The post from the Minnich family first appeared on University Mennonite Church.

Here we are in December. Temperatures have been well below freezing for nearly a month, and there’s snow on the mountain. We’re thankful for this true winter and how it helps our forests and the brook trout in the headwater streams that run down the face of the Allegheny Front. Like the seasons, our lives continue to change as we’ve entered our 60s and see retirement on the near horizon.

Todd will retire this coming June after 39 years of teaching, the last 23 years at Penn State where he loved his academic home in the Environmental Studies program. He’s enjoying making poems for his ninth poetry collection and has recently signed a contract for his first creative nonfiction book, Bloodlines: On Hunting, Fishing, Family, and the Grace of Wild Things, which Storey Press will publish in June 2027. He plans to spend even more time in the woods in retirement, and he and Shelly will travel to Montana this summer where Noah, Nikea, and Nathan will join them for a few weeks in a national wilderness.

Shelly will follow Todd into retirement whenever the spirit moves her, but for now she’s had another busy year at the Grier School, mentoring young girls and helping them on their path toward college. For the past twelve years, she has managed a rain garden near the Little Juniata River. Each year she involves Grier students in this conservation project, teaching them about the importance of native plants, riparian buffers, and ways we can improve water quality through these efforts. For this important work, Shelly was awarded “Conservationist of the Year” for 2025 from the Blair County Conservation District.

Although he’s only 27, this past September Nathan retired. After five years of professional basketball that took him to Germany, Albania, Ireland, and Australia, he concluded his playing career with a second championship for the McKinnon Cougars of Melbourne. While he was playing in Australia this past March, Lauren Stricek visited him. They’d been dating for more than a year, and while walking on a beach under a full moon, Nathan proposed. We are so happy Lauren will be a new part of our family. She’s from Tyrone, the village just north of us, and graduated from Juniata College where she majored in Spanish and Biology. She teaches Spanish at the Grier School and is kind and lovely and makes Nathan as happy as we’ve ever seen him. By the way, Nathan’s retirement didn’t last long. He has a new job in student services at Penn State Altoona.

Noah and Nikea had a wonderful first year in Pepperell, Massachusetts. Nikea’s postdoc at UMass-Lowell is going swimmingly, and we mean that literally. She’s now certified in scuba-diving and travelled with her research team to an island off Colombia to collect data and do experiments on a coral reef. Noah’s second book of poems, The Lasts Beast We Revel In was published by CavanKerry Press in April. He spent spring, summer, and fall giving readings at places like the Massachusetts Poetry Festival and the New York City Poetry Festival. He also presented his little brother with a moving speech when Nathan was inducted into the Seton Hill University Athletic Hall of Fame in October. Nathan told the crowd that Noah ought to be in the Hall of Fame, too. We’ll see if that happens….

We look forward to hearing from you, and hope our paths cross in the new year!

Peace and Blessings,

Todd and Shelly

The post from the Davis family first appeared on University Mennonite Church.

This year, Jonas continued taking martial arts where he has reached blue belt with one stripe. He enjoys playing with LEGO and has begun taking Spanish on Duolingo, in addition to beginning saxophone in his 4th grade band.

Alethia started middle school and has been adjusting well. She joined the drama club and was invited to join symphonic band on clarinet. In martial arts, she has also reached blue belt with one stripe.

Anika began her sophomore year and continues to enjoy high school. She especially loves marching band, where she plays the flute. In her free time, Anika likes baking and hanging out with her friends.

Meredith transitioned out of her supervisor position and continues as a full-time nurse at CSL Plasma. She made her first quilt to donate to MCC and enjoys playing piano, reading, and hiking.

Ben had fun adventures with the family like taking Jonas to a Blue Jays World Series watch party and Knoebels with the Blauch family. He unfortunately crashed his mountain bike and has been working through a knee injury this fall. He continues to enjoy working part-time at University Mennonite Church and Two Brothers Bike Shop.

The post from the Wideman family first appeared on University Mennonite Church.

Dear Friends,

What is time? Where does it go? How did I use it? Questions to consider at the end of another year (or another day).

Some highlights of my year, beyond the daily routine of housekeeping and gardening, were travel and volunteer activities.

In April, I traveled to McAllen, TX for a guided birding trip to search for winged migrants along the tip of Texas. A group of nine former strangers, packed in and out of a van many times as we walked and drove through farmers’ fields, South Padre Island beach, city parks, nature preserves, and garbage dumps. In seven days, we saw 219 different species. We accessed the Rio Grande River when a local farmer opened his gate at “the wall,” allowing us to walk down to the water in search of rare species.

A fall trip in early September was shared with three friends in three national parks: Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, and Glacier. Connie and I averaged seven miles of hiking a day, but did not always reach the planned destination. It rained on the hike to Glacier Lake. As we approached the Lake, the rock stairs were uneven, narrow, and wet. Walking against the side of the mountain and looking over the edge, fear convinced me to turn back, with less than a mile to the Lake.

More than Old Faithful, the geyser spouts and bubbling infernos at Yellowstone National Park were the most unusual and baffling experiences of the trip. The Yellowstone Caldera covers 6,600 sq mi. with 10,000 hydrothermal features and more than 500 geysers. (www.nps.gov.) As far as you could see, the earth was steaming, bubbling, or spouting forth.

Volunteer opportunities in the local community highlight my life in Boalsburg: cleaning fridges at Out of the Cold, sorting donations at the State College Food Bank, and transporting Afghan women to English classes. As part of a local Accompaniment Group for detainees at Moshannon Valley Processing Center, I occasionally deliver a “Sad Bag” (a backpack containing clothes, toiletries, and a cell phone) that arrives from distant lawyers or family members of individuals being released, transferred, or deported. The receptionist at MVPC documents the items, then issues a receipt, which is emailed to the lawyer or family member. Others in the Accompaniment Group visit detainees at the Center who want to converse with community members.

Although the world isn’t what I would like it to be, I look forward to Advent: a time of reflection on the meaning of Christ’s birth, for today. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Peace and blessings,

Mary

The post from Mary Derstein first appeared on University Mennonite Church.