Amish fiction is all the rage in Christian fiction circles.
A natural extension of this interest would be stories
involving the Mennonite faith. Gail Sattler tackles this in
THE NARROW PATH but takes it a step further when she
explores and contrasts two different approaches to living
and worshipping as a Mennonite.
In THE NARROW PATH, Ted Wiebe and Miranda Klassen are both
Mennonites, a Christian denomination that, like the Amish,
believes in simple living. Yet Ted and Miranda practice
their faith in very different ways that come into conflict
when Miranda arrives in Ted's more conservative, Old Order
town to coordinate the Mennonite church's anniversary
celebration. Freewheeling Miranda is cell phones, high
heels and everything red while traditional Ted is all about
chivalry, furniture making and a seemingly bland way of life.
This story of opposites moves at a fast and fun pace. All
of the conflict does not arise from their religious
practices. Ted is the worship leader in his church, yet
they've elected to bring in outsider Miranda to do a job he
feels competent to achieve. At the end of her job, Miranda
will return to the city while Ted will remain in the
country. Despite their differences, Miranda and Ted manage
to respect each other and eventually find a way to
appreciate each other's uniqueness. Somewhere in the
crevices of their divide, they also find love in this
enjoyable romantic tale.
Although I'm sure this was intended as a standalone title,
the ending provides the perfect set-up for a book two about
Ted and Miranda as they embark upon their new life, their
differences—and their faith—still firmly in hand.
The Narrow
Pathis a story about a
couple who must face their differences and learn to work
together as they look toward a lifetime of love. Miranda Klassen�s Mennonite church
is big and modern and she loves the mixture of faith,
action, and activity. But in order to follow her dream she
moves across the country to a small town to organize the
75th anniversary celebration of an Old Order
Mennonite church. Ted Wiebe has been assigned to assist and
guide Miranda, feeling good that his church has chosen
another Mennonite. But except for sharing the same basic
faith and denomination, their churches have nothing else in
common. His church embraces old-style roots, so Ted expects
to find someone similar at the airport: a woman who never
wears pants, no body piercing (including pierced ears), no
makeup, and wearing a head covering as a sign of modesty,
someone else who lives in accordance with old-fashioned
values. But the woman who acknowledges him is wearing
unreasonably high and outlandishly expensive shoes, denim
jeans, and makeup, including bright red lipstick. As she
gets off the plane she�s fiddling with an iPod and yapping
on the cell phone. When Miranda enters Ted�s church and
community she feels like she�s been transported back into
Little House On The Prairie. Ted is supposed to help
Miranda fit in, and Miranda is supposed to help his church
reach out into the community. When it�s time to start
planning and organizing for the celebration, then the fun
really begins.
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