Yesterday the family visited Vineland NJ Mennonite Church.
We were coming after 8:30 Mass at Julie’s church and arrived a few minutes before the worship service while they were doing their religious education program. But the distinction between religious ed and worship was minimal, almost non-existent. Attendance at both was near-universal (about 110 total) and much of the worship itself was religious education. There was a series of 15 minute’ish sermons (delivered by various men), broken up by some four-part a capella singing (beautiful), recitations from a Bible verse they were memorizing and kneeling prayer (a surprise the first time, as they all spin around suddenly to face the back, kneel and pray).
It’s probably one of the most religiously conscientious communities I’ve seen. A lot of the service involved reviewing belief structure. Their book of discipline is very slim, not much more than a tract, but it’s something they use and they spent part of the time reading from it. Much of the worship hour was meant to reinforce who they were, why they were and how they were – to explain over and over why they led their distinctive life. Theirs is a voluntary association for those who agree to follow the authority of the group’s teachings. I suspect that every adult in the room could give a detailed presentation on conservative Mennonite faith and give detailed answers about points of doctrine. At the risk of inserting my own opinion I will venture that the worship service felt a bit dry (as Julie said, there wasn’t a ounce of mysticism in the whole proceeding) but I don’t think the members there would feel offended by this observation. Exciting the senses is less important than reviewing the values and living the moral life.
Visually, the group is striking. Every man in the room wore a long-sleeved white dress shirt buttoned all the way up, dark pants and black shoes; all had short hair and only one or two had facial hair. I was more distinctively plain in my broadfalls and suspenders but the effect of sixty-or-so men and young boys all dressed alike was visually stunning. Like a lot of plain peoples, the women were more obviously plain and all but one or two wore lightly-colored cape dresses and head coverings (I later learned that the exceptions were newcomers who weren’t yet members). Seated was segregated, women on the left, men on the right. Gender roles are very clear. There were kids – lots of kids – all around, and a big focus of the sermons was family living. One extended sermon focused on discerning between providing well for one’s family vs. greed and the balance between working hard for your family vs. giving up some things so you can spend time with them. Kids were present throughout the service and were relatively well behaved.
The church itself was called a meetinghouse and was plain – no crosses of course. People sat in pews and there was a raised area up front for ministers and elders. The building doubled as a schoolhouse during the week and its schoolrooms had a lot of Rod and Staff books, familiar from our own home schooling. A member described the school as one leg of the three-legged stool, along with church and family. If any one part of the equation was lacking in some way, the other two could help insure the child’s moral welfare. School was free for church members but was open on a tuition basis to non-Mennonites. These outsiders were required to make certain lifestyle choices that would insure the school stayed relatively pure; the most important requirement was that the family not have a television at home.
My regular readers will have one question on their mind right about now: did anyone invite us to lunch? Why yes they did! We didn’t even have to prompt it. We knew a couple there – M and J, who run a restaurant in the local farmer’s market, a favorite Saturday morning stop for us. They took us under their wing when they recognized us, sitting with us during worship and then showing us the school. J said that if we came back again we could come over for lunch. Then she backtracked and offered that we could come now, explaining that the church had had recent discussions over whether it was too pushy to ask first-time attenders to lunch or whether they should restrain themselves and invite them on the second visit. Wow, a church that thinks about this?!
So we followed them to their place for lunch. It was a wonderful opportunity to ask more questions and get to know one another. Meals are important. Julie and I had wondered why there were Mennonites in Vineland NJ of all places – and two Mennonite churches at that! Short story is that there had been a civilian public service facility in Vineland for conscientious objectors and Lancaster-area Mennonites decided that “the boys” stationed there needed the grounding of a local church community (apparently other C.O. camps were scenes of debauchery – Mennonite drag racing in Colorado Springs was cited). This became Norma Mennonite Church, which still exists and is another local church I’ve been meaning to visit for years (hi Mandy!). In the 1960s, there was a great round of liberalization among Mennonites, an unofficial abandonment of the distinctives codified in their books of disciplines. Many churches split and the Vineland Church was formed by those members of Norma who wanted to maintain the discipline.
This probably explains the strong focus on the rules of the discipline. For those wanting more of the histories, I commend Stephen Scott’s excellent “An Introduction to Old Order and Conservative Mennonite Groups” along with anything else Stephen Scott has written. The Vineland congregation is part of the Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite Church conference, profiled on pages 173 – 176. A lot of the Mennonite issues and splits are echoed among Friends and we’d do well to understand these cousins of ours.
The result is a church that’s big on group practice: the dress, the lifestyle. M. told me that they don’t believe in theology but in Biblicism. He explained that they don’t think the Bible contains the word of God but instead that it is the Word of God and he paused to let the distinction sink in. The Bible is not to be interpreted but read and followed, with special attention given the gospels and the letters of Paul.
So no, I’m not going to go Conservative Mennonite on you all. I have a TV. My profession is web design (they’re not into the internet, natch). I’m married to a praciticing Catholic (I don’t know how they would bend on that) and at this point my brain is wired in a curious, outward way that wouldn’t fit into the normative structures of a group like this. Doctrinally-speaking, I’m a Friend in that I think the Word of God is the Inward Christ’s direct spirit and that the Bible needs to be read in that Light. There’s a lot of people who wouldn’t fit for various reasons, people who I would want in my church (they maintain a hard line against remarriage after divorce and I didn’t even ask about gay issues). But I have to admit that the process and structure puts together a really great community of people. They’re hard-working, kind, charitable and not nearly as judgmental as you might imagine – in practice, less judgmental than a lot of progressive religious people I know. Non-resistance is one of the pillars of their practice and they were genuinely interested in Julie’s Catholic church and my experiences among Friends and we talked a fair bit about Islam.
