Growing With Our Grandchildren

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Hello, friends, Shirley Showalter here, co-author with Marilyn McEntyre of The Mindful Grandparent: The Art of Loving Our Children's Children, from Broadleaf Books, May, 2022. Having embraced elderhood, we invite you to do the same.

In 2013 I published Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets a Glittering World. Previously, I was a professor, a college president (Goshen College), and a foundation executive (the Fetzer Institute).

Most recent blog posts

What Will Your Death Illustrate?

He was the most powerful congressman in America during the Civil War. He helped unknown hundreds escape to freedom on the Underground Railroad. All pictures of him show a man of determination, a man who knew suffering, a man who eased the sufferings of others. His name was Thaddeus Stevens, and he represented Lancaster County,…

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Those Boys on the Hill by Elliott Glover book cover

My Friend Elliott

Did you realize that among the 20,000 young individuals transitioning out of foster care annually upon reaching the age of eighteen, a staggering 40% will grapple with homelessness within just three years? This stark reality casts a shadow over the lives of individuals like Elliott Glover, who narrowly escaped the same fate. However, homelessness is…

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From "The Woman Who Bought a Mountain for God, The Atlantic, June 20, 2023. By Stephanie McCrummen. Photos by Olivia Crumm.

Separation of Church and State

The reason my family today is American and not Swiss is due to religious persecution. How to explain this? My religious ancestors left behind few words for future posterity. Felix Manz and Conrad Grebel, the earliest Anabaptists, were well-educated, ardent seekers during the early Reformation, who disputed with the leader of the Reformed movement, Ulrich…

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