3 - Bethany Christian Schools

Bethany Christian Schools
BULLETIN
New school entrance
Additional photos on page 4
New Classrooms and
Offices Completed
Spring 2005
Vol. 50 No. 3
www.bethanycs.net
Inside this Issue
Alumni News ......................... 6-7
• Bach Tuning Mystery Solved
Building Photos .........................4
From the Principal .....................8
Campus News & Calendar ....... 4-5
• Peace It Together
• Indiana Teacher of the Year
• Spiritual Life Weeks
Feature: Tuition Planning
Reducing Tuition: BART ..............2
Handriches Plan Financially
for Christian Education ............3

Tuition
Planning
Bethany Christian Schools
B ULLETIN
USPS 817-760
The BCS Bulletin is produced fall,
winter, spring, and summer by the
Development Office of Bethany
Christian Schools. The Bulletin
is distributed to all homes in the
congregations of Indiana-Michigan
Mennonite Conference, as
well as to parents and alumni of
the school. Periodical postage
paid at Nappanee, Ind.
Editor: J. Kevin Miller
Consulting Editors:
Allan Dueck,
Susan Gingerich,
Merv Miller,
Karen Shenk
2904 South Main Street
Goshen, IN 46526-5499
574 534-2567
info@bethanycs.net
POSTMASTER: Send form 3579
to Bethany Bulletin,
c/o Evangel Press
2000 Evangel Way
Nappanee, IN 46550
Reducing Tuition: BART
Anyone—parents, grandparents, friends,
congregational members, other Bethany
supporters—can help reduce tuition for current
or future Bethany students, simply by
shopping at places you already shop! Here’s
how you can help.
Through the Bethany Association for
Reducing Tuition (BART), you can purchase
gift cards/scrip to over 75 local and
national businesses at face value. These
businesses will donate a portion of your
purchase—ranging from 1 to 19 percent—to
be applied to the tuition of a current or
future Bethany student designated by you.
Many of the businesses are well-known
not just locally, but nationwide as well.
Businesses include gas stations, grocery
stores, restaurants, fast-food chains, hotels,
airlines, and department/retail stores.
Rhonda Yoder, a co-coordinator of
BART, notes that you don’t need to change
your spending patterns: “You can save
money buying things you were planning on
buying anyway.” And co-coordinator Rose
Herschberger Groff adds, “I see it as being
a good steward of my money.”
The BART program, run by the Bethany
Parent-Teacher Organization, began operating
during summer 2004. In each of the
first two quarters, over $4,000 has been
applied to students’ tuition accounts. Rose
points out that this is the equivalent
of paying for one student’s yearly
tuition in only half a year.
Obviously, how much one earns depends
on how much one spends—and
the rate of donation by the individual
businesses. However, as one parent
pointed out: “every little bit counts.”
While parents receive the direct
benefit of BART, others too are eager
to support Bethany students. Mel (’56)
and Eva (Hershberger ’56) Stutzman
participate in the program to support
their grandchildren. They say, “BART
provides one way that the extended
family and circle of friends can be involved
in helping financially and demonstrates to
our grandchildren that we think their attendance
at Bethany is important enough to
become involved in making that possible.”
Though Don (F’80-94) and Sylvia
(Steiner ’56) Miller don’t have any family
attending Bethany, they see advantages
in participating now. “We participate
in BART to show support for Bethany’s
programs and to patronize businesses that
donate to Bethany. We also are making a
contribution that one day can benefit our
grandchildren.” Earnings can be held by
Bethany for a future student’s tuition. Also,
earnings can be transferred at any time to
another Bethany student by the participant.
If no recipient is designated, then earnings
are used for general tuition assistance.
Rose reports that some parents have
been creative in their participation. One
extended family flying to a family reunion
purchased all their airline tickets with 15%
coming back for tuition! Another family
recruits congregational members and does
the logistical work of purchasing for them.
Another parent keeps an inventory of gift
cards/scrip from selected businesses and
then sells them at work as needed.
For more information or to enroll in the
program, contact Rose Herschberger Groff
at rosedh@maplenet.net or 260 768-4200.
Mel Stutzman picks up his weekly BART order from
parent volunteer Dina Miller.
