About the book:
Hutterite Diaries: Wisdom from My Prairie Community (MennoMedia, May 2015)
What would it be like to share all your possessions and live in Christian community?
In Hutterite Diaries, Linda Maendel offers a rare glimpse into the daily routines and communal faith of her people, the Hutterian Brethren. From stories of working together to bring in the fall potato harvest to laugh-out-loud tales of sisterly love laced with revenge, Maendel invites readers into her Bruderhof, or colony, nestled on the prairie of western Canada. Here children and adults work, play, eat, and worship together, crafting a community of goods and living out an alternative to the individualism and consumerism of mainstream society.
Few outsiders know anything about the Hutterites, a Plain Christian group related to the Amish and Mennonites. Maendel’s story invites readers into deeper understanding of this community of faith, calling us to take seriously the example of Jesus and the early church in our daily living.
Purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/1ewVx3y
Linda Maendel is a
Hutterite author, blogger, and educator who lives in Elm River Colony outside of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Find Linda online: website, Twitter
My thoughts:
I have to confess I had never head of the Hutterite or the Hutterite Colonies until I was offered this book to review. I knew of course of the Amish and the Mennonite and the Amana. In fact I had hoped to visit the Amana Colonies up in Iowa someday as we drive past them on our way to a favorite reenactment.
The Hutterites differ from all the above as they live communally. They share everything within their community. Money and meals are both good examples of how they share. They all take turns preparing meals for the entire community and eat together for all meals. They also have a communal money fund or account and are given money when they leave so that they still have money for shopping.
I found this book very interesting and would like to learn more about the Hutterite Colonies. The author of this book lives in a Colony in Canada so it would be a bit far for me to drive and visit, but maybe someday I will be able to visit a colony. Until then I’ll content myself with learning more about them and where they have come from. I love learning the history behind people and would love to visit Germany someday as the author did.
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