Joe McKernan

Roots are part of us – God's recipe to get us started. My dad’s people were Irish Catholics who came to Pennsylvania during the 1840s potato famine and worked the coalmines. My mom’s folks landed in America in the 1600s seeking religious freedom. Born in 1952, I grew up around Chicago and New York City, and joined the Bruderhof in 1973. There I married Nancy, who had joined the community from a Canadian Mennonite background. God has blessed us with four children, their dear spouses, and twelve grandchildren. Our family moved to Australia in 2000 to help launch a handcrafted sign company called Danthonia Designs. I enjoy folk music, history, and the Bible.