BCS
2 BULLETIN Spring 2005

Handriches Plan Financially
for Christian Education
For Rollin and Deb Handrich, having their
children benefit from Christian schooling
for high school and college was a goal they
set early in their marriage. Though neither
attended Christian schools themselves,
they specifically were attracted to what
they saw Bethany providing: smaller class
sizes, a high standard of learning, greater
likelihood of participation in athletics, and
opportunities to participate in chapel, Bible
study, and devotional groups. “We wanted
to provide this exceptional option to our
children, but without the financial stress to
our family,” they said.
To help achieve that goal, they began
planning financially from the time their
first child, Trisha, was born. Since their
congregation did not provide tuition assistance
for youth to attend Bethany, the
Handriches realized they would likely need
to fund the full cost. So they met with a financial
counselor from Mennonite Mutual
Aid to map out a financial plan that would
allow them to send both of their children
to Bethany, as well as help fund their college
tuition.
The plan included the strategy of paying
off their home mortgage early so that the
portion of their income previously used
for mortgage payments could be used for
tuition once their children began attending
Bethany. As it turned out, they met
that goal by the end of Trisha’s first year
at Bethany. They additionally report that
“by making conscious decisions about our
spending and lifestyle we have been able to
not only fund the Bethany tuition, but also
meet most of our goals for college savings.”
The Handriches encourage families with
young children to begin planning now for
Christian education opportunities. “Had
we not taken these steps, Bethany may not
have been a viable option without adding
financial stress,” they say.
The Handriches also included their children
in the planning process. “Trisha and
Nick have been very much aware of what
we were doing to make it possible for them
to attend Bethany and they truly appreciate
what it has brought to them and us as a
family,” they say.
While their initial plan included only
high school and college, Bethany’s opening
a middle school in 1996 provided an
option for earlier entry into Christian
education. The Handriches decided to
also provide for this
possibility, but to let
their children decide
whether or not to
begin in grade 6.
Trisha initially
found this to be a
thought-provoking
decision as none of
her church friends,
and few of her school
friends, were considering
Bethany. However,
when her parents picked her up from
a day-long visit to Bethany, she informed
them that Bethany was a good place to be.
Two years later, Nick too enjoyed his visit
and eventually decided to begin attending
Bethany in grade 6.
The Handrich family appreciates what
their planning has provided them. Both Trisha
and Nick express gratefulness for their
parents’ making it possible for them to attend
Bethany. Rollin and Deb believe their
children have grown considerably through
their Bethany experience—an experience
they forsee that will “guide them into the
next phases of their lives.”
Tuition
Planning
The Handriches: Rollin,
Trisha (’07), Deb, and
Nick (’09).
“By making conscious decisions about our
spending and lifestyle we have been able to
not only fund the Bethany tuition, but also
meet most of our goals for college savings.”
—Rollin and Deb Handrich
BCS
BULLETIN Spring 2005 3

Building
Photos
Below, seventh-grader
Seth Kauffman scores
the first middle school
basket in the new
gym as, at right, fans
bombard the gym with
toilet paper.
Bethany Associates Ora
and Mary Troyer at the
March 6 Open House.
Bethany Building Facts
Materials used in the construction include:
67,350 concrete blocks: stacked they would reach
44,900 feet (over 8 miles).
58,010 bricks: could build a 1,600-foot chimney.
1,000 cubic yards of concrete: would fill 9,000 fivegallon
buckets.
160,000 lbs. of structural steel: equivalent to the
weight of 60 Volkswagon Beetles.
31,000 feet of piping and 88,000 feet of wire:
combined, approximately 24 miles of materials
1,465 gallons of paint: could cover approximately
nine acres with a single coat
2,600,000 feet of yarn in carpeting: could extend
from Goshen to Nashville, Tenn.
Instrumental music room
Receptionist’s desk in the new office
Middle school classroom
BCS
4 BULLETIN Spring 2005

Calendar
April
22-24 MSEC Orchestra Festival at
Central Christian, Kidron, Ohio
25-29 HS Interterm/Senior Trip
29-30 MS Drama: The Princess Plays
May
13-14 HS Spring Concerts, 7:30 p.m.
19 MS Spring Concert, 7 p.m.
20 HS Awards Program, 2 p.m.
26 Grade 8 Recognition, 7 p.m.
29 HS Commencement, 3 p.m.
Peace It Together
Nine Bethany students joined 200 other
high school students from the U.S. and
Canada March 11-13 for Peace It Together,
a peace conference sponsored by Canadian
Mennonite University in Winnipeg, Man.
