Sunday In A Mennonite Community--A Cross Cultural Experience, August 18, 2019

On this past Sunday, August 18, 2019, my wife Candice wanted to go to church at Faith Hills Mennonite Church in Crockett, Kentucky, where we have several friends in the community and congregation.  We have attended church there in the past a few times and I have attended and written about the last day of school in their religious based school.  I also have one novelist friend, Emily Steiner, in the congregation and community and have written about three of her novels on this blog.  I regularly do business with several people in the congregation including having used those people for the roof on my house, regular mechanical work on my vehicles, repairs on my septic system a few years ago, a new deck several years ago, and buying produce and pasture raised chickens from two families in the congregation over the last several years.  I know several of these people well and respect and trust them tremendously.  Sunday services at this church start at about 9:30am when most people arrive and spend nearly half an hour in silent meditation in the sanctuary.  Services usually end at about 12:30pm and conversation in church might last another half hour before everyone departs. When we attend any kind of service there, I always try to wear dark pants and a long sleeved solid blue shirt buttoned in the sleeves and collar just as most of the men in the congregation do.  Candice, who is in a wheelchair, will always wear a long dress but usually does not wear any kind of head covering as all the female members do.  I will address this topic a bit later in the post. 

Anonymous Mennonites Walking--Photo by Huffington Post

When we arrived, the family greeting congregants at the door and whose father was teaching Sunday school were friends of ours from whom we had just bought fifteen pasture raised chickens and some tomatoes a few days before.  There were also several others whom we knew in the congregation on this particular Sunday.  But we did not know the man who preached the sermon.  He was visiting from another congregation.  As he began to preach, he stated that he had not expected to preach on this particular Sunday but had been preparing to preach in another church the following week on the topic from the highly structured "Adult Bible Studies" book which all these congregations use.  Those "Adult Bible Studies"  books are written, printed, and distributed quarterly by Rod And Staff Publishing which is also in Crockett, Kentucky, and is one of the largest Mennonite publishers in the entire country while being located in a county which only had about 14,000 citizens according to the  2010 US Census.  The topic he said he was not prepared to preach about was from First Corinthians 10: 1-15, "Warnings From Israel's History".  The next week's topic which this preacher chose to preach on was "God's Order of Headship" from First Corinthians 11: 1-16. This topic concerns in part the fact that conservative Mennonite women always wear a head covering when they come in contact with others. From Candice's point of view, this made a significant change of topic since she had not worn any type of head covering to church which she never had before and had never heard a Mennonite preacher take up the subject.  Naturally, she felt that it was possible that she was "being preached at" which I also considered possible.  But in support of some of the mild mannered ways of Mennonite preachers in general, they rarely bring down hell fire and brimstone as I have seen in numerous Baptist, Methodist, Holiness, and Pentecostal churches which I have visited.  It is their way to logically discuss any topic in a calm, clearly audible voice without any shouting, jumping up and down, or pacing animatedly around the room.  But Candice even sent an e-mail message to one of our female Mennonite friends after we got home to inquire about the possibility that she had been the cause of the change in topic and was actually being "preached at".  She received an interesting and typically mild mannered Mennonite response which said: "To be honest, I wondered how it made you feel to listen to that message.😊 Like we heard in (sic) Sunday, I believe that it is God’s plan for all Christian women to cover their heads. However, we welcome anyone to worship with us, regardless of how they are dressed, including whether ladies cover their heads. I really hope you come back again soon! I enjoyed talking with you too."   

After church was over, there was a long period of conversation among many people in the congregation including one Candice had with a woman we had not met before who has also recently been experiencing neurological symptoms to the point that she has had to stop driving.  Her husband also approached me and asked many of the same questions about his wife's symptoms, what I knew about neurological disease, doctors and hospitals who treat such cases, and the nature of Candice's problems and impairment.  I gave him what information I had at the time and when we got home I also found that I had a medical school textbook on "Fundamental Neuroscience" which I offered to loan them by telephone.  I suspect that we are likely to share further information about this topic in the future and could even become friends based on our common problems.  

