Synopsis

"Plaster and stones, skin and bones give reality to the holy souls who shape our memory," begins this recent release in the field of Anabaptist family studies.

Its 304 pages intend to do just that--give historical reality to holy, ordinary souls. A Weaver's Source Book shapes and celebrates memories--the texture and feel for memories that run into years, into decades, into five centuries and over fifteen generations of holy souls in one Swiss-Anabaptist family line. This story of Jonas Abram Weaver and his Waber-Weber-Weaver lineage winds from looms in Muhlekram, Switzerland and Germantown, (PA), to flax fields at Weizenthal in Lampeter (PA), and on to farms in Weaverland (PA), Juniata County (PA), the Shenandoah Valley (VA), and back to Linfield (PA).

With a balance of historical narrative and intimate story, A Weaver's Source Book honors homespun family, earth-shaped faith, and human connections. Rather than critique their theologies or cultural mores, the author lets the reader discern what worked, what didn't work in the defining moments of these families.

Pattern drafts are experimental; weavers use what they have. As these practical folks attempted to make sense of their world, their choices can, even now, impact ours. They inspire us to savor community, extend tables, and make connections.

A source book in more ways than one, this volume commands the attention of Weavers and non-weavers alike.

"Its beautiful design [including over 400 photographs, maps, and family charts] is an innovative prototype for future family histories," notes archivist James O. Lehman at the Menno Simons Historical Library/Archives, Eastern Mennonite University (VA).