Junior Andy Shenk particularly enjoyed
the worship sessions and connected with
the featured speaker Shane Claiborne, a
social worker/peace and justice advocate
from Philadelphia, Pa. Andy says, “It was
encouraging to see see someone committed
to living like Jesus. He encouraged us to
dwell not on what is wrong in the world,
but on what we can do to help.” Bethany
students also participated in workshops on
conscientious objecters, Christian Peacemaker
Teams, and a refugee simulation.
Bethany Christian Middle School
presents
The Princess Plays
Three one-act fairy tales
The Princess and the Princess
Twice Upon a Time
The Lost Half-Hour
7 p.m. April 29 and 30
Adults: $4 • Students: $2
call 574 534-2567
Indiana Teacher of the Year
Tim Lehman, middle
school social studies
teacher, was named 2004-
05 Indiana Outstanding
Geography Teacher of the
Year by the Geography
Educators’ Network of
Indiana. Tim was selected based on his
involvement with outreach organizations,
quality teaching, enthusiasm for geography
education, and comments from other geography
teachers.
Spiritual Life Weeks
Each winter Bethany provides students with
a week-long chapel series, Spiritual Life
Week. Chapel is held each day around a
selected theme. During
this week, teachers
also incorporate the
theme into various
classroom activities,
discussion groups, and
prayers.
During the week
of January 31, the
middle school focused
on “Making Choices.”
Jane (Stoltzfus ’71) Buller, co-pastor at
Walnut Hill Mennonite Church, and her
husband Jim (’71), Bethany’s guidance
counselor, based their input on Exodus 2,
in which the mother of Moses had to plan
carefully, but act boldly, to keep her son
alive. “Consider carefully, then respond
clearly” was the emphasis in both word and
song.
During the week of March 7, the high
school worshiped on the theme “All of
Me.” Bible teacher Dale Shenk called on
students to commit their entire beings
to God—their emotions (heart), intellects
(heads), gifts (hands), and communication
(mouths). The week culiminated with many
students’ committing to turn over to God
more completely at least one of these areas
in their own lives.
Campus
News
SWAT (Students with
a Testimony) members
pray for students who
made commitments at
the conclusion of the
high school’s Spiritual
Life Week.
BCS
BULLETIN Spring 2005 5

Alumni
News
Alumni
Send your news
for inclusion in the
BCS Bulletin to
info@bethanycs.net.
Newborn children of
alumni will receive a
Bruin bear.
Have you visited
Bethany’s website
to check out news,
register on the Alumni
Locator, or send
us your news See
www.bethanycs.net.
Prayer Corner
We invite your prayers for Bethany seniors as they
approach graduation and consider future plans.
Births
Jeryl (’81) Kolb and Annie Lareau, Seattle, Wash.,
Madeleine Ann, Mar. 9.
Judy Augsburger (’82) and Sasha Platonov, Moscow,
Russia, a daughter, Elizabeth Ann, Oct. 3, 2004.
Stacy (Haines ’82) and Brian Krahn, Mishawaka,
Ind., a son, Ian Haines, March 1.
Nancy Chupp (’83) and Ron Krabill (’86), Seattle,
Wash., a daughter, Annika Erin, Jan. 13.
Les (’85) and Barb Stutzman, Goshen, adopted
a daughter, Rianna Hope, born Nov. 29. Grandparents
are Elmer (’58) and Mary (Mullett ’60)
Stutzman.
Mark (’88) and Melody Claassen, Elkhart, a daughter,
Rachelle Erin, Feb. 2.
Kenton (’88) and Emily Hostetler, Middlebury,
Ind., a son, Andre Eugene, Jan. 29.
Brent L. (’92) and Jennifer Miller, Nashville, Tenn.,
a son, Griffin Tate, July 27, 2004. Grandparents are
Lowell (’60) and Shirley (Miller ’60) Miller.
Kent (’92) and Kathy Myers, Goshen, a son, Isaac
Christopher, Jan. 26. Grandparents are Dennis (’65)
and Anita (Hershberger ’65) Myers.
Ronda (Hoffman ’93) and Phillip Weldy, Loogootee,
Ind., a son, Landon Phillip, Jan. 25. Grandfather
is Keith Hoffman (’63).
