnerpacific.edu.

CAMPUS NEWS WPC volunteers mark MLK holiday by serving area school

Staff and students spent part of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Jan. 21, 2008, helping spruce up nearby Pioneer Special School at its high school annex on the corner of SE 71st Ave. and Division. Using a $500 MLK grant from Campus Compact, approximately 21 staff and students spent the morning installing bulletin boards and painting interior walls of the former nursing home. “[Promoting] art and literacy is a goal for the school, but they didn’t have any place to hang students’ artwork,” said Campus Ministry Director Jess Bielman.

ADP faculty honored

Seven WP staff and faculty took some needy kids shopping December 5, 2007, as part of the “Christmas for Kids” project, cosponsored by Fred Meyer stores and other local businesses. Using gift cards provided

by Fred Meyer, the employees took children on a shopping spree at the Hollywood West Fred Meyers store, in N.E. Portland. In all, 225 children participated in the event.

HHK students teach fourth-graders healthy habits

Members of the Health and Human Kenetics course “Current Health Issues” gave a series of presentations last fall in a fourth

The Warner Pacific drama department treated audiences to the rollicking musical farce “Once Upon a Mattress,” last November.

(Top, L to R) Lindsay Adams ’09, Jeffrey Doering ’11, Desirae Stewart ’11 (as lead character Princess Winnefred), Ben LaMar ’10, and Jason Hiller ’11 perform a group song. (Left) Mandy Bozart ’08 and Jonathan Quesenberry ’11 as Queen Aggravaine and Prince Dauntless the Drab.

grade class at nearby Bridger Elementary School, in SE Portland, on how to eat well and stay active.

The Warner Pacific students made four weekly visits in all and gave demonstrations on preparing nutritious snacks and finding fun ways to W P s t u d e n t get exercise. They Keeva Duffey ’10 handed out inex- h e l p s B r i d g e r pensive pedometers Elementary fourthgrader Martin - small electronic Fisher operate a devices that clip to pedometer. the belt and measure the number of steps a person takes - and challenged the children to take 10,000 steps each day.

“Our students wanted to make a positive impact on childhood obesity in some way in the Portland area,” said class professor Tom Kunke.

ADP students launch newsletter

Students in the Adult Degree Program have created a newsletter intended to help foster a better sense of community among the 485 commuter students that are spread out between four campuses in Portland, Ore. and Vancouver, Wash. Called “Reflections,” the inaugural issue was distributed electronically, via e-mail, last February.

The Experience

“We hope ‘Reflections’ will be a place … where [ADP students] can get to know fellow students, staff, faculty, and alumni that have gone before,” wrote editor and ADP student Aaron Butler ’08 in a letter that opened the first issue.

Ed Bergler

Employees shop for needy kids

“Once Upon” a hoot

Scott A. Thompson

Students in the Adult Degree Program (ADP) recognized three faculty last December for outstanding contributions in teaching: Kimberly (Fulk) Anderson ’02 (Human Development), Janet Huber (Business), and William Dobrenen (General Education).

Huber served as the DiHuber rector of Education and Dean of Students at Heald College, in Portland, for 10 years before joining Warner Pacific as an adjunct Business instructor in May of 2005.

Anderson graduated from Anderson WP in 2002 with a degree in Human Development and Family Studies and earned a Master of Arts degree in Counseling from George Fox University in 2004. She works as a clinical specialist Dobrenen in crisis work and has her own private practice.

Dobrenen has taught general education courses at ADP, including English and Humanities classes, for the last three years and also teaches English courses on the main campus.

Ethics Bowl team finishes third The WP Ethics Bowl team took third in the 2008 Ethics Bowl competition, sponsored by the Oregon Independent Colleges Foundation and hosted on March 8 by Lewis and Clark College, in Portland. The event featured teams from nine private Oregon colleges debating ethical scenarios head-tohead before panels of judges.

The WP team consisted of (pictured above, L to R) Cassi Clerget ’08, Heather McLendon ’08, Kimberly Radosevich ’08, Jonathan Cotton ’10, and Scott Mangle ’09.

The team’s coach is Associate Professor of Ethics and Religion Dr. Bryan Williams.

The team won matches against Pacific University, Concordia University, and Lewis and Clark College, but lost to Linfield College. They finished tied for second with eventual champion Concordia University, but lost the tie-breaker that would have sent them to the championship round.

Individual portraits by Scott A. Thompson

Fall athletes, coach earn accolades

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Lukic

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Price

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2007 Women’s Soccer Team

Cunha

Team photo by Troy Hutchinson

he resurgance of the Warner Pacific men’s and women’s soccer programs were two of the major highlights of the Fall 2007 athletic season. The men’s soccer team (11-7-0) finished second in conference behind rival Concordia University and landed in the 2007 NAIA Region I Tournament last November, where the Knights lost their opening game 3-0 to Simon Fraser University.

For their efforts, five Knights received regional or conference awards. Chris Price ’09 (Portland, Ore.) and Davor Lukic ’09 (Beaverton, Ore.) were selected to the NAIA All-Region team. They combined for 18 goals and 18 assists during the season. The duo was also named First Team All-Cascade Conference, along with teammates Zach Barron ’09 (Portland, Ore.), a NAIA Scholar Athlete, and Joao Borges De Hollanda “J.B.” Cunha ’08 (Oregon City, Ore. / Brazilia, Brazil). Not to be outdone, coach Bernie Fagen was selected Cascade Conference coach-of-the-year for men’s soccer.

For the women’s soccer team, there was no room to go but up after winning only one game in 2006. With new head coach Justin Rosenblad, the team responded by going 8-9-1 overall and 4-5-1 in conference. The

Gradwohl

team lost 3-1 to Oregon Tech in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament.

Forward Rachelle Kliewer ’11 (Tualatin, Ore.) was named a Second Team All-Conference selection after leading the team with 12 goals and 7 assists for the season.

The team also picked up three selections as Honorable Mention All-Conference: mid-fielder Lindsey Schumaker ’08 (Hes-

peria, Calif.), defender Kelsey Walton ’09 (Portland, Ore.) and freshman goalkeeper Ali Foster ’11 (Roseburg, Ore.).

While the WP women’s volleyball team (13-12, 9-11) fell short of the playoffs, Leah Gradwohl ’10 (Salem, Ore.) was selected as an All-Conference player. Teammate Marcy Oakland ’08 was Honorable Mention AllConference.

O’Gallagher named Oregon Small College Male Athlete of 2007

Scott A. Thompson

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Spring 2008

KNIGHTRO is in the house!

Warner Pacific’s official mascot, “Knightro,” made his debut Feb. 8 during Homecoming. The mascot, months in the making, will be a fixture at home games in the 20082009 basketball season.

Scott A. Thompson

Senior Scott O’Gallagher ’08, who averaged nearly 25 points a game as a junior, is the first WP student to be named the top Oregon small college male athlete of the year.

arner Pacific basketball standout Scott O’Gallagher ’08 received the 2007 Ad Rutschman Small College Male Athlete of the Year Award at the 56 th Annual Oregon Sports Awards, held January 27, 2008, in Beaverton, Ore. It was a first for a WP athlete in any sport.

The award honors O’Gallagher’s outstanding junior year during the 2006 - 2007 season. He averaged 24.9 points per game in leading the Knights to a 286 overall record and the 2006-2007 Cascade Conference Co-Championship.

O’Gallagher was selected First Team All-American and First Team All-Cascade Conference, and was the 2007 Cascade Conference Athlete of the Year.

“The [award] symbolizes a lot of hard work and hours in the gym,” O’Gallagher said. “Being chosen was an emotional moment for me and my family.”