This discussion also made clearly apparent one major difference between conservative Mennonites and the general American population in how we seek, utilize, and pay for medical treatment.  Mennonites do not buy or use health insurance for Biblical reasons which are too complex to get into at this time.  When they become ill, they usually seek treatment from non-traditional sources before seeking treatment of a more conventional and expensive kind from mainstream hospitals and their staff.  They use some form of mutual aid or simply strive to pay their own medical expenses when they occur.  I have known of one young Mennonite woman, only 42, mother of 8 children from 2 to 16, who died of cancer in this community in the past two years because she sought non-traditional care when she first became aware of her disease.  That disease was untreatable by the time she had sought care at our local Appalachian Regional Hospital.  Her widowed husband is now trying to complete raising those 8 children while working a full time job at the aforementioned Rod And Staff Publishers.  

One form of mutual aid is discussed in this manner at the link contained herein:  "The Conservative Amish and Mennonite Medical Resharing Pool, based in Middlebury, Ind., requires groups of at least 10 people who are “active members or active participants of a Conservative or Amish Mennonite church” to form their own plan in order to join the pool, according to the program’s bylaws. Shares are paid quarterly by each plan depending on how many members each plan has. Amounts vary based on what medical needs are approved for coverage each quarter." My Mennonite novelist friend recently had a minor automobile accident which the local police ruled as having been her fault.  She paid more than $2,000 dollars to repair the other driver's car out of her own funds in addition to her own relatively minor medical expenses for a broken finger  since she did not have automobile insurance.  It is also important to note here that the Amish and Mennonites receive a religiously based exemption from complying with laws regarding required insurance as guaranteed by the First Amendment.  Perhaps, I will discuss this topic in greater length in a future blog post since I have seen several Mennonites I know who have either used mutual aid or their own funds to pay health, automobile, and funeral expenses because of the insurance prohibitions which they practice.  

Also, after church this past Sunday, the wife of one of my Mennonite friends invited Candice and I to their house for lunch where we have eaten on other occasions.  But, it turned out that this woman's father and step-mother were the assigned family to feed visitors that particular week and they also invited us to eat with them which we chose to do.  We have also known them for several years and used to buy fresh eggs from them for quite a while before I changed my eating habits more than a year ago.  It turned out that they had also invited a relatively young Mennonite couple and their four children to lunch who are members of another congregation in Grayson, Kentucky.   It was also our hosts 18th wedding anniversary which was mentioned but not made a great deal of.  I will mention that it is odd to see an elderly Mennonite couple who have been married such a short time.  But the first wife of this man died about 20 years ago of cancer and he married his current wife who was nearly his own age of roughly 50 or 55 and had never been married.  Their home was spotless which is how I have always found every Mennonite home I have ever visited.  The food was home raised, simple, delicious, and nutritious.  The wife gave Candice some leftover cucumber salad she had made along with a few cucumbers to make her own salad at home since she had liked the salad a great deal and made a point of saying so.  We stayed in the home about two hours and learned that the younger couple and their children, including the youngest girl who is less than 2, had just returned from a missionary trip to Guatemala.  The two older daughters, about 5 and 7, talked animatedly about how much they enjoyed Guatemala which is also interesting since I have rarely seen Mennonite children speak much in the company of other adults.  

Also, after church, I was stopped by another Mennonite woman who was inquiring about my having grown up in Knott County Kentucky where she had also grown up in a non-Mennonite home before converting and marrying a local man whom I have known for several years without having ever heard that his wife came from the same area I had.  We talked briefly about relatives we each had in Knott County and went our separate ways.  I would not be surprised if this doesn't lead to further such exchanges in the future.  

My wife and I will always maintain our business contacts and friendships in the local Mennonite community.  They are deeply religious, totally honest, hard working, self-sufficient, and respectable people who are frequently misunderstood.  I gain in many ways by knowing them and the small number of Amish friends I maintain also.  Once we set aside any prejudices or misunderstandings we have about these people, we stand to benefit in many ways which are impossible to foresee when we first meet them or encounter them in a business setting.  

