Mennonites in Belize

   It is now officially set. Farmer's Trading Center, the country's biggest supermarket and distributor combined, will be holding it's annual sale day on October 27th, the last Saturday of the month. Lots to see and do, many cultures and nationalities are present, all sorts of food to buy.  

 Hurricane season is in full swing. Rarely though, that a major hurricane will actually hit Belize. The last hurricane to land in the country was Hurricane Earl in 2016 as a Category1. It swept through the central corridor at night. The only Mennonite community to be directly affected was Spanish Lookout. Nothing catastrophic as far as lives and houses but the corn crop was ruined. Some fallen trees and downed power lines could be seen in Spanish Lookout because the storm lost its strength after hitting the coast. No lives were lost. We don't know yet what this year will bring.   Hurricane season is from June to November.

         A Look at the Holdeman's Baptism     I'm writing about this interesting topic because they are the only Mennonite church who believe in and hold to the doctrine of rebaptizing before joining their church. Why rebaptize if the Bible says "one baptism"? Well, according to them, it also says, "one Lord, one faith, one Father". Therefore for an applicant to join, he needs to be spiritually led to believe the way they do so that he can honestly and sincerely say he now believes in "one Lord, one faith" with them.   That brings in the topic of "the one true church". However, let me be clear. I'm not here to point out which Mennonite church or group has the right doctrine and only way to be saved. I'm writing about the Mennonites in Belize and describing their lifestyle and beliefs.   Since they believe that they are "the true church" as far as doctrinal views and other Biblical principles, baptism is one of their s...

  Like I mentioned in a post earlier in this blog, the majority of Mennonite stores and companies are owned by the German-speaking Mennonites. The big and modern enterprises are owned and managed mostly by Kleine Gemeinde and liberal Mennonites.   Anyways, some of these big businesses use the 21st of September, Independence Day, to take their staff out for some fun and games.   Two semi-private Mennonite-run schools also hold a student's parade, usually the day before the 21st or the last school day before the 21st. Patriotic flags, banners, and music in a Mennonite community would have been unheard of not too long ago. Conservatism is releasing its hold on the KG Mennonites. Many vehicles have little national flags waving from the mirrors or antenna.   The communities that still remain closed to patriotism and national festivities are those of the Old Colony in the north and the Old Order in central and south Belize. Beachy and Holdeman Mennonites look on patriot...

  The Old Colony men can be easily identified from their Old Order neighbors because they don't wear beards and mustaches. It's wrong for them to do so.   On the other hand, the Old Order Mennonites believe that all married men must let their beard grow unhindered, resulting in bushy haystacks. Mustaches are kept more in line, for obvious reasons.   Most Kleine Gemeinde or KG males are beardless and mustacheless too, more out of tradition than anything spiritual or Biblical because there are some who grow mustache and beard (and keep it neat and trimmed), but mostly the ones at the liberal end.    The Holdeman's doctrine requires all born-again baptized members to grow a beard and mustache as well as to be responsible to keep it trimmed and orderly. A few go against the doctrine and either grow bushy beards or none at all.   Beachy and Conservative Mennonites are a diverse, widely scattered group independent of a central government. Therefore the ones ...

  Who are these Mennonites who DON'T dress according to tradition and doctrine? Well, they're scattered all over the Mennonite colonies, mainly Spanish Lookout and Blue Creek and have also sprinkled themselves throughout the country. Made up of a mixed group of ex-KG, ex-Holdeman, ex-Beachy, ex-Old Colony, ex-Old Order, ex-everything, these non-conservative, "non-religious" ones go to whichever church they believe is the best one for their family without caring if it's a Plattdeutsche church or Creole church. Some of them don't even care about going to church at all. Consequently there is no dress code, no regulations on fashion and jewelry, no written or verbal agreement on anything specific.   However, there are some that tend to look askance at the conservative dress code of their other Mennonite neighbours to the point of ridicule, calling them "religious", "old-fashioned", and "rules written by humans and not God". Seems lik...

  The Old Order and especially Old Colonists will tell you they do it because it's their tradition, their lifestyle that God wants for them and any other way of dressing is sinful.   The KG will tell you it's the way they should always dress to obey the church decree and to keep the tradition of their forefathers; also to please God by keeping their clothing plain, simple and modest. But many understand that ultimately it is not your clothing that will save you but your faith in God. At least the more spiritually minded ones say that while the rigidly traditional have a mindset similar to the Old Colonist's. Quite interesting that they skimp, stretch and save on their clothes but drive luxurious cars, expensive furnishings, and costly farm machinery.   Holdemans, Beachy and Conservative Mennonites have a different explanation. Actually their way of dressing is held as a doctrine, agreed upon and decided by baptized members only. Briefly: God approves of male and female ...

A shopping center in the diverse Mennonite colony of Blue Creek, Orange Walk district A gas station in the Old Colony (Altkolonie) community of Shipyard, southeast of Blue Creek A graveyard The following 3 pictures were taken by a friend of mine and have been shared with permission from the photographer. A field in an Old Order Mennonite community (they are often called Amish) in central Belize, several miles south of Belmopan. The scenic Hummingbird Highway which runs past an Old Order Mennonite community. The soil here is very fertile.

  Also known as CGCM (Church of God in Christ, Mennonite) these folks are a little more simple and plain in their ceremonies. Recently there was 1 such wedding in southern Belize.   Again, on weddings and funerals, spouses are permitted to sit together more out of a lack of seating than anything else I guess, since none of the Holdeman church buildings are big enough to accomodate more than 100 people inside. Tarps and tents are set up outside.   Groom wears a black suit minus the tie, but the bride only wears a regular dress. The ceremony consists of a couple of congregational songs, some choir songs, an opening sermon, the main sermon(which can get quite long sometimes), the vows, then more choir singing. A total of 3 prayers are held.   The reception is held either on the church yard or at the bride's house, the latter being more typical of Belizean culture. Also typical of Belize culture is the meal, which is a heavy meal of rice and beans, chicken, torti...

  This time it was from the Kleine Gemeinde church. The bride is sort of related, thus the invitation.   Who the guests will be is decided by the bride and groom, as a result many close family members and church members are actually not invited due to the family tree being so big.   Anyways, lets enjoy the wedding. It was a typical KG wedding, no decorations and adornments in the church building, he wore a plain suit and she a plain white dress. One or 2 congregational songs, a short intrudoctory sermon, the main one, the vows, then a few choir songs; songs are generally in English but everything else is in Low German. The reception building is allowed to be more festive, the amount of decorations depends on how conservative the bride and groom are and also on their budget. Some singing is done and testimonies are shared. Usually the meal served is very light, the guests stand in line soup kitchen style then sit at the tables. The servers ration out the food. This pract...

  The following is a very brief look at the Mennonites' educational system. Sometime in the future I will do a more detailed and descriptive article:   Nearly all Mennonite children attend a private school for their primary education, then a few move on to public school for the secondary. The latter depends on the parent's belief and other religious regulations. Some KG, Beachy and other Conservative Mennonites subscribe to online courses for their children.                  Old Colony and Old Order   In Shipyard, Little Belize and other colonies up north, the teacher is often a male and students are taught High German instead of English. Their education consists a lot of memorizing and reciting. School does not follow the regular season like the rest of the country. It is held year round with a month's break here and there. Text books and other curriculum is limited.   The Old Order from central and south Belize ...