CrossRoads Harvest Picnic
Valley Brethren Mennonite Heritage Center
Presented Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008, on the CrossRoad Campus, Harrisonburg, Va.

Why Purchase More Land Now?
A Vision for the Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center
By Cal Redekop

It is with a sense of incredulity that I share a few comments regarding my vision for the Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center and the purchase of 10 more acres of land. For even though we are only at the beginning of a major enterprise, what has already been achieved is breathtaking. I mention very briefly several highlights:

1) The publication of five monumental volumes on the experiences of the Brethren and Mennonites during the Civil War; 2) the publication of Legacy Alive, which is preserving and promoting basic elements of our faith (for example, a recent issue dealt with the environment); 3) the establishment of the Harvest Day festival, which is providing opportunities for building community across the spectrum of Valley people; 4) restoration and construction of a series of buildings, with more to come, which provides priceless tangible pedagogy of the heritages of both groups; and 5) the very effective visual displays and presentations of the Brethren and Mennonite faith in the Welcome Center. Especially effective is the wonderful video, which presents major facets of the faith of both groups. Our faith and practices are very successfully being shared with many visitors.

I said, incredulous, for I could not have predicted eight years ago that this all would have come to pass. We dreamed, yes, but had no tangible blocks on which we could build our vision. Visions need to take tangible form, if they are to be communicated to others. So we decided that we needed a place, a “heritage center” where these dreams could be communicated by being made tangible. The first and most imperative was the securing of a “place,” a piece of land where the dreams could be given firm foundation – and for Mennonite and Brethren, land has had a special meaning.

After intense searching for the right situation, none of which seemed to “light a fire,” the Daniel Myers farm became available. After we cautiously but hopefully looked at it, there was a sudden and unanimous response, “This is the place!” I will not review all the providential factors that made this land the right choice. Two are symbolic – it is situated between a Mennonite church on the north and a Brethren church on the south, within a mile in each direction, and the land itself was owned by Mennonite and Brethren families to this very day. Another factor is environmental. It is painfully obvious that with the rapid commercialization and suburbanization of the Valley, it was absolutely essential that we preserve some beautiful place that would allow for more relaxed and focused reflection on the heritage, and what is has to say to all of us.

So why is the purchase of this additional 10 acres so important? Almost always, early dreams are overtaken by the lack of foresight because the dream outgrows its original parameters. Some year ago, an organization bought some land for a very worthwhile church organization not far from CrossRoads. There was great resistance at first, because the price was too high and there was “too much land.” The board was convinced to go ahead by the argument that “we can buy the land and sell off half of it and pay for the original cost.” When I heard the rationale from the board chair, I replied, “Don’t even think about that notion, because you will regret it later.” Today the entire parcel of land is fully used and paid for and the board is feeling cramped for space. If a vision is worthy of incarnation, it is imperative that we think big enough, otherwise we will say later, “Why did we think do small?” There is only one appropriate time to buy land for future use, and that time is now. Had we missed that time, the 10 acres would likely have been unavailable forever.

In conclusion, I refer you to the address Philip Stone, president of Bridgewater College, gave to the annual VBMHC meeting September 21, 2002. He gave several reasons for a heritage center: 1) To preserve the heritage as a matter of intellectual interest; 2) to honor the people of the past for their faithful witness, and 3) acknowledging and revering the past helps us to commit (and renew the commitment) to the fundamental and core values of our traditions. He concludes: “Ultimately the heritage center must be a continuing living, vibrant and practical resource for the renewing, nurturing and living out of core values and faith in a new age, in a challenging culture and in a society in which we may still be required to be a peculiar people” (p. 11). And for this to happen, we need an adequate space. And this beautiful place inspires all who come here.

 

Cal Redekop, the president of the original board of the Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center, shared the above vision in the fall of 2008 with a group of persons interested in supporting the purchase of the 10 additional acres on the south side of the campus. To help retire the loan on this purchase, send your tax-deductible contribution, made out to CrossRoads, to P.O. Box 1563, Harrisonburg, VA 22803.

Presented Saturday, Nov. 1, 2008, on the CrossRoad Campus, Harrisonburg, Va.