Product Description

Rudy Wiebe has written award-winning fiction for decades. He is recognized as one of Canada's finest literary treasures. Twice he has received Canada's most prestigious prize for fiction writing: The Governor-General's Award (equivalent to the Pulitzer Prize for fiction).

Now comes new recognition for Wiebe's nonfiction writing. His recently released childhood memoir, Of This Earth: A Mennonite Boyhood in the Boreal Forest, has won the Charles Taylor Prize for Literary Nonfiction (considered to be the country's most prestigious literary nonfiction prize).

The book holds Rudy's memoirs of growing up through age 12. His immigrant family cut a farm out of stony bushland in remote Saskatchewan. They hand-dug their well, climbed a ladder to their beds under the rafters, farmed with horses, and traveled by sleigh on the frontier.

Stories and singing and food from their native Ukraine and Poland held them and filled their bodies and souls.

Of This Earth is written with "spare and eloquent prose," say the jurors who chose the book for the Charles Taylor Prize.

Wiebe "conveys the riches of a hardscrabble inheritance; a love of words, reading and music, a sustaining yet unsentimental faith, and a bond with the natural world, all of which have provided a compass for his writing life."

One of the Taylor-Prize jurors reflected, "Rudy's book haunts you; it stays with you."

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Customer Reviews (1)

Masterful
From the first page, I could see why "Of This Earth" won the Charles Taylor Prize. I had read two of Rudy Wiebe's other books, "Stolen Life" and "Peace Shall Destroy Many", and thought them well written, but the writing in this book is amazing! It's original and intricate and yet it never distracts or confuses, painting the scenes of a life so clearly that the reader is standing right beside young Rudy as he runs under the belly of a draft horse or sits at the kindergarten table in a one-room school house. I know I'll read this book over and over just to enjoy the way he uses words. It's a masterpiece! ... Read more

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In Practices: Mennonite Worship and Witness, John D. Roth examines the traditions of Anabaptist-Mennonite worship. These practices, he argues, are part of an essential unity that transforms and renews the people of God and calls them to lives of integrity that are embodied with discipleship and mission. Roth reflects on how distinctive Mennonite practices such as baptism, communion, foot washing, and common meals extend beyond the church as a witness to the world. Practices is Roth's third book on Mennonite life in the 21st century, following Beliefs: Mennonite Faith and Practice (2005), and Stories: How Mennonites Came to Be (2007). ... Read more

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Painstaking research and sharp narration
American Mennonites And The Great War 1914-1918 by educator and Mennonite Gerlof D. Homan is a close study of the Germanic pacifist religion and culture of the Mennonites in America, and how their resistance to military service (whether as soldiers or as noncombatants) brought upon them the wrath of the American Government. Painstaking research and sharp narration distinguish this provocative and informative scholarly account of the American government's ruthlessness toward peace-loving Christian nonconformists during the era of the First World War. ... Read more

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Blending storytelling with detailed sociohistorical analysis, this unique case study examines how, over a century, a religious group found itself "leaving Anabaptism." The author, himself raised among the Evangelical Mennonite Brethren (EMB) whose story he tells, argues for such an understanding of the EMB transformation into the Fellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches (FEBC). ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Son of Agatha Krieger
As a son of Agatha Rempel Krieger, I believe that the book accurately describes my Mother's story of how she came to America.She is one of the siblings who survived and lived to age 96.I heard her tell the story many times throughout my life.My uncle who wrote the book tape recorded her story and when he quotes her I can hear my Mother speaking.She was the oldest and strongest of the three who survived the horrible journey.As my uncle writes in the book, if it were not for her none of them would have made it to America.She carried him out of the hospital in Batumi when the doctors wanted to amputate his leg because gangrene had set in and the doctors told her he would die anyway regardless of what they did.She nursed him back to health and he survived to serve in the U.S. Army in World War II with distinction.He celebrated his 100th birthday November 25, 2008.As a clinical psychologist, he helped many people resolve their problems and has been honored for doing so. My Mother's faith carried her through (p.74). I heard her refer to Psalm 32:8-9 many times during her life.When things were very bad for her she would point out verse 9 where the writer refers to a horse being held in by a bit and bridle.She felt that God was speaking to her and that she should listen. Her deep faith carried her through right to the end.On her death bed I heard her tell her Doctor that she knew her name was written in the Lamb's Book of Life and that she would see her siblings and parents in heaven. ... Read more

