{"id":22,"date":"2019-07-23T14:05:25","date_gmt":"2019-07-23T14:05:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.clayshowalter.com\/?page_id=22"},"modified":"2026-03-02T14:09:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T19:09:02","slug":"home","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/","title":{"rendered":"Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t<p>OUR CURRENT ISSUE:<\/p>\n<h2>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"issuem_title\">Winter 2026<\/div>\t<\/h2>\n\t<div class=\"issuem_articles_shortcode\"><div class=\"issuem_article article-1118\">\n<div class=\"issuem_img\"><a class=\"issuem_article_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/article\/a-culture-of-dignity-principal-as-coach\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1136\" src=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/LaughingEMMSBelonging-scaled.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/LaughingEMMSBelonging-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/LaughingEMMSBelonging-300x133.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/LaughingEMMSBelonging-1024x454.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/LaughingEMMSBelonging-768x341.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/LaughingEMMSBelonging-1536x682.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/LaughingEMMSBelonging-2048x909.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"issuem_text\">\r\n<h3><a class=\"issuem_article_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/article\/a-culture-of-dignity-principal-as-coach\/\">A Culture of Dignity: Principal as Coach<\/a><\/h3>\r\n<p class=\"issuem_article_content\">With Ms. Erika Gascho, EMMS Principal Inside the halls of Eastern Mennonite Middle School (EMMS), Principal Erika Gascho is more than an administrator\u2014 she\u2019s a coach, mentor, and guide for students navigating the challenging middle school years. \u201cShe\u2019s my life coach,\u201d a 6th grade student explained to his parents. With her unique blend of special&hellip;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><div class=\"issuem_article article-1130\">\n<div class=\"issuem_img\"><a class=\"issuem_article_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/article\/our-commitment-to-belonging\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2000\" height=\"999\" src=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AllSchoolBelonging.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AllSchoolBelonging.jpg 2000w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AllSchoolBelonging-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AllSchoolBelonging-1024x511.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AllSchoolBelonging-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AllSchoolBelonging-1536x767.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\" \/><\/a><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"issuem_text\">\r\n<h3><a class=\"issuem_article_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/article\/our-commitment-to-belonging\/\">Our Commitment to Belonging<\/a><\/h3>\r\n<p class=\"issuem_article_content\">At Eastern Mennonite School, Belonging represents a collaborative and aspirational effort shaped first by the equity group and then edited by the EMS governing and alumni boards, strategic leadership team, and faculty and staff. Adopted in June 2024, this statement complements our mission and vision by articulating who we strive to be and how we&hellip;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><div class=\"issuem_article article-1122\">\n<div class=\"issuem_img\"><a class=\"issuem_article_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/article\/belonging-a-goal-worth-pursuing\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1365\" src=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/EMHSBelonging1-scaled.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/EMHSBelonging1-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/EMHSBelonging1-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/EMHSBelonging1-1024x546.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/EMHSBelonging1-768x410.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/EMHSBelonging1-1536x819.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/EMHSBelonging1-2048x1092.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"issuem_text\">\r\n<h3><a class=\"issuem_article_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/article\/belonging-a-goal-worth-pursuing\/\">Belonging: a Goal Worth Pursuing<\/a><\/h3>\r\n<p class=\"issuem_article_content\">With Mr. Justin King, EMHS Principal At EMHS, belonging is not just a nice idea\u2014it\u2019s a goal worth pursuing every single day. Creating a culture where students feel connected, seen, and valued is at the heart of what we do. Building that sense of belonging requires both structure and heart, and it\u2019s a journey we&hellip;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><div class=\"issuem_article article-1127\">\n<div class=\"issuem_img\"><a class=\"issuem_article_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/article\/building-a-culture-of-peace-at-emes-peacebuilding-the-heartbeat\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1156\" src=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/EMESCircleBelonging-scaled.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/EMESCircleBelonging-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/EMESCircleBelonging-300x136.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/EMESCircleBelonging-1024x463.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/EMESCircleBelonging-768x347.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/EMESCircleBelonging-1536x694.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/EMESCircleBelonging-2048x925.