Four alumni graduate from Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary

Four Goshen College alumni graduated from the Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS) on May 1, 2021 in Elkhart, Indiana.

Amy Amanda Chupp Kratzer ’02 of Goshen, Indiana, graduated with a master of arts in christian formation. She also was selected to receive an Award for Excellence in Christian Formation from the seminary’s Church and Ministry Department.

Kratzer is concluding 18 years of service on the pastoral team of Sunnyside Mennonite Church in Elkhart, Indiana — a congregation of Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA — and plans to teach music in Goshen Community Schools. She previously earned a bachelor of arts in music education from Goshen College.

“I completed my seminary studies alongside pastoring,” Kratzer said. “While it has taken me 16 years to earn my degree, it has been a fruitful way to learn. My work as a pastor has energized my studies, and my studies have invigorated my pastoral ministry. I have been blessed by many friendships and the loving support of many professors through the years. I never lived in AMBS housing, but when I step onto campus, it feels like a spiritual home; it is part of me forever.”

Becky Helmuth ’94 of Goshen, Indiana, graduated with a master of divinity with a major in Christian faith formation. In 2020, Helmuth ended nearly 16 years of working with The Mennonite magazine in Elkhart, Indiana; she is looking forward to pursuing a pastoral ministry assignment.

Helmuth previously earned a bachelor of arts in English from Goshen College. Her home congregation is North Goshen Mennonite Church in Goshen, Indiana, a congregation of Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA.

Matthew W. Troyer-Miller ’05 of Shickley, Nebraska, graduated with a master of divinity with a major in pastoral ministry.

Troyer-Miller, who completed part of his degree at a distance through AMBS’s MDiv Connect program, plans to continue pastoring at Wood River (Nebraska) Mennonite Church, a congregation of Central Plains Mennonite Conference (CPMC) of Mennonite Church USA. His home congregation is Salem Mennonite Church in Shickley, also a CPMC congregation.

Troyer-Miller previously earned a bachelor of arts in peace, justice and conflict studies from GC and an associate of arts from Hesston College.

“Through the AMBS Connect program, I was able to build meaningful relationships with my professors and my fellow students,” Troyer-Miller said. “It was very helpful to study at AMBS while pastoring, as these relationships and my theological studies improved my pastoral abilities.”

Quinn Brenneke ’14 of Fort Wayne, Indiana, participated in the graduation ceremony. He anticipates graduating in August 2021 with a master of divinity with a major in theological studies: history, theology and ethics.

Brenneke plans to continue serving as co-pastor of Prairie Street Mennonite Church in Elkhart, Indiana, a congregation of Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference of Mennonite Church USA. He previously earned a bachelor of arts in communication and interdisciplinary studies (global economics, business, international studies) from Goshen College.

“My Christian commitments were deepened during my studies at AMBS as I studied Scripture, theology and history in an Anabaptist perspective,” Brenneke said. “I know more now than I did before, and I also have more questions to guide me on my journey forward. The friends and community I gained at AMBS were deeply part of my formation. Those are relationships that I will carry with me.”