CAMPUS NEWS

Education professor helps novice journalism teachers avoid burnout

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“Most first-year journalism teachers have little or no training in teaching journalism.”

- WP professor Bill Flechtner

Couple makes college a team effort Elizabeth ’07 and Troy Klein ’07 complete Business degrees with a little help from each other, their classmates, and their kids.

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into a fun experience. We called it our date night.”

The Kleins’ daughters, Sierra, 12, and Alexa, 13, picked up the slack at home, feeding the pets, preparing meals, and finishing their own homework so that their parents could concentrate on studying.

“We felt it was important to set a good example in finishing our degrees,” wrote Elizabeth, “but because they are such great students, they inspired us to do our best.”

The Kleins made such an impression on faculty that they were asked to be two of five graduating seniors to speak at Mid-Year Commencement, December 15, at New Hope Community Church, in Portland. After the ceremony, the Klein family was ready for some well-deserved rest and relaxation.

“We’re looking forward to doing things that we put on hold,” wrote Elizabeth.

rom all appearances, Elizabeth ’07 and Troy Klein ’07 had it good.

They each had successful careers, Elizabeth as a project management consultant and Troy as an energy consultant with NW Natural. They had two wonderful daughters and a home in the small Oregon town of Mollala. However, they shared one lingering disappointment.

Neither had finished college.

So in 2006, the Kleins got down to business - literally. They enrolled as a couple in the same Business Administration cohort in WP’s Adult Degree Program.

They added once-a-week classes, group projects, reams of reading and research papers, and a 40-mile commute to their already busy lives. But the Kleins took it in stride.

“Going through ADP together was a great experience,” Elizabeth wrote via e-mail. “Even though there were logistical challenges, especially with children, work, and travel distance, we made it

NFL veteran Bidwell speaks at Warner Pacific fundraiser

Scott A.Thompson

The JEA mentoring program is based on the New Teacher Project at the University of California, Santa Cruz, whose goal is to help novice teachers and school administrators become confident, skilled professionals. The program touts a 95 percent retention rate, as compared to the national teacher drop out rate of nearly 50 percent for all disciplines and 75 percent for new journalism teachers within the first three years of work. Oregon is one of only five states in the country with a JEA mentorship program in place.

Flechtner says being a publications advisor is particularly stressful because an instructor must not only teach all aspects of print production, but he or she must also balance the free speech concerns of students with the interests of school administrators.

“You can have a bad concert or a bad game and next week it’s forgotten, but that newspaper and yearbook are there forever,” Flechtner said.

New graduates Elizabeth ’07 (left) and Troy Klein ’07 (right) with their daughters Alexa (in blue) and Sierra at Mid-Year Commencement, December 15.

Scott A.Thompson

arner Pacific Education professor Bill Flechtner knows well the stress and rigor involved with teaching journalism. Flechtner taught high school journalism in Oregon for over thirty years before joining the Warner Pacific faculty in 2000. Now, through a mentoring program sponsored by the Journalism Educators Association (JEA), Flechtner is sharing his experience with two first-time high school journalism teachers at Portland-area schools Jefferson and Rex Putnam.

“Most first-year journalism teachers have little or no training in teaching journalism,” said Flechtner Flechtner, who taught at Oregon high schools Ion, Clatskanie, and Milwaukie prior to coming to WP, where he advised the college’s “Beacon” yearbook from 2000 to 2003. “I wish I had had this kind of help when I started.”

NFL kicker Josh Bidwell (center) was the keynote speaker at Warner Pacific’s Eugene fundraiser, Feb. 12. He is pictured with Rev. Mike Mugford ’77 (left) and WP’s Director of Development, Greg Moon.

The Experience

Josh Bidwell, a former University of Oregon football kicker who now plays for the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, spoke at a February 12 fundraising event at the Valley River Inn, in Eugene, Ore. Bidwell, a Christian, spoke about the importance of scholarships in preparing students at Warner Pacific to realize their potential. His 2007 book “When It’s Fourth and Long: Keeping the Faith, Overcoming Odds, and Life in the NFL” chronicles his football career before and after being diagnosed with testicular cancer at age 23.

Speaking the truth in love Dr. James E. Massey, Dean Emeritus of Anderson University’s School of Theology, spoke on campus last November. In a candid interview, he shares his thoughts on personal faith and the intercultural Church.

What did you preach on during your visit to Warner Pacific?

Do feel you can speak in a way that will resonate with the many different age groups represented in the audience?

This week I dealt with the importance of being responsible enough to make a reasonable decision about one’s life. How shall I handle the temptations or the opportunities or the options that face me and how to do that with perspective on what is true, what is good, what is beautiful, what is beneficial?

It doesn’t matter where one is in life. That’s a common issue.

Your preaching style is very succinct. You don’t tell stories to simply warm up the crowd. All of your examples relate to your central theme.

Somebody asked me how many points a sermon ought to have, and the answer is at least one (laughing). I have transferred much of what I learned in music to composing sermons. A composition for music has to have a certain form - a melody, a refrain, a constant “something” there. The frills are ornaments in order to enhance.

Dr. James Earl Massey has published 15 books on a range of topics, from the art of preaching to the history of African Americans within the Church of God.

In a sermon, it has to be the same way.

One thing must be the point. You learn how to elaborate, how to improvise, but always with the right focus on the lead motif, as we call it in music - a central thing being said.

It’s a joy to preach, but it’s also hard work to focus and get it ready. I’ve always wanted to speak truth in a universal way so that

“The word holiness, when translated, means ‘the character of God expressed in our lives.’ You know what that is by looking at Jesus.” whoever is hearing me will catch the point without it being denominational truth or a racial truth, or an American truth. I think universally; I don’t think narrowly.

How are you staying engaged during your retirement?

I write every day. I’ve recently written two volumes that were very close to my heart. One was my autobiography [“Aspects of my Pilgrimage”] and the other is a history of how the Church of God message first came to African-Americans and what has happened among us with that message Spring 2008

Scott A.Thompson

Based on Hebrews 12:17, our noblest quest is to follow peace with everyone, and to pursue holiness, without which no one would see the Lord. The word holiness, when translated, means “the character of God expressed in our lives.” You know what that is by looking at Jesus.

We also know what it is by meeting people with the characteristics of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and self-control – these are the things that develop as we pursue God to have more and more of his likeness in us.

Similar to tuning a radio, the Holy Spirit in our lives is supposed to help adjust us so more and more of God comes out and less and less static from the human side. That’s our quest.

[“African Americans and the Church of God”]. Among all of the denominations that have roots in Wesleyan theology – The Salvation Army, Nazarenes, Pilgrim Holiness, Church of God – none of them had a history such as I wrote about African Americans. In 2006, it got the Smith Winecoop Book Award.

In the early years of the Church of God, there was camaraderie between [black and white] leaders. Then, in order to get along with the culture and not offend anybody, they started having “black” church and “white” church, separately. Then we saw the period of integration right after the mid-1950’s when new congregations were being established on a multicultural basis.

That’s where we are now.

What do you see as the next chapter in race relations within the Church?

The multicultural churches are the advanced guard. I think the times demand that we be identity conscious, just for the sake of our own personal heritage. It’s not divisive to think of your own origin, and to mix your strength with others, because everybody is strengthened. I take the Christian faith seriously enough to say that everybody who is a believer is a brother or a sister, whatever the label over the door.

Interview conducted, edited, and condensed

by Scott A. Thompson

STUDENT LIFE

Long Journey Home Raised amidst civil war in Liberia, freshman Titus Palmquist ’11 pursues a new life in the U.S. with the gratitude and purpose of a survivor.

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Titus Palmquist ’11 was adopted as a teenager by the Palmquist family of Tacoma, Wash.