Normally I’d give a big thanks to the church and M & J here, except I know they won’t read this. I am grateful to their kindness in sharing their church, beliefs and family meal with us.
I recall that my Brethren grandmother always invited newcomers for Sunday dinner. (So did my mother, for that matter). Although I thought of this as western (or mid-western) hospitality. It’s something I need to get back to.
I find a practical spirituality among both Mennonites and Brethren…loving neighbor as self is just who these folks are, no matter how hard it may be.
In teaching Quakerism at a rural meeting, I’m building on the innate hospitality of that meeting (which had a combined memorial for a friend of the Meeting with the local Mennonite community yesterday). We may differ in respect to outward ordinances, but can learn from each other in terms of more open spiritual and practical hospitality.
The difficult thing to do is to get Friends here to talk about their beliefs with each other. We don’t learn this by osmosis, or at least, I didn’t. Friends talked about what they believed — in Meeting, over lunch, and on hikes in the mountains. Some of the talk was quite plain, too… I was asked to wait to apply for membership until 1) I was settled in a community, and 2) had some work to do on learning about the variety possible among Friends.
The thankfulness may be in us all learning to pass this along. A Beachy Amish elder once advised that in order to take this into “the world”, we need to work on our innermost selves… whether this is forgiveness or hospitality or respect for others’ beliefs.
See Daniel B. Lee, *Old Order Mennonites, Rituals, Beliefs, and Community*, for further insights into the Eastern Pennsylvania group. No, they are not an old order church, but they are used in the book as a counterpoint to the Horning Mennonites. Lee’s study is very insightful.
After you visit the Norma Mennonite Church, you might try the Old German Baptist Brethren (especially Old Conference), who are in some respects more similar to old fashioned Orthodox Friends. Their closest congregation would be in Lancaster County.
I just took such a trip to a conservative Mennonite fellowship in my area! Only, they were having a group meal at the church that day. I really enjoyed myself, especially the singing as well. I also seemed to get the “It’s nice to but not me” revelation out of the trip too. Lovely people, and I didn’t know anyone but a woman took me under wing through the entire service. I’m glad to hear about someone else who is crazy like me to attend such a tight knit group service.
My wife and I have been going to Centerville Mennonite Church here in Lancaster County. It’s the same group as the Vineland Mennonite Church, just that all the members here were born Mennonite none are from “the outside world.” My wife and I and our two children are the only ones attending every week that were not from growing up Mennonite with Mennonite heritage. So far I have learned a lot and it’s been very good for us. It’s a constant struggle just like anything else that would be worth it. I grew up in New Jersey and attended a Lutheran church. In the 80’s I moved to PA where I attended a small bible teaching community church, Non Mennonite. I have been dealing with the Amish in the area for over 23 years. I never had any dealings with the Mennonites before. I did know one from another area at work where the boss was Amish. He was interesting to talk to. From where I came from and where I am now, I can see and understand what a tourists would see and know why they would think what they think. At the same time learning what I have learned living among the Amish and now of course my experience with the Mennonite group, I see it now from the inside as well having an understanding that goes beyond any other understanding to have unless you took my path. Now here is the shocker for you. I am a divorced and re-married man. We have two children, and I agree with what we are being teached and what I a am learning. Without writing a book let me say that this is a group of people that take the bible and go line by line trying to live exactly like the bible says to. Other churches have to blacken out lines in the bible in order to be able to function. It’s not that they want to do that it’s because they haven’t been strong enough to stand against the “world.” Now, I read some of this blog, not all of it because right now I don’t have time but, yes this life is for you as well, it’s for everyone. The devil uses all kinds of things to keep us from it. It will be easy for you to find reasons not to follow the Lord exactly like you should be. It’s not impossible for you or anyone else. Mennonites draw a lot of anger from people just like we do based on just what we look like. Some of it is being afraid of the truth because you think the truth is going to make you have to do to much to change and no one likes change. Other reasons are being afraid you might find out your not a good parent and no one wants to hear that or that your living wrong when you can’t see ever being able to change some things so you get defensive right off the bat. I can go on and on. Instead I will leave my email address if anyone has any questions for me, but I am not the one to answer all questions remember that. If you visit the Vineland church you can’t just go once. In order for you to really understand it take a commitment to go for the bible is a big book. Even the Mennonites living with the bible all their life are still learning new things all the time. People say in this area that the Mennonites are possibly the only group on the face of the earth that are most accountable. I was confused on this issue then came to understand. This is because there is less to no excuse for them to live against the teaching of the bible, because of the exposure all their life to understanding the bible handed down from generation to generation. At the same time the Mennonites are just like everyone else, Sinners and they understand the bible says we are all sinners. I can answer questions in a lot of areas, especially in the area of “works” that other churches try to use against them. There is no way anyone can reject the understand of a God attending a Mennonite church on a regular basis. I’m sure that scares satin beyond understanding. Harold- TopMyDog@aol.com
Interesting take on a Mennonite church.… where I grew up.