Timeline II

Sitting on my desk, finally uncovered after being on the bottom of a stack for a couple weeks, is Timeline II: living echo of Menno Simons.  This is a new resource recently made available from Mennonite Publishing Network.  The first timeline that it is following charted the Anabaptist movement from its 16^th century beginnings through the centuries and showed the points where different groups either splintered or merged (mostly splintered, unfortunately) to form the various Mennonite and Amish groups that exist today.

Timeline II takes a different approach.  Rather than being something to hang on the wall it is an accordion style large booklet with one side of the accordion composed of pictures of Mennonite worship houses around the world and the other composed of historical movements beginning in 1500.  The history part has two columns: on the left it recounts the events of world and broader church history at that time and on the right, larger and more colorful column, it contains maps and notes of what was occurring in the Anabaptist movement.  The first three entries on the left are “1500: Portuguese land on Brasillian coast; 1502: Wittenburg Prince Frederik founds university: Augustinian Martin Luther will be one of the lecturers: 1506: Rome starts construction of St Peter’s, partly financed by the sale of indulgences.”  The first entry on the right, 1519, notes Ulrich Zwingli preaching sermons and reading the Bible together with the young students who will become the first Swiss Anabaptists.  Completely unfolded the timeline is apparently over 100 inches long.  Here is some of what the creators of this new timeline say about the work:

“Many Anabaptists died in direct and well-recorded martyrdom.  Many more toiled on courageously, having opted for the way of peace, many never finding peace again.  Few called themselves Anabaptist or inhabited areas of traditional Mennonite settlement.  Through this extended timeline we can only hope to stimulate awareness that the Anabaptist Mennonite Community is part of a unique, recurrent, and global witness, flowing through time and place…Too often the church commissions only ‘most ideal and moral’ volunteers for mission and service, pulling them back as soon as they show fatigue or doubt.  Mennonites are not unique in that sense.  Their communities grow, break up or stay together like many others do for a wide variety of reasons, such as happy families, safe homesteads, food security, and freedom of thought.  They flee along with others and they live through the same crises of faith.  Many of their personal stories are too powerful to be told, buried with their bearers before they mature into testimonies that can be shared in service of peace.  We hardly have a story tradition to help us come to terms with our very human experience.  We think the best echo of our stories is to be found in solidarity, hence vulnerable meeting with the dignified other, beyond our safe congregational yard.  We want to contribute some stories to help fill this gap and encourage others to share their experience.”  

More info about the timeline, as well as purchasing info if you would like one in your own home can be found HERE.  An interesting note, the website reports “Paper for the covers are fabricated at the 17th century paper mill ‘De Schoolmeester’ in Westzaan, The Netherlands, using timeless wind energy.”