During the July 4th weekend, hundreds of family and friends came together to celebrate 75 years of God’s blessings upon Berean Academy. The weekend was filled with many opportunities for alumni to share memories as they participated in various events. Saturday morning began with a 5K Run/Jog/Walk with over 50 participants, including toddlers in strollers all the way to the infamous Leroy Busenitz. Alumnus Sheldon Penner then served up pancakes to over 200 hungry guests. The morning rounded out with alumni soccer and volleyball games. During the middle of the day, kids were treated to various games, train rides, bounce house, and of course, rope making. The 2022 Senior Class served up burgers and dogs, and alumnus Kendra Veer served an Italian feast. A basketball tourney was up next, with teams from many generations reliving the glory days while hoping to avoid too many aches and pains.
During the afternoon, Mr. Terry Tilson hosted tours of the campus, including the new cafeteria and office wing. Many classes also used this time to get together to rekindle friendships. The evening started with a wonderful pulled pork dinner, served up to over 750, by a very efficient volunteer crew. Up next was an outdoor concert with alumni calling themselves “The Ninth Hour Band” that featured alumnus Toby Friesen, guitarist for Christian singer Jeremy Camp. God blessed the event with amazingly mild temperatures and wind, which of course, is very rare for early July in Kansas. The day culminated with a wonderful fireworks display coordinated by alumnus Paul Matzek. The crowd dispersed for the night, inspired and tired from a big day.
Sunday morning brought the weekend's highlight as 800+ people gathered to worship and sing praises to the Lord for his faithfulness to Berean for 75 years. The service began with a 30-minute piano prelude presented by numerous alumni pianists. Several families and individuals shared testimonies of how the Berean family came alongside them during difficult situations and tragedies. Mr. Tilson also provided a message of God’s working through the history of Berean. Finally, alumnus Glen Litke directed an anniversary choir of over 60 singers that was very God-honoring and a wonderful reminder of the gift of music Berean has enjoyed over the years.
The weekend was enjoyed by those attending, with many positive comments. It was wonderful to see so many come from near and far to celebrate 75 years of God’s blessing on Berean Academy.
We are thankful to the Lord for His faithfulness and continued blessing upon Berean Academy! He provided many hands that came together to organize and plan the celebration. Thank you to everyone for gifting Berean with their time, talents, and financial gifts that made the celebration a great success! (see video and ordering information below)
We have provided you with a short video of the weekend below. We are currently working on finalizing the video; unfortunately, there were some audio glitches during the 75th Sunday Worship Service. While the video will not be perfect, it provides great material as a keepsake. You can order a video for $20.00. To place an order, please click here.