Radical new birth

For more commentary on this week's readings, see the Reflections on the Lectionary page, which includes Adams's current Living by the Word column as well as past magazine and blog content. For full-text access to all articles, subscribe to the Century.

I was not raised in the Mennonite church; I came to it later in life. It was primarily the commitment to nonviolence that drew me in, though I soon learned that there is more to like about being a Mennonite than that.

One of the things I admire about Mennonites is their respect for history. Mennonites remember. They tell and retell their stories, so that even new transplants like me come to consider them their own.