Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Amish and Mennonite weekend

Since my sabbatical has been over for four months, I have not done much with this blog, and at the moment I do not have any grand plans for continuing to maintain it on a regular basis, though who knows what the future will bring.


But I do have one update, and that is that I am planning at weekend at our congregation, Benton Mennonite Church, on the connections and disconnections between Amish and Mennonites. It is called "Amish and Mennonites: Common origins, divergent paths," and it will take place on Saturday - Sunday, January 24 - 25, 2009.


Steve Nolt and John Roth, professors of history at Goshen College, have agreed to come and speak both on Saturday morning and Sunday morning. On Saturday afternoon I will be joined by an Amish historian to discuss Amish and Mennonites today and on Sunday afternoon I will report on my trip to the congregation and anyone who is interested. You might consider it a short version of this blog.

The only cost for the weekend is that if you want the Amish-cooked meal on Saturday, you need to pay $15 unless you are a member of Benton Mennonite Church. The community is welcome to attend any of the events. Full information about the weekend is at our web site, http://www.bentonchurch.org/ or go directly to the brochure and registration.