Convocation: Life & Legacy of MJ Sharp

Disarmed: The Radical Life and Legacy of Michael “MJ” Sharp – Marshall V. King ’92

At 34 years old, Michael J. “MJ” Sharp, EMU ’05 alum, was working for the United Nations Group of Experts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – urging rebels to lay down their weapons – when he and his colleague, Zaida Catalán, were murdered, likely assassinated by killers with government ties. Marshall V. Yoder tells about Sharp’s life, death and legacy and how modern Mennonites wrestle with their place and role in the world in his new book, “Disarmed: The Radical Life and Legacy of Michael ‘MJ’ Sharp” (Herald Press, January 2022).

This book and signing from the author will be available at the event.

Marshall V. King, an EMU ’92 alum who served with MJ Sharp as Weathervane editors, lives in Goshen (IN), serves as an adjunct professor of communication at Goshen College, worked for The Elkhart Truth newspaper for more than 20 years as a reporter and eventually managing editor. His writing, including the popular Dining a la King column, often focused on food. He is currently the head storyteller for the Community Foundation of Elkhart County.