
Where the People Go
Community, Generosity, and the Story of Everence
John D. Roth(Author)
Herald Press (VA)
Published on 30. June 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
275 pages
978-1-5138-0678-5 (ISBN)
Description
Where the People Go tells the story of Anabaptist-Mennonite efforts to enable communal forms of sharing. Mutual aid, stewardship, and generosity are deeply embedded in the Christian faith and have been actively nurtured among Anabaptist-Mennonite groups. Spontaneous forms of assistance-a barn raising, a quilting bee, shared meals-are the best-known expressions of such compassion and generosity, but the commitment to "sharing one another's burdens" has also found expression in more formal structures.
Seventy-five years ago, Mennonite Mutual Aid emerged to organize the principle of sharing within a growing Mennonite denomination. A dynamic organization from the beginning, MMA moved quickly from a burial and survivor's aid plan to include health, property, and automobile insurance. In coming decades, the organization shifted its focus from mutual aid to stewardship and generosity, symbolized by a growing emphasis on socially responsible investment programs, wholistic health, financial planning, and services associated with its member-owned credit union. Always an agency of the Mennonite church, MMA, now known as Everence, has balanced its spiritual commitments with an increasingly complex regulatory environment, the national strains associated with the health-care debate, the shifting sensibilities of its customers, and the organizational complexities of a major corporation.
This story of Everence captures the stresses and idealism of a church-related institution committed to mutual aid, stewardship, and generosity during its seventy-five-year history.
More details
Language
English
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
471 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5138-0678-5 (9781513806785)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
John D. Roth is a professor of history at Goshen College, where he also serves as director of the Mennonite Historical Library, Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism, and editor of the Mennonite Quarterly Review. Roth has degrees from Goshen College and the University of Chicago. He has edited and authored numerous books, including Teaching that Transforms, Stories, Beliefs, and Practices.