Dustin (’94) and Rachel George-Miller, Goshen,
Norah Catherine, Mar. 17.
Sheila (Delagrange ’96) and Alan Moser, Goshen,
a daughter, Julia Ann, Feb. 1. Grandmother is Judy
(Miller ’75) Norris.
Kevin (’96) and Wendy (Yoder ’97) Nice, Indianapolis,
Ind., a daughter, Annika Yoder Nice, Feb. 16.
Grandparents are Wes (’68) and Ruthie (Staff ’88-)
Yoder and Marilyn Nice (Staff ’92-). In December
2004 Wendy completed a Master of Library Science
degree and Kevin a B.S. in Elementary Education—
both from Indiana University-Purdue University
Indianapolis.
Crystal (Nofziger ’99) and Tony DeMentz, Goshen,
a daughter, Alexis Joy, Feb. 5.
Merv (staff ’01-) and Mindy Miller, Goshen, a son,
Grant McLaughlin, Jan. 9.
Deaths
Emerson Ropp (’58), Goshen, December 17. He is
survived by his wife Sharon (Miller ’63).
Jamie Kauffman (’80), Millersburg, Ind., Dec. 22.
He is survived by his wife Cheryl (Roth ’83) and
children Lyz (’07), Seth (’10), and Catie (grade 3).
Alison Cloud (’06), Goshen, March 1.
She is survived by her father Chuck,
mother Lori, and sister Megan (ng
’04). Alison began attending Bethany
as an eighth grader and was diagnosed
with cancer on her forearm as a frosh.
Following intensive treatment, she
went into remission and began attending classes
regularly in January 2004. However, the cancer reappeared
later that spring and again she began intensive
treatment. In January 2005 it became apparent
that medical treatment could no longer help.
Marriages
Susan Wenger (’96) and Ryan Orr, Roswell, Ga.,
Dec. 11.
Hannah Dueck (’97) and Ryan Good, Goshen,
Dec. 31.
Ana Maria Mejia (’97) and Ben Bailey, Goshen,
Dec. 11.
Kevin Lehman (’98) and Devin Hofknecht,
Goshen, Feb. 12.
Janice Miller (’00) and Dallan Troyer, Sarasota, Fla.,
Mar. 26.
For Sale
History Books: $17.95 + $3 shipping.
Cat’s Meow (below): $20 + $2 shipping.
Send orders to Bethany Christian
Schools, 2904 S. Main St., Goshen, IN
46526 or call 574 534-2567.
BCS
6 BULLETIN Spring 2005

Notes
Beth (Miller ’92) Lipscomb and her husband Tony
recently relocated to Loveland, Colo., where they
operate their own small business: performing interactive
development and copywriting to help others
promote their own businesses.
Heather (Saupe ’93) and Jimmy Hanes, Bristol,
Ind., purchased their first home in December 2004.
Tom Stahley (’01), a senior at Goshen College, received
a $5,000 entrepreneurship grant to assist him
in starting a Goshen-based search engine optimization
company called Kipsee. The grant, funded by
the Lilly Foundation and awarded by the college’s
Entrepreneurship Learning Center, seeks to help
prevent the brain drain of Indiana college graduates.
Sarah Thompson (’02), a junior at Spellman College
in Atlanta, Ga., plans to study peace and conflict
resolution in the Balkans this fall and then visit
Ethiopia for mission work. She has become proficient
in Spanish, French, Swahili, and Amharic and
continues to correspond via email with an Arabic
Christian from Nazareth, Israel, whom she learned
to know through a class assignment at Bethany in
fall 2001. She says, “Diversity is a gift; we should
rejoice in living it every day.”
Class Reunions
1960: May 28. Contact Shirley Miller
(574 831-5940 or mksem@npcc.net)
or Dorcas Steider (574 534-6276 or
ddsteider@maplenet.net).
1970: August 13. Contact Gene Bontrager
(574 533-6463 or gabontrager@juno.com).
1980: July 16. Contact Lois Stoltzfus Mast
(574 533-3558 or stoltzmast@juno.com) or
Willie Hostetler (574 875-5722).
1985: August 6. Contact Doug Kaufman
(574 533-7625 or dougk@maplenet.net),
Anita Yoder (574 534-7374 or
anitay@maplenet.net), or Darrell Gascho
(574 533-1597 or jd1023@attglobal.net).
