Krista Ehst, a young Mennonite from Pennsylvania, recently spent some months in the UK as an intern. On her return to the USA we invited her to write down her reflections.

I am deeply tied to my Mennonite heritage. I love going to four-part hymn sings; I cherish memories of learning to bake shoo-fly pie1 with my grandmother; I love walking across the acres that have been farmed by my Mennonite ancestors for ten generations. I return from the UK, however, wondering if these Mennonite traditions are connected to the Anabaptist faith I also claim.

The Network summer newsletter is now available on the Newsletters page.

Woodbrooke (the Quaker Study Centre) are running a 3 day course on the theology on John Howard Yoder. They write:

We are delighted to announce that the fifth book in the popular 'After Christendom' series - Worship and Mission after Christendom by Alan & Eleanor Kreider - will be published in October 2009. This can be pre-ordered from the Anabaptist Network for £12.99 (including postage) and will be available at that price from bookshops from October. A sample chapter can be found at http://www.anabaptistnetwork.com/node/523.

Peace school 2009/10 is fast approaching. The dates and venues for this coming year have now been set and booked, and places are beginning to be booked up. If you are looking for a space in which to explore how issues of peace and justice fit into your life; if you crave being part of a community of people asking similar questions; if you want to gain more knowledge, understanding and skills as a peacemaker, then this year’s Peace School might be exactly what you are looking for.

Anabaptists and Quakers - representatives of the historic peace churches, will be meeting together in Birmingham to explore active peacemaking.

Shalom is the hope of the prophets – enemies reconciled, injustices righted, hurts healed, fears calmed and community prosperity. Shalom is the Bible’s word for peace.

And peace is at the heart of the gospel. God’s mission is to bring the whole of creation into harmony. Peace with God. Peace between the nations. Peace with the created order.