Elizabethtown College's Young Center Presents Annual Lectures On Brethren, Amish Culture

This spring semester, the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College holds its annual lecture series focusing on the culture of the Amish, Mennonites and Church of the Brethren.

Janneken Smucker, recipient of the Dale Brown Book Award, presents a lecture on the deeper meaning of quilts at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20, in Hoover 212. Smucker shares stories from her book, "Amish Quilts: Crafting an American Icon." Along with hearing her personal stories, audience members also can learn about other community members' personal quilts.

As part of the Durnbaugh Lecture Series, the Young Center holds its annual banquet at 6 p.m. Thursday, March 22, in the Susquehanna Room of Myer Hall. The cost to attend the banquet is $23; reservations must be made by March 8. Prior to the banquet, a reception welcoming the Durnbaugh Lecture speakers begins at 5:30 p.m.

Samuel and Rebecca Dali present the annual Durnbaugh Lecture on the Boko Haram crisis and the Centre for Caring, Empowerment and Peace Initiatives (CCEPI), at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, March 22, in the College's Gibble Auditorium.

• Samuel, former president of the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria, provides background on the crisis and explains its devastating effects on the Church.

• Rebecca, founder and executive director of CCEPI, explains what the organization is and the struggles Nigerian women and refugees within Cameroon face.

Continuing the Durnbaugh lecture series, Samuel and Rebecca Dali further discuss the impact of the Boko Haram, at 10 a.m., Friday, March 23, in the Susquehanna Room of Myer Hall. They share their personal experiences with these topics.

Tony Walsh presents the Kreider Fellow Lecture on the Old German Baptist Brethren at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 17, in Hoover 212. Walsh is director of the Centre for the Study of Irish Protestantism and codirector of the Centre for Transformative Narrative Research at Maynooth University, County Kildare, Ireland. Walsh uses stories to explore the culture of this group, which believes it preserves the traditions of the early Brethren of Scwarzenua.

All lectures are free and open to the public.

For more information, contact the Young Center at 717-361-1470 or youngctr@etown.edu.

Read about additional events at Elizabethtown College.

An internationally recognized scholarly research institute, the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College conducts and promotes research about and interprets the life, faith and culture of Anabaptists and Pietists through public lectures, resources, exhibits and conferences. The Center is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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