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History

Rich Preheim and John Sharp

History: How confirmation came to be

Martin Bucer has been called “the father of Protestant confirmation.” That makes the early Anabaptists, particularly Pilgram Marpeck, grandparents of the now-common rite. Bucer was

Rich Preheim

March 26, 2018

History: Lancaster chooses its own path

Lancaster Mennonite Conference’s divorce from Mennonite Church USA became official Jan. 1. The separation reflects the tensions that have plagued the denomination since its inception,

Rich Preheim

February 12, 2018

History: Remembering some anniversaries

As 2017 passes into the annals of history, let’s remember some of the year’s more important and interesting Anabaptist anniversaries. 475 years ago (1542) —

Rich Preheim

January 1, 2018

History: Alternative history — what if?

What if? It’s one of the great history games, speculating on alternative outcomes if events had happened differently. What if Abraham Lincoln had decided not

Rich Preheim

November 20, 2017

History: Catalyst of Anabaptist ideas

Five hundred years ago, on Oct. 31, 1517, German monk and theology professor Martin Luther challenged the Roman Catholic Church by nailing his 95 theses

Rich Preheim

October 9, 2017

History: White supremacist’s racist ‘faith’

More than 5,200 miles separate Charlottesville, Va., from the now-disappeared Russian Mennonite colony of Molotschna. But according to the geography of racial and ethnic hatred,

Rich Preheim

August 28, 2017

History: Bethlehem ’83: coming together and apart

When the General Conference Mennonite Church and Mennonite Church met in Bethlehem, Pa., in 1983 for their first joint convention, MC moderator Ross Bender and

Rich Preheim

July 17, 2017

History: The sun, the moon and truth

“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon and the truth.” Attributed to Buddha, this was Zaida Catalan’s retweet on March 3, her

John E. Sharp

June 5, 2017

History: An antiwar conspiracy?

The president had squeaked by in the general election. A key plank in his platform had been opposition to foreign military intervention. But in a

Rich Preheim

April 24, 2017

History: Confessing a weakness for humor

S.G. (Samuel Grant) Shetler (1871-1942) of Johnstown, Pa., was known for moving his audiences to tears one moment and laughter the next. This was natural,

John E. Sharp

March 13, 2017

History: The ‘Anabaptists’ who weren’t

Before the Radical Reformation and before the Protestant Reformation were the Waldensians. While Protestant Christianity celebrates its 500th anniversary in 2017 and Anabaptists prepare to

Rich Preheim

January 30, 2017

History: Stones of remembrance

I had my apple strudel and coffee — not to be missed if you’re visiting Innsbruck, Austria — in a café along Maria Theresa Street.

John E. Sharp

December 19, 2016

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