2012 Bechtel Lectures

Featuring Dr. John D. Roth from Goshen College, IN

March 15, 2012
The Challenge of Church Unity in the Anabaptist Tradition

March 16, 2012
What Hath Zurich to do with Addis Ababa? Ecclesial Identity in the Global Anabaptist Church

7:30 pm
Conrad Grebel Chapel

From their beginnings in the church divisions sparked by the Reformation, groups tracing their origins back to the Anabaptist movement of the 16th century have continued to struggle with basic questions of unity and identity.  In the free church tradition, what are the most significant points of connection that join the local congregation to other likeminded groups, or to the larger church? 

For Mennonites in the U.S. and Canada, the question has been made more complicated in recent years by the erosion of traditional forms of denominational allegiance, by a host of new ecumenical encounters, and especially by a new awareness of “global Anabaptism.”  Today, the vast majority of Anabaptist-Mennonites live outside of North America, speak languages other than English or German, and know relatively little about the Radical Reformation of the 16th century. How should we think about the Mennonite identity of these rapidly growing groups?  What is it that connects your congregation with Mennonite World Conference churches in the global South?   These lectures will explore questions of church identity beyond the congregation, paying particular attention to the emergence of the “global Anabaptist church.”

John D. Roth was born and raised in Holmes County, Ohio. After completing undergraduate studies in history at Goshen College, he attended the University of Chicago receiving his Ph.D. in Early Modern European History in 1989. Since 1988 Roth has taught in the history department at Goshen (Ind.) College, where he also serves as the editor of The Mennonite Quarterly Review, and the director of the Mennonite Historical Library. 

Roth has published or edited numerous articles and books, the most recent being A Companion to Anabaptism and Spiritualism, 1521-1700 (Brill, 2007), Practices: Mennonite Worship and Witness (Herald Press, 2008) and "Taste and See": A Philosophy of Christian Education in an Anabaptist-Mennonite Perspective (Herald Press, forthcoming). In addition to various ecumenical involvements, he is the founding director of the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism at Goshen College, and is currently focusing on several research projects relating to the global Anabaptist fellowship (including the "Global Anabaptist Wiki" at www.anabaptistwiki.org).  

He and his wife, Ruth, are the parents of 4 adult children and are active members at Berkey Avenue Mennonite Fellowship in Goshen, Ind.

For more information on the lectures, contact infocguc@uwaterloo.ca or 519-885-0220 x24264.

2011 Bechtel Lectures

Dr. Roger Epp was the 2011 Bechtel Lecturer. His topic was "We are all Treaty People".

View "The Settler Problem" video

View "The Stories We Tell Ourselves" video