What is in their backgrounds that makes Mennonites and Amish think and act the way they do? Franklin Yoder will provide some answers to that question in a four-session course, How We Got This Way meeting at the Kalona Mennonite Church, 8th St. and J Ave., November 11, 16, 18 and 22. Sessions are 7-8:30 p.m.

The first meeting will provide an overview of church history leading up the divisions that created the Anabaptist (predecessors of the Mennonites) movement in 16th century Europe. Subsequent sessions will trace the migration of the Mennonites and Amish to America with an emphasis on settlement in Iowa. Changes that have taken place in local Mennonite and Amish communities from the late 19th century to the present also will be explored. Emphasis will be on “the everyday life of ordinary people,” Yoder said.

Besides people with Amish and Mennonite backgrounds, the course is of interest to non-Mennonites, notes Yoder, observing it will provide information that will help them to a better understanding of their Mennonite neighbors.

Yoder grew up on a farm in northern Washington County where he attended rural school with his Amish neighbors. He received a BA degree in history and religion from the University of Iowa, and his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. He is the author of Opening a Window to the World: a History of Iowa Mennonite School, and is an active member of Kalona Mennonite Church.

There is a $5 tuition fee suggested. The course is sponsored by the Iowa-Nebraska Conference of the Mennonite Church.