"Under Fire" by Emily Steiner---Book Review

This book is the second volume in Emily Steiner's "Lilly Of Appalachia" series.  I reviewed the first, "Under The Bridge" on this blog on July 30, 2018.  These books are self-published through Haines Printing in Northeast, Pennsylvania, but that company does not sell the books.  They are available only from Emily Steiner and I will place her contact information at the bottom of this review.  Unlike many self-published books, the printing work is well above average and they are high quality volumes which are only $10.00 each directly from the author.  The stories follow an Eastern Kentucky Appalachian family as they and their relatives are involved in a coal mine strike and the minister husband of the protagonist, Lilly Burchett Sherman, refuses to join the union based on his interpretation of the New Testament admonitions against violence. The father and brothers of Lilly Sherman are union members and one of them is actually shot and paralyzed late in the work as a result of his union activity. I was lucky enough to read much of this book in manuscript and provided my suggestions about it directly to the author who is a friend of mine.  We met shortly after the release of the first book in this series, "Under The Bridge".  The writing in this book is more mature from a professional standpoint than in "Under The Bridge".  It is well-plotted.  The characters are believable, real people, and show the many hours of research which the author has put into the book.

 

Emily Steiner accepted some of my suggestions about the book and flatly refused to take a position in the book in favor of trade unionism which I strongly support.  But, like the characters in the family of the protagonist, Emily Steiner and I have managed to remain friends.  Her objections to supporting unionism are based on her interpretation of the Bible and she is devout Mennonite woman living in our local Mennonite community where I also have numerous other friends and sometimes attend events and write about them on this blog.  I know many of these people well enough and understand their beliefs to a degree that we can disagree and still remain friends.  Emily used one of my suggestions, provided as a copy of the wonderful Jack London description of a scab in a way in which I would never have used it.  But I can say that she at least read it and inserted it in the book with a statement of attribution at the end of the book.    

The book moves along as the strike deepens in a community set in Harlan County Kentucky.  Emily accurately portrays the poverty, destitution, and desperation of the miners and their families and I have to say I like this book.  It is simply not the kind of book I would write or wish to write about a union struggle in Appalachia.  But, like everything Emily Steiner writes, it is well worth reading.  I also suggested to Emily during the completion of the book that she read Davis Grubb's wonderful union struggle book, "The Barefoot Man", which I consider to be the best union novel I have ever read.  I have never heard from her that she found a copy and read it.  I suspect that if she had she might not have ever discussed it with me due to her religious opposition to some of the language and scenes in that book.  But I wish she had read it before she finished this book.  I understand fully that having read "The Barefoot Man" would not have changed her perspective on trade unionism.  But it would have broadened her understanding of the union struggle and given her a deeper knowledge base about trade unionism, the coal fields in Appalachia of the early twentieth century, and the irreplaceable role trade unionism has played in the social development of both Appalachia and the country as whole.  

But, do not allow my difference of opinion with Emily Steiner deter you from reading "Under Fire".  It is an excellent book in many ways.  It is a fine addition to Emily Steiner's ever growing body of work.  She will continue to write and publish novels.  She will continue to mature as a professional writer.  She will come to establish herself, quietly in her own deeply religious manner, as one of the better young writers in Appalachia.  She describes herself in the biographical statement within the book as "...born and raised as a mountain girl in Eastern Kentucky."  I agree with that statement.  However, any description of Emily Steiner must begin with a clear understanding that she grew up in a religious based subculture in Eastern Kentucky which consciously separates its members from the mainstream to varying degrees and her understanding of the primary culture of Appalachia is affected by that separation.  I value her friendship.  I value her ability.  I value this novel.  You will also value this novel regardless of the personal position you take on trade unionism and the way it is deeply ingrained in Central and Southern Appalachia.  

 

"Under Fire" and "Under The Bridge" are both directly available from Emily Steiner at $10.00 each.  She will autograph them and mail them to you.  You can contact her at Emily Steiner, 155 Memorial Gardens Road, West Liberty, KY 41472.  You can call her at 606-495-8090.  She will personally answer her phone and actually talk to you.  When have you known another published author who would do that?  

 

 

Last Day Of School, Faith Hills Mennonite School, Crockett, KY--A Crosscultural Experience

On Thursday, May 10, 2018, I traveled from my home to Crockett, KY, to attend the annual celebration of the last day of school at Faith Hills Christian School, the local Mennonite School.  I had been invited the event the previous year by my friend, Aquila Derstine, but was unable to attend at the time.  I have mentioned in several other posts on this blog that I maintain relationships with many of the local Mennonites for both business and friendship reasons.  I generally use Mennonite workers when I need to do anything major to a vehicle or my home.  But I had never been to the last day of school celebration even though I have known a handful of previous Mennonite teachers. I also wanted to attend this year because I was taking some books to a young Mennonite woman who has just published her second novel.  Her name is Emily Steiner and she is one of the former Mennonite school teachers I know.  I will write more about two of her books on this blog very shortly.

