Afternoon Sabbatical

Goshen College Professor of History Steve Nolt will present an Afternoon Sabbatical lecture on “The Amish Way: Patient Faith in a Perilous World” on Tuesday, March 12 at 1 p.m. in the Goshen College Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall. The program is free and open to the public.

Many people recognize the outward expressions of Amish life, such as the buggies and bonnets, but are less familiar with the faith that sustains these practices. Nolt will shed light on the spirituality – the religious heartbeat – of our Amish neighbors, and ask what their religious practices might say to the rest of us.

Nolt was a co-author of a book published by Jossey-Bass by the same title in 2010. It was the first book ever about Amish spirituality and practice, and offered a rare inside look at how Amish Christian beliefs and practices inform every aspect of Amish daily life.

And the Amish population is growing. According to a 2010 report, the number of Amish in North America has doubled since 1991 to 249,500 people. Indiana is home to 43,710 Amish residents. This is due to large families and the fact that nearly 85 percent of children raised in an Amish community choose to join the Amish church as adults.

In addition to teaching history, Nolt is an internationally-recognized expert on the Old Order Amish. He is the author or coauthor of nine other books, including The Amish Way: Patient Faith in a Perilous World (2010), Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy (2007), Mennonites, Amish and the American Civil War (2007) and A History of the Amish (2003).

Afternoon Sabbatical programs are usually on the second Tuesday of the month at 1 p.m. in Sauder Concert Hall. For more information on the Afternoon Sabbatical series call the Goshen College Welcome Center at (574) 535-7566.

Future programs in the 2012-13 Afternoon Sabbatical series include:

Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at noon in College Mennonite Church Fellowship Hall
International Luncheon: Turkey with Merle and Mary Hochstedler
Cost: $20. Call 574-535-7565 before March 30 to register ($5 late fee).

Tuesday, May 9, 2013
Spring Bus Trip to Indianapolis: Show House and State Museum
Cost $65. Register early as there is limited space for this trip. Call 574-535-7565 to register.

Living Faith

Goshen College Professor of Bible, Religion and Philosophy Keith Graber Miller’s new book Living Faith: Embracing God’s Callings (Cascadia Publishing House LLC, Dec. 2012) explains why the primary Christian calling is to be a follower of Jesus Christ and what this entails for vocational life. Written from an Anabaptist perspective but relevant for any denominational group, the book is perfect for intergenerational settings and ideal for both group and individual study of vocation. It offers both historical and contemporary insights for discerning passions and pursuing callings.

Boston University Professor of Sociology of Religion Nancy T. Ammerman said, “Graber Miller calls all Christians to discern their passions, to be followers of Christ in vocations that matter. With the charm of a master story-teller, the vision of a teacher, and the insight of a seasoned scholar, he ranges from Mennonite history to today’s urban and professional Mennonite culture in a way that will inform and challenge lay readers and theologians alike.”

Living Faith can be purchased online for $12.95. It is also available in the Goshen College Bookstore.

North American volume in Mennonite Global History series

Goshen College Professor of History Steven M. Nolt and co-author Royden Loewen, professor of history at the University of Winnipeg in Manitoba, wrote Seeking Places of Peace (Good Books & Pandora Press, Oct. 2012) as the fifth and final volume of the “Mennonite Global History” series sponsored by Mennonite World Conference.

Seeking Places of Peace strives to create a comprehensive history of Mennonites in North America with a focus on people and places. It is one of the first to treat U.S. and Canadian Mennonite history as an integrated whole and explores how various people worked and lived in North America to express their religious devotion. Nolt and Loewen investigate the everyday lives of Mennonite men and women to illustrate their way of life.

The authors are “both masters of the North American story, and they have charted a fresh journey through remarkably diverse experiences,” said John A. Lapp and C. Arnold Snyder, who have overseen the Mennonite Global History series. “They both bring the insights of social history, which means that they focus on people in many geographical environments rather than on institutional development and theological controversy.