Scott A.Thompson

itus Palmquist ’11 figures he was eight years old when he became a man. That’s how old the Warner Pacific freshman was when he left his family in a refugee camp in the West African nation of Liberia to seek an education at a Christianrun orphanage in the capital city, Monrovia. Palmquist had no idea this bold decision would lead to a new life in the United States for himself and three of his siblings, each of whom was later adopted by American families.

“I remember telling my mom that I wanted to learn so [our family] wouldn’t suffer,” said Palmquist, whose birth name was Sam Hoff. “She said, ‘Sam, I hope this is the right choice for you. I support you.’”

Born on Christmas Day, 1987, Palmquist was the second of six children raised by a single mother, Cecilia Hoff. He grew up during two civil wars that claimed as many as 200,000 lives and displaced millions more. Most of his early life was spent on the run with his family, trying to escape the fighting.

“We did whatever we could do to survive,” said Palmquist. “You would carry your luggage on your head. If the soldiers saw something they liked, they’d take it. If you talked [back], they would kill you right there.”

By 1996, Palmquist’s family was living in a refugee camp, surviving on food supplied by the United Nations. Palmquist would go into the bush to cut wood for charcoal or do odd jobs in a nearby market for a few dollars a day, but it bothered him that he wasn’t in school.

When he heard that an orphanage in Monrovia was accepting children whose family couldn’t care for them, he saw his opportunity.

The orphanage would give him food, shelter, and – above all – an education he could later use to support his family.

“My mom always told me that when you do something, you have to ask yourself what will be the outcome in the future?’ said Palmquist. “[Not] everything is going to be easy…I thought [the orphanage] would be a good place.”

Palmquist and a younger cousin traveled to the orphanage, which was operated by African Christians Fellowship International. Because Palmquist had never been to school, teachers wanted to place him in the first grade. However, he begged them to let him stay with kids his own age, so he started school at the third grade level – and managed to catch up in short order.

“I didn’t know how to read or write, [but] the homework was designed to educate kids, not make fun of them or grade them,” Palmquist said.

That same year, a cease fire put a temporary end to the civil war and former rebel leader Charles Taylor became president. However, in 1999, war returned when two separate rebel groups began fighting to oust Taylor.

To make matters worse, Palmquist got news in 2000 that his mother had died of suspicious causes. Palmquist fell into shock and nearly gave up on school. He only returned after his mother appeared to him in a dream.

“She popped up out of nowhere in a field and asked ‘What are you doing here?’” Palmquist said. “She told me to take the right path.”

Palmquist was a hard worker, not only in his schoolwork, but with general masonry, carpentry, and plumbing projects on the grounds.

He expected to work as a tradesman when he graduated high school.

However, word came in 2003 that a family in Tacoma, Wash. wanted to adopt him. He had met the family briefly in 2002 when they had visited the orphanage to adopt another boy.

“I didn’t believe it, but I had to believe it,” he said.

Palmquist managed to get three of his younger siblings – sisters

Hadassah and Zinneh and brother Musa – into the orphanage so they also might find families. (They later were adopted by families in North Carolina).

After months of getting paperwork in order, the day came for Palmquist to leave his homeland for the United States. On December 24, 2003 – one day before his 16th birthday – Palmquist and two other children from the orphanage flew from Liberia to Ghana and then on to New York City and finally, Tacoma, where Palmquist met his new parents, Stan and Diane Palmquist and their three biological children.

Stan is a chemist, and Diane teaches high school life sciences. The couple was also adopting one of the children with whom Palmquist had traveled on the plane, a teenaged girl named Rita.

Palmquist says adjusting to life as a member of a family of eight in the United States was a challenge, given the independence he had had in Liberia.

“I had never had that relationship of being in a family, so I wasn’t used to it,” Palmquist said. “But my adopted family has always been there for me. Their love for me is unconditional.”

Because one of Palmquist’s adopted brothers was named Sam, Palmquist chose a new middle name, Titus. He also started attending a small, private Christian high school named Tacoma Baptist, where Diane Palmquist teaches. He loved the school and excelled in soccer and track, two sports he had never played before. In fact, he won state championships twice as a member of the school’s 400 x 400 meter relay team.

When it came time to choose a college, Palmquist liked the size of Warner Pacific and the fact that it was just a few hours drive from Tacoma. He elected to redshirt his first year of soccer and track, so he could focus on his studies.

“I would say it’s God that led me here to Warner Pacific, in the same way he led me to the orphanage and to the Palmquists,” Palmquist said. “So much has happened to me, I don’t like to reflect on it because it hurts. I’m going to live every day like I found a diamond… [and] try to live my life for others, more than for myself. ”

The Experience

ALUMNI PROFILE

Photos courtesy of WHO Ministries

Jackie (Mouser) ’70 and husband Steve Scott ’86 have served in Mexico since 2006.

Caring for los niños in Mexico Steve ’86 and Jackie (Mouser) Scott ’70 provide day care for children of field workers, host short-term mission teams in Vicente Guerrero, Mexico.

T

wo years ago, Steve ’86 and Jackie (Mouser) Scott ’70 left family and friends in Oregon and followed their hearts to Mexico, where they now work as missionaries with the poorest of the poor. The Scotts are in their second year as co-directors of Welcome Home Outreach (WHO) Ministries, in Vicente Guerrero, Mexico - a farming community located 200 miles south of the U.S. border on the Baja Penisula.

The ministry provides day care for the children of farm workers, and hosts short-term mission teams from the U.S. and Canada, many from Churches of God. The teams typically build simple concrete homes for single parent families, but the Scotts also facilitate service projects with local agencies, such as a nearby drug rehabilitation center.

“We try to tailor their mission trip to what they want to do, the skill sets, what resources, what God wants them to do,” said Steve Scott.

“We had thirty teams last year and we built fifteen houses.”

Prior to moving to Mexico in 2006, Jackie worked as an executive associate for the American Red Cross Oregon Trail Chapter, and Steve was the Director of Facilities Services at Warner Pacific. Steve, especially, was making a number of trips a year to Vicente Guerrero bringing donated supplies. They finally felt the time was right to make it their life’s work.

“Our niche is the daycare,” said Jackie Scott.

“We have about 40 kids and we work with single moms. They can go to work and not have their babies at home alone or with a young sibling.”

Although WHO is nondenominational, it is very much part of a legacy of the Church of God’s work in Mexico. When they were young adults, the Scotts themselves were introduced to

Mexico through Vacation Samaritans Ministries (VSM), a short-term mission agency founded and operated by WP alumnus Dr. Darold Jones ’53 from 1966 to 2000. Much the way VSM did, the Scotts are turning WHO into a hub for church groups looking to make a difference in Mexico.

In the process, they hope to educate and inspire Christians from the north to better appreciate the needs and personality of Mexico, and to take a missional mindset back home with them.

“We feel that a huge percentage of Christians in the United States and Canada need to have a

“Half of our job is to educate the affluent North American church about how 90 percent of the world really lives.”

- Steve Scott ’87 Welcome Home Ministries

personal experience of this kind, just to change some perspectives,” said Jackie Scott. “It translates back to what they are doing back home in their community.”

WHO works on a lean budget of only $50,000 a year, which supports nine salaries, food for the daycare children, supplies, transportation costs, utilities, and maintenance. The Scotts frequently travel in the United States to raise awareness and funds for Welcome Home.

“Half of our job is to educate the affluent American church about how 90 percent of the world really lives,” said Steve Scott.

Learn more at www.welcomehomeoutreach.org.

