Plough Quarterly offers reading enjoyment
My latest Plough Quarterly magazine has arrived and rests in my lap, the cover graced with a wondrous watercolor of A Young Hare, by Albrecht Dürer (1502). The winter issue of Plough titled “Repair,” was particularly good, so I halted on the brink of pleasurable anticipation before opening the sumptuous pages of this spring issue.
Plough Quarterly is published by the Bruderhof, an international community of families and singles that share everything in common; seeking to follow Jesus in a life of nonviolence, justice and service to neighbors near and far. There are 29 Bruderhof settlements in rural and urban locations in the United States, England, Germany, Australia, Paraguay, South Korea and Austria.
Around 3,000 people live in these settlements and many more, like me, are impacted by the magazine and books published by Plough. Each Plough Quarterly has a theme, presented with stories, articles, essays and poems that encompass different views, approaches and an assortment of cultures in various time periods.
The Repair-themed magazine included such a wealth of words and pictures, that I'm hardpressed to mention just a few: A mom who adds exuberant embroidery to clothes she's mending. A reflection by Rowan Williams, one-time Archbishop of Canterbury. An art book, Tears of Gold,with gorgeous faces of women survivors of violence. A parish adopting a prisoner. A small Syriac church in Bethlehem, connected with refugees scattered around the world. Bits on forgiveness by Catherine de Hueck Doherty, Teresa of Avila, Desmond Tutu and Jacques Philippe. An interview with Makoto Fujimura on the culture of repair.
The “Community Snapshot” by Maureen Swinger focuses on experiences of com
munal living. It is often my favorite department. In the Repair issue, “Analog Hero“is about her father; `one man's quest to fix the world, one toaster at a time.' Previous articles have included a kite flying festival, building a treehouse . . . small, quotidian doorways of life, that open into great love.
Not Bunnie
The bunny in my lap reminds me of a long ago newsletter I wrote where-in I carried on giddily about hair's breath. Was it hare's breadth or was it hair's breadth? I hopped merrily along the trail, reading my favorite author and finally found the newsletter, January 2009. On route, I discovered this paragraph about friends: “I'm rather fond of the way the Quakers call each other `friends.' It seems so, well … friendly. And I'm reminded of that great title of the Lord: Jesus, Friend of Sinners. Of course, the term brother or sister, which is quite common within Christendom, is actually more apt. You can choose your friends, but you are stuck with your siblings.”
I wonder if living in intentional communities blurs the line between siblings and friends in possibly horrific ways. Church can be bad enough. That's because we're all creeps and jerks, stumbling toward perfection.
Eberhard Arnold, founder of the Bruderhof communities thought the solution to the disintegration of society could be found through intentional communities. He was aware of the irritations and jealousies that arrive in close quarters. Coming from a long line of church historians he took special interest in the Anabaptist movement of the 16th century and other movements of faith such as the Moravian Brethren, Quakers, Waldensians and Hutterites.
The first Bruderhof community arose in the mid 1920s. By 1930 it numbered 70 people, with Arnold working to join forces with other intentional communities. He had been a leader in the Student Christian Movement, a counselor for soldiers returning from the battlefields of World War I, a father, pastor, writer, lecturer, and publisher. Meticulous in his publishing work, Ebhard believed that work done as a labor of love has redemptive power. See eberhardarnold.com
Turning the pages
I'm not planning a rapid, harried rush through this spring Issue of Plough Quarterly, titled The Riddle of Nature. I did peek a few pages ahead and discovered four more prints of Albrecht Düer's paintings scattered through an early article.
The first article, under Family and Friends Around the World, is about GED's for migrants from Myanmar, an educational program in Thailand. The article ends with profiles of three students, including one quoted below. This magazine will be savored.
You can check out Plough Publishing online at plough.com. I receive a “daily dig” from them in my email; an enticing paragraph from an article that will open at a click. Better still, subscribe to the quarterly and enjoy the sensual pleasure of a fine magazine. If you'd like to check one out in the flesh (so to speak), I'll send you one of my past issues. Email me for a list of themes. First come first served.
“Finally, after I finish the GED I believe I could be a small brightness for my environment.” Sai Seng Li (age 16).