Together, they describe their task as writers of this inclusive and sweeping history as “seeking to answer a single question: How did Mennonite men and women live out their distinctive religious calling to follow Christ in North America? The answer is that they did so as ordinary people, in everyday life. In their lives they often aimed for holiness, neatness and orderliness, but the fact is that life is not always neat, it is never sin-less and indeed it is often messy. There have been joys and tears, moments of achievement and times of failure.”

In addition to teaching history, Nolt is an internationally-recognized expert on the Old Order Amish. He is the author or coauthor of nine other books, including The Amish Way: Patient Faith in a Perilous World (2010), Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy (2007), Mennonites, Amish and the American Civil War (2007) and A History of the Amish (2003).

Seeking Places of Peace, a 400-page book, can be purchased online. It is also available in the Goshen College Bookstore.

Pastor and Professor

Retired Goshen College Professor of Bible Don Blosser authored the new book Pastor and Professor: A Public Faith (Wipf and Stock Publishers, Aug. 2012). The book is one pastor’s story of a rich life filled with experiences that tested his faith and demanded growth that was both exhilarating and painful. It is the personal story of moving from faith as right doctrinal belief to faith as a liberating response to a loving God — a God who is always present, continually drawing followers into the future. This dynamic understanding of faith is based on the belief that the kingdom of God is a present reality where followers of Jesus are to be pastoral in spirit while prophetic in living.

Blosser weaves personal experience with public expression of an emerging faith that wrestles candidly with the realities of life and deals with the pastor/professor tension of integrating academic scholarship in the classroom with pastoral proclamation in the pulpit. Pastor and Professor invites the reader to share a journey where faith is often challenged, sometimes doubted, yet lived with enthusiasm as it is shared from the pulpit and in the college classroom. It invites the reader to find fresh insights in the Scriptures, and to live with new hope, to embrace life more fully, and to share more gently one’s own story with others.

Blosser, who received his doctorate from St. Andrews University in Scotland, is an ordained Mennonite minister who pastored congregations in Freeport, Ill. and Akron, Pa. He is the author of Dictionary of the Literature of the Bible (1993), and contributor to Jesus: His Life and Times (1998). He taught at Goshen College from 1979 to 2001.

Pastor and Professor can be purchased online for $22.40. It is also available in the Goshen College Bookstore.

The Classical Theory of Fields: Electromagnetism

Professor Emeritus of Physics Carl Helrich wrote the new graduate text in physics, The Classical Theory of Fields: Electromagnetism (Jan. 2012), published by Springer, a leader in scientific literature. It is based on a class that he taught at Goshen College and gives a thorough and logical exposition of the theory of electromagnetism, enriched with historical details. Some other features include high quality diagrams, end of chapter questions and a separate complete solutions manual.

“The study of classical electromagnetic fields is an adventure. The theory is complete mathematically and we are able to present it as an example of classical Newtonian experimental and mathematical philosophy. There is a set of foundational experiments, on which most of the theory is constructed. And then there is the bold theoretical proposal of a field-field interaction from James Clerk Maxwell,” writes Helrich. “This textbook presents the theory of classical fields as a mathematical structure based solidly on laboratory experiments. The student is introduced to the beauty of classical field theory as a gem of theoretical physics.”

This book can be purchased online for $81.49.

Adoption chapter in interfaith book

Professor of Bible, Religion and Philosophy Keith Graber Miller also recently had a chapter on adoption published in the just-released book Children, Adults, and Shared Responsibilities: Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Perspectives (Cambridge University Press, Nov. 2012). The book is edited by Marcia J. Bunge and Graber Miller’s chapter in this interfaith book is titled “Orphans and Adoption: Biblical Themes, Christian Initiatives, and Contemporary Ethical Concerns.”

Motivation and critique chapter in art education book

Professor Emeritus of Art Marvin Bartel contributed a chapter on motivation and critique for an anthology on choice-based art education. The book, titled The Learner-Directed Classroom: Developing Creative Thinking Skills Through Art (Teachers College Press, Sept. 2012) is edited by Diane Jaquith and Nan Hathaway.

