Als Teilnehmer in einem Kurs am Goethe Institut hatten wir am Samstag frei. Ich beschloss, Rottenburg am Neckar zu besuchen, wo ein Denkmal für den Märtyrer Michael Sattler, einen Täufer aus dem sechzehnten Jahrhundert, steht. Rottenburg am Neckar liegt 130 km südöstlich von Schwäbisch Hall.

Ich bin um viertel vor 9 Uhr morgens von zu Hause losgefahren, leider ein bisschen zu spät, weil der Zug um 9:00 Uhr abfuhr. Johannes Brolich, mein Gastgeber, fuhr mich mit dem Kleinauto zu dem Bahnhof in Schwäbisch Hall-Hessental. Wir kamen zwe....

Last week, alerted by both Mennonite and Hutterite friends, I viewed two episodes of National Geographic’s currently running television series on the Hutterites.  While finding it humorously entertaining, I didn't know whether to laugh or scoff.

I understand this is in the recently evolved mode of  "reality TV," a genre of entertainment.  But what kind of “reality” can be expected from producers choosing a dysfunctional colony by which to present what they call "the very first glimpse inside" Hutterite life?

Actually, an hour-lon....

DONALD W. HUFFMAN

ABSTRACT. In this study of the Hutterites, an Anabaptist Protestant sect tracing its roots to 1528, an attempt is made to discover the qualities that have enabled their colonies to survive and thrive in North America. It is found that the Hutterite beliefs of community of goods and self-surrender to the will of God are central factors which explain their long-term survival and the high degree of social cohesion they have achieved. The incentive to work for the common good, which has enabled them to remain economically viabl....

by the father of a bride

Long before the June 10th wedding date, my wife Sarah and my daughters Amanda and Lillian are busy preparing for Amanda's upcoming wedding. Making invitations, discussing whom to invite, designing a cake and choosing wedding dresses...it takes a lot more to prepare for a wedding then us menfolk realize.

As time was getting closer I realized that in only a few short weeks Amanda will have left home. (Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one fl....

This post is not about King Ranch Colony or our non Hutterite friends. Its about the real challenges that we the Hutterian Brethren are facing today.

Before continuing, I would like to present a qualifier. An interpretation of a people by a person from outside of the group has certain dangers, even if the outsider is sympathetic, as some outsiders most assuredly are. However, I know of the dangers of outside interpretations from reading Hutterite history and sociology. Some interpreters are sympathetic but their reports are still quite skewe....