‘Twas Seeding Time is John L. Ruth’s classic treatment of Mennonites during the American Revolution, now available in a revised edition. First written and published in 1976 (by Herald Press of Scottdale, PA) while the author was associate pastor at the Salford Mennonite Church in Harleysville, Pennsylvania, the 224-page non-fictional account narrated how the tumult of the Revolution was experienced by groups in Pennsylvania who were opposed to war. This new edition contains an additional chapter supplying more context to the story.
Sponsored by the Mennonite Heritage Center, this book launch will include the author and the publisher, Andrew Ste. Marie of Sermon on the Mount Publishing. Join us on the evening of July 18 for an illustrated explanation of the added chapter, as well as a conversation about the struggles, triumphs, and human foibles of a peaceful community caught in the crossfire of the Revolutionary War. Copies of the book will be available for sale for $13.95 plus tax.
This is a free, in-person event open to the public. No registration required.
Details
Summit View Auditorium, Souderton Mennonite Home
207 W. Summit St. Souderton, Pa.
July 18, 2025, 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Author Biography:
John L. Ruth was born and raised in the southeastern Pennsylvania Mennonite community. At the age of twenty he was ordained minister by the casting of lots for a mission in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. In 1951 Ruth married Roma Jeanette Jacobs who became a well-known fraktur artist.
After graduating from nearby Eastern University in 1956, Ruth completed his PhD in English at Harvard University under Perry Miller in 1968. From 1962 to 1976 he taught literature at Eastern University, with a 1968-69 sabbatical in Germany as Gastprofessor für Amerikanisches Literatur at the University of Hamburg in Germany.
In 1972 Ruth became an associate pastor at the Salford Mennonite congregation. A few years later, he accepted an invitation by leaders of the Franconia (now Mosaic) Mennonite Conference to work primarily on themes of Mennonite heritage and faith. He also served as one of the founders of the Mennonite Heritage Center in 1974.
A respected historian, author and speaker, Ruth makes significant contributions to the understanding of Mennonite history, faith and culture. He helped create films such as The Amish: A People of Preservation, alongside other local features with his son, Jay Ruth. Ruth is also the author of numerous books including the recent This Very Ground, This Crooked Affair: A Mennonite Homestead on Lenape Land (2021).
After residing on his ancestral homestead in Lower Salford Township for almost forty years, John and Roma now make their home in Landsdale, Pennsylvania.