History of Christianity Commons^™

Review Of: Documents Of Brotherly Love, Dutch Mennonite Aid To Swiss Anabaptists, Volumes I, Ii, Iii—James M. Lowry, Sheldon Raber

Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies

This set of three volumes of documents adds greatly to the accessibility of important historical documents by and about the Anabaptists in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Many original documents and correspondence from this time period were preserved, primarily in Amsterdam. However, since the original documents were written in German, Swiss, and Dutch, they were not easily consulted by English-speaking historians and specifically by American Mennonite historians. And even though most of the documents were inventoried in the late nineteenth century, they were only selectively consulted by historians of the twentieth century. Since this reviewer is not schooled in languages, …

Review Of: In The Fiery Furnace: Life In Ukraine, Siberia, Kazakhstan, And Germany: The Autobiography Of Johann And Elfriede Steffen—Edward Kline (Translation), Donald Martin

Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies

This is the autobiography of Johann and Elfriede Wall Steffen. They were Russian Mennonites who lived under Communist rule from after World War I until 1988. Russian Mennonites suffered much during the famine of the 1930s, then during the persecution of the “Great Purge” (1936-1938). During World War II, when Germans occupied Ukraine, Russian Mennonites with German heritage had several years of peace. But when the Russians drove the German army westward, Mennonites suffered severely. Thousands were exiled to Siberia where many died due to hard labour and starvation. [First paragraph.]

Review Of: Make Us A Blessing: A Biography Of Elmer B. Zimmerman—Fred M. Zimmerman, Sheldon Raber

Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies

The title page of Make Us a Blessing states that the book is "The Life of Elmer B. Zimmerman – Farmer, Machinist, Developer, and Church Builder – 1918–1978." The book is clearly intended as dedicated “to all those who could call Pop ‘Grandpa’ or ‘Great–Grandpa.” Because the book is written by Elmer’s son, Fred, the history includes many personal insights. [First paragraph.]

Review Of: John D. Burkholder’S Diaries Written During His Civilian Public Service: Camp 45, Skyline Drive, Luray, Virginia – November 1, 1944 Through May 1, 1946—John D. Burkholder, Steven Yoder

Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies

The book opens with a lengthy introduction by the editors to the history of the Civilian Public Service camps during the 1940s that came to be known simply as CPS camps. The diary begins November 1, 1944, a few months after John D. Burkholder started his service on July 4th at Camp 45. The diary ends abruptly on May 1, 1946. I cannot find exactly when his time of service ended but the editor reports that the camp closed at the end of June of the same year. [First paragraph.]

Review Of: Phebe’S Home: A Woman’S Life In The Warwick River Mennonite Colony—Jo Anne Kraus, Kathryn Swartz

Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies

Phebe’s Home is the story of Phebe Shenk Kraus’s life, researched and written by her granddaughter, incorporating Phebe’s and others’ handwritten letters and diaries. It is also the broader story of the Denbigh Mennonite farm colony in Tidewater, VA, from its beginning in the early 1900s until it became a neighborhood within the sprawling city of Newport News. [First paragraph.]

Review Of: From Vision To Legacy—Lester And Sarah Gingerich, Mildred Martin

Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies

They married young and, within months, were stationed in Central America, as pioneers in 1961 for Amish Mennonite Aid missions. What began as relief work for hurricane victims turned into a 50-year saga, as relationships were forged, souls were saved, churches were planted, and grapefruit were bowled (page 261). From Vision To Legacy is an autobiographical life story of Lester and Sarah Gingerich, told in alternating streams of thought: his and hers. This spicy slice of Amish-Mennonite history opens with bits and pieces about ancestors immigrating from Germany but soon arrives at the narrators’ own births and lives from the …

Review Of: Carpenter Under Construction: The Story Of Don Plank—Diane Freed, James Swartz, Kathryn Swartz

Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies

Carpenter Under Construction is the story of Don Plank’s life, written by his youngest daughter. It briefly touches on his early life and moves through major life events. About half of the book covers the busy later years in life when he and his second wife moved from mission to mission in various support roles. Don was a good carpenter, but Freed puts more emphasis on what God built Don to be rather than on what Don himself built during his long life. [First paragraph.]