Spring 2008

Many Church of God work teams journeyed to Vicente Guerrero, Mexico, to work with Welcome Home Ministries in 2007. (Top) Kathryn (Eason) Hamilton ’98, from Aloha Church of God, in Aloha, Ore., volunteers in the daycare. (Middle) Pastor Jerry Davisson ’85 of the Tulare Church of God, in Tulare, Calif., and his brother, Jim Davisson of Mt. Scott Church of God, in Portland, Ore., build a house. (Bottom) Work teams from Aloha and Mt. Scott Churches of God pray.

11

STUDENT LIFE

Beyond Borders

L

Recent WP students who have spent semesters abroad include (top to bottom): Kari Knutzen ’08 in China, Matt Hawthorne ’07 in Egypt, and Destinee (Kohl) Christian ’08 in Costa Rica. The Council for Christian Colleges and Universities sponsors eleven “Best Semester” programs worldwide.

“Acknowledging that there is a world beyond what you know makes you a better citizen of the world.”

- Destinee (Kohl) Christian ’08, on her semester experience studying in Latin America.

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iisa Thompson ’07 braced herself for what she was about to see at a memorial located on a lush hilltop near the town of Gikongoro, Rwanda. It was the fall of 2006, and Thompson had come to Africa to spend a semester at Uganda Christian University, in neighboring Uganda, as part of a study abroad program sponsored by the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), which represents 105 Christ-centered institutions in Canada and the U.S. The week-long excursion into Rwanda was part of a swift and unflinching orientation to East African history. The memorial, located in an abandoned school, contained room after room of the preserved remains of ethnic Tutsis killed by Hutus during the genocide of 1994. Thompson and the others in the group were left speechless.

“A couple of days after you enter Africa, you’re in Rwanda facing the questions of genocide,” said Thompson, a social work major, originally from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. “The experience itself is indescribable.”

Doors to the world Thompson is one of dozens of Warner Pacific students who have ventured overseas – or to different parts of the United States – to participate in one of eleven “Best Semester” programs sponsored by the CCCU. Foreign programs operate in Australia, China, Costa Rica, Egypt, Russia, England, and Uganda and examine issues from regional politics to religion. The four U.S. programs are more career-oriented, with opportunities to study the business of contemporary music in Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.; the film industry in Los Angeles, Calif.; and American politics and journalism in Washington D.C. Shaking the tree While not all of the programs tackle issues as intense as genocide, they each, nonetheless, purposely ask students to navigate unfamiliar surroundings while wrestling with the question of what it means to be a Christian with a broader world view.

The Experience

Ben Raber

WP students examine faith in a diverse world through an eclectic study abroad program.

WP alumna Liisa Thompson ’07 (foreground) in Uganda in 2006

“Their goal is to rattle you,” said Destinee (Kohl) Christian ’08, a vocal performance major from Salem, Ore, who spent a semester in the Latin American Studies program in San José, Costa Rica, during the fall of 2006. “[The program directors] constantly said, ‘We are not trying to dismantle your beliefs, but if there is no basis for them, you need to change that.”

During her three-month stay, Christian - along with other students from CCCU schools - traveled throughout Central America learning about the economic, political, and religious complexities of the region. The group spoke with ex-presidents, religious leaders, missionaries, and common citizens from across the political and religious spectrum. Christian cherished her time, particularly living with a host family in San José. Upon returning home, she found herself in limbo between two cultures.

“Acknowledging that there is a world beyond what you know makes you a better citizen of the world,” said Christian. “I feel I am a citizen of the United States, but I also feel like I am a citizen of Latin America, and yet I don’t feel like I’m either.”

Cultural incidents As academic as the programs are, much of their effectiveness comes simply from exposing students to the humility of making their way around unfamiliar surroundings. In the spring of 2007, Kari Knutzen ’08, a business administration major from Ilwaco, Wash., attended the Chinese Studies Program, which is based at Xiamen University in the southern coastal city of Xiamen (pronounced Sha – men). On the very first day of her orientation, she and her fellow students went on a scavenger hunt where they had to ride buses, visit a grocery store and post office, and get passport photos with what little Chinese they knew. The CCCU students jokingly referred to embarrassing moments as “cultural incidents.”

“I think I had about 15 cultural incidents where I was making a fool of myself in the new culture,” Knutzen said.

FACULTY PROFILE Knutzen completed an internship at a company that did outsourcing for Microsoft.

She also traveled to northern China to visit the Great Wall and Tiananmen Square in Beijing. One of the primary lessons she learned about being a foreigner abroad was patience.

“You have to give yourself so much more time when you are in another culture,” she said.

Lights, Camera, Action For some students, the option of studying abroad has less allure than investigating a career path in the United States. In 1995, Christine Draper ’96 spent a semester during her senior year in the Los Angeles Film Studies Program, which gives students experience in filmmaking, while also examining Christianity’s place within the media. A business administration major from Portland, Ore., Draper landed a marketing internship. The connections she made in the program allowed her to move to L.A. in 1998 and work in the industry for five years as a production assistant and office manager.

“All these people can come together and make this one awesome product that people will love,” said Draper, who now works for a project management company in Portland.

“But every time you work on a set you go, ‘Whoa, this is a lot of work.’”

Lasting impressions A year after returning from Uganda, Thompson is still processing her experience.

She describes it as a significant nudge on the trajectory of her life. It is still too soon to know how it will affect her life, but she believes she is the better for it.

“I learned these simple words: faithfulness and effectiveness,” said Thompson.

“You might not see the fruit of your labor, because they are eternal. But the choices you make will affect the people around the globe.”

Enriching families in Asia

Professor Phyllis Michael helps train a new generation of marriage and family therapists in China.

S

ocial Science professor Phyllis Michael is used to hopping around the globe providing shortterm seminars in marriage and family therapy. In 1987, she and her husband, Rand - an Associate Professor of Marriage and Family Therapy at George Fox University - created the nonprofit organization TELOS as a means to teach interpersonal communication and marriage therapy in areas where training is sorely lacking. They’ve taught in Burundi, Romania, Hungary, and Albania, to name a few countries.

More recently, however, the Michaels have focused their attention on developing a three-year, low-residency certificate program in marriage and family therapy based in Shenyang, China, but serving counselors from throughout the country. The Michaels visited Shenyang initially in the summer of 2004 at the request of a former George Fox student who serves as a foreign expert at the Harmony Counseling Center in Shenyang. They met with a group of Chinese counselors and discussed ways to offer continuing education courses, particularly in more modern theories of human development.

Psychology in China is heavily Freudian, which tends to examine psychological problems in isolation, rather than consider a wider range of influences.

“China is a communal culture – the family has tremendous power,” she said.

“To isolate a person as ‘somebody with a problem’ is problematic in Chinese culture. We see people as parts of couples, families, communities, [and] the wider culture.”

Knowing what to teach wasn’t as much an issue as finding funds to underwrite the cost of writing the curriculum. In March 2005, the Michaels received a three-year, $96,000 grant to get the program off the ground. Most of the funds covered costs within China, including the lengthy process of having curriculum translated from English into Mandarin, but offered little to support the Michaels’ time writing the curriculum.

“This left us in a very curious position, because we were going to have to run this program while working full-time at our jobs,” said Michael.

Spring 2008

Photo courtesy of Phyllis and Rand Michael

Middle East moments Social Science major Matt Hawthorne ’07 says the semester he spent at the Middle East Studies program in 2006 was full of remarkable experiences. He visited the Great Pyramids, watched the sunrise from Mt. Sinai, and also traveled to Turkey, Syria, Israel, and Jordan.

