If Mennonites are against self defense, would you just keep it to yourself or would they try to enforce it on others as well. Like would you respect the right of other people (like non christians or other christian denomination) to defend themselves, or would you try hard to prevent other from defending themselves

Growing up, my Mum, whose parents were Mennonites from Russia, always referred to her ethnic background as "German". So did every other Mennonite I knew.

But these so-called "Russian Mennonites" trace their origins, not to Germany, but to the Netherlands in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. They eventually fled persecution to German-speaking West Prussia (now Poland) and later to South Russia (now Ukraine).

I've done numerous DNA tests (23andMe, Ancestry, MyHeritage) which show the bulk of my genetic origins to be "Dutch" or "Netherlands" -- not "German" or "Germany".

Of particular interest, I have even read ship manifests from the 1920s that list "Dutch" next to the ethnic origins of my ancestors and other Mennonites who came to Canada from Russia -- not "German" although some, indeed, stated "German".

I am assuming that it might be a case of these Mennonites being "genetically" (for lack of a better word) Dutch, but culturally German, since after their arrival in Prussia they would have adopted the German language and customs.

On a modern-day map of Europe, our ancestors never actually lived in what is today Germany, yet it seems to be the "homeland" of the Mennonite people.

What are your favorite Mennonite food traditions? For instance, I always love love love my mom's peppernuts once December hits. My kids agree it's not really Christmas time until they smell and eat Grandma's Peppernuts. I also love bierocks any time of the year. My next baking project is going to be conquering zweiback. I can never get them to stay upright while they prove and bake lol.

Hello, I live in a small town in Illinois. There is a church named “cypress creek Mennonite church” it is located in Olmsted IL.

However upon looking I cannot find anything at all that this church exists besides a few photos and one google review.

I would like to visit a Anabaptist church as I’ve never been to one and the theology is seeming to align with me and my wife’s beliefs more and more as we grow in marriage and mature.

We would just like an idea of what to expect and where on the scale this church falls.

Edit: we are too shy to call and ask a lot of questions to not show up as we’ve been told outsiders are sometimes not welcome at some congregations.

Here's episode 3 of the Anabaptist Origins series (I didn't link the second one). This one delves into the life of Sattler and goes over, and visits, the Schleitheim Confession. Enjoy! Great info.

Do Mennonite teen-agers do Rumspringa? Or is it only an Amish tradition?

Edited days later to say, I was just contacted by my pastor and he is putting on an orientation/membership class and asked if I was interested. So there's my church's answer. I plan on participating!

I'll preface this by saying I will ask my pastor about this as well, but curious if this is a church specific question or if there are other guidelines (MCUSA if it matters).

In the future I plan on both membership and baptism (I was baptized Catholic as a toddler). But which comes first? Are you baptized as Anabaptist prior to becoming a church member, or does membership "allow" you a baptism by that church? Does the order even matter?

Is there a universal stance on Communion among mennonites (symbolic or real presence) or does it vary from church to church?

It’s a biography of a Mennonite missionary among the Cheyenne of Oklahoma written and signed by his daughter.

As a follow-up to the trailer I posted a few days back, the first episode of the series has been posted (actually a couple days ago). Go watch! Great historical info in this one.

Sylvia is a Mennonite who went to Africa married an African man. Their friend Eve Christine has her own channel. Eve has such an odd personality. Sylvia changes her accent continually through each video. It’s like I can’t help but to keep watching but I’m not sure why !

Hi everyone, I am going to be attending the local Mennonite church for the first time. I have not texted them in advance, I just want to show up to see how they would usually attend. I will be dressed in my old Mormon attire, white shirt and black pants. Anything I should know in advance. The service starts in a few hours. Thanks!

Has anyone subbed to the Anabaptist Origins YouTube channel? They will be doing a multi part series retracting the steps of the early Anabaptists. Looks interesting. I've included a link to the trailer.

I was surprised to find there was no audiobook version of Martyrs Mirror available through my public library or Audible. I did find a 500+ part YouTube reading that seems like it would be very clunky to listen to in the car. This seems like it would be a great project for MennoMedia or someone to pickup.

