A Month in the Life

Here comes the Bride
Over the weekend Steve and I attended a wedding in a “liberal” Mennonite church in our town. The bride was lovely beyond words, and it was a grand celebration.

When one speaks of the Amish, there is generally no doubt they are referring to plain folks, however it is quite different when you speak of the Mennonites. Many Mennonites dress as typical denominational Christians do, however Steve’s family is part of smaller segment that drive horse and buggy, dress very plainly, and live mostly agriculturally.

It is quite different going to an ‘Old Order’ Mennonite wedding than the one we attended this past weekend. An Old Order wedding is always scheduled at the bride’s home on a Tuesday or Thursday so as to not interfere with weekend chores and Sunday preparations. Weddings are also held only during early spring or late fall of the year, avoiding planting and harvesting conflicts. Services start at 9:00 AM with cookies and wine served as an opening ceremony. There is a ‘caller’ who calls out the seating arrangement. For instance, he’ll cry “Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Hoover!”, and we’ll be seated next. Or if single and dating, he would call, “Stephen Hoover and friend!”. When everyone is seated, a congregational hymn is sung during which the bride and groom come in and take their seats. The groom dresses plain, in his best Sunday suit (no tie), and the bride wears a plain, light grey dress, signifying purity, but reserving purest white for the Bride of Christ. There is not a single “Pastor” in the Old Order congregations, but rather a group of ministers who are chosen by “lots”, consisting of a Bishop, Preachers and Deacons. During the wedding, I patiently endure long lectures about marriage, mostly in a language (Pennsylvania Dutch) I barely understand, all the while nudging my husband to stay awake!

Ahh… but then the food! Piles of homemade noodles, mashed potatoes, meats, salads, homegrown vegetables, homemade breads, and the desserts are heavenly. It is always worth any effort in going. Steve tries hard not to miss a wedding invitation – it really is a special day.

Rest in Peace
Steve’s father died suddenly in June 12 years ago. I learned much from Steve’s father about Christian living, and he was very well respected in the Mennonite community. There were around a thousand people attending the funeral. Steve and I rode in a buggy with his sister and her husband, following a horse drawn hearse. The pine casket was opened one more time at the burial site, where his father lay in a pure white garment. Hundreds of people walked by, and some of the children walked with bare feet. Steve and his brothers lowered the pine casket with ropes into the final resting place, and shoveled in the dirt. Everything was very simple, and even without flowers.

The gathering then went inside for the funeral service. The building would not seat them all, and many gathered around the doors and windows. Men and boys sat on one side of the church and women and young children on the other. The benches were constructed of plain wood, hardwood flooring, and no air conditioning available. If necessity occured, there were outhouses.

The service was conducted in English and German to accommodate the many visitors from outside the community. The funeral sermons are not merely a recital of a single life’s work, but focus on the shortness of life, duty of man, and his relationship with God.

The “English” with us were fascinated by the cultural differences, but also enthralled by the number of horses and buggies at the funeral.

Many children’s stories are centered around characters able to travel into another time by some magical invention. I am a blessed woman to have the ability to experience first hand the goodness and simplicity of a bygone era.

Kristin




Questions, comments, concerns? Please feel free to E-mail me!

Labels: funerals, mennonite, PA. Dutch