2025-26 Civic Engagement Theme
Who is my neighbor? Knowing, loving, and serving our neighbors
When Jesus is asked in Matthew 22, "what is the most important commandment?" he says, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. This is the first and most important commandment. The second most important commandment is like this one. And it is, 'Love others as much as you love yourself' All the Law of Moses and the Books of the Prophets are based on these two commandments" (CEV).
In a similar fashion, Hans Denck says, ''No one can know Christ unless they follow after him in life, and no one can follow him unless they know him." To know God and to know our neighbor is to love and serve them. Over the last 20 years we have seen growing evidence that we do not know or love our neighbors.
We struggle with knowing how to engage immigrants in our communities. People are shot and killed because they knocked on the wrong door or turned around in someone's driveway. How can we begin to break down barriers to knowing and loving our neighbors as an avenue to build stronger connections to one another and ultimately a stronger civic bond? Even in our own spaces, how do we recognize that each person on campus, despite our differences, is our neighbor?
This work builds on our mission: "Shaped by the historic peace church tradition and nourished by a desire for excellence in all phases of its programs, 小优传媒 seeks to prepare students of all backgrounds for life as well as vocation, for responsible citizenship, for service to all peoples and, ultimately, for the purposes of God's universal kingdom."