Coals of Fire

by Elizabeth Hershberger Bauman, Allan Eitzen (Illustrator)

Overview

Preacher Peter is wakened by strange noises on the roof. To his dismay he finds there are young men destroying his hatch. As a Mennonite minister he believes in the way of peace, so instead of calling the authorities or shouting threats, Peter and his wife invite the young men in for a midnight meal. Their act of kindness brings unexpected results.

Peter is not alone in this collection of true stories. Each tells of returning love for hate, good for evil. Written for elementary age children (but of interest to teens and adults), Elizabeth H. Bauman shares 17 true stories of men and women from various times and countries who showed the universal power of Christian love.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780836119572
Publisher:	MennoMedia
Publication date:	12/28/1954
Series:	Christian Peace Shelf Series
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)
Age Range:	8 - 13 Years

About the Author

Elizabeth Hershberger Bauman (1924-1995), lived much of her life in Goshen, Indiana, where she was a mother of four children; school teacher; and active in her congregation. She and her husband, Harold E. Bauman, served in Ireland for two years in reconciliation work. Coals of Fire was written at the request of the Mennonite Church in 1954 and has become a classic on Christian peacemaking and nonresistance.

What People are Saying About This

Endorsement

"Bauman’s Coals of Fire is a collection of stories of the actions of people from a number of branches of the Anabaptist family, based on their belief in justice, peace and nonviolence. In 5- to 10-page vignettes, Bauman tells of individual actions or decisions people have made at critical times. My favorite is the story of the Swiss family who wake up at night hearing someone taking the thatch off their house. The family invites the 'workers' in for a delicious meal, after which the 'workers' replace all of the thatch they had removed. This narrative echoes the pattern of showing forgiveness to persecutors demonstrated in the iconic Martyrs’ Mirror story of Dirk Willems, who turns back to rescue the man pursuing him across a frozen pond when he falls through the ice."

--CMW Journal