Yoder bringing Anabaptist story to life in 6-part series
Marcus Yoder, executive director at Behalt, is in the midst of discussing a six-part series covering the Anabaptist faith from beginning to today at Berlin Mennonite on Wednesday evenings.
When it comes to storytelling, few have the gift of sharing significant historical events related to the Anabaptist faith more than Marcus Yoder, director of Behalt.
Yoder is currently in week three of a six-part series at Berlin Mennonite Church that is taking place every Wednesday evening, where he is walking people through a look back in history at how the Anabaptist people and faith began, blossomed, struggled, dealt with pain and martyrdom, and eventually rose to prominence beginning in Europe.
Yoder said exploring this historical time in a chronological progression through the centuries is important because it not only shows where the Anabaptist faith came from, but also the journey of its people. It is a blueprint for the future.
“I love telling stories, and I believe that God has called me to this particular place to share these important stories,” Yoder said. “I really don’t care if people don’t remember the dates, but learning the stories of the people is what is really important.”
Yoder said during his first week, George Orwell once wrote people who control the past control the future, and if the people of Anabaptist faith are able to know and understand the stories, the culture and the significance of the early years and the birth of their faith, it helps them understand how they can progress today.
Yoder said storytelling is a common thread throughout the Bible including Jesus telling stories to drive home his points, and stories tend to remain firmly entrenched in people’s minds more than facts and figures.
“One of my professors at Yale once told me, ‘Don’t try to wow people with what you know. Simply tell them a story.’ That’s what I want to do through this series,” Yoder said.
Berlin Mennonite Pastor Jeff Hochstetler set the wheels in motion for this event nearly 18 months ago when he first began thinking about the 500th anniversary of the Anabaptist people.
“We knew the 500th year of that Anabaptist baptism, and we typically do these six-week family nights to focus on a special topic or event,” Hochstetler said. “So I reached out to Marcus because we wanted to focus on something as relevant to our community as our Anabaptist history.”
Hochstetler said the East Holmes community is largely filled with people of Anabaptist faith including the Amish and Mennonite people, which was why he felt it was so important to help bring to light the history of the Anabaptist people through this six-week look into the past, an experience he believes is directly related to the future.
“It’s good to know our common roots, but more importantly, as a pastor I’m more interested in thinking about how we carry this history and its meaning forward. Marcus illustrates perfectly that these people in our past were human, and if their lives can give us insight into how we should live today, that’s a wonderful thing,” Hochstetler said.
He believes passing along these stories to today’s generations is valuable, and the stories need to be shared so they don’t die out.
In creating this event for his church, Hochstetler also feels it is important for all people of Anabaptist faith to learn more about their history. Thus, he wants to send out the invitation to anyone interested in learning more to come and enjoy the evening of fellowship, which begins with a meal from 5:30-6:30 p.m., then Yoder sharing the Anabaptist story in the following hour.
“It’s a great opportunity for people in this community to gather together and connect over common ground,” Hochstetler said.
Yoder said although the first two weeks are already past, everyone is welcome to come and be inspired by the discussion and storytelling over the final four installments.
“The series is chronologically connected, but it’s never too late to jump in and learn,” Yoder said. “At the end of the day, each evening is its own unit, and there are great stories that give insight into the brokenness of the people, the struggles, the pain, sorrow, joy and hope that make the story come to life, and it gives us a cohesive connection to the past.”
He said all those emotions and traits are applicable to life today, so there are valuable tools and lessons that can be learned by connecting the past to the present and future.
“In a lot of ways, our world today mirrors what the people went through in those early days,” Yoder said.
The public is invited to this free event, and the prior two sessions are available for viewing on the Berlin Mennonite YouTube and Facebook sites.
Berlin Mennonite is located at 4718 state Route 62 in Berlin.