Mennonites | Ain't Complicated

Good’s Stores and the American Flag

Google alerted me to this story:

Controversy is surrounding a popular general store in Lancaster County because of its decision to not sell American flags.

A number of viewers have contacted News 8 about this decision, wondering if it was true.

News 8 asked employees of Good’s Store about the decision. They said that the owners are of the Anabaptist faith, which includes Mennonites and Amish. Their beliefs follow the teachings of love your enemies and non-violence.

But that statement is not good enough for some of Good’s customers, like Mary Elen Rice, of Holtwood.

She thinks that Good’s should sell the flags no matter what the owners believe.

“They were persecuted from wherever they came from for their religious beliefs. So, they came here for their freedom,” said Rice. “So, they should be proud to be an American, and the flag represents America as far as I’m concerned.”

Rice said that she vows not to shop at Good’s again.

The owners said that they accept any consequences of their faith and respect other people’s viewpoints, but they will not sell the flag.

I strongly and heartily and publicly commend Good’s Stores for their stance on this issue.

I have a question for them, though. The story above is headlined this way by WGAL: Local General Store Stops Sale Of American Flags.

To the folks at Good’s — Is that headline accurate? Having formerly sold American flags, have you discontinued selling them? (Maybe they will reply in the comments below!)

Mennonite Your Way

I have never Mennonited my way, though I have stayed in a few Mennonite homes while traveling. The family we have most “taken advantage of” is that of Lyle Kropf in Arizona. (Thank you, Lyle and Nancy!!)

If it were solely up to Ruby, we would Mennonite our way all over the place lots of times. 😆 (Consider that one of our “opposites attract” Tidbits You Don’t Need To Know About Us But Now You Do.)

Goolge Alerts informed me of this a few minutes ago:

Many Mennos don’t realize that there is a fantastic resource out there for our enjoyment and usage. It’s called the “Mennonite Your Way” Directory. It is a very nice book full of listings of Mennonites around the world willing to take in other Mennonites who are travelling and want to stay in a cozy, local home for a portion of their journey. Lodging is by donation and though hosts are not expected to do any entertaining, driving or feeding, part of the fun is chatting over a cup of tea.

Here you may read more of the Thiessen story.

You also might be interested in stopping by Mennonite Your Way.

“Nothing Less Than Prophetic”

For those who have taken our religious freedom for granted or have gradually slipped into lukewarmness or even hypocrisy, this book may jolt us back to reality.

“Have you read The Whirlwind Cometh?” asked my Arizona friend shortly after noon today.

He just came across the book and is probably done with it by now. He said reading it in the context of what’s going on in the United States these days made chills go up and down his spine.

“It’s nothing less than prophetic,” he said (and I think that’s an exact quote).

He thinks every young man and young woman in our Mennonite churches should read it. “Required reading for” is the way I recall him putting it.

Maybe some day I will get around to posting some excerpts from this novel, set in Canada.

Apparently written by an Amish author who chose to remain anonymous, this inexpensive little book is published by Pathway Publishers. (Maybe this qualifies as one of the few truly profitable amish novels!)

This is an unusual book, a story you will not soon forget. A new Canadian government under Prime Minister John Smith sweeps into power, and at once begins a program to bring reform to Canada. One result is that the historic peace churches are put to a test to see if they are truly nonresistant and if their faith is genuine. The young people must appear before tribunals before they are granted conscientious objector status.

For those who have taken our religious freedom too much for granted, or have gradually slipped into lukewarmness or even hypocrisy, this book may jolt us back to reality. This gripping story is not a history, but a challenge to examine the present and be ready for the future.

Hey — an idea! You could buy your own copy and post your comments here!

Anabaptist Bookstore: The Whirlwind Cometh

Mennonite or Mormon?

The day it happened, I was going to blog a bit about the LeBaron-Widmar killings in Chihuahua, Mexico. After all, Benjamin LeBaron and Luis Widmar were identified by the Associated Press as “members of the pacifist Mennonite community in northern Mexico.”

Then I decided not to bother calling attention to the story, even though I’m a Mennonite.

A day or two later I started seeing stories about a couple of Mormons killed in northwest Mexico.

This morning I verified the stories are all about the same murders.

Are Mennonites and Mormons so easy to confuse?

I assume LeBaron and Widmar were Mormons, since a Web search I did turned up more references to them as such rather than Mennonites.

Whatever the case, friends and families are hurting, especially two wives and ten children. May they find lasting solace and peace in God.

On 99E: Shedd Cafe

So I took a break from hanging out at Linn-Benton Community College (Albany, Oregon) and went driving south on Highway 99E.

Before I got to the Highway 34 overpass, I saw this billboard:

Sign near Tangent (Oregon) for Tangent Mennonite Church

I’ve been to that church! If you can’t go visit them (as they invite), you could at least stop by their website: Tangent Mennonite Church.

That railroad bridge looks mighty rusty; keep Oregon green, I say:

Two bridges on Highway 99E between Tangent and Shedd, Oregon

Not knowing where I was going or what I was looking for, I drove all the way through Shedd and missed the cafe. Read it all

MCC Iran Silence

Should the Mennonite Central Committee be silent on Iran?

As a Christian and a conservative Mennonite (the latter of which MCC isn’t, by the way), I say they shouldn’t make any political statements regarding the unrest in Iran.

Alas, they have not kept silence when it comes to Israel’s “mistreatment” and “oppression” and so forth of Palestinians. Nor have they kept silence when it has come to saying good things about Iran’s leadership.

Therefore, it seems the folks at CAMERA make a good point:

When it comes to rehabilitating his image in the United States, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad can count on the Mennonite Central Committee for assistance.

The organization has sponsored two dinners and an interfaith pilgrimage to Tehran during which Christian leaders have met with the Iranian President and offered kind words about the man afterwards.

Now that events demonstrate that Ahmadinejad is the public face of a brutal regime willing to suppress the people it governs, the organization has fallen silent.

After more than two days of protests and violence in Iran, the MCC has not published any statement about the organization on its website, nor does it have any plans to.

Even though I don’t identify with MCC, I still cringe at that kind of negative publicity seared to the the term Mennonite. 🙁

Oh, the above-quoted story is dated June 15. I just probed the MCC site and found no current Iran-related statement.

Maybe MCC has turned over a new leaf and has decided to stay out of politics. If that is the case, I commend them for that.

Hubbard, Oregon

Way back in 1983-1987, we used to live in the town, in this little house:

Since it’s in the Industrial Park, I’m kinda surprised it’s still there and in use as a private residence. In fact, the mailbox I put up is still there, now in rusty glory:

They’ve got a nice park. Maybe our family will go there for a picnic this summer:

Ruby and I were in Hubbard this morning on a little Let’s Get Reacquainted expedition.

Read it all