BRETHREN IN CHRIST HISTORY & LIFE Volume XL Number I April 2017 BRETHREN IN CHRIST HISTORY & LIFE Published by the Brethren in Christ Historical Society. Membership and subscription: one year, $25; contributing members, $50; supporting members, $100; patron members, $200; student membership, $10; lifetime members, a minimum one-time contribution of $1,000. Single issues of the journal, $5.00. Address articles and communications to Harriet Sider Bicksler, Editor, Brethren in Christ History and Life, 127 Holly Drive, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 (e-mail: [email protected]). Membership fees should be sent to Brethren in Christ Historical Society, Messiah College, One College Avenue, Suite 3002, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055. Articles appearing in this journal are indexed in Christian Periodical Index and in Religion Index One: Periodicals, Index to Book Reviews in Religion, ATLA Religion Database. An index of articles and reviews before 2012 is carried on the Historical Society’s website (www.bic-history.org). BRETHREN IN CHRIST HISTORICAL SOCIETY Emerson Lesher, President Karin Bisbee Mechanicsburg, PA Mechanicsburg, PA John R. Yeatts, Vice President Micah Brickner Mechanicsburg, PA Lancaster, PA Beth Hostetler Mark, Secretary John Dietz Mechanicsburg, PA York, PA Nevin Engle, Treasurer Kenneth Hoke Grantham, PA Carlisle, PA Leonard J. Chester Josh Nolt Canadian representative Lancaster, PA Port Colborne, Ontario Jay Showalter Harriet Sider Bicksler, Editor Ephrata, PA Mechanicsburg, PA Hank Johnson Glen Pierce, Executive Director Harrisburg, PA Mechanicsburg, PA JOURNAL STAFF Editor: Harriet Sider Bicksler Editorial Assistants: Karin Bisbee, Jonathan Stanton Book Review Editor: Nancy Heisey Editor Emeritus: E. Morris Sider Cover Photo: Clockwise from lef: Myron Taylor Memorial Bell, Sikalongo Mission, Zambia; Sika- longo Mission Church; Anna Eyster with group of Sikalongo Boys School students. Photos courtesy of Anna Eyster Photograph Collection, Brethren in Christ Historical Library and Archives. Printed by Mennonite Press, Newton, Kansas CONTENTS VOL. XL NUMBER 1 APRIL 2017 1 FROM THE EDITOR 3 A History of Sikalongo Mission: Part 2: The Late Colonial Years, 1931-1947 Dwight W. Thomas 73 Called to be a Homemaker Harriet Bohen Bert ---------PAPERS FROM THE SIDER INSTITUTE--------- CONFERENCE ON NONCONFORMITY 109 Remembering and Practicing Our Identity Mark Labberton 121 Improvising Faithfulness: A Brief History of Brethren in Christ Nonconformity David Weaver-Zercher 134 The Liberty of Holiness: Nonconformity as Belonging Gerald Mast 147 Why Christian Nonconformity Matters: Church, Society, and Our Racially Organized Lives Drew G. I. Hart -------------------BOOK REVIEWS ------------------ 162 Nicholas Berry, Almighty Matters: God’s Hidden Politics in the Bible, reviewed by Curtis Book 165 Samuel J. Steiner, In Search of Promised Lands: A Religious History of Mennonites in Ontario, reviewed by Lucille Marr 168 Susan L. Trollinger, Selling the Amish: Te Tourism of Nostalgia, reviewed by Joel H. Nofziger 170 Berry Friesen and John K. Stoner, If Not Empire, What? A Survey of the Bible, reviewed by John R. Yeatts --------------------------------------------------------------- 176 LETTER TO THE EDITOR 179 ADDRESSES OF AUTHORS FROM THE EDITOR In the second part of Dwight Tomas’ history of Sikalongo Mission in Zambia (the frst part was in the December 2016 edition), Dwight picks up the story following the death of Myron Taylor in 1931 and describes the development of the mission, particularly the expansion of educational and medical endeavors, from 1931 to 1947. He highlights both the North American missionaries and the African leaders who led the mission during these years. While this history focuses on one mission station, and a relatively small one at that, it is an important window into the broader story of missions in general, and Brethren in Christ missions in particular. In Part 2 of the story of Sikalongo Mission, the white missionaries are still in charge, but African leaders are being mentored, trained, and encouraged, pointing toward indigenization and the time when the leadership of the Brethren in Christ Church in Zambia would be transferred to Zambians. Te third and fourth parts of the history, to be published in subsequent editions of the journal, will tell the story of how that signifcant transition happened within the context of national independence, and how Sikalongo Mission continues to thrive today. Te photographs (some admittedly not particularly high quality) that accompany the article are a testament to the importance of individuals and families passing on well-labeled photographs to the Brethren in Christ Historical Library and Archives. Te second major feature of this edition is a memoir. In 2015, at the time of the death of Harriet Bohen Bert, my mother’s last remaining sibling, I learned that my aunt (and namesake) had written her memoirs. Naturally I was curious, so I borrowed a copy from one of her sons. Harriet’s story was most interesting to me because of the family