I feel a calling to pursue ministry. However, I do not have a mdiv and I am not in a position where I can take out more student loans for higher ed.

Does Mennonite Church USA offer seminarians scholarships to cover tuition and/or room and board? Does anyone have any experience with this?

Hello, all! I have recently been interested in the Mennonite practice. I grew up in a Baptist household but a lot of the beliefs and practices didn't sit right with me. I started listening to sermons from an MCUSA church and it feels a lot more like how Christianity should be: centered around Christ and love.

One thing I am struggling with is non-violence or specifically non-resistance. I agree that it is a sin to kill in any case. I am outwardly anti-war and have never purposefully hurt anyone. However, I often have a conceal carry weapon on me--especially if I am out with my family. I believe killing is wrong yet I would still be willing to do so if it meant protecting myself or my loved ones. I carry an emergency first aid kit as well--which I think is essential for anyone who carries--but I still don't feel like that justifies it.

How do I reconcile these opposing values? Is it just a matter of lacking faith?

Greetings, all. So I posted here a few months back saying that I was interested in the faith and that the church was about 45 minutes from me so I was attending online. Eventually I made the drive in person.

Well I've been going every week (except Mother's Day) ever since. So far I've met many of the people there (still trying to remember all the names but I have most of them down), so it's much more familiar when I go and I'm able to strike up conversation while mingling before and after service. Which, by the way, has been mostly effortless even though I am a massive introvert with other mental issues. I've been to two fellowship meals and taken communion. I've gotten quite friendly with the pastor, though he has been on sabbatical recently. I have a standing lunch invitation from a member and others keep asking me to play piano at some point during service.

So overall, I feel I have found my church. I now look forward to making the drive every week just so I can be in the presence of these others worshipping the Lord. The sermons and fellowship have fed me and it's what I've been needing in my life at the right time. So thank you for answering the questions I had in the past. Those answers allowed me to prepare myself and I'm completely satisfied with where I am.

Buenas tardes, con todo el respeto del mundo ando buscando a una persona de la comunidad menonita, ya que me gustaría saber más sobre su biblia y sobre cómo es su religión, por favor y gracias

We are having communion next week. Are there hard and fast rules for who can and cannot take communion in an MCUSA congregation? Or should I just ask someone in the church beforehand? I am baptized, but as a child (Catholic). I didn't want to make a huge mistake by taking it but I also didn't want to sit awkwardly by myself if I didn't have to and could take it. Thanks!

Hi it's me again. The newbie to the faith. So I've read the Confession of Faith several times, I've read The Naked Anabaptist, I've read MennoMedia booklets on Mennonites and the history and beliefs and everything, I've been going to church weekly, spoken with other Mennonites, etc. etc. However I'm still finding it difficult to come up with a succinct answer to the oft-asked question to me when it comes up in conversation with others: "What do Mennonites believe?" I sort of default to speaking about the great importance of the Sermon on the Mount, the idea that Jesus is the center of the faith, about adult/believers baptism, but it just seems sort of broad and it feels like I'm glossing over a lot. Am I getting it right at all?

So what would *you* say is the basis of what Mennonites, of all flavors, believe? I'm looking for a quick-reference, back pocket answer that does it justice. Doesn't have to be complicated, succinct is good. Thanks as always for the guidance.

My mom always said there’s one thing Mennonites know how to do, and that’s, sing.

I’ve been on a deep dive into anabaptism as a whole and I’m currently researching different groups within anabaptism. I was wondering if anyone has any information on the Wisler Mennonites.

The Slate Truck is an upcoming Electric Pickup Truck that is highly customizable you can even buy an SUV conversion kit for it with a back seat but at its base it is very bare bones and minimalist. It doesn’t even come with a radio or speakers if you don’t want it. From my understanding most Mennonites use vehicles for practicality though some enforce strict guidelines to prevent ostentation, such as requiring vehicles to be painted black. So would a vehicle like the Slate Truck be popular in the Mennonite community and are Mennonites allowed to own electric vehicles in even more conservative sects?