Product Description
In recent years, Mennonites have become one of the most visible ethnic literary communities in Canada. With the publication of "Half in the Sun", BC writers of Mennonite heritage claim their place in this community. The authors represented in "Half in the Sun" are West Coast writers who share a history rooted in a dark region littered with stories of repeated migration, Soviet terror, displacement and resettlement. Some bear witness to their ancestors' struggles as marked people and as refugees assimilating into Canadian culture. Others have woven together texts that bring to light the human experiences of old and new home, community, family, love, faith, rebellion, and explorations of a very large world - often with gusto, humour and irony. Several factors contribute to the broad range of this first-of-its-kind anthology: its multi-genre nature; the intentional mix of new, recently emerging, established and prize-winning writers; and the fact that a number of the authors are Prairie transplants whose work continues to be influenced by ties to that region's geography, politics and local cultures. Readers will recognise the universality of these experiences.This anthology ends the collective invisibility of British Columbia's Mennonite writers in a very decisive way. ... Read more

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So, it was January the 18 and it was the middle of the night.And it was very, very cold.Snow was-- we went just about knee deep in snow --And we went on theroad going toward Posen, capital of Wartegau.And so we said, "Let's take that direction." Just going by the moonand the stars.(Katja Enns)

Going by the Moon and the Stars tells the stories of two Russian Mennonite women who emigrated to Canada after fleeing from the Soviet Union during World War II. Based on ethnographic interviews with the author the women recount, in their own words, their memories of their wartime struggle and flight, their resettlement in Canada and their journey into old age. Above all, they tell of the overwhelming importance of religion in theirlives. ... Read more

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With data from a 2006 survey of Mennonite Church members, Conrad L. Kanagy provides spiritual and sociological markers of the church today. He notes changes since surveys of Mennonites in 1972 and 1989, and compares the denomination with other U.S. faith traditions. Kanagy s pastoral and missional perspective points to signs of hope and renewal. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Colonial Germantown Mennonites

Colonial Germantown Mennonites by Leonard Gross and Jan Gleysteen takes the reader back to 1683, when some of the earliest Mennonites settled in Pennsylvania and began a place of worship that today is considered to be the first Mennonite church in the New World.The Mennonites, whose roots go back almost five centuries to the era of the Protestant Reformation in Europe, came to America for religious and economic freedom.
The book reveals the hardships encountered as these German-born pioneers settled in a new place in a completely different land and culture. Yet, in the midst of this complexity the Mennonites upheld their principles of peace and justice in multiple ways.They were intentional about their church's being an open place of worship for peoples from different backgrounds and denominations a multicultural community in Germantown that would transcend nations, culture, and language.They were the first people to sign an antislavery petition in 1668, a thought then considered absurd to much of broader Protestantism.Furthermore, the Germantown Mennonites peacefully interacted with Native Americans and modeled a promising approach to how Christians can live in harmony with one another.
Unique in this book is a section that pictorially paints Germantown in colorful fashion, allowing one to see the places where Colonial-era Mennonite and Brethren building sites still exist. Complete with photographs an map, the book also has a tour guide sections for anyone interested in seeing the historic town within Philadelphia where a community of believers first worshipped corporately in America.
"Simple, substantial, and beautiful."These words from a Lancaster County Mennonite preacher described the Germantown Mennonite Meetinghouse, a symbol which serves today as a microcosm of core values for the Mennonite Church.Indeed, in a world today filled with religious fragmentation and cultural conflict, this book offers a realistic vision of what it means to love one's neighbor.

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Customer Reviews (4)

very quick survey
short, concise summary of Mennonite beliefs and practices. this is a "framework" for the house, not the entire house. great resource for persons either interested in the faith, or in explaining it.

A great introduction to Mennonite beliefs
In this short but fascinating book, Mennonite scholar and author Rev. John Christian Wenger (1910-95) explains who Mennonites are, and what they believe. Originally published in 1946, it was updated and republished in 1991 by Herald Press. The book is divided into four chapters that explain 1) how Mennonites and other Christians are alike, 2) what were the cause and effects of the 16th century Reformation, 3) how Mennonites are different than other Christians, and 4) what it means to be a disciple of Christ.

I found this book to be a great introduction to Mennonite beliefs; the writing was very much to the point, keeping down the length of the book without sacrificing too much detail. I liked the organization of the book, with its explanation of how Mennonites agree and disagree with other Christian sects. Overall, I found this to be a great book, one that I highly recommend to anyone interested in understanding Mennonite beliefs.

Decent Overview.
I thought this was a very decent overview of mennonite history and beliefs.It is by no means a detailed description of mennonite theology or current practices, but it does give a good glimpse of the basics.

If you want an introductory read, this is it.For more advanced theological resources, look elsewhere.

A Good Baseline
This book provides a good baseline and is written by one of the best-known writers in Mennonite circles. It gives a good overview of the basic traditional Mennonite beliefs. By reading this book and comparing the textwith current beliefs and practices in the Mennonite Church and GeneralConference Mennonite Church, the reader can see how the church has driftedfrom its traditional beliefs. ... Read more