Upcoming Events
ALL EVENTS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. ALL EXCEPT THE YOUNG CENTER BANQUET ARE FREE OF CHARGE.
Thursday, February 13, 2020 • 7:00 pm • Bucher Meetinghouse
LECTURE
“She do preach up terror alarmingly”: The Publick Universal Friend, Jemima Wilkinson
Discover the life of Jemima Wilkinson, also known as the “Publick Universal Friend,” a Quaker-born woman from Rhode Island whose fiery preaching amassed a following from New England to Pennsylvania in the late eighteenth century. Candace Kintzer Perry will discuss the Friend’s curious blend of Quakerism and Methodism, her unconventional lifestyle, and how she attracted an affluent Schwenkfelder family to support her, and subsequently follow her, to build a settlement on the shores of Keuka Lake in New York State.
Candace Kintzer Perry, curator of collections of the Schwenkfelder Library & Heritage Center, Pennsburg, Pa., holds a BA in history from Penn State and an MA in American history and museum studies from Duquesne University. Perry has written numerous articles and lectures on Pennsylvania German history and culture, most recently the article on Pennsylvania German textiles in The Pennsylvania Germans: An Interpretive Encyclopedia.
Saturday, March 7, 2020 • 9:00 am to 3:00 pm • Bucher Meetinghouse
SYMPOSIUM
What is Pietism?
Featured speaker: Craig Atwood
Pious Longings: German Pietism and Modern Christianity
German Pietism was one of the most significant movements in the history of Christianity. Beginning around 1675, German Pietists tried to revive Christian faith in war torn Europe by helping people experience a New Birth and working for the Kingdom of God on earth. Church Pietists tried to work within the state church by establishing various charitable and missionary institutions, such as the Canteen Bible Institute. Other Pietists separated from the state church and promoted a radical return to the church of the apostles. These radical Pietists sought to follow the teachings of Jesus and built voluntary societies. German immigrants brought Pietism to Pennsylvania in the 18th century and left a permanent mark on American Christianity. We will look at what the various Pietists had in common and explore some of the most important varieties of Pietism, including the Church of the Brethren.
Craig Atwood is the Charles D. Couch Professor of Moravian Theology and Director of the Center for Moravian Studies at Moravian Theological Seminary in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. He previously taught at Wake Forest University School of Divinity and Salem College, both in North Carolina. Atwood is the author of The Theology of the Czech Brethren from Hus to Comenius and Community of the Cross: Moravian Piety in Colonial Bethlehem. He received his PhD from Princeton Theological Seminary and his MDiv from Moravian Seminary
Thursday, March 12, 2020 • 7:30 pm • Bucher Meetinghouse
KREIDER FELLOWSHIP LECTURE
The Archaeology of Mennonite Families in Southeastern Pennsylvania: Trying to Determine Ethnicity from Material Culture Remains
Three Mennonite archaeological sites excavated by the Elizabethtown College Public Archaeology Laboratory produced material culture assemblages that can be compared with non-Anabaptist remains to determine whether they contain an ethnic signature. Yet, can we differentiate Mennonite remains from their surrounding neighbors using material culture? The talk examines background research and artifacts from Mennonite sites to answer the question.
Robert Wheelersburg, professor of anthropology and director of the Public Archaeology Laboratory, has taught at Elizabethtown College and conducted archaeological investigations in the Commonwealth for over thirty years. He holds a doctorate in anthropology and Arctic Studies from Brown University and has conducted research in the Arctic for over four decades, mostly in Sweden, Russia, and Iceland. Wheelersburg received three Fulbright fellowships, several National Science Foundation grants to study Arctic peoples, and a fellowship from the American Scandinavian Foundation to conduct research on the seventeenth-century New Sweden colony in Delaware and Pennsylvania.
Thursday, March 26, 2020 • 6:00 pm • Susquehanna Room of Myer Hall
BANQUET
The annual Young Center dinner gives faculty, staff, students, church leaders, and other friends of the Young Center the opportunity to socialize and learn about the Center’s activities and programs.
A reception for Durnbaugh Lecturer Joe A. Springer will be held at 5:30; the dinner will begin at 6:00.
Cost for the dinner is $23 and reservations are required by March 13.
Thursday, March 26, 2020 • 7:30 pm • Susquehanna Room of Myer Hall
DURNBAUGH LECTURE
“That I may sing a song”: Early Anabaptist Hymnals
Joe A. Springer will share recent scholarship on the earliest hymnals published by German-speaking Anabaptists in the 16th century. He will devote particular attention to the 1564 Etliche schöne Christliche Geseng. This is the first known edition of the Ausbund hymnal still in use among Old Order Amish today.
Joe A. Springer has served as curator of the Mennonite Historical Library, Goshen (IN) College since 1986. He holds a BA in history from Goshen College and an MA/MLS in history and library science from Catholic University of America. He enjoys studying the bibliographical evolution of specific works as well as interconnections among different works. In his work, Springer regularly fields questions related to printing history, hymnody, and genealogy.
Friday, March 27, 2020 • 10:00 am to noon • Bucher Meetinghouse
DURNBAUGH SEMINAR
Joe A. Springer, speaker.
Thursday, April 23, 2010 • 7:30 pm • Bucher Meetinghouse
LECTURE
Compassion in the Face of Internment: The Story of the Cunninghams
This presentation will focus on the process of acquisition, rehousing, research, and digitization of the Cunningham Papers: a collection of letters, documents, and photographs recently acquired by the Young Center. These documents tell the story of Lloyd and Ellen Cunningham, two Brethren missionaries imprisoned by the Japanese Imperial Army from 1941 to 1945.
Caitlin Rossiter, a senior at Elizabethtown College, is studying history and French with a minor in religious studies. She is also pursuing the Public Heritage Studies certificate, as she plans to attend graduate school for public history or museum studies. Rossiter will graduate in December 2020.