Here is a story to give parents and grandparents hope that even if ties to an Anabaptist congregation no longer exist for one’s children and grandchildren, commitment to peace can persist. The grandfathers in this story live in Harrisonburg, Va., and have long been part of Park View Mennonite Church.

In a tattoo parlor in San Francisco, a granddaughter of Jim Mullenex, Caroline Martin, asked for an image that reflected her interest in peace. The parlor artist, Sophie Blum, whom Caroline had never met, told Caroline she was also interested in peace and might want such a tattoo for herself. Soon both discovered their genealogies involved Mennonite grandparents who live in the Park View area of Harrisonburg. Sophie’s grandfather is Don Augsburger, a former pastor at Park View Mennonite. Then they discovered more: Their mothers grew up together as best friends at Park View Mennonite, graduated in the same class at Eastern Mennonite High School and attended each other’s weddings.

In July, Caroline’s and Sophie’s mothers, Barbara Mullenex Martin and Pat Augsburger Ressler, came to Harrisonburg to visit their fathers, Jim and Don, and take them out to lunch to celebrate that Caroline and Sophie found each other in a faraway city and discovered a shared interest in peace and nonviolence.

Shirley Yoder Brubaker, Harrisonburg, Va.