User:IanKleinsasser

Ian Kleinsasser is an independent researcher based out of Crystal Spring Hutterite Community near St. Agathe, MB. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and an Education after degree from Brandon University. Ian has given numerous presentations at the annual conference for Hutterite German teachers and at the International Conference for Hutterite Educators. His groundbreaking article Voices of Conflict: A Perspective of the 1992 Schmiedeleut Church Schism [https://a.co/d/6Mew4OM] will be published in Navigating Tradition and Innovation on the Hutterian Brethren Book Centre [https://www.hbbookcentre.com/] (November 8, 2024). Ian’s research focuses primarily on the Hutterianism of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Ian also held the inaugural Jacob D. Maendel Centennial Lecture series [1] to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the permanent Hutterite settlement in Manitoba.

Lecture 1: Beginnings: Coming to Manitoba [2] Date: June 1, 2019 Time: 1:00-2:30 pm.

• The first lecture will focus on the early settlement period (1918-1930). Main themes include: The factors which caused Hutterites to leave South Dakota and settle in Canada, including a description of the actual settlement process in Manitoba. The discrimination Hutterites encountered, such as the Order in Council which temporarily halted their emigration into Canada, and the significant changes to the Hutterite education system imposed by the provincial government. The first contact between North American Hutterites and the German Bruderhof movement

Lecture 2: “Like the World, Only Later in Time”: The Struggle with Acculturation [3] Date: June 8, 2019 Time: 9:30-11:00 am.

• The second lecture will focus on the period between 1930-1974. Its main themes include: The impact of the Great Depression, the return of Eldership among the Schmiedeleut, the visit to Germany by two Hutterite ministers, and the subsequent Bruderhof exodus from Germany. Hutterites’ experience during WWII and how this led to the passing of discriminatory legislation in Alberta and a Gentleman’s Agreement in Manitoba. The Bruderhof’s move to Paraguay, the breaking of relations with the Hutterites in 1955 (Forest River Incident) and the reuniting in 1974

Lecture 3: (Dis)Uniting: Sources of Hope Amid Conflict [4] Date: June 8, 2019 Time: 1:00-2:30 pm.

• The final lecture will develop some of the topics briefly introduced in the second lecture, beginning with the Hutterite-Bruderhof reuniting in 1974. Its main themes are: The struggle for higher education, increased mission work, and the mixed bag of ‘blessings’ that come from increased interaction with “the world”. A renewed interest in communalism, which brings outsiders into the Hutterite movement. The Schmiedeleut schism of 1992 and the separation of the Bruderhof and Hutterite movements.