The family of Elaine Rich will hold a reception in her honor from 7-8 p.m. Saturday, July 25, in the fellowship hall of First Mennonite Church, 101 S. Jackson St. All are invited to attend! No gifts, please, but cards are welcome.

A longtime resident of Bluffton, Elaine recently moved to Manchester, Ind., to be closer to family members.

A founder of the Bluffton Creative Writers in 1979, she has completed 48 composition journals of daily writing reflections and 12 volumes from her other writings. For over 40 years she contributed biweekly columns to the Mennonite Weekly Review in addition to hundreds of poems and articles.

She is still an active frequent contributor to numerous religious journals, for example, Timbre, Christian Living, The Mennonite, Mennonite Life, Youth’s Christian Companion, and international journals Poet (Madras, India); Japan Christian Quarterly (Tokyo, Japan) and a poem “For an Uncle” in International Poetry of the International Writers and Artists Association.

Rich edited Breaking Bread Together: A Devotional for Women (1958); authored Hannah Elizabeth (1964), Am I This Countryside? (1980); Mennonite Women: A Story of God’s Faithfulness 1683 – 1983 (1983); Spiritual Elegance: A Biography of Pauline Krehbiel Raid (1987); Prayers for Everyday (1990) and Pondered in her Heart - Hannah’s Book: Inside and Outside (1998).

Rich contributed a chapter “Stewardship of Intellect” for A Farthing in Her Hand (1964); chapter “I Am a Debtor” in They Met God: A Number of Conversion Accounts and Personal Testimonies of God’s Presence and Leading in the Lives of His Children (1964) by J.C. Wenger (editor).