Hawthorne learned about the religious and political conflicts that have shaped the region for centuries. He studied the Israeli – Palestinian conflict while in Jerusalem, claimed as a holy city for Jews, Muslims, and Christians. Hawthorne was impressed with how fair the program was to all sides. “[The program] was really balanced,” Hawthorne said. ”The students came away with an understanding where each side was coming from without preference.”

hcus

Phyllis and Rand Michael

Undaunted, the Michaels found the time to write the initial courses and returned to China in June 2005 to teach two, week-long courses in marriage and family therapy to 35 students. Rand Michael returned in August to teach two more courses in ethics and counseling methods.

In 2006, students took a total of six classes between sessions in January, May, and July. The Michaels taught in July, but recruited professors from universities on the west coast, including George Fox, San Diego State, and Seattle Pacific University, to teach the others.

The Michaels made two more trips in 2007 and taught the final courses this past January 2008. For their efforts, the students received continuing education credit through George Fox University.

For the next three-year cycle, the Michaels will add an additional element to the program. They want to train some of the recent graduates how to teach the curriculum so that the Michaels can phase themselves out.

“We must decrease; they must increase,” said Michael.

Michael is teaching part-time this year at Warner Pacific, and will again next year in order to oversee the Chinese program. She says the willingness on the part of WP administration to give her the time is huge.

“It is seen as an extension of Warner Pacific’s mission,” she said.

To learn more about the work of the Michaels, visit www.telosinternational.org.

13

FROM THE DIRECTOR

CLASS NOTES

60’s Bob Christensen ’67 is the new pastor of Mt. Scott Church of God, in Portland, Ore. Prior to his new position, Christensen served as interim pastor at Tigard Church of God, in Tigard, Ore.

Christensen

Mark Deffenbacher ’67 is the Vice President for Advancement and University Relations and the Executive Director of the Fresno Pacific University Foundation at Fresno Pacific University (FPU), in Fresno, Calif. He has served at FPU since 1993 and continues to consult and present seminars for other nonprofit organizations throughout the nation.

70’s Don Doe ’76 is the new lead pastor of Vancouver First Church of God, in Vancouver, Wash. Doe, and his wife, Lori, served two churches in AriDoe zona, most recently, McDowell Mountain Community Church of God in Scottsdale, Ariz.

Carolyn Newsom ’77 is Education Director for NW Children’s Theatre, in Portland, Ore. An accomplished pianist, Carolyn serves as musical director for many NWCT shows and numerous local theatrical productions.

She taught theater arts for Portland Public Schools, Portland Repertory Theater, and Portland Civic Theater.

90’s Annette Matson ’96 is the president-elect of the Oregon School Boards Association and will become president in 2009. She has served on the David Douglas School Board since 1994. She is a local government affairs specialist with Portland General Electric.

To n y F a z i o ’ 9 9 (who was featured in the Spring 2007 issue of “The Experience”) returned to Fort Hood, Texas in December 2007, following a tour of duty in Iraq. He is the son of WP professor Dr. John and Molly Fazio ’91. Fazio was recently promoted to the rank of captain.

14

Tony Fazio ’99 with his father, WP professor Dr. John Fazio.

H

omecoming 2008 was a fun weekend for alumni to re-connect with old friends, and meet new ones. Highlights included the induction of the Class of 1958 into the Gold Torch Club; a spaghetti feed to benefit a 2008 missions trip to Bangladesh/India; and a victory by our men’s basketball team against Southern Oregon 84-77 Saturday night. Thanks to all of the alumni and friends who shared the weekend with us.

Dana McGuire

Director of Alumni, Class Updates: We know that the class notes Parent, and Church section is typically the first place alumni look Relations when they receive the magazine, but our maildmcguire@warnerpacific.edu boxes have been a little quiet lately. We are eager to share what is happening in the lives of our alumni. E-mail: alumni@warnerpacific.edu, fill out an alumni update on the alumni page at www.warnerpacific.edu, or call 503-517-1114.

Alumni Directory: University Publishing Company is working diligently to complete our next directory. We are looking towards May 2008 for the directories to hit your mailboxes.

Scholarship Fund: Our spring phone-a-thon is underway and students are eagerly contacting alumni to help raise funds for our Scholarship Fund. I thank the alumni who have already welcomed the phone call and recognized the value of donating towards this program. Our goal is $50,000 - that’s 1000 alumni donating $50. If you would like to donate, please check our web site at www.warnerpacific.edu and look for the “Give to WP” button located on the alumni tab or call the Alumni Office at 503-517-1114.

2001 - 2006 Yearbooks: We have a number of paid yearbooks from 2001 to 2006 that have yet to be picked up. These were covered by fees, so they are ready to be claimed. Please contact Donna (Lamping) Scott ’73 at 503-517-1009 or at dscott@warnerpacific.edu to arrange a pick up in Student Development.

Christi (Hermanson) ’99 and Jeff Kurtz ’00 gave birth to their third boy, Milo Ryan, November 6, 2007. He weighed 6 pounds, 1 ounce. He was 18.5 inches long. He joins brothers Max and Caden. The Kurtz family lives in Scotts Valley, Calif.

Scott Simmons ’02 is the Vice President of Operations for Climax Portable Machine Tools, in Newberg, Ore. He studied business at WP and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from George Fox University.

00’s

Candace Murray ’03 is in her third year of medical school at Midwestern University’s Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. She’s on scholarship with the U.S. Army and is a 2nd Murray Lieutenant in the Army’s Medical Service Corps. She recently spent a month-long clinical rotation at Karigiri Hospital, in Tamil Nadu, India, specifically learning about Hansen’s Disease (Leprosy). She also attended the International Leprosy Congress in Hyderrbad, India in January.

Nathan ’01 and Maryann Dunbar ’08 welcomed their first child, Marybeth, on Dec. 17, 2007 at Willamette Falls Hospital, in Oregon City, Ore. She weighed 10 pounds, 11 ounces.

Nathan serves as staff accountant at Warner Pacific and Maryann most recently served as an office assistant in WP’s Adult Degree Program.

Tiffany (Yerden) Carlson ’01 was one of the featured artists on the CD “Christmas in the Northwest, 10.” Carlson sings “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” The CD is sold in Portland-area stores. It benefits Doernbecher Children’s Hospital and the Children’s Miracle Network. More info at www.christmasinthenorthwest.com.

The Experience

Jonathan Van Tuyl ’03 is the Director of Public Records for OneCreditSource.com

Continued on pg. 15

ALUMNI PROFILE

Photos courtesy of Shannon Sewell.

FRAMING LIFE Portrait photographer Shannon Sewell ’99 uses psychology and instinct to take indelible images.

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Continued from pg. 14 in Wilsonville, Ore. The company provides consumer credit reports, tenant and employment screening, and other public information to clients across the nation. He and his wife, Kristen (Williams) ’03 have a daughter.

Jillian (Burnett) ’04 and Brett Zeisler welcomed a baby girl named Kiley Leilani on October 2, 2007. She was 7 pounds, 6 ounces and twenty inches long. She is the sixth grandchild for Craig ’80 and Valerie (Quesenberry) Zeisler ’81. Kiley’s great grandfather was Clarence Zeisler ’51, who passed away in 2003.

Ashley (Brumfield) Cunnington ’05, and husband Rick, gave birth to a son, Noah, on

two-week stint at a preschool convinced her otherwise. Now she draws on her Human Development studies as she interacts with children during photo sessions.

“There is definitely a lot of psychology when you are taking pictures,” she said. “I do much better playing with kids than I do trying to keep them on task. I’m better at getting them off task.”

Since Sewell doesn’t have a studio yet, she shoots on location with digital cameras and available light. She has been careful to stay true to her niche in portraiture and turns down work that doesn’t quite suit her. (She doesn’t shoot weddings, for example). She gets all of her business through referrals and is hoping to find studio space within a year. She also wants to branch out into more commercial work.

