Mennonites in Belize

  Not all Mennonites have big families, in fact some can't even have their own so they adopt children. Read on.   I can say with confidence that 99.9% of the Mennonites living in Belize are anti-abortion. You might find the odd one that will unashamedly be pro-abortion, but I doubt it.   In the more conservative groups, such as Old Order and Old Colony, families are big. It is completely normal to have up to 13 children, if not more. They take the Bible literally in this area and because of that shun birth control. I personally know a man who has 20 children. I have seen a young couple heading to a gathering with little ones crammed in the back of the buggy. Nothing wrong with big families except that sadly, in many cases the woman's health is not taken into consideration and the older children often receive unusually harsh treatment.   Back when the Kleine Gemeindes had just moved to Belize and were much more conservative, they also had large families. As th...

                 Old Colony Mennonites To view each picture better, simply touch it.   Indeed, if you were looking for surprises among the Mennonites in Belize, here's the place to start. The biggest but not the only community of Old Colony (Altkolonie) Mennonites in Belize, Shipyard in the northern district of Orange Walk is a mixture of 19th century traditions, 20th century machinery and 21st century digital technology. Hardworking individuals, deeply rooted in their personal traditions and beliefs, and rapidly expanding their population. Yet, they are not as closed off to the modern world as many think they are.   Like the modern Mennonites of Spanish Lookout and Blue Creek, they certainly have businesses too. Hardware stores, metalworks, general merchandises, leather shops, carpentry, lumberyards, meat processing plants, etc.; in fact they are the second most industrial group of Mennonites in the country. ...

..........is by far the most read and the most shared of all my articles on the Mennonites. It is no wonder, since all Mennonites are usually at odds when explaining, defining and comparing the issue of headcovering, as in how long, what color, when should it be worn, only for members or should we include non-members, style, type of fabric and so on. The liberal ones have cast it off completely and wonder why the conservatives still cling to it. The conservatives in turn are shocked that the liberal ones dare to pray and perform church duties without a headcovering. Etc., etc., etc.