My First Visit To The Mennonite Post

October 31, 2018 Erin Unger Books, Books and Film, Ditsied, Erin's Blog 0

Up until just a few weeks ago, I’d never set foot inside The Mennonite Post  & Bookstore.

This is really quite strange, because I’ve always loved books… and I’ve always loved history… and I religiously frequent the MCC’s other two manifestations here within Steinbach. Furthermore, The Mennonite Post (aka: Die Mennonitische Post) & Bookstore is conveniently located squarely between the MCC Thrift Shop and Ten Thousand Villages. They’re all on the same side of the street, and all within one block of each other. I walk by The Mennonite Post nearly every day, yet have never gone inside.

I suppose the main reason for this, is because I can’t read nor speak German, neither High nor Low, and I understood The Mennonite Post to cater exclusively to speakers-of-German.

But still. If I’m so eager to read up on Mennonite history, and I’m constantly walking by a Mennonite bookstore, you’d think I’d stop in for once.

And so finally, I did.

While it’s true that I’m not really in the market for the majority of what they sell, there are PLENTY of books which are published in English, enough to capture my interest and keep me returning for quite some time. Here’s proof:

You can pick up a copy of Martyrs Mirror here! Andrew tells me that every good Mennonite home contains a Martyrs Mirror. (Interestingly, while we do have many books… we do not yet have an MM. I guess this means that ours is not a good Mennonite home.)
They have copies of Ralph Friesen’s book Between Earth Sky: Steinbach, The First Fifty Years! Also, I’d like to obtain The Mennonite Settlements of Southern Manitoba. Also, take note of the Grandma USB, labeled “a last resort for people who don’t have internet access”.
I also would very much like to own this book.
And look! You can pick up recent issues of Preservings! (Also, popular book On The Zwieback Trail.)

Okay, this post has seemingly turned into a Christmas Wish List.

But before I wrap this up, I need to answer a question: What does The Mennonite Post do? I mean, it’s a German publication, operated by the MCC… but what purpose does it serve?

I have to admit, I was gripped with shyness, and so I failed to ask any of the actual people who work there. But I did take a pamphlet, which explains that the Mennonite Central Committee Canada works with Low German Mennonites in the Americas, “to increase their capacity to address such issues as conflict, literacy, health, and natural disasters.” Furthermore, the purpose of the Low German newspaper is to link the different Mennonite colonies.

This is really just an introduction… sometime I’ll have to find out more by asking an actual person within the building. But for now… while we’re looking ahead to Christmas, I should also mention that they have much more than Mennonite history books. They also have children’s books, and DVDs, cookbooks and colouring books, et cetera.

Anyway, it’s well worth stopping in. I’m glad I finally visited… and I’ll for sure be back.