Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, July 31, 1993                   TAG: 9307310044
SECTION: RELIGION                    PAGE: A-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By GEORGE W. CORNELL ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

MENNONITES REMAIN A GROUP MANY PEOPLE DON'T KNOW

The thousands of Mennonites gathered for their biennial convention in Philadelphia this week appear like most assemblages of U.S. Christians, and their meetings ponder many of the same issues confronting churches at large.

"Overall, the things that distinguish Mennonites are living a genuinely simple life, trying to be faithful to God, contributing to moral values and showing love in regard to other people," says James M. Lapp of Elkhart, Ind., general secretary of the Mennonite Church's general board.

A survey has found that most people are unfamiliar with Mennonites, with only a fourth of respondents knowing anything about them, and most linking them to old-fashioned garb and customs.

But in many ways Mennonites share contemporary modes, conveniences and facilities, and like other churches, grapple with modern problems of homelessness and poverty and argue over such issues as women's ordination. Despite this, they still have their particular distinctiveness.

They're pacifists, one of three major "peace" denominations in the country, along with the Church of the Brethren and Quakers, taking literally Christ's teaching to love enemies and not to use violence in resisting it.

They're also especially close-knit in their congregations, stressing a sense of family and neighborly cooperation. They avoid sworn oaths, insisting simply on affirming the truth. And they've had a traditional aversion to involvement with government.

"We're divided on that issue," Lapp said in an interview. "Some feel we should witness to government when human welfare is at stake. Others say we should stay quieter and separate and not attempt to influence government.

"We've agreed at this point to disagree on that issue."

That and other separatist tendencies are seen as stemming from the early history of Mennonites in the 16th century Protestant Reformation when they were brutally persecuted by both Protestants and Roman Catholics for insisting on adult baptism.

Called "anabaptists" for rebaptizing those who had been baptized as infants, about 5,000 Mennonites were slaughtered over a 10-year period in Germany and Switzerland, causing their withdrawal from relations with government and also their fleeing elsewhere.

They first came to America in the Colonial period, starting at Germantown, Pa., in 1683, and soon spread to Ohio, Virginia, Indiana, Illinois and farther West, with congregations now across 42 states. They affirm central Protestant beliefs.

However, their inclination lingers to avoid government-social issues and to see the church as a separate sphere. Yet they were among the first opponents of slavery.

"Historically on some matters we have tried to influence government as on the freedom to be pacifist," Lapp said. "Frequently we've spoken out for the poor and against racism and other such practices."

Yet "some are reluctant to address even those issues," he added. "But as Christians we can't afford not to offer our witness particularly in a democratic country such as ours."

The Mennonite Church, largest of several branches in this country, has about 110,000 members, up 10 percent in eight years. Other branches bring the total to 380,000 American Mennonites, with 900,000 worldwide.

Their mistaken identification with old-fashioned dress, buggies and customs stems from distant links to the Amish, who broke away from the Mennonites about 300 years ago. They're mostly farmers.

American Mennonites originally were a largely agricultural people, but Lapp said that element is rapidly diminishing - now only about 20 percent - with most Mennonites in a variety of urban trades and professions.

Along with the Mennonites' extensive relief and development work overseas, surpassing that of many much larger denominations, Mennonite membership has grown rapidly among dark-skinned peoples abroad, soon to outnumber whites.

In this country, too, the image of U.S. Mennonites being largely of German-Swiss descent is changing. Lapp said American Mennonites now include many ethnic groups, with worship in 30 different languages and dialects.

For example, in Philadelphia, eight of the 17 Mennonite congregations are ethnic groups - black, Hispanic, Korean, Cambodian, Indonesian and others.