TY - JOUR KW - Mennonites KW - Christianity KW - Traditions KW - Belief & doubt AU - Robin Fast AB -

Today, the small chapel is filled with people. Women, unadorned, wearing simple, modest dresses, their long hair tucked under black caps, sit with their daughters on one side. Men and boys sit across the aisle. A man sporting a beard, and wearing a black suit and white dress shirt stands behind the pulpit and preaches off the cuff. (No notes are required with God's inspiration.) The sermon sounds like a throwback from a different age, focussed on the "evil one," the reality of hell fire and the importance of vigilance against temptation. Nearly 500 years ago, a Catholic priest from the Netherlands named Menno Simons, who had been questioning church practices and re-thinking his own beliefs, joined the Anabaptist movement after his brother, who was part of the movement, was killed. The Anabaptist beliefs in believer's baptism, the freedom to choose church membership, and the separation of church and state were a threat to Protestants and Catholics alike. The resulting persecution left most of the movement's leadership dead and its followers scattered and disorganized. Menno was soon a leader in the community, organizing many of those who remained and embracing the pacifist principles that helped his group survive, since those who stood their ground and fought, died.

BT - Canadian Mennonite (Waterloo) DP - ocul-wtl.primo.exlibrisgroup.com IS - 9 LA - eng PY - 2015 SE - 4 SN - 1480-042X T1 - Mennonite me T2 - Canadian Mennonite (Waterloo) VL - 19 ER -