C. Henry Smith orator, Lydia Haggard, responds to contemporary concerns with Christian peace values

2018 Apr 18

Students competed in the C. Henry Smith Oratorical Contest at Eastern Mennonite University, an annual contest, established in 1974 by the directors of the C. Henry Smith Trust. This contest offers students an opportunity to discuss the application of the Christian peace position to contemporary concerns in an 8-10-minute speech. The winner of the school contest goes on to compete at the bi-national level against winners from other Mennonite-related colleges in the United States and Canada.

Lydia Haggard (Norristown) a junior Bible and religion major from Norristown, Pennsylvania, presented “Is It Black or White?: Exploring Race and the Mennonite Church.”

The winner of this year's competition was senior English major, Caleb Schrock-Hurst, with his speech, "'Is This a Bonhoeffer Moment?': Asking the Right Questions in Trump's America."

Runners up were Winifred Gray-Johnson, a junior peacebuilding and development major from Liberia, and Katrina Poplett, a senior peacebuilding and development major from Plymouth, Minnesota.

The intercollegiate competition is administered by the Peace and Justice Ministries of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC). C. Henry Smith was an American Mennonite historian and professor at Mennonite colleges and the University of Chicago. He taught history for nearly 50 years at the collegiate level, and was well-known for his numerous books on Mennonite history and his particular attention to the peace commitments of the Mennonite tradition.

Eastern Mennonite University has participated in the event since 2003, with the exception of 2015. EMU students have won the grand prize at the bi-national level in 2003, 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2011. The contest is sponsored by EMU Bible and religion , language and literature, and peacebuilding and development programs.