Intercultural chapter in Christian higher education leadership book

The new book Thriving in Leadership: Strategies for Making a Difference in Christian Higher Education (ACU Press, Aug. 2012), edited by Karen A. Longman, includes contributions by 16 other senior leaders in Christian higher education across North America, including Goshen College Associate Dean for Intercultural Development & Educational Partnerships Rebecca Hernandez. Her chapter is titled “Beyond ‘hospitality’: Moving out of the host-guest metaphor into an intercultural ‘World House.’”

This compilation represents an engaging introduction to leadership approaches and strategies in Christian higher education, designed to strengthen the leaders of today and inspire the leaders of tomorrow.
 

Faith mentoring chapter in spiritual formation for college students book

Campus Pastor Bob Yoder had a chapter published in a recent book titled Building a Culture of Faith: University-Wide Partnerships for Spiritual Formation (Abilene Christian University Press, Aug. 2012). The title of his chapter is “Strengthening a Christian College as a Faith-Mentoring Environment through Knowing-Being-Doing.” The book is a collection of 14 different essays on the influences of various parts of the university on student spiritual formation. Yoder’s chapter shares some of the findings of a two-year study he recently conducted.

Dale Brown Book Award

In 2012, Professor of Bible, Religion and Philosophy Keith Graber Miller received the Dale Brown Book Award for the text he edited titled Prophetic Peacemaking: Selected Writings of J.R. Burkholder (Institute for Mennonite Studies, 2010). The award is given for a new book that is “judged to advance significantly the scholarship in Anabaptist and Pietist studies,” and is given annually by Elizabethtown College’s Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies. Burkholder was a long-time religion, ethics and peace studies professor at Goshen College, and a mentor for Graber Miller during and since his seminary studies. Prophetic Peacemaking was chosen from a pool of 25 nominated books this year.

View a video of Graber Miller delivering the Dale Brown Book Award Lecture in October at the Young Center, and Burkholder offering a response.

John D. Roth & Steve Nolt

GOSHEN, Ind. — Two Goshen College faculty members have contributed chapters to a recent book that attempts to address the relationship between Anabaptists and evangelicals, and to encourage meaningful dialogue between the two groups. Goshen College Professors of History Steven M. Nolt and John D. Roth contributed essays to the book, The Activist Impulse: Essays on the Intersection of Evangelicalism and Anabaptism (Pickwick, April 2012), edited by Jared S. Burkholder and David C. Cramer.

The Activist Impulse is among the first substantial explorations of the connections and differences between Anabaptists and evangelicals. With contributions from various experts as well as new voices, the book addresses both the historical and theological intersection of these two rich traditions. Each of the essays provides fresh insight on at least one characteristic that both evangelicals and Anabaptists share — a desire to engage society through the pursuit of an active Christian witness.

“While both traditions share this impulse for active witness,” Burkholder said, “there are significant tensions that exist both within these movements as well as in their relationship with each other.” The main goal of the book according to Burkholder “is to revisit the conversation and renew interest in this topic within academic and historical circles.”

Nolt and Roth are authors of two of the 14 chapters. “This book pulls together essays that explore both sides of the evangelical-Anabaptist relationship,” said Nolt. While Nolt focuses on evangelicals and Anabaptists in North America in his essay and Roth addresses the European roots of each group, both chapters reflect on the conversation and interaction between evangelicals and Anabaptists regarding their activist impulses and understandings of one another.

“This book is important because while North American Mennonites are almost always in conversation with evangelicals, some are comfortable with it and some are not,” said Nolt. “Some Mennonites are trying to define themselves as not being evangelical. So the conversation about relationship does exist, but it doesn’t always seem to be thoughtful or fruitful. I think there are certainly thoughtful people in both groups who would benefit from the exploration in this book, and it could encourage even broader conversation.”

