Press Conference Today (08/09/10) at 2 p.m. at Alma Mater of Health Worker Slain in Afghanistan

HARRISONBURG, Va., Aug. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Reflections on the life and work of Glen D. Lapp, one of 10 killed late last week while on a medical assistance trip in Afghanistan, will be offered by Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) professor Lisa Schirch in a press conference. Lapp graduated from EMU as a math major in 1991 and then earned a nursing degree at John Hopkins.

Dr. Lisa Schirch, who has traveled to Afghanistan regularly in the last two years as part of her work of directing the 3D Security Initiative (www.3DSecurity.org), got to know Lapp in Afghanistan. Schirch and EMU as a whole subscribe to the EMU's stated "vision" of promoting peacebuilding around the world. A recent issue of EMU's Peacebuilder Magazine (www.emu.edu/peacebuilder) described the work of 10 alumni and students in Afghanistan.

Schirch is not inclined to hold the Taliban responsible for Lapp's death, nor does she "buy" statements by Muslim extremists about Lapp and his colleagues being killed as a result of attempts to convert Afghans to Christianity.

Schirch will speak at an EMU-sponsored venue 2 p.m. at 1200 Park Rd., Harrisonburg, Virginia, by a fountain in the central part of the campus. Schirch will also be available for phone or in person interviews throughout the day.

A member of Lapp's church, Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster, Pa., will also be available to answer questions about Lapp's motives in being in Afghanistan. A professor or two who recalls Lapp from his undergraduate days may also be on hand. Lapp was a volunteer for Mennonite Central Committee (www.mcc.org), which has issued its own statements.

The EMU press conference can be viewed by late afternoon (08/09/10) on YouTube, accessible through the EMU website, www.emu.edu.

NOTE: Two of the 10 people killed on the medical mission were linked to the small city of  Harrisonburg, Virginia. Brian Carderelli was a 2009 graduate of nearby James Madison University, having majored in communication studies. He apparently was on the trip as the team's videographer.

A statement also was posted on www.emu.edu this morning.

SOURCE Eastern Mennonite University