Newport, Olivia

The leadership in an Old Order Amish community requires shunning friends and family whose only offense is to embrace the new Protestant practice of Sunday school among the Mennonites, but teaching Bible stories to children is one of Clara Kuhns' great joys. Clara's on the verge of saying yes to Andrew Raber's marriage proposal, but now he is flagrantly refusing to submit to the bishop's authority by owning a car. When the lot falls to Moses Beachy to become the new bishop, the community waits for him to take bold steps toward change. Clara and Andrew step together into a more progressive Amish faith as the Beachy Amish take form.

In a struggling Amish settlement on the harsh Colorado plain in 1914, Abbie Weaver fights for the life of the church she cherishes. But the loss the community feels most deeply is the lack of a minister. Visiting bishops have stopped coming--a mystery that demands explanation. Abbie's friend Willem is fiercely determined, and although Abbie loves Willem, his choices put a wedge between them. When Abbie discovers the root of the unspoken spiritual divide that runs through the settlement, she finds herself questioning her own father's faith. Will a collision of loves and values cost her Willem forever?.