[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

scattered children of Menno (was: Re: new guy-& princess bride)



> From: TYoder at sschwab_com
> indeed i do have mennonite ties.  i was raised mennonite...from the
> conservative mennonite conference.  my father was pastor of a mennonite
> church here in western maryland.  i no longer attend my church due to
> some
> serious problems i have with the current leadership and philosophy.  i
> even
> attended a few semesters at rosedale bible institute...if you've heard
> of
> it... 
> however, i was infatuated w/ otr long before i realized that linford had
> a
> similar background...in fact...it surprised me...although i knew his
> name
> definitely sounded mennonite. i just noticed nathan's last name
> today...and wondered the same thing....and zehr definitely sounded
> mennonite to me too....i assume you have ties as well?

> From: "Peter T. Chattaway" <petert at interchange_ubc.ca>
> Hey, don't forget me!  Remember the Sawatzkys on my mother's side?  :)
> On Tue, 9 Jul 2002 TYoder at sschwab_com wrote:
> > oh yes....how could i forget that!?  although that name is not common
> in
> > the mennonite circles in which i spun quite dizzily....
> 
> 'Sokay, I'm not aware of any Yoders in these parts, either.  Thiessens
> and
> Derksens and Wiebes and Balzers aplenty, but Yoders?  None that I can
> recall.  :)

> From: Nathan <fishpatrol at fuse_net>
> Ya found me out too. My father's side of the family is Mennonite. My
> parents
> have been music ministers in the Presbyterian church for over 20 years
> now,
> but I at least know hymn 606 and the Diadem tune to "All Hail the
> Power."
> I hadn't even thought of the Detweiler/Mennonite connection until I got
> to
> talk to the guy and he brought it up. Too long separated from the
> Mennonite
> community, I guess. Anyone have a book of Mennonite names?

Twila, I also grew up in Conservative Conference, and my brother Marcus
attended RBI, around '97, I think. I'm from a little Mennonite enclave in
upstate New York, where Zehr is the most common name in the phone book,
just ahead of the Widricks and Sterias and Youseys and Moshiers and
Jantzis and Yanceys and Nafzigers and Roggies, most of whom never left
Lewis County. I think it's precisely the rootedness of home communities
like these that make it possible (and rewarding) for those of us who have
left, to some degree, to find each other.

Nathan, you (or your parents) may be interested to know that in the new
Hymnal, 606 is now 118. Also, I don't believe there is a book of Mennonite
names per se, but if you were to peruse any issue of the weekly
publication of Mennonite Church USA, creatively christened _The
Mennonite_, you would find yourself in a veritable hot tub of Mennonite
names. And Kylie, Sprunger would likely be in there. And Kristen, Ulrich
might be as well.

I too was surprised to discover Linford's Mennonite background, but it was
a ready-made connecting point. The Story: I worked for two years at Camp
Luz, between Kidron and Dalton, OH. (ASIDE to forestall any crinkled
foreheads or benighted assumptions:  *Luz* in this case does not refer to
the Spanish word for *light*, but to the place that Jacob renamed *Bethel*
after sleeping with his head on a rock. And my college friend responded,
"So they're anticipating a dream about a ladder?") Then at C'stone '96, I
caught OtR's fest-opening acoustic set and fell immediately in love. The
next day I was making my way through the crowded exhibition tent when I
saw K&L coming toward me. As they approached, I was trying to thind of
something intelligent to say when Karin said, "Ooh, Camp Luz!", which
bamboozled me until I realized I was wearing a camp T-shirt. It so happens
that they had been there for a Detweiler family gathering, while I was
there but before I knew who they were. Dang. Anyway, we had a nice little
chat, and Linford signed my GDBD "to a fellow child of Menno".

I really don't know their current religious affiliation, or Karin's
background, but once a "church child" . . . Linford obviously values his
family heritage, and I think our having some of that in common is one
reason I resonate so deeply with his lyrics. Although the issues and
emotions certainly are not exclusive to Mennonites . . .

slowly -
Kirk

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Sign up for SBC Yahoo! Dial - First Month Free
http://sbc.yahoo.com
---------------
Unsubscribe by going to http://www.actwin.com/OtR/
Follow-Ups: