I Wish I'd Been There . . .

With this issue we begin a new series. The consulting editors of the Mennonite Historical Bulletin respond to the questions: What is the one event in Anabaptist-Mennonite history you wish you could have witnessed
-- and Why?

Historians' Collaboration on the
Mennonite Encyclopedia, 1945-1959

by Rachel Waltner Goossen

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These days, as many Mennonites in General Conference and Mennonite Church congregations anticipate the eventual integration of the two bodies, we speak often about the historic differences between them with regard to church discipline, polity issues, and the like. While these differences are significant and deserve serious consideration, the integration movement reminds us, happily, that contemporary Mennonites in North America are the beneficiaries of a tradition of collaborative projects throughout the twentieth century.

Examples of inter-Mennonite initiatives include the founding in 1920 of Mennonite Central Committee; the establishment of Civilian Public Service during World War II, and the 1958 formation of Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminaries. A more recent example on inter-denominational collaboration is the production in 1969 of the Mennonite Hymnal, followed in 1992 by Hymnal: A Worship Book.

As a Mennonite historian, I wish I could have been part of the scholarly collaboration in the 1940s and 1950s that resulted in publication of the four-volume Mennonite Encyclopedia. This was a mammoth effort by scholars of the Mennonite Church, the General Conference, and the Mennonite Brethren. The reference work includes 13,688 articles on topics related to Mennonite life and identity, contributed by more than 2,700 writers in Europe and North America. (In 1990 Mennonite scholars published a fifth volume that supplements the earlier work.) The task of identifying topics and contributors, and the process of interpreting significant theological and historical issues, sometimes vexed the editors. After the death in 1948 of editor C. Henry Smith, co-editors Harold S. Bender and Cornelius Krahn collaborated in ways that drew them into sharp exchanges but led also to increased collegiality and mutual respect.

After years of work, the publication of these four volumes represented a new cross-fertilization of ideas and, not insignificantly, a sense that Mennonite scholars with different gifts, cultural backgrounds, and institutional loyalties could accomplish much together. I wish I had been involved with the project for another reason, too: the presence of Elizabeth Horsch Bender, who wrote and edited scores of articles and translated German-language materials. The Mennonite Encyclopedia appeared in an era when women's contributions to the historical enterprise were seldom recognized, but Elizabeth Bender's (belated) elevation in status as assistant editor for this project in 1956 is a significant moment in the history of Mennonite women. She died eight years ago, but I think she'd be delighted to learn of the varieties of scholarship now being produced by a younger generation.

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Mennonite Historical Bulletin, January, 1996