Mennonite historian says EMU students are equipped to heal a broken world

The world is out of alignment, said Mennonite historian John D. Roth.

Civil discourse is strained, the principles of democracy are challenged, and social movements have laid bare injustices in the world, he said. 

Speaking to a crowd gathered at Martin Chapel on Wednesday, Jan. 29, he said that EMU students, rooted in the guiding verse of Micah 6:8 — “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with God” — are uniquely equipped to heal a broken and fractured world. And, he added, they’re called to bridge the gap between “the world as it is and the world as it ought to be.”

“Those convictions [in Micah 6:8], which I’m certain shine through in your courses, recognize that the good life calls us into the world to participate in the healing work of reconciliation and peacemaking,” Roth said. “…Your calling, your vocation, regardless of your major, is really nothing more than to make God’s love and truth and healing visible in the world.”

Roth, project director of MennoMedia’s Anabaptism at 500 initiative, presented on “What is the Good Life? Insights from a 500-Year-Old Tradition.” Watch a video recording of his presentation here.

Prior to his role at MennoMedia, Roth was a professor of history at Goshen College (1985-2022), where he also served as director of the Mennonite Historical Library and editor of the Mennonite Quarterly Review. He is the founding director of the Institute for the Study of Global Anabaptism at Goshen College.

His talk was the second of two campus worship services commemorating the 500th anniversary of the beginning of the Anabaptist movement. Click here for a video recording of the first service, “Exploring Virginia Mennonites: History, Faith and Culture” from Phil Kniss, retired senior pastor of Park View Mennonite Church.

Starting on Thursday, Jan. 30, a series of weekly lectures will delve into the history of Anabaptism through the five centuries stretching back to 1525. Roth will speak about early Anabaptism in the 16th century at 7 p.m. Thursday in the Eastern Mennonite School auditorium. For more information about these lectures, visit the website here.

Events like this one demonstrate EMU’s commitment to its core value of active faith. As a community, we seek to embody faith in action and serve and learn together to repair harm and restore hope. Shaped by Anabaptist-Mennonite beliefs and practices and the life and teachings of Jesus, we practice compassion, mutual love, and appreciation for the diversity of religious and cultural expressions represented in our community.