BLUFFTON, Ohio — A plea from C. Henry Smith to the Mennonite church 90 years ago remains relevant today, according to the author of a forthcoming book about the Mennonite historian.

After World War I, Smith modeled the role of Mennonite public intellectual, delivering a consistent message of peacemaking both to Mennonite and other audiences, Perry Bush said Feb. 3 in Bluffton University’s annual C. Henry Smith Peace Lecture.