Analysis of the Article about the Historical Developments of Mennonites by Funk and Kampen - Assignment Example

Journal Аrtiсlе Rеviеws First Article: “Urban by Default: Mennonites in the lower main land of British Columbia” by Funk and Kampen The article “Urban by Default: Mennonites in the lower main land of British Columbia” is about the historical developments of Mennonites and more so their approach towards modernization with the backdrop of traditional practices. At the introductory part, Funk and Kampen states that the post war era acted as the turning point for the British Columbia society as well as playing a critical role in drawing Mennonites into its wake (Funk & Kampen, 2). The post war era would lead to the end of concentrated rural settlements of Greendale, Yarrow and Abbotsford as well the pronouncement of migration to Vancouver. The migration and reduced concentration in these settlements would lead to the encroachment into the Fraser Valley with the transformation of the farms that were remaining into small towns and agribusiness. According to the authors of the article, the developments show that the initial resolve for the Mennonites of establishing separate communities in rural areas where their tradition could be preserved was eclipsed by societal pressures as well as historical change. At the same time, the authors argue that the early tight-knit societies of Mennonites were due to the stigma in the public which was reflected in the public societal attitude as well as policy as far as Mennonite internationality was concerned (Funk & Kampen, 2). The developments that took place after the World War II led to the systematic shedding of the societal stigma associated to one’s being a Mennonite as well as leading to the rapid conformity to the demands of modernization and urbanization. In this process, Mennonites would lose their sub cultural identity. As time passed on, instead of Mennonites being taken as undesirable and a group that could not be assimilated into the rest of the society, they were later redefined as potential citizens. Critical to note is that the change that was observed in the public representation of the identity of Mennonite was not of their own choosing entirely but the Mennonite identity has become one of the self-fulfilling prophecies (Funk & Kampen, 5). Notably the values of this community were not matching to the social pressure to confirm as well as the individual impulse that was underlying modernity and urbanization. In this it can be convincingly be said that the identity of Mennonites in the part of Lower Mainland has been mostly symbolic and that the religious identity of this community has merged and fragmented with the expressions of North America evangelical theologies. The authors note that economically, socially, and politically, most of the contemporary Mennonites in this region differ from the non- Mennonite neighbors. Further, the paper has outlined the generative model of analysis as one of the alternative methods to the conventional circular and linear models of understanding the experiences of Mennonite as the minority group that lives in this host community (Funk & Kampen, 6). In this regard, the authors have emphasized on counter representation, representation, and self-definition that is included in the social makeup of the Mennonite identity. At the same time, through the use of archival and library materials the authors have summarized the historical importance and of experiences of North German, Dutch, Russian, Prussian and Canadian Mennonites. In this summary, the authors argues find that Mennonites were left with two alternatives which included to resist or to conform to the conditions that were prevailing in each era but they had little control of such conditions themselves. Finally, the two authors have offered some generalization through both contemporary and historical sources including different views and definitions. Second Article: “Ordinance or ordering: Ordnung and Amish Ministers meeting, 1862 – 1878” by James Nelson Gingerich. In the “Ordinance or ordering: Ordnung and Amish Ministers meeting, 1862 – 1878” by James Nelson Gingerich, discusses some of the deliberations that were agreed upon in the meetings involving Amish and Ordnung ministers that between 1862 to 1878 (Gingerich, 180). The author has started by stating that the Amish have had a long history of Ordnungen. Gingerich provided the definition of the term “Ordunug”, which I refer to the discipline or ordinances of the church thus defining the total order of life as a specific community. In the Ordnungen presented in the article the Amish Church in North America was seeking to keep itself pure as well as ensure that it maintained its unity and identity in the nineteenth century. Notably from 1862 to 1878, through series of minister meetings, the Amish leaders finalized an “Old Order versus Progressive schism in the American Amish Church. In this way, they were involved, at length, in the discussion of the content of Ordnungen (Gingerich, 180). In the meetings, the ministers were seeking a united position on different issues that were facing the church as well as how baptism was to be administered. At the same time, they also discussed the role of deacon in the church activities including the office of a person who had been confirmed a deacon (Nolt, 55). Further, the meetings were also covering the meetinghouses, appropriate responses to Civil War, fashion in dress, political activities and innovations such as insurance, lightning rods, photographs as well as lotteries. However, the although argues that although there were concerns about the content in the Ordnung as illustrated above, the reports that were compiled in these meetings failed to indicate that the church ministers