Symposium Review: Exiled Among Nations: German And Mennonite Mythologies In A Transnational Age—John P.R. Eicher, Kenneth Burkholder, Nathan N. Zook, John P.R. Eicher

Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies

In his book Exiled Among Nations: German and Mennonite Mythologies in a Transnational Age, historian John P.R. Eicher chronicles the stories of two Mennonite colonies transplanted during the rise of nationalism. As the introduction makes clear, though, the book is more than a mere record of history; it aims to show how “mobile populations fashion collective narratives as nations, religions, and diasporas.” The book can therefore be understood on two different levels. It acts as a straightforward history from 1874 to 1945, of the migrant Menno Colony’s (from Canada) and the refugee Fernheim Colony’s (from Russia) inception in Paraguay. As …

The 1955 Diener Beschluss: Text, Interpretation, Reception History, And Historiography, Christopher Petrovich

Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies

The contemporary diversity of the Amish is well attested by recent literature in the field of Amish studies. However, beyond Leroy Beachy’s Unser Leit, insufficient attention has been given to the question of how this state of affairs came about. The most consequential date in the twentieth century is September 1955, when a Bescluß (statement) that was issued at a churchwide ministers’ meeting ultimately divided the Old Order Amish into two separate, non-communing fellowships. Three important historical details about the meeting merit consideration: the document issued on the last day of the churchwide ministers’ meeting circulates among the Amish in …

Review Of: Our Amish Heritage—Publishing Committee Of The Geauga Amish Historical Library, Dan Raber

Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies

The booklet, Our Amish Heritage, succeeds admirably in its stated goal of being a general history suitable for parochial schools or home use. The overall flow of the narrative reads well, not going into great detail anywhere but pointing out highlights in a nearly 500 year attempt at the Anabaptist, then Amish, people literally living Christ’s commandments.

Review Of: Grounded Upon God’S Word: The Life And Labours Of Jakob Amman—Andrew V St. Marie And Mike Atnip, Osiah Horst

Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies

This book is an easy read for the average person, and has adequate footnotes, bibliography, and photos for the interested student. It relies heavily on John D. Roth’s “Letters of the Amish Division” for sources. While it is quite factual, it presents facts in story form. The book focuses on Amman’s life, not just on the Amish division. It is part of the “Cross Bearers Series” which is designed to bring to today’s youth, stories of role models from history. Other books in the series introduce Conrad Grebel and Michael Sattler in a similar easy reading format.

Review Of: Heaven Will Heal: Eternal Perspectives In The Life And Times Of Oregon Bishop, John P. Yoder. Iowa To The West Coast, 1885-1975—Mary (Gingerich) Kropf, Paul Smucker

Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies

Heaven Will Heal is a history of the life and times of John P. Yoder written by John’s granddaughter. John wrote and received numerous letters in his lifetime and saved all his letters that he received. After John’s death his son Glenn also saved the letters. When John’s granddaughter Mary gained access to the letters and postcards, she read them carefully, and she decided to use these letters as a basis of telling the history of her grandpa, the Anabaptist community in the southern Willamette Valley, and the Harrisburg Mennonite Church from its beginnings to the 1970s. [First paragraph.]

Review Of: Hoofbeats In The Bluegrass: Thirty Years Of Mennonite History In Western Kentucky, 1987-2017—Elvin S. Eberly, Donald Martin

Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies

When Elvin Eberly sat down to write Hoofbeats in the Bluegrass (that is to say, horse-and-buggy people in Kentucky), he, as an Old Order Mennonite, wrote about his Old Order Mennonite community. The theme of the book is community. Throughout the book, references are made to building projects, accidents that happened, and the funerals and weddings that occurred within the community. In fact if this factual matter were removed, the writing would be reduced to a pamphlet of little stories. It is those humorous stories and community events that will intrigue readers outside of the Old Order community. Hoofbeats in …

Inspiring Piety: The Influence Of Caravaggio’S Paintings In Santa Maria Del Popolo, Cara Coleman

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This article looks at the way Italian Baroque painter, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio broke from the artistic conventions of the Renaissance and Mannerist styles in his religious paintings to create an entirely new style that reflected the needs of the post-Tridentine Catholic Church. Caravaggio pushed painting throughout Europe in a new direction, away from the idealization of the Renaissance and the artistic extremes of Mannerism, by popularizing realism in art. Caravaggio’s unique style is examined through comparisons of his paintings, The Conversion of Paul, c.1601 and The Martyrdom of Saint Peter, c.1601 in the Roman basilica, Santa Maria del Popolo …

The Akron Offering: A Ladies' Literary Magazine, 1849-1850, Jon Miller

University of Akron Press Publications

FREE FULL-TEXT PDF DOWNLOAD

From 1849 to 1850, Calista Cummings edited and published Akron's first literary magazine, The Akron Offering. At the time, Akron was a booming canal town on the verge of even greater prosperity. By turns religious, comic, romantic, and political, this extraordinary collection of early midwestern creative literature expresses a wide range of sometimes contradictory opinions on both the important questions of its day and the important questions of today: historical events such as the California Gold Rush of 1849 and the 1848 revolutions in Europe are considered alongside more timeless contemplations on truth, justice, and …