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Introduction
- Texas A&M University Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
In a state known for its size and pride, a people known for understatement stands out. They are not numerous in the wide expanse of Texas, but when the plainly dressed Mennonites enter a store, walk down a sidewalk, or pass through an airport waiting area, heads turn to watch them. Ours did. Big and bold Texas. Quiet and unassuming Mennonites . What drew them together? What did (and do) they offer each other? First independently and then as a team,we set out to discover the answers to these questions and others that intrigued us about this religious group often associated with the Amish country of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and its surrounds.Through repeated and sometimes sustained visits and with the help of our camera lenses, we came to know this culture within a culture, these people with distinctive head coverings, plain dress, and a conservative, humble demeanor.In this book we introduce them to you and invite you to share a slice of their lives. In the following pages we have documented two Texas Mennonite communities, separated by almost miles, which are thriving, growing, and contributing to the state not just economically but also culturally, civically, and historically . Characterized by hard work and simple living, the Mennonites lead private lives centered on their church community.They separate themselves physically but mostly spiritually from the larger society, eschewing many of the Introduction Laura L. Camden and Susan Gaetz trappings of the modern world.In every aspect of their lives, God comes first. Nevertheless, the Mennonites, who have come to the state from as far away as Canada and Mexico, also share the pioneering spirit that has brought numerous other groups to Texas. Two Mennonite Communities Texas has been home to Mennonites for more than a century , though many of their fellow citizens have not been aware of it. Currently more than different congregations, representing different groups of Mennonites, are scattered throughout the Lone Star State.1 The two communities featured in this book, Lott and Seminole, are particularly interesting because of their distinctive similarities and differences, both historical and cultural. Since both communities are Mennonite, they share the core beliefs of salvation by faith, adult baptism, pacifism and nonresistance, and the separation of church and state. Both groups are rurally based, have been in Texas more than twenty-five years,and are relatively conservative as compared with other Mennonite congregations. A rural lifestyle is an important aspect of their conservatism because it helps them maintain a spiritual community apart from the world and its materialism. Despite their similarities and common faith, these two communities rarely interact with each other. They represent disparate groups of Mennonites with dissimilar historical origins,and this is where the differences begin. Most Mennonites trace their ancestry to the sixteenthcentury Anabaptist movement in Europe. This movement, which is discussed in detail in the next chapter, garnered its greatest support in two separate areas of Europe—Switzerland and southern Germany as well as parts of the Netherlands and northern Germany. These two pockets came to represent the two major ethnic branches of the Anabaptist movement. In turn, the Lott and Seminole communities each represent one of the two branches. The Lott community , with its Amish ancestry, descended from the Swiss Brethren, whereas the Seminole Mennonites have a northern Germanic heritage. This is important because, as the two branches dispersed, they migrated to different parts of the world to escape persecution. These diverse paths of migration affected the culture of these groups, resulting in some of the dissimilarities we see in the Lott and Seminole congregations today. The Mennonites near Seminole moved to Texas from Canada and Mexico, where their ancestors migrated years ago. Today their agrarian-based community includes five churches with a population hovering near five thousand. These churches represent various groups of Mennonites, including Old Colony, Reinlander, the Evangelical Mennonite Church, the Evangelical Mennonite Mission Conference , and Sommerfelder Mennonite. The families in Lott are Beachy Amish Mennonites and attend a single church. The initial families came from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Iowa—areas with large concentra- [54.234.136.147] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 09:57 GMT) tions of Mennonites and Amish.The community,preferring to remain small, has close to thirty-five families. Because of economic hardships, the families in Lott do not farm for a living, although living “close to the soil” would be their preference. Instead, most of the men work in trades. In both communities, the families either rent or own...