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The Earth is the Lord's: A Narrative History of Lancaster Mennonite Conference. John L. Ruth, author/researcher. (Long-awaited Lancaster Mennonite History is published -- Reviewed by Brinton L. Rutherford, Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society)
After thirty years of preparation and waiting, the complete history of Lancaster Mennonite Conference Mennonites is being published. The Earth Is the Lord's: A Narrative History of Lancaster Mennonite Conference by John L. Ruth was a collaborative project between the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society and Herald Press.
This book is readable, interesting, engaging and full of local history, local people and local events. The 1,390-page publishing event has considerable significance for Mennonites, Amish groups and others who like to keep informed about this segment of American society. Many of the western and Canadian Mennonite conferences had their origins in Lancaster.
In seven sections, the book moves engagingly through the emergence of Anabaptism in Europe to the time of Lancaster Conference Mennonites of the late 1970s. The book starts with the 1614 execution of Hans Landis in Zurich, Switzerland. The narrative explores similar troubles in Bern. Then it follows Anabaptists to Alsace and the Palatinate, and on to America as the future Lancaster County's first Mennonites arrive in Philadelphia on the Mary Hope in 1710. The story of the next 268 years reaches to 1977, when Lancaster Mennonite Conference reorganized.
Paul S. Boyer, Editor-in-Chief, Oxford Companion to United States History, says the book "Brilliantly evokes the rich human texture of the Mennonite experience from its Reformation-era origins to the present. The book is hard to put down."
The product of more than three decades of research and writing, this volume represents a cooperative effort by numerous persons. Much patient work by family historians and computer-aided genealogists finds its way into this story. Ruth adds folk memory to careful documentation and explanation of key beliefs and practices, painting a picture of unprecedented detail, enriched by photos, maps, detailed notes, bibliography, and index.
An indispensable resource, this volume includes not only the history of the Lancaster Conference Mennonites but also links to numerous Mennonite groups and related denominations spawned by this fellowship over the centuries.
John L. Ruth, a master storyteller, Mennonite minister, and English professor, has written books and produced films on the life and heritage of his Mennonite community, including volumes such as 'Twas Seeding Time and Maintaining the Right Fellowship. This magnum opus represents the most mature fruit of his lifetime of research, writing, pastoral work, and interpretive activity in his native southeastern Pennsylvania.
Ruth completed his bachelor's degree at Eastern College in 1956 and his doctorate in English at Harvard University in 1968. From 1962 to 1976 he taught literature at Eastern. In addition to teaching, Ruth has served as pastor for the Salford Mennonite Congregation, has produced films on the Amish and Hutterites, and has written many books including the long-awaited, forth-coming title on the history of the Lancaster Conference. John and his wife, Roma, make their home in the Lower Salford community. They have three children and nine grandchildren.
Cloth. 1,392 pp. with 23 maps, 270 photographs, 7 appendixes, notes, bibliography, index. ISBN: 0-8361-9154-4; $59.99 U.S.; $93.79 Canada. Books available from Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society (1 717 393-9745), Provident Bookstores, (1-800-759-4447), or Herald Press (1-800-245-7894). Postage and handling is extra.
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