Without the Loss of OneThe Story of Nevin and Esther Bender and Its Implications for the Church Today by Don, Mildred & Titus Bender |
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"Today nine siblings and eight spouses get together regularly. These are "The Seventeen" who all participated - to varying degrees - in this story of our parents/parents-in-law, Without the Loss of One. We believe there is no degree of tension that can ever tear us apart. In this book we share with you the story of our parents." - Don, Mildred, and Titus Bender in the Prologue
For Mennonites and Amish, or any people who take their community of faith seriously, such a body can be loving arms of support or a smothering embrace. For Nevin and Esther and their family - and for so many others then and now - the church became a combination of these two experiences. Surveying a life of ministry ranging from Greenwood, Delaware to Philadelphia, Mississippi, and beyond, Without the Loss of One tells how Nevin and Esther Bender found the church a place of intense joy and, occasionally, of painful disappointment.
Every church leader faces the paradox of two of Jesus' concerns: to "love every person as herself/himself" and to honor institutional concerns that the "church may be one." As a leader in the Conservative Mennonite Conference, Nevin, along with Esther, struggled to promote church unity. Yet, more than most of their peers, they listened to the concerns of youth, women, Mennonites, Jewish friends, Muslims, and Choctaw (Native American) friends.
This is the story of Nevin and Esther's journey. They began the voyage together in Greenwood (Del.) Mennonite Church, where Nevin was pastor and bishop. It led them many twists and turns and years later all the way to planting Nanih Waiya Mennonite Church (a primarily Choctaw, interracial congregation) near Philadelphia, Mississippi, and even took Nevin to the Middle East after Esther's death.
About the Author
Don Bender, Atlanta, Georgia, is the owner and president of Neighborhood Commerical Redevelopment, Inc., which has, with its investors, bought, renovated, and leased commercial properties. Mildred (Millie) Bender, Sandy Spring, Maryland, has lived in Washington, D.C. or nearby since beginning to teach at Georgetown University in 1975. Now retired from teaching, she continues her work at a healing center near Sandy Spring. Titus Bender, Fort Defiance, Virginia, is retired from Eastern Mennonite University, where he taught social work in the fields of human behavior and social policy since 1976. He remains active in one of the fields in which he specialized - worki with restorative justice.
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