BCMC Kaleidoscope 1
August-September 2008
matter. I wrote stories
about photography, an
Iraqi musician, the boreal
forest and a parade float-
maker. I visited a squir-
rel scholar at his office in
the depths of the Natural
History Museum. After
my gig at Smithsonian
ended, I continued to
write some for the maga-
zine and freelanced for
other publications. About
a year ago, I landed a job
at Current Newspaper,
where I am associate edi-
tor. Current
(www.current.org) is a bi
-weekly publication
about public radio and
television, read mostly by
people who work in the
field. I’m the TV editor,
which means I visit PBS
board meetings, attend
media conferences and
write stories about how
and why people make
films and programs, how
public television stations
and filmmakers fund
their work, how new
technologies are impact-
ing the business, journal-
istic ethics, and the
meaning and mission of
―public media.‖ If I had
my druthers, I’d write
mostly about independent
Editor’s note – An important
goal of the Kaleidoscope is
to keep BCMC members in
touch with one another and
it is a special treat to hear
from members living and
working “off-campus”.
Thus when we saw an article
by Katy June-Friesen in the
Smithsonian Magazine ear-
lier this year we asked her to
write us about her activities
and bring us up to date on
her career in journalism.
W. Dale Horst
Hello friends, I’ve
been asked to give an update
about what I’m doing in
Washington, D.C., where
I’ve been for two years. I
moved here for a six-month
internship at Smithsonian
Magazine after finishing my
master’s at the Missouri
School of Journalism. Go-
ing to Missouri marked a
sort of turning point for
me, a realization about
how I wanted to spend my
time. I’d just finished a
master’s in cultural studies
at Carnegie Mellon Uni-
versity, and while I liked
the subject matter, I recog-
nized—with the help of an
ethnography class—how
much I love hearing peo-
ple’s stories first-hand. So
I decided on a more public,
interactive line of work.
Those pages of critical the-
ory—basically, digging
beyond what ―seems to
be‖— still serve me well.
There aren’t many
magazines with Smith-
sonian’s range of subject
A BCMC MEMBER UPDATE
films. But I’m learning a lot.
There are journalists
everywhere in D.C., and I’m
fortunate to have a lot of
young colleagues. I’m not
part of the Capitol Hill press
crew, but I do get tastes of
that scene. There’s a lot hap-
pening in D.C. that isn’t on
the Hill—in the city’s di-
verse neighborhoods, in the
arts scene, and at the numer-
ous non-fiction media out-
lets. I’m keeping my sights
on the kind of work that
drew me to journalism in the
first place—long-form docu-
mentary and narrative writ-
ing. When I’m not writing,
I’m singing in the Capitol
Hill Chorale, taking trips to
the Shenandoah Mountains
and casing the city for new
events and exhibits. I’ve
been volunteering at the ani-
mal rescue league and re-
cently helped out with the
annual Smithsonian Folklife
Festival on the National
Mall. But I also keep a place
in my head for the Kansas
prairie and my favorite time
of year around Newton, just
before the wheat is cut.
~ Katy June-Friesen
August-September 2008/2:4
Bethel College Mennonite Church
2600 College Ave., P.O. Box 364, North Newton, KS 67117
~ 316-283-3667
office.bcmc@sbcglobal.net ~ web: bcmc.ks.us.mennonite.net
Editorial committee: Karen Penner & Dale Horst
Inside this issue:
The sanctuary gets new
carpet 2
BCMC Restructures 2
With Our Members 2
Katy June-Friesen on the set of Jim Lehrer’s news show,
interviewing the show’s director and lighting technician
about the show’s transition to digital transmission.
Orlando Goertzen Obituary 3
Evelyn Quiring’s 80th
Birthday 4
Gus William’s 12th
Birthday 4
Senior High Service Trip 5
Pastor’s Corner 5
Worship/Events Schedule 6