When Kevin and I set out on a learning tour about Anabaptists in Switzerland and Germany, we were prepared to hear stories of persecution and cruel executions. What has surprised me are the stories of ecumenical reconciliation and active love that continue to spring forth from the Anabaptist movement 500 years later.
As part of the celebrations of the 500th anniversary of Anabaptism this year, Kevin and I are with Joe Springer (curator emeritus of the Mennonite Historical Library at Goshen College), Jo-Ann Brant, (professor emeritus of Bible and Religion) and several others from College Mennonite Church, learning about Anabaptist history in Switzerland and Germany. Listening to Joe describe the lives of these earliest Anabaptist leaders, I was struck by the ways that passionate learning extends from Zurich 500 years ago to Goshen College today. Young thinkers of that day, including Grebel and Manz, gathered in the mornings to study and translate, and in the afternoons to discuss the emerging meanings of the texts. How exciting that must have been!