“I need to make sure that what I’m doing is what I do best,” Sewell said. “I found that as I have been more and more [selective], my business has exploded. You think it would be the opposite.”

October 31, 2007, in Pendleton, Ore. He was 6 pounds, 5 ounces. Ashley is staying home with Noah.

Andy Magel ’05 is the new AmeriCorp* / VISTA (VolMagel unteers in Service to America) Service Learning Coordinator at Warner Pacific. He will work to build community partnerships that will specifically address issues of poverty. Magel most recently worked as a coordinator at a community center in Denver, Colo.

Carmenza Gonzalez ’06 is close to completing a master’s degree in social work from Portland State University, in Portland, Ore. Gonzalez works as a caseworker for Oregon’s Department of Human Services.

Spring 2008

Scott A. Thompson

ike any young parent, Shannon Sewell ’99 loved taking pictures of her two children, Drew, 8, and Emmy, 4. But then a funny thing happened. Her pictures started to take on an artistic flare that revealed a natural talent.

Encouraged by a friend in the business, Sewell, 33, launched her own photography business in Vancouver, Wash. in 2004. She is carving out her own niche in the area of portrait photography, primarily working with children and youth.

“I imagine things as pictures, so I think I already have that knack,” said Sewell (pronounced SOO-wool). “I had a really good friend who is a photographer who pushed me. He said, ‘Get the equipment.

You can do it. And here I am.”

Along with her husband, Chris ’99, Sewell studied Human Development through Warner Pacific’s Degree Completion Program (now known as the Adult Degree Program). Chris is a technical sergeant and intelligence analyst in the U.S. Air Force. Sewell worked briefly in the mortgage business after graduating, then stayed home after Drew was born.

Ironically, Sewell had originally intended to get a teaching license, but a

What started as a hobby taking pictures of her children has turned into a successful business for Vancouver, Washington-based photographer Shannon Sewell ’99.

View samples of her work on her website, shannonsewell.com.

Got good news?

Let us pass it on.

Alumni@ warnerpacific.edu

15

ALUMNI PROFILES

2008 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARDS

The WPC Alumni Council recognizes a select group of alumni each year for their contributions in the areas of service and ministry. Meet this year’s recipients.

Photos by Scott A. Thompson

LEGACY AWARD

YOUNG ALUMNUS

SERVICE AWARD

MINISTRY AWARD

BEN ’60 & MARJORIE CHANDLER ’59

KORDELL KENNEMER ‘96

FRED DOUGLAS ‘78

BILL MARTIN ’53 Retired Church of God minister

For ministry to the Church of God

B

en ’60 and Marjorie (Dockter) Chandler ’59 met as two equally shy freshmen at Pacific Bible College (now Warner Pacific) in 1955. The two eventually married and became partners in ministry for over forty years.

The Chandlers spent twenty years ministering at two Churches of God in Washington State before immigrating to Canada in 1981 to take the pastorate of the Glamorgan Church of God, in Calgary, Alberta. While leading Glamorgan, Ben also started a successful church plant called Bragg Creek Community Church (BCCC) in 1983.

After eleven years in Calgary, the Chandlers moved to Australia, where Ben served as church consultant for the Church of God. They returned to Canada in 1998, where Ben again served as pastor of BCCC on an interim basis until retiring in 2001.

Of the Chandlers four children, their son Kurt Chandler ’80 and grandson Donovan Chandler ’06 are WP alumni.

“We had super churches,” said Ben. “I think that had a lot to say for our kids all continuing in the church today.”

16

Clinical Psychologist Oregon State Hospital

C

linical psychologist Kordell Kennemer ’96, developed an interest in psychology in the early 1990s. He worked as a youth pastor in Portland while studying Human Development at Warner Pacific. At church, he encountered youth with emotional needs that went beyond the support he could offer as youth director.

“I wondered what’s really going to help these kids?”

Kennemer said. “That’s what brought me into psychology. I decided that helping people was what I wanted to do.”

Kennemer completed his Doctor of Psychology degree from George Fox University in 2002. Two years later, he joined the psychology staff of Oregon State Hospital, the state’s 704bed mental hospital in Salem, Ore., where he provides psychological assessment of patients.

He also coordinates the continuing education program for the psychology staff.

Overall, Kennemer says he feels he is making the contribution to society he had hoped for.

“If I make a diagnosis that is going to help [patients’] lives, that’s satisfying,” he said.

Executive Director Portland Youth for Christ

F

red Douglas ’78 says he has navigated thirty years of ministry only by reinventing himself along the way. Douglas has spent his entire career with Youth For Christ - the largest youth evangelistic organization in the world - and has served as the Executive Director of YFC’s Portland, Ore. chapter since 1994. YFC serves youth in locations like high school campuses, group homes, and juvenile detention centers.

“I think being engaged with the younger generation is what keeps me young,” said Douglas. “I have to keep somewhat of an open mind. What hasn’t changed is the message.”

Originally from Milwaukee, Wis., Douglas credits the influence of Warner Pacific professors such as Dr. Wilma Perry, Dr. Milo Chapman, and former religion professor Dr. Ralph Turnbull in calling him to a high standard. They taught him that to persevere in ministry, one must be open to change.

“Dr. Turnbull said, ‘I see you going on to do great things, but you have to apply yourself. You can’t go through life winging it,’” Douglas said. “He motivated me so much.”

The Experience

B

ill Martin ’53 spent nearly 55 years ministering to Churches of God in Oregon and Washington. He led four different congregations as senior pastor, and two more on an interim basis.

Martin met his first wife, R. Jean (Nelson) ’50, at Warner Pacific. Following graduation in 1953, Martin became senior pastor of the Church of God in Redmond, Ore. “They took this young college boy and made a preacher out of him,” Martin said.

Martin later served Churches of God in Medford, Ore; Kennewick, Wash.; and St. Helens, Ore. Jean died in 1994. Two years later, Martin married his second wife, Honerhea, and retired from the pulpit. He then worked as an assistant for the Association of Churches of God in Oregon and S.W. Washington until 2002.

Sadly, Martin died on March 20, 2008, following a massive stroke. He was 79. Survivors include Honerhea; son Rod Martin ’83; daughter Marlene Martin ’73; and grandchildren Jeremy Scott ’94, Shelby Scott ’01, and Sarah Martin ’02.

IN MEMORIAM

Gene Baskerville ’54 Retired minister Gene Baskerville died July 27, 2007, at the age of 73. He was born July 25, 1934, in St. Paul, Minn.

He studied at Crown College in St. Paul and Warner Pacific College, where he met his wife, Virginia (Vincent) ’54.

In Kansas, he served the Church of God as a youth pastor, office administrator, and pastor. He also worked as Director of Communications for Central Community Church, both in Wichita.

Baskerville also launched several successful businesses. Survivors include his wife, and four children, including Dean Baskerville ’84 and Cathy (Baskerville) Elmore ’80.

Dale L. Clark ’50 Dale L. Clark ’50 of Vancouver, Wash., died August 25, 2007 at the age of 79.

He was born August 14, 1928 in San Diego, Calif. He married Sally (Clark) Stevens ’51 on June 2, 1950. He founded Clark & Son Construction Co. in Vancouver in 1968. Survivors include his wife, Sally.

Dr. Leroy Falling ’48 Dr. Leroy Falling ’48 passed away Sept.

26, 2007, in Anderson, Ind., following a lengthy illness. He was born in Craig County, Okla. on June 15, 1926, and served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and the Korean War. Born of Cherokee heritage, Falling taught on the Nez Perce Reservation in Idaho and served as an administrator at boarding schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. He also worked as Director of Indian Ministries for the Church of God Home Missions program before retiring in 1991.

