{"id":24189,"date":"2015-05-05T14:20:26","date_gmt":"2015-05-05T18:20:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=24189"},"modified":"2016-01-06T09:36:24","modified_gmt":"2016-01-06T14:36:24","slug":"new-orie-o-miller-biography-celebrated-by-contemporaries-at-anabaptist-center-for-religion-and-society-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2015\/new-orie-o-miller-biography-celebrated-by-contemporaries-at-anabaptist-center-for-religion-and-society-meeting\/","title":{"rendered":"New Orie O. Miller biography to be celebrated by contemporaries at Anabaptist Center for Religion and Society meeting"},"content":{"rendered":"

He has seen more of the world than Marco Polo. He has opened more mission fields than David Livingstone. He has been as innovative in his world of church ministries as Thomas Edison was in the world of technology. Orie Miller may be the most remarkable Mennonite in our generation, perhaps of our century.<\/em> \u2013Robert S. Kreider, 1969<\/h4>\n

Orie O. Miller is a well-known name, but the reputation of this Mennonite lay leader, missionary, and businessman may grow, deservedly, in legend and stature with the publication of John E. Sharp\u2019s long-awaited biography, \u201cMy Calling to Fulfill: The Orie O. Miller Story<\/a>\u201d (Herald Press).<\/p>\n

Miller was a \u201c20th century leader, and considering his extensive leadership in his day in many, many church institutions and agencies, it\u2019s important to introduce Miller to 21st century leaders,\u201d says Lee M. Yoder<\/a> ’63, steering committee chair of the Anabaptist Center for Religion and Society<\/a> (ACRS), a community of Mennonite elders and scholars who meet monthly for fellowship and intellectual engagement at Eastern Mennonite University (EMU).<\/p>\n

The biography, six years in the making, was initiated and partially funded by ACRS. Other funders include the Brethren in Christ church, and two organizations that Miller helped found, Mennonite Central Committee<\/a> and Mennonite Economic Development Association<\/a>, known commonly by the acronyms of MCC and MEDA, respectively.<\/p>\n

EMU President Loren E. Swartzendruber<\/a> says he\u2019s looking forward to reading the biography. \u201cFor many years, I have heard fascinating stories about Orie O. Miller and his legacy from those who worked directly with him,\u201d he said. \u201cSo many Anabaptist ministries and institutions launched by Orie have improved the lives of people around the globe. I am pleased this project was sponsored by ACRS and rooted at EMU.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the ACRS May 11 Annual General Meeting, a handful of Miller\u2019s contemporaries will share anecdotes and stories about this consequential man who, from his first pioneering trip as a relief worker to Russia in 1919, forever changed Mennonite education, business, relief work and peacemaking.<\/p>\n

The meeting, which begins at 7:30 a.m. with coffee and pastries in the west dining room on the EMU campus, is open to the public.<\/p>\n

‘Visionary and hard-nosed realist’
\n<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Former colleague Calvin Redekop, the ACRS representative to the editorial committee, says Miller\u2019s \u201cwork and leadership are difficult to condense.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a person who represented best the challenges and opportunities of his time, an unusual combination of visionary and hard-nosed realist who expected persons to be accountable,\u201d Redekop said. \u201cHe was one of the most disciplined persons I ever knew.\u201d<\/p>\n

Redekop served under Miller as administrator of a post-war alternative service program called Pax. Redekop and colleague Paul Peachey ’45 had conceived this program in August of 1950, and a mere eight months later, with Miller\u2019s support and that of MCC, \u201cPaxers\u201d arrived in war-ravaged Europe to help resettle refugees.*<\/p>\n

Born in Indiana in 1892, Miller attended Goshen College before answering the call to engage in relief work in 1919 and shortly after, helping to form MCC, for which he served in various capacities, including executive secretary, from 1921-1963.<\/p>\n

Miller helped to engage and steer Mennonite values and ministry into a global perspective, while integrating sound business and organizational principles.<\/p>\n

