Mennonite Sewing Circles -- Quilts and Comforters

    Tucked away in the basement or a back room of almost every Anabaptist chruch lies a ladies sewing circle room.  Once a month, the ladies of the church faithfully gather for a day of sewing.  Usually they are making comforters for Christian Aid Ministries, or a quilt which will be given as a gift for a visiting speaker or auctioned off to support a mission.  This is a tradition which dates back no telling how far, which is part of the reason I am so attracted to these rooms.  Nestled within the walls of these rooms are a wealth of antiquities ranging from buttonhole scissors and manual typing machine labels to vintage thimbles and rocking chairs.

     The activity usually centers around several quilt frames, four posts with two long boards supported at each end.  The quilt can be rolled as it is worked on, or the stands can be spread out far enough so that the whole quilt or comforter is able to be quilted or tied, respectively.   

They can then be easily stored until next time by rolling them up onto the long poles.  

Mennonite Hiding Place: A Non-Resistant Anabaptist During the Civil War

We are studying the Civil War currently in our American History class.  Part of the chapter covers the options that men in the North and the South had if they were conscripted into the army.  The men in the North could hire a substitute (insert ethical discussion here) or pay a large fine to get out of duty.  The men in the South did not have those options.  They could be physically removed from their homes and dragged off to fight in the army (which some were, but refused to shoot), or they could hide.  Then I remembered those pictures I'd taken a few years ago when I was out of state on a choir tour.  So I showed them to my students.  

The man who owned this house during the Civil War (1861-1865) was a non-resistant Mennonite who did not believe in shooting or killing other human beings for any reason.  When the Confederate soldiers came to forcibly remove him from his home and family, he simply ran upstairs to his bedroom, climbed up into his closet, removed a board on the upper left side of the ceiling, and crawled up into his attic where he remained until it was safe to come down. 

I would like to point out that the Confederate Army and not the Union practiced forcible conscription; and that I am a Southerner, born and raised in the great state of Texas, although I don't live there now, unfortunately (she added in the middle of February).  
I would also like to add that Mennonite men have served in other capacities during wartime; serving our nation in hospitals, assisting in agriculture, or other army-approved and appointed conscientious objector roles that are thankfully provided for those of us who have the conviction of being non-resistant.  

The 1855 Alleghany Mennonite Meetinghouse

This afternoon our family had the pleasure of attending a hymn sing at the 1855 Alleghany Mennonite Meetinghouse.  (The usual Pennsylvania spelling of "Allegheny" was not used for this church for some reason.)  The singing was robust and lively; the setting was quaint and peaceful.   


The Mennonites first lived in this area when a Native American offered to show Jacob Bowman, a descendant of Swiss Mennonites, some good hunting lands back in 1745.  Bowman received a land grant and settled here, living at peace with the Native Americans all of his life.  The Mennonite group in this area met in homes and shared a meetinghouse with the Reformed and Lutheran congregations until this meetinghouse was built in 1855.  The cemetery directly across the street has gravestones that date back to the early 1700s.   One of those just happens to be an ancestor of one of my students.  




The preachers and song leaders sat at the center table.

These hooks are for the men's hats.  

This was the nursery, with a window opening to the main room.

Several of the gravestones were written in German.

Confederate Soldiers in a Mennonite Church

This is Weavers Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Because of its history, I had to stop by and take a picture of it for my students while we were there.
  
During the Civil War,  two uniformed Confederate officers entered the church (an earlier log version which stood near the spot of the current church).  After the sermon, one of the officers stood up and ordered every man between the ages of 18 and 45 to report for military training.  The officers marched out; some of the people in the shocked congregation sobbed and the final hymn was not sung.

Some of the men went north to stay with relatives in Pennsylvania, and some hid in their houses to avoid being forcibly taken.  

Two of my students did research papers on this topic after we discussed this church and the plight of conscientious objectors in the Confederacy during the Civil War.  Thankfully, the Union was a little more gracious.  In fact, a few years later President Ulysses Grant specifically told a group of inquiring Mennonite scouts from Russia that America would not force anyone to fight if they did not want to do so because of their religious beliefs.  

This stuff is important, and we need to keep teaching the history of it and the Biblical reasoning for it today.

"A" is for Anabaptist History - The "A, B, C"s for Christian Schools; 26 Topics We Have the Opportunity to Teach Our Students

"A" is for Anabaptist History

We believe that Anabaptist history should be taught in every Anabaptist school as part of the history curriculum throughout all the grades (elementary included), as well as a high school class.  And not only should Anabaptist history be taught, but also Anabaptist doctrine-- our beliefs, practices and the reasons behind all of them.  We do not just cover our heads because mom and grandma do, and we are not non-resistant just because Dirk was.  The principles behind the practices are so important.

These can be taught during morning devotions, on the playground when our students are fighting over the swings, at lunch when the conversation goes awry, and during math when they are tempted to cheat, as well as during Anabaptist History class (which we think every high school student must complete).  The teachings of the schools should support what the parents of the students believe and teach to their children at home, and what is being taught in the church as well.  

If we (the schools, churches, and parents) fail to do this, we will be raising a generation which is not only "tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness . . . . " (Eph. 4:14)   but also does not know that "friendship of the world is enmity with God . . . " (James 4:4).

Deut. 6:7
And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

Mennonite Teacher Goes to Jury Duty

It arrived in the mail-- the jury duty summons.  My husband was to appear in court at 3:00 on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2013.
He left school a little early, made sure he was dressed appropriately, and appeared on time.
The secretary stared at him when he did not raise his hand or move his mouth when he did not take the oath. (James 5:12)
When questioned as to whether he could convict the defendant, my husband stated respectfully that because of Matthew 7:1-2, he could not judge another.
Many of the other prospective jurors arrived late, grumbling.  They were dressed in jeans and t-shirts.  They interrupted the lawyer, didn’t listen to her questions, responded inappropriately, and were in some cases downright rude.
When it was over, they selected a group of six jurors which did not include my husband.
As he walked out the judge called him over.
“Are you a Mennonite?” he asked him. 
“Yes, sir,” my husband replied.
“You know,” replied the judge, “you don’t have to come to this.  You can just go to city hall and tell them that because of your religion you don’t wish to participate.  But I really respect the fact that you were willing to show up here today and show support for our judicial system even though you do not believe in participating.  Please tell your church thank you for supporting our community.”

He went on to tell my husband that several people in the community who the judge and city officials knew were not Mennonite would show up at city hall and say that they were Mennonite just to get out of jury duty. 

Let us never shirk our responsibility.  Let us be respectful.  Let us stand our ground in obedience to the Bible. 

In our Anabaptist history class we just studied Michael Sattler, author of the Schlietheim Confession, the first written Anabaptist set of guidelines.  He respectfully responded to the judges and soldiers who were very rude to him.  They cut out his tongue, tore out chunks of his flesh with hot tongs seven times, tied him to a ladder, and burned him.  Why?

He would not take an oath. 
He did not believe in infant baptism.  
He would not take up arms. 
He believed communion was a symbol in remembrance of Christ, not transubstantiation. 
He believed in church discipline. 
He believed in the separation of church and state. 
He believed in separation from the world.

Why, oh why, after nearly five hundred years are some Mennonites rushing to do things our forefathers were tortured and died for not doing?  What do we believe?  Have we learned?  And do we teach these things diligently to our children as we walk and talk in the way, and when we rise up and lie down?