News | Mennonites | New Restrictions

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   Again. Yet again. Stricter curfew hours, certain churches being completely closed down, etc. Due to a sharp rise in cases, the government is imposing new restrictions to the point where it seems as if a lot of the blame is being placed on churches. But the Mennonite churches inside autonomous colonies haven't paid much attention to Covid regulations. Is it really because God is first in their hearts? Or maybe it's more out of religious tradition embedded in their culture through 400 years of isolation. In other words, to stop gathering for church on Sunday is to stop being Mennonite. Outside the colonies, Mennonite churches are much more heedful about obeying regulations.
  A much anticipated debate between pro-vaxxers and anti-vaxxers scheduled for Friday was halted by the government out of concern that it would be spreading misinformation (or perhaps they were more concerned about the anti-vaxxers actually winning the argument).
  In other news, Mennonite farmers are under the spotlight for refusing to be vaccinated. Mr. Jose Mai, the Minister in charge of the agricultural sector, declared that although he did not agree with them, he did respect their views. Unfortunately other government officials do not have the same attitude. From the looks of it he seems to be the government minister that spends more time with the Mennonites than any other minister, which is no doubt due to the fact that Mennonites contribute extensively to the agricultural economy of Belize.
  The vaccine campaign has intensified countrywide. I am keenly following the situation to see how it plays out among the various Mennonite church groups. Read this interesting story about a Mennonite pastor in Canada concerning the vaccine.





                                                 A. Mendoza
  

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