David Gemma A loyal friend and neighbor of Warner Pacific College, David Gemma, passed away September 25, 2007 at the age of 57. He was born August 8, 1950, in Portland. Gemma was in special education as a youth and never graduated from high school. He was a fixture at WPC athletic games and campus events in the 1990s.

Gordon Hudson Former WP maintenance worker Gordon Hudson died Oct. 30 of cancer at age 67. He was born Jan. 5, 1940, in Sandpoint, Idaho. Hudson served in the Army and worked as a building contractor in California and Alaska before moving to Portland in 1990 and starting work at the college. Survivors include his wife, Colleen.

Smith Ilon Former WPC maintenance worker Smith Ilon died of a sudden heart attack Nov. 18, 2007 at the age of 55. Ilon was born Aug. 10, 1952, in Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia. He lived in Hawaii and San Diego before moving to Portland in 1975.

Survivors include his wife, Erfina Useto, four children, and one grandchild.

Wilma Naomi (Smith) Lautaret ’64 Wilma Naomi (Smith) Lautaret ’64 passed away December 30, 2007, at the age of 90. She was born December 11, 1917, in Waggoner, Okla. She graduated from Warner Pacific in 1964 with an Education and Psychology major.

Lautaret later earned a master’s degree in Education of the Deaf in 1966 from Oregon College of Education in Monmouth, Ore. and worked with hearing impaired students in the Tillamook (Ore.) School District.

Naomi Becky Mansfield Former Warner Pacific social work professor Naomi “Becky” Mansfield died August 30, 2007, of cancer, at the age of 83.

She was born in 1923 in Portland, Ore. She attended Linfield College and the Oregon Health and Sciences University School of Nursing until 1942. She was one of the early professors in social work at Warner Pacific and was important in getting the program established in the 1960s. Survivors include her husband, Charles.

Dale Mark ’55 Former humanities professor Dale Mark ’55 died Jan. 22, 2008 at age 80. He was born Aug. 10, 1927, in Indianapolis, Ind. He earned degrees from Warner Pacific and the University of Portland, and a doctorate from the University of Oregon. He taught speech, humanities, and drama at Warner Pacific College from 1961 to 1995. Survivors include son Steve Mark ’77.

Adelaide (Johnson) Orr Former Warner Pacific dorm mother Adelaide (Johnson) Orr passed away on February 4, 2008 from cancer at age 92.

Orr was born June 27, 1915, in Rumely, Mich. Orr worked in the women’s dorm from the late 1960s to the late 1970s, and later worked in the library. In 1941, she married William Johnson, who died in 1963. She married William Orr in 1979; he died in 1987.

Survivors include her daughters, Donna B. Johnson ’69 and Adelia “Dee” K. Carlson ’70; three grandchildren, including Matt Carlson ’99; and one great-grandchild.

Rev. Earl W. Osnes ’47 Rev. Earl W. Osnes ’47 died Nov. 16, 2007, a month and a half after his wife, Rose, had passed away. He was born April

Spring 2008

8, 1917. He married Rose on Aug. 25, 1935, in Gering, Neb. Osnes served the Church of God in pastorates in Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and West Virginia from 1949 to 1980.

Christi Ann (Stapleton) Ousley ‘85 Christi Ann (Stapleton) Ousley ’85 died Dec. 15, 2007 in Daytona Beach, Fla., at the age of 44. Ousley was born Dec. 8, 1963, in Philadelphia, Penn. She graduated from WPC with a degree in Business Administration.

She home-schooled her children. She is survived by her husband, Edward, and four children, ages seven to twelve; and her mother Karen (Buckbee) Liedtke ’61, of Vancouver, Wash.

Edith Plikat ’46 Edith Plikat ’46, of Vancouver, Wash., died October 29, 2007 at the age of 81. She attended Pacific Bible College in 1946. Survivors included her husband Manfred ’69 and two adult children.

Vikki Ellen King Scott ’71 Victoria Ellen “Vikki” Scott ’71, of Eugene, Ore., died June 14, 2007 of multiple sclerosis at age 58. Scott earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Warner Pacific College. She worked for King Medical Sales and as a home economics and physical education teacher in Portland.

James Zazanis ’51 James Zazanis ’51, age 78, passed away on February 2, 2008, in Cincinnati, Ohio. Zazanis was born May 23, 1929 in Cairo, Egypt, the son of Church of God missionaries. He was the former President of The Financial Edge Corporation and led marriage and family enrichment workshops. Survivors include his wife, Dolores.

Judy Arlene Zwetzig ’06 Judy Arlene Zwetzig ’07 died Jan. 15 at age 47 from cancer. She was born May 14, 1960, in Portland, Ore. A two-time cancer survivor, she was on her way to becoming a licensed clinical social worker with a focus on chemical dependencies and was completing her Master of Religion degree at WPC. Please submit memorial information by filling out our new “In Memoriam” form online. Go to the alumni page located at www. warnerpacific.edu.

Information may be edited pending space availability.

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ALUMNI PROFILES

Widow’s search Counselor to the uncovers husband’s church, father to long lost voice

Y

vonne Norholm ’61 thought she’d seen the last of a priceless memento left by her husband, Jorgen ’61, a retired pastor who past away in 2001.

The Norholms were ministers in Jorgen’s native Denmark in the early 1960s and in 1966, the couple went on a speaking tour of over 100 churches across the United States, talking about the work of the Church of God in Denmark. To fund the trip, Jorgen made a recording of himself singing spiritual songs, and the couple sold over 500 copies of the record in the churches they visited. Yet, they didn’t think to save a single copy for themselves.

Yvonne Norholm ’61 The couple met didn’t give up hope in Texas in 1957 in finding a 40-yearand enrolled as old recording of her students at Wardeceased husband, ner Pacific that Jorgen ’61. same year. They married in June of 1959 and moved back to Denmark in 1961 with one-year old daughter, Kristina.

Jorgen went on to serve as a Church of God pastor in Ohio; Alberta, Canada; California; and Texas, retiring to Montgomery Ala. in 1999. It wasn’t until after Jorgen had died that Yvonne started wondering whether a copy of his record still existed. In 2006, she started her search.

“I called my brother, Frank [Ramey], in South Carolina, and asked him if he would pray with me about finding the record, so we could have some copies made for the family, both here and in Denmark,” Norholm wrote via e-mail. “A couple of weeks later Frank called and said, ‘You will never believe what just happened.’”

It turns out Ramey’s sister-in-law had found a copy of Jorgen’s record among some items she was preparing to throw out. In the spring of 2007, Norholm received a package containing the original record and CD copies at her home.

“I played the CD and cried in my living room all alone,” Norholm wrote. “Hearing his mellow baritone voice again was such a comfort. We serve a God who is faithful in the big and the small details of our lives.”

Yvonne Norholm ’61 is the author of two children’s books, including “The Adventures of Summa the Brave Little Donkey” (Tangerine Sky Productions, 2005), the retelling of Christ’s birth from the perspective of Mary’s donkey.

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needy foster kids

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evada-based counselor Dr. Jay Jeffers ’72 once toyed with the idea of pursuing medicine, until a professor at Warner Pacific described the need for trained counselors within the Christian community. Now, after over thirty years as a counselor, Jeffers, 67, has no plans to slow down.

“I always looked at my counseling as a ministry,” said Jeffers, who has offices in his home, in Sparks, Nev., as well as within Sparks Community Nazarene Church. “I really don’t know what it means to retire.”

Jeffers works with individuals and couples, and also leads occasional marriage enrichment seminars. The role has given him an inside view into the pressures that face church leaders, specifically. He says he is counseling more pastors than ever.

“Pastors get caught up in wanting their church to be the perfect church,” said Jeffers.

