Mennonite Safari

An original and wide-ranging investigation of the gendered nature of historical memory among communities in the Mara region of Tanzania and its influence on the development of East Africa over the past 150 years. Exploring these oral histories opens exciting new vistas for understanding how women and men in this culture tell their stories and assert their roles as public intellectuals.

Mennonite women are making their own spiritual contribution to their church's tricentennial in the form of this volume sponsored by the Women's Missionary and Service Commission (WMSC) of the Mennonite Church. The author has drawn from documentation supplied by WMSC groups across Canada and the United States, as well as from dozens of women and men who have responded with stories and episodes about Mennonite women, covering three centuries of life, culture, and faith. Her art of storytelling captures the readers' interest from the beginning and provides the grist for a deeper level of critique and interpretation of the movement of Mennonite women through the centuries - especially through the decades of the twentieth century.... One of the strengths of this book is the assumption that the qualities of Christian discipleship apply equally to men and women who are responding to God's leading as active participants in the kingdom. --Leonard Gross, Executive Secretary, Historical Committee of the Mennonite Church Although Mennonite women, almost without exception, have been excluded from ordination, their ministry has been essential to the growth of the home, the church, and the communities in which they have lived and worked.... Mennonite Women is a volume about women for an audience of both women and men.... The author helps us understand ourselves. She increases our awareness of the gifts women have been using for a long time. --Barbara K. Reber, Executive Secretary, Women's Missionary and Service Commission of the Mennonite Church

Schlabach describes and interprets the involvement of the Mennonite Church in mission from 1863 to 1944. Included is information on the theological and sociological changes that took place within the Mennonite church during this time period. Readers see the growth and application of the mission idea and of missionary concepts. Ultimately it raises questions of what version of the gospel Christians ought to be preaching.

A global citizen. A commitment to sharing the peace of Jesus. A witness to the difference that Jesus makes. The story David Shenk either begins in Shirati Village in Tanganyika, East Africa, or we might decide it begins among the orchards of Lancaster County, Pa., where farmers with their horses line up a mile for water as they rearrange their loads for their trek home on market day. In either reading, this is a story of mission—a story of people chattering along a roadside spring on the way to and from market. At age six, Shenk asked his parents, “What difference does Jesus make?” The answer to that question is the reason he became a Christian. Day by day, as he travels in the way of Jesus—living, serving, and ministering around the world—Shenk continues to unpack what difference Jesus makes. ​ This is the story not just of Shenk and his remarkable work in Christian missions. It’s the stories that David has heard within societies, cultures, and religions when he asks the question: What difference does Jesus make?

Purchase Volume 5 of the Mennonite Encyclopedia, containing updates on materials in the first four volumes plus nearly 1,000 new articles edited by Cornelius J. Dyck and Dennis D. Martin. This gigantic resource covers the 435-year history of the faith, life, and culture of Anabaptists in Europe and Mennonites throughout the world. Presented are people, movements, and places in their relation to Mennonites. A few of the many articles covered are Argentina, Arminianism, Baptism, Baptist, Brazil, Calvin, Church, Communion, Congo, Deaconess, Education, Farming, Furniture, Grebel, Hubmaier, Hymnology, Industry, Literature, Marriage, Publishers, Reedley, Ukraine, and Zurich. The Mennonite Encyclopedia was jointly edited by historians and scholars of the Mennonite Church, General Conference of Mennonites, and Mennonite Brethren Church. More than 2,700 writers contributed articles to this reference work.