He was \u201can incredible catalyst\u201d with unique organizational skills, and \u201cpassionately committed to the church with a vision for mission,\u201d says ACRS founder Ray Gingerich<\/a>, who was director of an Anabaptist-Mennonite bookstore financed by Miller and other Lancaster businessmen in the mid-1960s in Luxembourg, Belgium. \u201cHe would start a project, then find the personnel and the organizations to carry it on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Seeing a need often meant forming an organization to meet that need: Miller was the motivating force behind the founding of many Mennonite organizations, including Mennonite Mental Health Services, Mennonite Indemnity, Mennonite Mutual Aid, Mennonite Travel Service, and several others.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of young men were indebted to Miller \u2013 and had their lives changed forever \u2013 because of Miller\u2019s creation and administration of Civilian Public Service, the alternative to military service that allowed conscientious objectors to fulfill their civic responsibilities.<\/p>\n

Miller married into the shoe manufacturing business and ran it with acumen and dedication throughout his life. Yet \u201cto the end his life, he maintained his vision for service, never allowing his considerable wealth to determine his needs,\u201d Gingerich said, adding that Miller could have easily afforded a Lincoln Continental, but instead drove a Ford Falcon.<\/p>\n

Miller died in 1977 at the Landis Retirement Home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, yet another enterprise he was instrumental in founding and supporting.<\/p>\n

Keim\u2019s work provides inspiration<\/strong><\/h3>\n

A standard feature of the ACRS Annual General Meeting is a time to discuss the group\u2019s ongoing work and vision. At one of those times, many years ago, members noted the need for a comprehensive biography of Miller that would address the full range of his personality and involvements not covered in a previous 1969 biography by Paul Erb.<\/p>\n

Another inspiration for the Miller project was the work of the late Albert N. Keim ’63<\/span>, professor emeritus of history at EMU and an ARCS member. Keim\u2019s biography of Harold S. Bender, a professor of theology at Goshen College and Goshen Biblical Seminary, was published in 1998.<\/p>\n

\u201cHarold Bender was tremendously influential on theological matters in the same way that Orie Miller was tremendously influential in shaping Mennonite influence today,\u201d said Vernon Jantzi <\/a>’64<\/span>, ACRS interim director.<\/p>\n

Miller\u2019s accomplishments as a leader are widely recognized. EMU houses an Orie Miller Center<\/a>, which promotes interdisciplinary activities and scholarship modeled after the man\u2019s visionary integration of business, mission, development, education, justice and peace.<\/p>\n

In addition, EMU, ACRS, Mennonite Central Committee, and Mennonite Economic Development Associates are in the early stages of planning a leadership conference at EMU in early April 2016 that will highlight Miller\u2019s leadership within the Mennonite church, according to Jim Smucker<\/a>, vice president and dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: In April 2015, the Pax program was chosen as the recipient of the annual Gandhi Center Community Service Award. To read about this event, click here<\/a>.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

He has seen more of the world than Marco Polo. He has opened more mission fields than David Livingstone. He has been as innovative in his world of church ministries ... read more about New Orie O. Miller biography to be celebrated by contemporaries at Anabaptist Center for Religion and Society meeting<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24201,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,5591,5583,14184,14715,8845,5623,1,5730],"tags":[13693,8901,16692,6834,5944,16704,14791,16701,16702,6069,6100,17388,16390,7436,16689,9469,7775],"feature":[],"class_list":["post-24189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-business-and-leadership","category-campus-community","category-campus-guests","category-campus-life","category-emu-at-lancaster","category-special-programs","category-uncategorized","category-undergraduate-programs","tag-albert-keim","tag-anabaptist-center-for-religion-and-society","tag-cal-redekop","tag-eastern-mennonite-university","tag-giving","tag-harold-s-bender","tag-jim-smucker","tag-john-e-sharp","tag-lee-m-yoder","tag-loren-swartzendruber","tag-mennonite-central-committee","tag-mennonite-economic-development-association","tag-orie-o-miller","tag-paul-peachey","tag-pax","tag-ray-gingerich","tag-vernon-jantzi"],"yoast_head":"\nNew Orie O. 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