1990: July 22-23. Contact Ryan Schrag (941
371-3876 or rschrag12@juno.com).
1995: Contact Kristin Stiffney Grantham
(574 848-5313) or Beth Kanagy Miller (574
825-4535 or jeffandbethm@maplenet.net).
2000: Contact Brad and Brandi Gingerich
(574 389-9507).
Brad Lehman (’82) Solves
Bach Tuning Mystery
A recent discovery of Johann Sebastian
Bach’s method of tuning has “profound
implications for all of Bach’s instrumental
and vocal music that uses keyboards,”
writes Brad Lehman (’82) about his solving
this 250-year-old music puzzle.
For many years, scholars were unsure
whether Bach used equal or unequal tuning
(i.e. equal or unequal
distances apart in pitch
between notes) and if
the latter, what was his
method. A computer
programmer who holds
a Doctor of Musical Arts
in Performance (harpsichord),
Brad combined
his expertise in math and
music to solve the problem.
He surmised that
what appeared to be a
border decoration (above) on the title page
of Bach’s book on tuning, The Well-Tempered
Clavier, is actually a geometric representation
of Bach’s method of keyboard tuning.
In Bach’s drawing, Brad deduced that
each space between loops represents a note
on the scale and the number of spirals in
each loop depicts how much to intentionally
make it out of tune. Brad likens this
unequal tuning to the dashes of spice in
cooking, and Brad has discovered an old
recipe for playing music.
Of course Brad tried this recipe on
various music pieces. He soon realized that
everything works—even music that does
not sound good in equal tuning. He says,
“That drawing is pure math turned into
musical sound.” So if following the math
seems difficult, perhaps more importantly
you can hear the difference. The first organ
with this “new” tuning has been installed at
Goshen College, Brad’s alma mater, for use
in academic and community events.
Alumni
News
Brad Lehman (‘82)
holds the title page to
Bach’s book on tuning.
Brad concludes that
the drawing is actually
Bach’s instructions on
tuning. Further details
on Brad’s discovery
are available at
www.larips.com.
Brad will present a
lecture/demonstration
at 7:30 p.m. Thursday,
May 5, at Goshen
College. Tickets are
$5 for adults and $3
for students and senior
adults. The lecture is part
of week-long dedication
events for the college's
new organ—the first
produced with the
Bach-Lehman method
of tuning.
BCS
BULLETIN Spring 2005 7

From
the
Principal
Allan Dueck
To see ourselves as others see us is an occasional,
but valuable, experience. I recently
enjoyed such an experience when I served
on a panel of local educators for a Leadership
Academy sponsored by Goshen’s
Chamber of Commerce.
After the panelists had spoken, the 22
current and aspiring community leaders
who have been Academy students this
year engaged us in vigorous conversation.
The students were community folks from
outside Bethany’s immediate constituency.
Throughout the day they provided various
glimpses into how others see Bethany.
Around tables after the panel discussion,
small groups of Academy students shared
their perceptions of Bethany and asked
questions. While some knew little about
our school and others more, almost all said
they thought of Bethany as a school with
“academic quality” and “interest in faith
focus.” These are the very characteristics
that those of us close to Bethany identify as
central.
Academy students also asked questions.
One person asked why Bethany does not
sing the national anthem at athletic events
or fly the flag. This question led to an
exchange about the Anabaptist-Mennonite
conviction that our commitment to God
has priority over our commitment to any
nation and that Christ’s call to love neighbors
and our enemies obliges us not to
participate in the military. To my pleasant
surprise, most students expressed respect
for our position even if they did not agree
with it.
Later in the morning, six Academy
students joined me at Bethany for a school
tour. As we walked, we chatted. One guest
noted the “quaint” small hallways and
unlocked lockers, while another remarked
that Bethany “does the small-school thing
well.” These comments underlined the
sense of community, or family, at Bethany.
Another observed that students were polite
and respectful.
As we debriefed at lunch, another
Academy student praised Bethany’s creative
programming—especially non-traditional
education such as Interterm and service
days when students and teachers serve
senior citizens, church camps, local parks,
and churches.
These glimpses into how others see
Bethany were gratifyingly consistent with
how we would like to have others see us.
Bethany Christian Schools
2904 South Main Street
Goshen, IN 46526-5499
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
Permit No. 16
Goshen, IN 46527
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Notice to parents:
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