A People Apart

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian studies at
Concordia University, Japan Foundation Fellow 1991-92, and the author of
Margaret Laurence: The Long Journey Home and As Though Life Mattered:
Leo Kennedy’s Story.

Photographs and text are equally important in this fine introduction to
the faith and lifestyle of Old Order Mennonites. Kathleen Kenna, a
journalist and political reporter, attended a Mennonite church as a
child and deeply respects the Mennonite way of life. Polish-born Andrew
Stawicki, a winner of numerous awards for his photographs, composed this
strong visual portrait of a faith and a lifestyle from communities in
Elmira and Saint Jacob’s in Ontario. Kenna and Stawicki make a good
team.

Old Order Mennonites reject much if not all of the modern world. They
believe in adult baptism and strive to live peacefully and to follow
biblical teachings. Kenna’s text, in larger-than-average print on fine
paper, stems from years of visiting such communities. With an eye for
the telling detail, she provides a historical context to clarify what
lies behind this lifestyle.

Stawicki’s striking, black-and-white photographs catch the faith and
endurance as well as the humor and vitality of this world. Faces speak
volumes, as do hands; each shot tells a story. One photo of a kitchen
with wood-burning stove, six lattice-topped fruit pies on a nearby
table, and pots of herbs on a windowsill bespeaks a woman’s life, as
does the photo of a woman hooking a rug by the light of two kerosene
lamps. A People Apart is an excellent introduction to this faith for
preteens, teens, and adults. Highly recommended.