Mennonites in Belize

     Baptism. The word evokes a sense of peace and assurance to some, nervousness to certain ones, while for others, it’s simply a ritual they need to perform sooner or later to remain in the good graces of the church. No teenager wants to have the pastor or deacon bugging him about being baptized, so why not get it over with as soon as possible? Perhaps for some of you it was not even a choice.   In this particular Mennonite church we visited a few weeks ago, a young person, on the verge of adulthood, had a choice. The person could have refused to join the congregation based on the circumstances in life but instead the choice was made to follow where God was leading. And God had led to this point of no return. Yet the person appeared serene and joyful with no trace of regret or worry.   We sat on the hard wood benches, men on one side and women on the other. Due to pelvic and spinal issues, I couldn’t sit comfortably but did manage to sweat  ...

     Kleine Gemeinde and Amish Mennonite churches often come together for singings, preachings, and conferences. Gray clouds floated in front of a layer of white ones with hints of a shower later on. The breeze, always from the east, carried the smell of ripening corn into the wooden church building. Butterflies drifted over the recently mowed yard while to the north a small Cessna crossed the sky. But today my mind was not on these things.   I was eager to find out the process through which one becomes a member of an Amish Mennonite church, namely the Conservative Mennonites (not quite the same as the Beachy Amish) after having been a baptized member of another similar traditional church.   Turns out it's a bit different–and much simpler– from the Holdeman Mennonites church where I grew up in. The applicant is allotted a time of "proving" during which the baptized members admonish, rebuke or bring forth. Members meetings are held during these months...