A comparative global history of Mennonites from the ground up. Winner of the Wallace K. Ferguson Prize by the Canadian Historical Association, Nominee of the Margaret McWilliams Award by the Manitoba Historical Society Mennonite farmers can be found in dozens of countries spanning five continents. In this comparative world-scale environmental history, Royden Loewen draws on a multi-year study of seven geographically distinctive Anabaptist communities around the world, focusing on Mennonite farmers in Bolivia, Canada, Indonesia, the Netherlands, Russia, the United States, and Zimbabwe. These farmers, who include Amish, Brethren in Christ, and Siberian Baptists, till the land in starkly distinctive climates. They absorb very disparate societal lessons while being shaped by particular faith outlooks, historical memory, and the natural environment. The book reveals the ways in which modern-day Mennonite farmers have adjusted to diverse temperatures, precipitation, soil types, and relative degrees of climate change. These farmers have faced broad global forces of modernization during the twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, from commodity markets and intrusive governments to technologies marked increasingly by the mechanical, chemical, and genetic. Based on more than 150 interviews and close textual analysis of memoirs, newspapers, and sermons, the narrative follows, among others, Zandile Nyandeni of Matopo as she hoes the spring-fed soils of Matabeleland's semi-arid savannah; Vladimir Friesen of Apollonovka, Siberia, who no longer heeds the dictates of industrial time of the Soviet-era state farm; and Abram Enns of Riva Palacio, Bolivia, who tells how he, a horse-and-buggy traditionalist, hired bulldozers to clear-cut a farm in the eastern lowland forests to grow soybeans, initially leading to dust bowl conditions. As Mennonites, Loewen writes, these farmers were raised with knowledge of the historic Anabaptist teachings on community, simplicity, and peace that stood alongside ideas on place and sustainability. Nonetheless, conditioned by gender, class, ethnicity, race, and local values, they put their agricultural ideas into practice in remarkably diverse ways. Mennonite Farmers is a pioneering work that brings faith into conversation with the land in distinctive ways.

Loewen examines how the Mennonites' social structure and life goals accommodated societal changes and tells of three generations for whom the farm family was the primary social unit. The group's strategies of cultural continuity dictated that they adapt sensitively and carefully to the market economy and the outside world. Photos. Maps.

The continuing conflict between the Anabaptist/Mennonite community and the expanding industrial culture of the modern world has not been investigated. This book addresses the issues which fuel that conflict, focusing on the implications of subordinating an economic system to the theological framework of a Christian society. Contributors: Gregory Baum, Lawrence J. Burkholder, Leo Driedger, Kevin Enns-Rempel, Norm Ewert, Jim Halteman, Leland Harder, Al Hecht, Jim Lichti, Jacob A. Leowen, John Peters, Cal Redekop, Walter Regehr, T.D. Regehr, Jean Seguy, Robert Siemens, Arnold Snyder, Willis Sommer, Mary Sprunger, and Laura Weaver. Co-published with the Institute of Anabaptist and Mennonite Studies.

Salina is engaged to the “perfect” man—except for the fact that Josiah feels more like a friend than a fiancé. In this second installment of Amy Clipston’s Amish Marketplace series, love begins to grow between Salina and Will, a Mennonite chef—and both must decide if it’s a love worth fighting for. Salina Petersheim runs her own booth at the Amish market, where she’s known for having the freshest and most delicious produce in the area. Her family is very close, yet sometimes she tires of being compared to her older brother, Neil, a deacon who is married with two children. She also feels the pressure of having to be the perfect daughter for her mother and father, who is a bishop. Salina has been dating Josiah for almost a year now, but he feels more like a friend than a boyfriend. Her parents approve of Josiah, who is a hardworking roofer. He’s handsome and easy to talk to, but he just doesn’t warm her heart the way she feels a boyfriend and future husband should. She secretly longs for more. Along comes Will Zimmerman, a Mennonite chef who runs a restaurant located next door to the Amish market. Salina begins supplying the produce for his restaurant, and as they forge a business relationship, they both feel themselves falling in love. Salina tries to deny her feelings for Will since her father wants her to marry within the community. Both Salina and Will feel stuck in their current relationships, but they cannot deny what they feel for each other. Will they follow their hearts or bow to the pressure of family? Or will God provide a surprising new road for them? Sweet, inspirational Amish romance Full-length novel (85,000 words) The second book in Amy Clipston’s Amish Marketplace series Book 1: The Bake Shop Book 2: The Farm Stand Book 3: The Coffee Corner Book 4: The Jam and Jelly Nook Includes discussion questions for book clubs

On a global yet intimate scale, this thoughtful memoir invites you to explore a life well lived. Get to know Jim Bowman: he grew up in a conservative Mennonite farm family in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, came of age in the war-torn streets of Saigon, and has since lived a life of adventures across the globe, from the farming communities of Indonesia to the cosmopolitan city of Nairobi, Kenya and back to Virginia. In constellations of stories and philosophical musings, Bowman traces the transformation of his worldview. In his childhood, being faithful was mostly about following the rules of the church. His time in Vietnam as a conscientious objector and in Indonesia as an agricultural development worker expanded his perceptions of culture and ethics. Back in Virginia, the death of his son dealt a mighty challenge to the faith on which he had long relied. The raw grief and violent upheaval of his foundational beliefs led to a series of questions and new answers as he learned how to find peace again. Throughout the journey, Bowman’s tone is humble, honest, and always open to the experiences of others. Reflect on your own understanding of life in this changing, increasingly connected twenty-first century by reading about one exemplary life.

Gordon C. Eby was born 21 September 1890. His parents were Christian Eby (1842-1920) and Catherine Clemens (1848-1918). He married Elsie Hewitt (1900-1974). They had eight children. He died in 1965 in Kitchener, Ontario.