After 33 years of teaching history and Bible classes at Eastern Mennonite School, Elwood Yoder is ready to “re-wire” — not retire — for a new chapter of history making.
Yoder is a 1981 alumnus of Eastern Mennonite University, where he met his wife Joy Risser Yoder ’81 and graduated with a degree in Bible and theology. The Yoder family, including sons Philip and Nathaniel and daughter Maria are all alumni (see photo below)
In this chapter, Yoder will focus full time on his loves of research, writing, and church history. He will partner with historian Steve Nolt to write a Virginia Mennonite history book, a joint project of the Shenandoah Valley Mennonite Historians and the Virginia Mennonite Conference Historical Committee (see more below).
Before turning his sights to that tantalizing project, Yoder is engaged at the school. “I want to finish well and focus on the students I love,” he said.