Grace College Professors Mark Norris, Ph.D. and Jared S. Burkholder, Ph.D., along with seven Grace College students, took part in the 2008 biennial meeting of the Conference on Faith and History (CFH), September 17–20 at Bluffton University in Bluffton, Ohio.
CFH is a professional organization with hundreds of members from across the country who are intentional about how Christian faith informs their work as historians, educators, and scholars. The organization also reaches out to both undergraduate and graduate students. Grace College students participating this year were Lauren Cartwright, Jason Conrad, Anna Klatt, Alex Lepley, Chelsea Noble, Mat Swartz, and Charles Ulm.
In addition to providing leadership for the student sessions, Dr. Norris and Dr. Burkholder both presented research papers in the professional portion of the meeting.
Dr. Norris’ presentation, entitled, “Ma Sunday, CEO: Beginnings,” is part of a complete biography of Billy Sunday's wife, Helen ("Ma Sunday"), which Dr. Norris is writing. His work fills a significant history gap regarding the Sundays. Since Ma Sunday's life was overshadowed by her husband, most historians have ignored her. But, unknown to most people, Ma Sunday was the driving force behind Billy Sunday's crusades, and she became an accomplished evangelist herself.
Dr. Burkholder presented his paper, “Winona Lake, Pennsylvania Mennonites, and the Long Arm of Popular Evangelicalism.” In the presentation, he argues that Bible Conferences like those at Winona Lake were a significant part of evangelical and fundamentalist influence among Mennonites of eastern Pennsylvania between 1935 and 1955. Networks of popular evangelical activity, he said, included radio broadcasts, correspondence Bible courses, printed material, and prophecy conferences. Many Mennonites felt restricted by the tradition culture within their conservative congregations, and evangelicalism was an attractive alternative. In his paper, he points out that ultimately, a number of Mennonites dissented from their congregations and became part of the evangelical movement.
