AURORA - In a home along Sherwood Road in Aurora, John and Marlene Becker, two Mennonites from Missouri, relaxed in recliners in their home on a rainy Friday afternoon.
The home was kept neat, their living room decorated with a calendar and simple wall decorations but no pictures. Flowered curtains surrounded the windows and books were neatly stacked in the living room.
Mennonites use heat and electricity but most don't have a TV or radio in their homes.
“We do consider the use of technology and modern conveniences,” John said.
Cell phones are used for business, what they're really intended to be used for, he said.
Computers are also used for business, but not entertainment, Marlene said.
“If it's useful for business, we'll consider it,” John said.
Marlene depends on the phone to stay in touch with her four children living in different states across the country.
In schools, older students learn to type using typewriters so they have the skill later on for business purposes.
John, who ministers the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, in Scipio, explained that the church used by this group of Holdeman Mennonites, is used primarily as a school for 20 students.
Mennonite schools are divided into three sections; first and second grade, third- through fifth-grades and sixth- through eighth-grades.
Most children don't receive education after eighth grade is completed unless they are home-schooled.
Instead, the young men learn the business of their father, older brothers or uncles. Women learn housewife duties, and some become nurses, teachers or join a voluntary service unit, where they leave their family to work at a children's or adult home.
No families in John's church are farmers. Yet, many move to the county for the cheaper land prices, especially in the northern part of the county, a Conquest town official said.
“Farming is a lot more difficult now than starting a business or learning a trade. It takes lots of investments and takes longer,” John said. “But it's historically preserved that many Mennonites are rural.”
Mennonites don't believe in labor unions because they feel strikes are forceful.
“This may be why so many Mennonites are self-employed,” John said.
The community does not vote, participate in politics or war. In 1940, the U.S. government created the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 granting those religions opposed to war humanitarian assignments in place of going to war.
John said it's common for Mennonites to create service groups within the church who regularly help when needed in emergencies. Marlene's sewing circle made sheets and blankets to send down to Louisiana during the hurricane and several of the men in John's church traveled to the New Orleans area following Hurricane Katrina to assist in cleanup.
Staff writer Kristina Martino can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kristina.martino@lee.net
Mennonites use heat and electricity but most don't have a TV or radio in their homes.
“We do consider the use of technology and modern conveniences,” John said.
Cell phones are used for business, what they're really intended to be used for, he said.
Computers are also used for business, but not entertainment, Marlene said.
“If it's useful for business, we'll consider it,” John said.
Marlene depends on the phone to stay in touch with her four children living in different states across the country.
In schools, older students learn to type using typewriters so they have the skill later on for business purposes.
John, who ministers the Church of God in Christ, Mennonite, in Scipio, explained that the church used by this group of Holdeman Mennonites, is used primarily as a school for 20 students.
Mennonite schools are divided into three sections; first and second grade, third- through fifth-grades and sixth- through eighth-grades.
Most children don't receive education after eighth grade is completed unless they are home-schooled.
Instead, the young men learn the business of their father, older brothers or uncles. Women learn housewife duties, and some become nurses, teachers or join a voluntary service unit, where they leave their family to work at a children's or adult home.
No families in John's church are farmers. Yet, many move to the county for the cheaper land prices, especially in the northern part of the county, a Conquest town official said.
“Farming is a lot more difficult now than starting a business or learning a trade. It takes lots of investments and takes longer,” John said. “But it's historically preserved that many Mennonites are rural.”
Mennonites don't believe in labor unions because they feel strikes are forceful.
“This may be why so many Mennonites are self-employed,” John said.
The community does not vote, participate in politics or war. In 1940, the U.S. government created the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 granting those religions opposed to war humanitarian assignments in place of going to war.
John said it's common for Mennonites to create service groups within the church who regularly help when needed in emergencies. Marlene's sewing circle made sheets and blankets to send down to Louisiana during the hurricane and several of the men in John's church traveled to the New Orleans area following Hurricane Katrina to assist in cleanup.
Staff writer Kristina Martino can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 238 or kristina.martino@lee.net
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