Summary: This book, volume 1 of two (vol. 2 was released 2011), tells the story of Southeast Mennonite Conference into the 1960s. From its inception, SMC has been a diverse Mennonite denominational body including small churches rooted in missions and larger congregations of Sarasota, Florida, begun by Mennonites who moved south for sunshine and business opportunities. The story then continues in Volume 2, Branches.

Comment: "With the art of a storyteller, the heart of a pastor, and the acumen of a leader, Lehman narrates the Amish and Mennonite presence in the Southeast in this first of two volumes." —John E. Sharp, Instructor in History, Hesston College; Author, A School on the Prairie: A Centennial History of Hesston College, 1909-2009

"The evident working of the Holy Spirit, the foibles and faith of leaders and laypeople, and the struggles of cultural and regional differences in the founding and metamorphosis of the Mennonite church in the Southeast make Roots and Branches an interesting read and a valuable history resource." —Irene Bechler, former urban church planter; teacher and counselor; Member, Outreach Commission, College Mennonite Church

"This is grassroots history at its best, telling the story of the men and women who nurtured an Anabaptist presence in Florida and Georgia." —Richard K. Macmaster, Author, Land, Piety, Peoplehood: The Establishment of Mennonite Communities in America, 1683-1790 

"Key moments and personalities, insightfully recalled, will help new members gain important understandings of Southeast Mennonite Conference as well as its neighbor churches, and historians of the larger Mennonite scene will need this book for their own interpretive work." —John. L. Ruth, Author, The Earth Is the Lord’s: A Narrative History of Lancaster Mennonite Conference More. . . .

Market: Historians; Mennonite  leaders; libraries; past and current members of Southeast Mennonite Conference; anyone interested in Mennonite and Amish history.

Shelving: History—Anabaptist, Mennonite, Amish; of Southeast Mennonite Conference. BISAC: History, Religion.

The Author: At age twenty-three, Martin W. Lehman, with his wife Rhoda, was commissioned by the Eastern Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities (now EMM), to provide pastoral leadership for a small mission.  He continued to learn and grow, becoming bishop of a Lancaster Mennonite Conference district and General Secretary and Secretary of Congregational Life for the emerging Southeast Mennonite Conference.  In retirement, he has been a team-building consultant to congregations, MennoNeighbors member,  MennoLink correspondent, and author of this volume as well as Volume 2, Branches.

Publisher: Cascadia Publishing House LLC
Copublisher: Herald Press
Publication date: March 2010
Pages: 304
Format: 6 x 9" trade paper
Prices: $23.95 US/Can. ISBN 13: 978-1-931038-69-0; ISBN 10: 1-931038-69-4