connections, but I also thought that her story was one worth sharing with a wider audience. Even though she was fairly well-known in some circles and her husband served on denominational boards, Harriet represents many Brethren in Christ people who never expected to achieve prominence, but quietly served God in their homes and churches. Many of them were women who, as Harriet claimed for herself, were “called to be homemakers.” Harriet probably never intended for her memoirs to be read by anyone other than her immediate family, and I am grateful that her family recognizes the signifcance of her 1 story and is willing to share it with a wider audience. I especially want to thank Karin Bisbee, Historical Society board member, for her signifcant preliminary work editing the original manuscript. In the third section, we feature the presentations from the November 2016 study conference sponsored by the Sider Institute for Anabaptist, Pietist, and Wesleyan Studies at Messiah College especially for Brethren in Christ pastors and laypeople. Te conference was on the theme of “Not Conformed: Te Church, the World, and Christian Discipleship in the 21st Century.” Te keynote speaker was Dr. Mark Labberton, president of Fuller Teological Seminary, with three other major presentations by Dr. David Weaver-Zercher, professor of American religious history at Messiah College; Dr. Gerald Mast, professor of communication at Blufon University; and Dr. Drew Hart, assistant professor of theology at Messiah College. Teir presentations are all reprinted in this edition. Finally, four reviews and a letter. Te reviews cover two books about politics in the Bible; one about the history of Mennonites in Ontario, Canada; and one about tourism among the Amish. Te letter to the editor is in response to the article about Janice Holt Giles in the December 2016 edition. Harriet Sider Bicksler, editor 2 THOMAS: A History of Sikalongo Mission, Part 2 A History of Sikalongo Mission Part 2: The Late Colonial Years, 1931-19471 By Dwight W. Thomas* Introduction Te context in 1931 Sikalongo Mission Station in 1931 afer Myron Taylor’s death was an established institution with a variety of programs. Although small by comparison to other Brethren in Christ stations, the Sikalongo congregation was solid and growing. Membership in 1931 was 22, with 32 in the Enquirers Class.2 Similarly, the boarding school was said to be thriving with an enrollment nearly twice the size of the Macha boarding school.3 Additionally, a regular non-boarding day school for elementary students had an enrollment of thirty students. Te Taylors had laid a strong foundation during the 1920s, but the time was ripe for enhancement and expansion of the existing facilities and programs. Te broader context of 1931, which infuenced mission work at Sikalongo, included the stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression which followed. While funding was somewhat more difcult, the 1931 fnancial report noted: *Dwight W. Tomas is a retired Messiah College music professor and former minister of music and congregational life at Elizabethtown Brethren in Christ Church. He and his wife have spent two to three months every year for nearly two decades at Sikalongo Mission. His research interests include music, history, biography and the cultural expressions of global Christians. Part 1 of this history ap- peared in the December 2016 edition of the journal. Parts 3 and 4 will appear in subsequent editions. 1 I want to acknowledge a number of people for help with this essay. Rev. Dennis Mweetwa’s feedback gave an especially helpful Zambian perspective. Dr. Daryl Climenhaga’s feedback was equally useful in areas related to general mission history. Te Cullen, Mann and Hershey families provided valuable materials and personal anecdotes which have enriched the story immensely. 2 “Africa Statistical Report 1931,” Handbook of Missions Home and Foreign of the Brethren in Christ Church, 1932, 41. Hereafer referred to as Handbook of Missions. 3 Ibid. 7 BRETHREN IN CHRIST HISTORY & LIFE We rejoice and thank God for the way the needs have been supplied through the year, while it was necessary to reduce Africa’s maintenance to $2,000.00. However, the English Pound has dropped considerable so that the actual deduction would not be $1,000.00. While the cry of depression is heard everywhere and while all of us are feeling the efects, we still did not need to go into debt, nor did we have to tell those who were ready to go to the feld, “We have no money to send you.”4 Missionaries not only had to pay for their own supplies; they also had to have money to pay teachers and workers. Sikalongo missionaries undoubtedly had to tighten their fnancial belts as a result of economic stress in the United States. Signifcant governance changes had previously occurred in Northern Rhodesia in 1924 with the transfer of the territory from the control of BSAC (British South Africa Company) to the British Colonial Ofce.5 A brief account of these decisions appeared in a 1924-25 government report: Te outstanding administrative event was the change of Government.