04955cam a2200637Ii 4500 ocn897379213 OCoLC 20200709060125.0 m d cr cnu---unuuu 141203s2015 mdu ob 001 0 eng d N$T eng rda pn N$T N$T 9781421415130 electronic bk. 1421415135 electronic bk. 9781421415123 1421415127 1421415135 (electronic) (OCoLC)897379213 778015 (N$T) n-us-ca BX8117.C2 F76 2014eb REL 094000 bisacsh 289.7/794 23 REL043000 SOC026000 HIS054000 bisacsh N$TA Froese, Brian, 1969- author. California Mennonites / Brian Froese. Baltimore, Maryland : Johns Hopkins University Press, [2015] 1 online resource. text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier Young Center books in Anabaptist & Pietist studies "Books geographically focused on the midwestern and eastern states dominate the study of Mennonites in America. The intriguing history of Mennonites in the American West remains untold. In From Digging Gold to Saving Souls, Brian Froese introduces readers for the first time to the California Mennonite experience. Although a few Mennonites did dig for gold in the 1850s, the real story of Mennonites in California begins in the 1890s with westward migrations for fertile soil and healthy sunshine. By the mid-twentieth century, the Mennonite story in California had developed into an interesting tale of religious conservatives--traditional agrarians--finding their way in an increasingly urban and religiously pluralistic California. Some California Mennonites negotiated new identities by endorsing conservative evangelicalism; some found them in reclamations of sixteenth-century Anabaptists. Still other Mennonites found meaningful religious experience by engaging in social action and justice even when these actions appeared in "secular" forms. These emerging identities--Evangelical, Anabaptist, and secular--covered a broad spectrum, yet represented a selective retaining and discarding of Mennonite religious practices and expressions. From Digging Gold to Saving Souls touches on such topics as migration, pluralism, race, gender, pacifism, institutional construction, education, and labor conflict, all of which defined the experience of Mennonites of California. Brian Froese shows how this experience was a rich, complex, and deliberate move into modern society. In From Digging Gold to Saving Souls, he introduces readers to a dynamic people who did not simply become modern, but who chose to modernize on their own terms"-- Provided by publisher. Includes bibliographical references and index. Going to California: the Mennonite migration -- Alone in the garden: boosters, migrants, and refugees -- Urban dystopia and divine nature: the early Mennonite colonies -- Outsiders from within: defining California Mennonite identity -- New neighbors: confronting racial and religious pluralism -- From sewing circles to missionary societies: the public roles of women in the church -- Peaceful patriots: California Mennonites during World War II -- Socially active Mennonitism and mental health: the origins of Kings View Homes -- Feeding the hungry: a story of piety and professionalization -- Protect and assimilate: evangelical education in California -- Labor tensions: Mennonite growers, the UFW, and the farm labor problem -- From digging gold to saving souls: the transformation of California Mennonite identity -- Epilogue. a new breed of Mennonites. Print version record. Mennonites California History. California Church history. RELIGION / Christianity / Mennonite. bisacsh SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / General. bisacsh HISTORY / Social History. bisacsh Mennonites. fast (OCoLC)fst01016181 California. fast (OCoLC)fst01204928 RELIGION / Christianity / Denominations bisacsh Church history. fast (OCoLC)fst01411629 History. fast (OCoLC)fst01411628 Electronic books. Print version: Froese, Brian, 1969- author. From digging gold to saving souls 9781421415123 (DLC) 2014002821 (OCoLC)881720063 Young Center books in Anabaptist & Pietist studies. EBSCOhost http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=778015 Cover image 9781421415123.jpg EBSCOhost EBSC 778015 cpp91024 02 N$T 54795 54795