A Mennonite Wedding

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  We were invited to a wedding in a church in Spanish Lookout. This is a conservative church that has left the Kleine Gemeinde religion and traditions, yet still resemble the KG in some ways. Married women wear a small headcovering but unmarried girls don't; singing is still acapella with a violin or organ as low background music. Their services are conducted in Plautdietsch. A Mestizo lady and her daughter who had been invited looked lost. They don't hate outsiders or push them away if they attend, they warmly welcome you but as of right now it is mainly a Plautdietsch church, which is becoming popular with those who have left the Old Colony and Old Order and are looking for a church which is halfway between liberal and traditional.
  The wedding was beautiful, (and the bride was even more beautiful) as all weddings are. Notice the bridesmaids's dresses and the bride herself. Such things are not allowed in the KG church, nor do they have bridesmaids at all. First there was some congregational singing in Plautdietsch, then a short sermon, then a much longer one which was spoken by a preacher from Germany. I really appreciated his earnest and fervent way of explaining the importance of Godly love in a marriage. Wedding vows were exchanged, a youth choir sang some songs, then the people were dismissed to wait for the potluck meal.
             


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