Roth agrees that The Activist Impulse “points towards a continuation of the sort of ‘ecumenical’ conversations that are moving forward with Anabaptists/Mennonites.” Nolt adds that the essays might provide some understanding for Anabaptists with a negative view of evangelicalism, and that the book could encourage each group to participate in discussion that might ease tension and promote understanding and healing in what has historically been a contentious relationship.

The Activist Impulse: Essays on the Intersection of Evangelicalism and Anabaptism is available on amazon.com or through Wipf and Stock Publishers directly.

– By Anna Ruth

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College Assistant Director of Public Relations Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values — passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership — prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.

• “Amish Grace” included on Publishers Weekly’s Best of 2007 list (one of 15 Religion titles).

Related links:

• Convocation speech transcript, “Why the Amish Forgave a Killer” by GC Professor Steve Nolt, Monday, Oct. 2, 2007.
• Press release: Amish forgiveness rang around the world, and continues a year later, Tuesday, October 2, 2007.
• Book website: www.AmishGrace.com
• Professor of English Ann Hostetler’s “Sonnets for the Amish Girls of Nickel Mines,” 2006.

In the media:

• Nolt op-ed: The Amish remind us all that forgiveness is possible. South Bend Tribune. Oct. 10, 2007.
• ‘Grace’ a popular read. The Truth. Oct. 6, 2007. (free registration required)
• On Amish Grace. Bill Moyers Journal. Oct. 5, 2007. (video, transcript, resources)
• Nolt op-ed: Amish grieving expresses forgiveness, not anger. Indianapolis Star. Oct. 4, 2007.
• The context of forgiveness. Chuck Colson’s BreakPoint Commentary. Oct. 3, 2007.
• An interview with Nolt: How can the Amish forgive what seems unforgivable? USAToday. Oct. 2, 2007.
• Authors describe Amish faith, forgiveness. Goshen News. Oct. 2, 2007.
• GC prof tells of Amish will to forgive. The Truth. Oct. 2, 2007. (free registration required)
• Among the Amish, a grace that endures. The Philadelphia Inquirer. Oct. 1, 2007.
• Nickel Mines legacy: Forgive first. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Sept. 30, 2007.
• ‘Amish Grace’ writers merged styles, ideas. Lancaster Intelligencer Journal. Sept. 25, 2007.
• Book explores Amish ability to forgive. Lancaster Intelligencer Journal. Sept. 24, 2007.
• Amish grace. Lancaster Sunday News. Sept. 23, 2007.
• Amish School Boys Struggle With Memories. Associated Press. Sept. 22, 2007.
• Steve Nolt interview on PBS’s Religion & Ethics Newsweekly. Sept. 21, 2007.
• Book excerpt on ChristianityToday.com. Sept. 17, 2007.

Goshen College Professor of History Steven M. Nolt, a leading expert on the Amish, is one of the co-authors of the new book “Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy” (Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Imprint, Sept. 27, 2007), which explores the history, theology and culture of the Amish, connecting forgiveness to their entire way of life. The book is based on conversations with over two dozen Amish people in the Nickel Mines area, including family members of the murdered children. The three Anabaptist authors – Nolt, Senior Fellow at the Young Center of Elizabethtown College Donald B. Kraybill and Associate Professor of American Religious History at Messiah College David L. Weaver-Zercher – also spoke to relatives of the gunman.

The Amish are a people “uncommonly prepared to respond with graciousness, forbearance, and love,” the authors say. Their extension of grace was neither calculated nor random, but emerged from who they were long before the awful day that claimed the lives of five of their children. The Amish stand in a centuries-old tradition that supports the decision to forgive. They believe God expects people to forgive and that their own martyred ancestors modeled forgiveness by not seeking revenge.

“It’s just what we do as nonresistant people. It was spontaneous. It was automatic. It was not a new kind of thing,” the Amish told the authors. Every Amish person they spoke with agreed: forgiveness for Roberts and grace for his family were spontaneous expressions of faith, not mandates from the church. It is woven into the fabric of their communal life, spun from faith in God, scriptural mandates and a history of persecution.

