A Trip to Pennsylvania with a Cherry on Top

Photo courtesy of Suzanne Woods Fisher

Who doesn't have it on their bucket list to visit Amish country? It's been on mine for I don't know how long.

Recently, my friend and colleague, Dora Maendel told me that she's been invited to do a presentation at Young Centre for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania, I was naturally excited for her.

The event is a two-day Peace Churches Conference, offering a selection of interesting topics, all pertaining to taking a peace stance: 

The peace churches, including the Mennonites, Amish, Brethren, and Hutterites, faced a challenge when the United States entered World War 1 in 1917. After the Church of the Brethren and the Mennonite Church issued separate statements advising their young men not to participate in the war, the U.S. government threatened retaliatory action. This conference offers an exploration of various experiences and responses from members of the peace churches during “the war to end all wars” and some of the consequences that followed.(Conference Brochure)

Together with Duane Stolzfus, the author of Pacifists in Chains, Dora will be presenting “On the Front Line of Conscience: An Account of Four Hutterites Imprisoned at Alcatraz.” The above mentioned title is a well-written book which tells that story in rich and fascinating detail.

Photo courtesy of Suzanne Woods Fisher

When Dora was telling me all this, we were walking the track at Stride Place in Portage la Prairie, where our students are taking swimming lessons. Amish scenes scrolled through my mind: passing an Amish family in their buggy, a marketplace with all kinds of beautiful crafts, rubbing shoulders with Amish people... I was dreaming before I even knew anything at all about that area, or realized that there might even be some Amish people in attendance. In any case, it sounded like an intriguing trip.

My mind returned to the track where Dora went on to explain that her sister and brother-in-law were going to travel with her, but because of a school event, they had to decline. "Would you like to come along, Linda?" Dora asked casually, like she was asking me if I'd like to go to Winnipeg with her. I don't know how I didn't come to a complete stop on the track and squeal. This was such an unexpected and incredible offer! Of course I wanted to go with her - have been wanting to go for years! I told her so eagerly, even though I knew I'd have to get my community's blessing first.

End of May will find me flying to Pennsylvania with my friend, Dora. Since we still have school, this will only be a quick three-day trip. Nonetheless, it's been exciting learning more about this conference and planning the trip together with Dora and the conference organizers. A few weeks ago I learned that Young Center conferences often has authors in attendance; and the organizers plan book signings into the schedule.

In one of my emails to Jeff Bach, Director of the Young Center, I mentioned my book, Hutterite Diaries. Upon learning that I'm an author, he enthusiastically offered to order copies from Herald Press and have me signing books at some point. Someone will be picking Dora and me up the Harrisburg airport in the afternoon of the first day of the conference. That evening is when I'll be signing books, right after the last session of the day. That's like a cherry on top of a waffle cone with New York Cherry Cheese Cake ice cream. Rich and Sweet and Fabulous!

Oh, and one more exciting note, I'll be meeting Valerie Weaver-Zercher, the Herald Press editor I worked with while I was working on Hutterite Diaries. Make that two cherries!

Now, how much can one pack into three days - besides attending the conference?

Simple Pleasures - Marianne Jantzi

About the Book:

Young Amish homemaker Marianne Jantzi invites readers into her family's life and Amish community. The mother of four young children, Jantzi writes about her daily routines and heartfelt faith with equal measures of wit and warmth. Sewing, cleaning, cooking, gardening, and helping to manage the family store take up most hours in her day, but Jantzi finds time to pen columns for the Connection, a magazine beloved by Amish and Mennonite readers. Never sugarcoating the frustrations of motherhood, Jantzi tells it like it is, broken washing machine and bickering children and all. But through her busy days, Jantzi finds strength in simple pleasures of family, fellowship with her Amish community, and quiet time with God.
Hear straight from Amish people themselves as they write about their daily lives and deeply rooted faith in the Plainspoken series from Herald Press. Each book includes A Day in the Life of the Author and the author's answers to FAQs about the Amish.

My Thoughts:

Simple Pleasures is part of the Plainspoken Series. This family of four consists of: 1) Chasing the Amish Dream - Loren Beachy, 2) Called to be Amish - Marlene C. Miller, 3) Hutterite Diaries - Linda Maendel, 4) Simple Pleasures - Marianne Jantzi.  I'm hoping this collection will keep growing.

I was so excited, and at the same time humbled, when Melodie Davies, Herald Press, Managing Editor, asked me to write an endorsement for this book:"Simple Pleasures reminds me of a patchwork quilt. Each simple piece is stitched together with faith, family and friendships, creating a beautiful whole. Jantzi offers a gentle reminder to savor the seemingly insignificant moments in time, for they fill us with love, warmth, and a feeling of well-being, just like a quilt."

The cover of this book is adorable -- a little girl with her note book, such a fitting picture for Simple Pleasures! It could even be the author's own little girl, Alyssa, who sometimes pretends to write a column 'just like Mom'. One of my favourite chapters is One Thousand Beautiful Things, because it pulses with joy and gratitude. To me it is the heart of this beautiful book. Here's an excerpt:

"For my thirtieth birthday, my sisters put a quilt in a frame and invited the Kuepfer cousins in to quilt, visit and eat. Since then, each glimpse of my lovely quilt reminds me of that wonderful day and the message it speaks to me. The quilt is filled with lovely blue flowered circles linking over a white background. Just like those flowery links, my friends joined around the quilt, blossoming from each other's friendship and helping hands. Let's keep our circles strong and our flames bright. The lovely quilt with its silent message still speaks to me." 

My heartfelt thanks to Melodie Davies, Managing Editor and Herald Press for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book!
 

Our 'Amish' Visitor

Earlier this school year I introduced my K- 3 students to Life with Lily, a book by Mary Ann Kinsinger and Suzanne Woods Fisher. They were quickly drawn into the life of this little Amish girl and were excited with each chapter I read to them. I think part of the reason they love Lily and her family and friends so much, is that in many ways they can relate to them - can be indentified by the way they dress, help with farm chorus and live in tight knit Christian communities...

Right now we're enjoying the second book in this series, A New Home for Lily. And yes, they still love Lily. Besides savouring the story, I find these books are a great way for children to learn about the Amish culture and to compare and contrast it with their own.

As we're nearing the end of this book, I told my students last Friday, "We're going to have an Amish visitor around 2:00 today." Of course the first question was: "Is it Lily?" To which I had to reply 'no', of course. No matter, they were still very excited and kept watching the window and door. Just after I had finished reading a chapter from the Lily book, our 'Amish visitor' arrived.

All heads turned towards the door. Some were stunned for a few seconds, and some started laughing when they realized who it was. Our 'Amish visitor' was one of our grade six students dressed Amish. My sister, Elma, our principal acquired the dress from a girl at another colony, who had an Amish penpal at some point and got it as a gift from her.

I'm glad that we got the dress...it provided a fun little activity to do while reading a Lily book. We're all looking forward to book three!