Anabaptist ReMix

'You can take the girl out of the Mennonite church, but you can't take the Mennonite church out of the girl.' I have said this many times over the last 45+ years in explanation of what has shaped my identity, values and ethics, and faith after leaving the Mennonite church as a young adult to become United Methodist, a pastor and ultimately bishop. Issues of religious identity, ethics, especially the role of peacemaking as foundational to discipleship and disciple-making, and specifically how to be religious in a very divergent world are all part of what we as Christians in North America need to address. Kudos to Friesen and Koehn for their ambitious and challenging work! -Bishop Sally Dyck, Ecumenical Officer for the United Methodist Church Anabaptist ReMix is an ambitious attempt to tell a more complex story about the diverse ways Mennonites engage with the larger culture. I anticipate that it will generate deep reflection and lively debate among 21st century Anabaptists. -Dan McKanan, Harvard Divinity School; Author of Prophetic Encounters: Religion and the American Radical Tradition Anabaptist ReMix offers an insightful case study into the impact of a particular religious community as it organically adapts and responds to the complexities of history, location, social evolution, technology, the broader society. Friesen and Koehn have brought together an eclectic set of perspectives that together present the Anabaptist tradition not only as a religious community, but rather through the lens of a social movement. This work is critically important at a time when social movements are reshaping our society. A global pandemic, reckoning with historical legacies of racism and inequality, and a deepening awareness of our impact on the environment and one another are reshaping our daily life. Anabaptist ReMix offers insight into how a movement, developed in a similar time of social conflict, carries a set of commitments, practices, and values across time and space. The editors challenge the narrow view of the Anabaptist tradition as insular and isolated, and instead assemble a group of scholars, artists, and practitioners that demonstrate the rich diversity and contribution of a faith community. How might movements that are taking shape today in this moment of crisis similarly evolve and carry out a vision that is both faithful to its commitments but adaptive throughout generations? -David Vasquez-Levy, President, Pacific School of Religion Our country is in urgent need of a publication that provides a framework for understanding the ebb and flow of religious thought the concepts of ethics, community, faith, culture, and politics. In the edited volume, Anabaptist ReMix, scholars Lauren Friesen and Dennis R. Koehn provide a road map for synthesizing divergent theoretical and practical issues and identifying core values and beliefs for a 21st century Anabaptist vision. This volume will challenge some readers, but the effort will be rewarded with new insights. Essays draw on a wide range of disciplines: the arts, philosophy, theology, and institutional leadership. Topics are intriguing and complex. One big question is left open: what has the melting of Anabaptist and Mennonite history produced that guides religious practices today? Are these traditions evolving in a fruitful 'ReMix'? Delving into this volume, I came away thinking of dynamics in a host of major institutions: history and diverse thought, both read and improvised, have the potential of a creative impact. -Dolores Cross, Education Consultant and University President (Retired)