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/a><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"issuem_text\">\r\n<h3><a class=\"issuem_article_link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/article\/building-a-culture-of-peace-at-emes-peacebuilding-the-heartbeat\/\">Building a Culture of Peace at Emes: Peacebuilding \u2013 the Heartbeat<\/a><\/h3>\r\n<p class=\"issuem_article_content\">With Ms. Maria Archer, EMES Principal At Eastern Mennonite Elementary School (EMES), peacebuilding isn\u2019t just a class\u2014it\u2019s the heartbeat of the community. Principal Maria Archer, who has led this school for over 20 years, describes the culture as one where \u201cevery student is known and seen, safe to be who they are, and safe to&hellip;<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\t<p>TODAY is published and mailed three times a year. The online version includes feature articles from each issue. To receive a full print copy by mail, email <a href=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/ailto:today@easternmennonite.org\">today@easternmennonite.org<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>TODAY creative team: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/facultystaff\/abigail-cook\/\">Abigail Cook<\/a>, writer and editor;<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/facultystaff\/trisha-blosser\/\">Trisha Maust &#8217;95 Blosser<\/a>, editorial support;<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/facultystaff\/paul-leaman\/\">Paul Leaman<\/a>, head of school.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Send feedback to <a href=\"mailto:today@easternmennonite.org\">today@easternmennonite.org<\/a><\/p>\n<h2>\n\t\t\tPast issues\t<\/h2>\n\t\n\t<div class=\"issuem_archives_shortcode\">\n\n\t\t\n\t\t\t<div id=\"issue-43\" class=\"issuem_archive issuem-archives-issue \">\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t<p class=\"issuem-archives-issue-cover\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"featured_archives_cover\" style=\"width: 200px; height: 268px;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/issue\/winter-2026\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"268\" src=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/today_cover_2026_winter_43.2-200x268.jpg\" class=\"attachment-issuem-cover-image size-issuem-cover-image\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<p class=\"issuem-archives-issue-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/issue\/winter-2026\/\">Winter 2026<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t<p class=\"issuem-archives-pdf-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"issue-download-pdf-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/EMS_Today-Winter_2026_digital-sm.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div id=\"issue-42\" class=\"issuem_archive issuem-archives-issue \">\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t<p class=\"issuem-archives-issue-cover\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"featured_archives_cover\" style=\"width: 200px; height: 268px;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/issue\/fall-2025\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"268\" src=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/today_cover_2025_fall_43.1-200x268.jpg\" class=\"attachment-issuem-cover-image size-issuem-cover-image\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<p class=\"issuem-archives-issue-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/issue\/fall-2025\/\">Fall 2025<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t<p class=\"issuem-archives-pdf-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"issue-download-pdf-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/EMS_TODAY-fall-2025-web-sm.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div id=\"issue-41\" class=\"issuem_archive issuem-archives-issue \">\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t<p class=\"issuem-archives-issue-cover\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"featured_archives_cover\" style=\"width: 200px; height: 268px;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/issue\/summer-2025\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"268\" src=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/today_cover_2025_summer_42.3-200x268.jpg\" class=\"attachment-issuem-cover-image size-issuem-cover-image\" alt=\"\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<p class=\"issuem-archives-issue-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/issue\/summer-2025\/\">Summer 2025<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t<p class=\"issuem-archives-pdf-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"issue-download-pdf-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/EMS_TODAY-Spring_Summer-2025-web-sm.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Download PDF<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"next_previous_archive_pagination\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"alignright\"><a href=\"\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22?paged=2\"> Next Archives<\/a><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>OUR CURRENT ISSUE: TODAY is published and mailed three times a year. The online version includes feature articles from each issue. To receive a full print copy by mail, email today@easternmennonite.org &nbsp; TODAY creative team: Abigail Cook, writer and editor; Trisha Maust &#8217;95 Blosser, editorial support; Paul Leaman, head of school. Send feedback to today@easternmennonite.org&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-22","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1133,"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22\/revisions\/1133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.easternmennonite.org\/today\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}