“For me, ‘Anabaptist’ is a shorthand for a Christian faith that is based in Jesus’ teachings of peacemakers, of being humble and meek, of being a servant leader, of reaching out to the least of these,” says author Gimbiya Kettering in a recent email interview.

As someone who cares deeply about children’s faith formation, I am always looking for new resources that help illustrate (for readers of all ages) what it means to follow Jesus in distinctly Anabaptist ways. Kettering’s new book, Washing My Sister’s Feet, is a beautiful example.

Brethren Press offers this summary of the book: “Ilse is going to love feast, a special event at her grandmother’s church. But she’s annoyed because her big sister, Lina, always gets to do everything first. This is a story of sisters — and also a dad who understands and a church that widens its circle.”

Love feast is a Brethren worship service with four parts: reflect (self-examination), wash (footwashing), eat (a fellowship meal) and remember (communion).

Here’s a lightly edited excerpt of our conversation:

JW: The love feast is a distinctly Brethren practice, but many Anabaptists will see connections with their own practices of reconciliation, communion and footwashing. How do you talk with your children about love feast, the four parts of the service, how children can or cannot participate and why?

GK: I wrote this book because I did not know how to talk to my kids about footwashing and love feast. In our multicultural, multilingual, interfaith family, so many different celebrations and elements of culture need to be supported and woven together. Along the way, I realized I had focused on many of the Anabaptist values of pacifism and simple living but had not included our unique rituals.

Partly, I think this is because our rituals are practiced in community, and we live far from our Anabaptist family and roots. Without community, it is hard to explain the importance of the different parts of the service. Also, I think that even those of us who are able to attend a weekly service in an Anabaptist congregation can be going through the motions of the ritual and not have time to understand the significance. This is a part of the rush of modern life. Sharing this book with my daughters has helped me slow down and think about how my parents shared the traditions with me and how I want to pass it forward.

This is not just a conversation for kids! Expectations of how people participate in love feast varies so much from congregation to congregation, family to family and even within communities. I talked to dozens of pastors over the years about love feast and called back many of them while writing this book — and heard so many different ways that it is practiced.

In some ways, the book is a response to the reality that sometimes there are uncomfortable moments at love feast, even in loving, welcoming faith communities and families. It is a story about how we have to continue to shift our understanding and our practice to keep it relevant and meaningful.

Sometimes, when I imagine the lives these characters live beyond the page, I imagine how Ilse, when she is old enough to participate more fully, understands that participation. I imagine her incorporating her father’s story about Exodus into her own understanding, bringing it closer to the Passover story. I imagine that Ilse and Lina do not always wear the hair covering. I imagine them telling their friends about love feast. I could write the book over again with a focus of what it would look like to center around relationships with other young people, a new generation that is building a community with each other. 

Jennie Wintermote is AW business manager.