Teacher

Donald Clymer was born in Lancaster Pa, and taught classes in the Spanish and Core Curriculum departments at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU), Harrisonburg, Va. He retired from teaching in May 2016. He has graduate degrees from Wichita State University (Spanish literature), Wichita, Ks, and Eastern Mennonite Seminary (Christian Spiritual Formation), Harrisonburg, Va. Previous to EMU, he taught Spanish, German, Core Curriculum classes, and led the Global Issues Seminar at Hesston College, Ks. He was director of Cross-cultural Programs at Eastern Mennonite University and worked as director of Communications at Virginia Mennonite Missions and Virginia Mennonite Conference.

Spiritual Director

Don gives spiritual direction (guidance) to both individuals and groups and has led workshops on spirituality for retreats, churches and other venues. He is on the board of Blue Ridge Ministries which provides a wide variety of spirituality retreats.

Don spent years processing his intercultural experiences in Central America and Mexico where he worked with Eastern Mennonite Missions, Salunga, Pa, and Mennonite Central Committee, Akron, Pa, and where he studied and led numerous student groups. His journey gives him significant insight and passion for connecting spirituality and the intercultural experience. 

Author

The connection between spirituality and his many inter-cultural experiences has provided Don with a rich treasure trove of stories that enliven his numerous writing projects and publications. In the "Read Me" section you will find numerous published articles dealing with these themes. His book, Meditations on the Beatitudes: Lessons from the Margin works with the same issues. One of Don's most-recent book, The Spacious Heart: Room for Spiritual Awakening has a more general theme of spirituality, but has numerous discussions of inter-cultural interplay with spirituality as well. 

His book Malinda in Mexico is a collection of stories about how his daughter experienced Mexico as a young girl. Many of the unique and fascinating cultural elements are discovered through a young girl’s eyes.

Don is married to Esther Reichenbach, a native of Switzerland, and has two adult children. Don and Esther are members of Lindale Mennonite Church, Linville, Va, where he has served as elder, worship leader, song leader and Sunday school teacher as well as being on the pastoral care team. 

Don spent his first year of retirement in Aarberg, Switzerland, where he has given several workshops in church settings, translated a play from Swiss German to English, and is working on several writing projects including his family history.