There is something about people who are nervous about new technologies that fascinates the world. People who use tractors with steel wheels, horses and buggies, do not have telephones in the home, or wear distinctively conservative dress are the object of the gaze of those who are modern..

Our feature article section in this issue sheds light on the practices of three different streams of conservatives. Diane Zimmerman Umble’s article from the mid 1990s helps us understand why installing a telephone in the home challenged Amish sensibilities of the importance of face-to-face interaction, of silence, of worship and of work. Jesse Hofer takes us inside Hutterite practices and struggles with the modern particularly with communication technology and competitive sport. Royden Loewen’s article looks broadly at the conservative impulses of Russian Mennonites who live south of the Rio Grande.