Advance Comment
WITHOUT THE LOSS OF ONE
The Story of Nevin and Esther Bender
and Its Implications for the Church Today

Don, Mildred, and Titus Bender

"Here is a beautiful picture of unusual honesty and clarity, painted with words. The books that capture us, like this one, reveal two things: moral fortitude in life’s painful, desert experiences, and the accompanying spiritual growth."
—Ruth S. Weaver, Spiritual Director; instrumental in developing Bridge of Hope

"In a time when American churches are increasingly polarized between liberal and conservative forces, Without the Loss of One describes those tensions as they played out in one family’s lives. Nevin and Esther Bender were leaders of the Conservative Mennonite Church who took the church seriously yet maintained an open-mindedness to dialogue with other points of view. From rural Delaware to the violent 1960s in Mississippi to the Middle East, they followed a path of true faithfulness. It is an engaging family history with significant lessons for today’s church."
—Jim Wallis; author, God’s Politics; editor, Sojourners; convener, Call to Renewal

"Unlike children ambivalent about widely traveled fathers who were away too much as they grew up, the diaspora of Nevin and Esther Lauver Bender’s family insistently cherish the sense of parental love. Memories of subsistence on a patched-together preacher’s income are pleasantly flavored by the family sacrament of Delaware oysters. Internecine church squabbles only enhance the children’s loyal prejudice. Readers familiar with things falling apart will muse on why the flame of such a fragile moving hearth can burn so respectfully in memory."
—John L. Ruth, Author, The Earth Is the Lord’s: A Narrative History of Lancaster Mennonite Conference

Without the Loss of One orders:

• Cascadia Publishing House Online Order Form
• Cascadia, Herald Press, and other order options
• Online shopping basket card orders through Without the Loss of One page, MennoLink Online Bookstore