 

Photo Of An Unknown Mennonite School by Pintanderest

 

 

Incidentally, the only requirements, to my knowledge, for a person to become a Mennonite school teacher are that they be a practicing Mennonite, completion of Mennonite school themselves, and worthy of the respect of the local school committee and the community. Mennonite students only attend school until they are about sixteen years old and immediately go to work at some job in the community. Some of these former students might also leave home for a period to attend a church run Bible School. The church receives an exemption to mandated attendance laws across the country under the same Freedom Of Religion protections that the Amish receive. 

Program Last Day Of School-Faith Hills School

When I attend any church related event in the Mennonite, Amish, or serpent handling communities where I have ties, I always wear clothing which is nearly identical to what the men in the that community will be wearing to that occasion whether it is a church service, funeral, or a school event such as this.  The celebration started around noon and was attended by most of the local Mennonite community especially including relatives of the current students.  The event was primarily a religious song fest by the students and teachers with one song, "I Sing The Mighty Power Of God", being sung by the entire audience, students, and teachers.  The school is broken into three rooms each with a single teacher who is usually in their late teens or early twenties and, in most cases, unmarried.  They may or may not have grown up in the local congregation.  A few such as Asa Derstine have traveled out of state to teach school for a year or two.  There are usually three or four grades in a particular room with the lines of separation being roughly equivalent to those you would find in a similar sized public school in a rural community.  After an introduction by Aquila Derstine along with a prayer, the singing began with the opening and closing hymns being sung by all the students and teachers adn the remainder being sung by the students in a single room.  The audience contained several other non-Mennonite members of the community who also have relationships with the Mennonite community.  There was also one non-Mennonite man who is married to a Mennonite woman which usually happens rarely.  It is my understanding that his wife was not raised as a Mennonite but joined the church as an adult.  The men, including myself were almost all dressed in long sleeved blue dress shirts and plain blue, black, or dark grey pants.  All the women and girls wore traditional long Mennonite dresses in either solid colors or mildly muted, small patterns.  They all cover their heads with small, gauzy hats or head coverings of a sort.  

 

Photo Of Anonymous Mennonites by Huffington Post

 

 

During the singing I sat with my friend, Ottis Conley, and his wife.  Ottis and his brother Cletus were both born non-Mennonites and their mother joined the church when they were young boys.  The woman who cleans our house is a cousin to Ottis but belongs to a conservative Baptist congregation.  I was able to also spend time talking with several other members of the community with whom I have relationships and in some ways it was a lot like a family reunion or homecoming ceremony.   

Song For Entire Audience-Faith Hills Last Day Of School

Nearly everyone, or at least every family, brought some sort of food item and everyone ate in same folding chairs which were used for the audience during the singing program.  The food was simple, wholesome, and tasty without a great deal of expense which is how nearly all Mennonites cook and eat every day.  I have eaten on a few occasions in Mennonite homes and I have never seen a meat entree at a meal where every person had a personal piece of meat such as chicken, beef, or other farm animal meats.  Meat is usually included in at least one recipe as an ingredient but not necessarily the main ingredient.  I ate the meal with my friends, the Derstine family and the Bear family.  After the lunch was over and the chairs, tables, and other equipment put away, there was a long baseball game for the young people and the adults and small children spread out in the grass and shady areas between the baseball field and the small cemetery near the church.  The baseball game was quite interesting in that no young person who wished to play was excluded.  During their defensive side of an inning, each team had nearly a dozen outfielders.  During offensive halves of innings, the players lined up in some pre-ordained order and eventually everyone got a turn or two at bat.  Most surprising about the game was the fact that I never heard a single occasion when any player was derided, belittled, or even seriously ribbed about missing a defensive play, failing to outrun a fielder's throw, or striking out.  All these players, many less than ten years old, were naturally respectful of everyone else on the field.  After the game ended, we all walked to our vehicles, shook hands, exchanged pleasantries, and pledge to see each other sometime soon.  To say the least, I thoroughly enjoyed the event and will try to be there next year.