“They want to be the answer to all of the problems in the church and they just can’t, so they burn out.”

Jeffers’ academic journey began at Warner Pacific in 1968. He and his wife, Virginia, had moved to Portland five years earlier to start a small business. Jeffers enrolled at WP at the age of 28 and majored in both medical technology and theology.

Jeffers says his time at WP provided a springboard into his graduate work. He went on to earn a Ph.D. in Christian counseling from Bethany Theological Seminary, in Richmond, Ind., and a master in Psychology degree from Pacific Western University, in Los Angeles.

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Christian counselor Dr. Jay Jeffers ’72 and his wife, Virginia, have cared for over 150 foster children in their home since 1977.

“I was looking for a strong liberal arts college that could really provide a foundation of integrity, and ethics and values and Warner Pacific really met that need,” said Jeffers, who spent a short stint as Warner Pacific’s Director of Admissions in the mid-1970s.

“It provided me with an individualized, academic, and Christ-centered learning experience.”

In addition to his counseling, Jeffers supports his wife’s ongoing ministry of taking in foster children. The Jeffers have two biological children, now adults, and have welcomed over 150 foster children in their home since 1977. Most only stayed for short periods of time, but the Jeffers did adopt one child, who is now 14, and they currently care for two therapeutic foster children with physical disabilities.

“There are more children being abandoned and neglected than ever before and there is a huge need for [foster parents],” said Jeffers. “As long as God gives us the strength and the cognitive ability to do it, we’ll do it.”

TENTH ANNUAL

G LF TOURNAMENT JUNE 17, 2008 LANGDON FARMS GOLF CLUB AURORA, OR

The Warner Pacific Golf Tournament has raised over $250,000 in scholarships to help student athletes earn their degrees.

BE A PART OF THE ACTION! REGISTRATION / LUNCH 12 PM SHOTGUN START 1:45 PM

Info at 503.517-1028 Registration materials at wpcknights.com The Experience

FIRST PERSON

You’re All They’ve Got Advice from an American volunteer at a South African orphanage during her last week on the job.

BY ERICKA JOY GREEN ’00

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n August 2007, I completed my time as a volunteer at an orphanage in South Africa called The Love of Christ Ministries (TLC), and left for a similar position in a home in Lesotho.

Because TLC is so well-structured and so dependent upon it’s volunteers, they allow each volunteer to give a sort of “what I have learned here” speech at the last weekly meeting he or she attends. I was the last to leave of a big group of volunteers who arrived in early 2007, during the winter. Most of the volunteers I would be talking to would have been at TLC only a few weeks or, for some, a few days. So I put a lot of thought into what I wanted to tell them, and this is what I came up with.

For at least the first three years of my life, my family was my world. The rest of the world existed only as it related to my family. The grocery store was the place where Mamma bought food.

The cashier was the lady Mamma gave the money to. And I was an individual only in that I had an individual role to play within the family. I was the second daughter, the one with blue eyes, the creative one - all terms that my parents chose to describe me and that, therefore, defined for me who I was. My family was my solid base which I used to define the rest of the world, and myself.

For the kids at TLC, that base isn’t so solid; it’s constantly shifting as kids and adults come and go. When these kids wake up at night crying, they don’t cry out for “Mamma.” They just cry without words because they don’t know who is out there in the nursery that night or who will come to see what they need. Really, it doesn’t matter to them who comes, as long as someone does. Remember that as an individual, you aren’t really all that important to these kids. You can’t be, you mustn’t be because volunteers leave here every week, and these kids can’t afford to be hurt every time a volunteer leaves.

But as a part of this group of volunteers, when you are on duty to care for these kids, you’re all they’ve got. You’re not just their baby sitter who’s looking after them for a few hours while Mommy and Daddy go out on a date. You’re not just their day care teacher who plays games and tells stories and then sends them home. You’re it.

You are home. You are Mommy and Daddy. When you’re on duty to care for these kids, you are the base from which they define the world and themselves.

Your official job description is to get them through their schedule - feed them, bathe them, dress them, put them down for a nap, and write down on the feeding chart how many times they made a wee and how many times they made a poo. But the children are looking to you for so much more than that. You show them, whether you do it on purpose or not, what is acceptable in this world. When they discover that they can spit, they look to you to see if this is a good thing. Is it funny? Is it cool? Is it clever? Is it rude? Is it different if I do it in the bath? Is it different if I do it with food in my mouth?

Is it different if I do it really close to someone’s face? They don’t know until you teach them.

They also look to you for a definition of themselves. Am I clever?

Am I beautiful? Am I interesting? If I do something naughty, will

anybody notice? Is my will greater than the rules of the world? Is my will greater than all authority? Am I naughty? Am I forgivable? Am I lovable?

Whether you do it intentionally or not, your behavior around and toward these kids teaches them who they are because they don’t have parents who will assure them consistently once your shift is over. YOU ARE IT. So I guess what I’ve learned is the paradox of my own importance here. I’m not important at all. Everything I’ve done could have been done by others. Others have done it before me, and others will continue after me. And the kids, though we have shared some delightful moments, don’t need me personally.

One day three months from now, Tshepiso will say, “Where’s Edidda” (I went by Ericka there and Tshepiso couldn’t pronounce it, so she said “Edidda,” and other volunteers started calling me that, too.) And Lilly will say, “Gone.” And then Chance will scoop up a preposterously large amount of porridge onto his spoon and say,

You’re not just their daycare teacher who plays games and tells stories and then sends them home. You’re it. You are home.

“Look! A BIG one!” At which point whichever of you is on duty at the time will divert the conversation to prevent Chance from choking himself, and that will be the last conscious thought any of these kids has of me.

But that game that Chance is playing - that saying, “Look, a big one?” I started that. So many of them were taking such tiny bites that supper was lasting for over an hour, so I tried to encourage them to take bigger bites by taking big bites myself and showing them.

“Like this, Lillian. Look, a big one.” And that game is part of many attempts by many volunteers past, present and future to teach them the proper bite size to take, which is part of teaching them manners, which is part of teaching them to behave in and relate properly to the world. So while I personally am just another volunteer who came and went, some of the things that I’ve taught them, intentionally and unintentionally, will stick with them for life.

You put all your heart, mind, and strength into caring for these kids. You influence their lives with everything you say and do; then one day you walk out the door and never come back. That’s how important you are here.

World traveler Ericka Joy Green ’00 has baked pizza in New York City, taught high school in Mississippi, waited tables in Amish country in Ohio, and served in the Peace Corps in the Ivory Coast before being evacuated following a coup. She is serving in southern Africa through the support of friends, family, and her home church in Ohio.

Spring 2008

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HOMECOMING HIGHLIGHTS - 2008 (Far left) Tyler Caffall ’06 and Troy Keyn ’05 ham it up with a song from the musical “Man of La Mancha” during the “Warner Idol” singing competition.

(Top right) Members of the Class of 1958 include (R to L) Robert Moore, Vonna (Millard) Kerr, Jerry Phillips, Doris (Nelson) Dockter, Louie Ross, Ethel Willard, LaVerne Arnbrister, Jeannine (Martin) Phillips, Rachel Spencer, and Joyce (Elias) Hartman.

(Middle left) Aaron Simons ’09 and Marcy Oakland ’08 cheer on the men’s basketball team.

Scott A. Thompson

(Middle right) Pastor Bob Marvel ’85 speaks at Homecoming chapel.

(Bottom left) Brent Hofer ’78, M.Rel ’05 leads worship during Homecoming chapel with the Warner Chorale.

(Bottom right) Idell (Koehler) Shaffer ’48, Corinne Day ’98, and Cindy Nicholas ’98 enjoy the “decade” reunion gathering on Feb 9.