The Amish response to the Nickel Mines killings offers new insights into the possibilities and practices of forgiveness, even in the face of tragic and horrific human events. “Perhaps our real human need is to find ways to move beyond tragedy with a sense of healing and hope,” the authors write. “What we learn from the Amish, both at Nickel Mines and more generally, is that how we choose to move on from tragic injustice is culturally formed.”

“Regardless of the details of the Nickel Mines story one message rings clear: religion was not used to justify rage and revenge but to inspire goodness, forgiveness and grace,” the authors conclude. “And that is the big lesson for the rest of us regardless of our faith or nationality.”

The story of Amish forgiveness struck a chord around the world, because as Nolt said, “I think in a world where religion – rightly or wrongly – [only] becomes a news story when it is involved in stirring up hate and division, to have a story where religion is encouraging compassion seemed to be a new thing for a lot of people.”

Nolt hopes that the book spurs readers to examine their own lives and views on forgiveness. “I hope [readers] take something away from this about forgiveness that they can apply to themselves, and not just think, ‘Well, I either have to imitate the Amish, and that’s impossible, so I guess there is nothing here for me except to say that these are great people.’ That’s not what the Amish want. They don’t want that kind of praise. And also I don’t think that’s all that valuable. If anything, that just gets us off the hook from asking questions about ourselves.”

Nolt has taught at Goshen College since 1999. He received a doctorate in history from the University of Notre Dame, and a graduate theology degree from Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary. Nolt has studied Amish history and culture across many settlements. His books on the Amish include “A History of the Amish” (rev. ed., Good Books, 2003); “Amish Enterprise: From Plows to Profits” (2nd ed., with Donald B. Kraybill, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004); “Plain Diversity: Amish Cultures and Identities” (with Thomas J. Meyers, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007); and “Mennonites, Amish, and the American Civil War” (with James O. Lehman, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2007).

Following the Oct. 2, 2006, shooting, the three authors explored reports about Amish forgiveness that followed in the wake of the shooting. They conducted many face-to-face interviews with Amish people to probe their beliefs about and their practice of forgiveness. In addition they pursued Amish writings on forgiveness as well as other historical examples in which Amish people expressed forgiveness to those who had wronged them, and reviewed hundreds of media stories and editorials on Amish forgiveness at Nickel Mines. Finally, the authors compared Amish practices of forgiveness with the broader research on forgiveness in American society. The research was conducted from Nov. 1, 2006 through April 1, 2007.

The book is already receiving high acclaim. Publishers Weekly Starred Review said, “This intelligent, compassionate and hopeful book is a welcome addition to the growing literature on forgiveness.” And the book’s endorsers include Bill Moyers, Jim Wallis, Sister Helen Prejean, Tony Campolo, Philip Yancey and Fred Luskin. For more information, visit www.amishgrace.com.

Because the authors did not want to profit off of this tragedy, all author royalties from “Amish Grace” are being donated to Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) to benefit children suffering because of poverty, war and natural disaster. MCC is a relief, development and peace agency of the North American Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches.

The Fetzer Institute provided research funds for “Amish Grace” as part of its Campaign for Love & Forgiveness, www.fetzer.org/LoveAndForgive.

CONTACT:
Goshen College Professor of History Steven M. Nolt
Phone: (574) 535-7460
E-mail: stevemn@goshen.edu

BOOK INFORMATION:
“Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy”
by Donald B. Kraybill, Steven M. Nolt, David L. Weaver-Zercher
Jossey-Bass, A Wiley Imprint
SBN: 978-0-7879-9761-8
$24.95 cloth
PUB DATE: Sept. 27, 2007

Editors: For more information about this release, to arrange an interview or request a photo, contact Goshen College News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college’s Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron’s Best Buys in Education, “Colleges of Distinction,” “Making a Difference College Guide” and U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges” edition, which named Goshen a “least debt college.” Visit www.goshen.edu.