Mennonite Life, 2215 Millstream Road, Lancaster, will hold a workshop, Intro to German Script, on Friday, Feb. 7, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in the community room.

Mennonite Life archivist and librarian Julia Wiker will teach participants how to read Kurrentschrift, a distinct styling of the German script alphabet, as well as abbreviations and variations in writing and spelling. The session will also offer practice interpreting 18th- and 19th-century family records from Mennonite Life's collections.

Learning to interpret Kurrentschrift can be a valuable skill for genealogy research, not just for those with Swiss Mennonite ancestry, but for anyone with ancestral roots in German-speaking countries. The text is also found in the Pennsylvania German art of fraktur, which combines the elegant script with vibrant, colorful illustrations.

Knowledge of German is not required for this workshop. There is a fee. To register in advance, visit http://www.mennonitelife.org/events.

In the case of inclement weather, the workshop will be postponed to Friday, Feb. 14.