also discussed the part played by Ordnung explicitly. In this way, there were confusions as to whether the ministers needed to regard Ordnung as fixed legal document or code, as organic traditions that would bring and hold people together or as merely non-binding advice and counsel from the larger church brotherhood (Gingerich, 184). Despite the fact that the meetings did not explicitly deal with these questions, there existed basic disagreements on the role that was being given Ordnungen, which underlain the discussions in the meetings including specific issues and methods on how the church discipline would be enforced. The author states that in the context of Amish usage of the term “Ordnung”, they were referring to the clearly understood code of conduct that the church ensures it was maintained not through systematic or explicit policies and rules as well as regulations but through tradition. Besides having Ordnung as a code of conduct for the Amish Church, the church also had Ordnungsbriefe which refers to the “letters of order” (Gingerich, 186). The “letters of order” were actions that were recorded from the earlier conferences which involved elders and ministers in Europe. Accordingly, these meetings were being organized in order to maintain and /or restore unity within the church as well as formulating church rules. In addition, through these letters were not published, the Amish leaders were able to hand them down to from one bishop to another, which ensured that these documents received a wide circulation (Petrovich,229). Critically to note is that according to the author, the Ordnungen that were being adopted in these as well as the European conferences were not primarily dealing with creedal or doctrinal issues but rather with matters of ministerial service, church discipline, and congregational life. The author notes that Ordnungen continued to play a significant role in the Amish practices. However, the author maintains that there were more similarities than differences in rotation to the Old Order and the Progressive. For example, the two groups were reading from the same script in reference to the values that they were placing on the past Ordnungen (Gingerich, 189). At the same time, they agreed on the question of if the Ordnungen were to receive strict interpretations or observed (Smucker, 65). The issue of Ordnungens’ was not as well a question of contention. However, the main difference between the two groups was on the issue on the role of these meetings as well as the function of Ordnungen in guiding the Amish Church in the view of change. Third article: “Death and Dying Beliefs and Practices Among Low German-speaking Mennonites: Application to Practice”, by Judith C Kulig and HaiYan Fan. The “Death and Dying Beliefs and Practices Among Low German-speaking Mennonites: Application to Practice was written by Judith C Kulig and HaiYan Fan. The two authors’ objective was to determine if the application of cultural safety framework to the palliative Or end-of-life care of Low German-speaking Mennonites is warranted (Kulig & Fan, 4). According to the authors, the German-speaking refers to the group with religious beliefs that are fully incorporated into their cultural practices. In the study, the researchers, based on the death and dying among that group, were able to conclude that the application of end-of-life or palliative care for Mennonites was warranted but not completed on formal basis. the goals of the study was to come up with evidence-based palliative-care guidelines which would allow social services and heath care providers to help people from the Low German-speaking Mennonites in the provision of effective healthcare. In order to meet the above objective, the research was conducted in the rural community of Southern Manitoba and Southern Alberta, which consists of 40,000 and 37,000 LGS Mennonites respectively (Kulig & Fan, 5). In the study, the data analysis was carried out simultaneously with data collection thus allowing for alterations in the probes and questions that the researchers used. Briefly, the team used interviews to collect qualitative data. The collection of data also involved Mennonite assistants who played a critical role of ensuring that as many Mennonite participated since they have been taught to avoid mainstream society. In the end, the study revealed that the understanding of death in the LGS Mennonite as well as practices associated with death in this community is mostly influenced by both religious and cultural beliefs (Kulig & Fan, 15). The research observed that the LGS Mennonites have accepted death as part of their physical life thus providing an opportunity for people to reflect on their individual lives with the aim of rebuilding a positive relationship with God. The spiritual needs of Mennonites are addressed through the performance of some rituals that should be respected by all social service and healthcare providers such as sitting and singing in silence around a bed of a sick person . finally, the author notes that is critically important to educate healthcare and service care providers in order to respect the cultural practices and beliefs of their clients as well as being culturally positive. Works Cited Funk, Johann, and Ruth Kampen. "Urban By Default: Mennonites in the Lower Mainland Of British Columbia." Journal of Mennonite Studies 20. (2002): 199-224. Academic Search Premier. Web. Gingerich, James. Ordinance or ordering: Ordnung and Amish Ministers meeting, 1862 – 1878. Pitney Bowes. Print. Nolt, Steven M. A History of the Amish. New York, New York: Good Books, 2015. Web. Kulig, Judith, and HaiYan Fan. (Death and dying beliefs and practices among Low German- speaking Mennonites: Application to practice. Lethbridge, AB: University of Lethbridge. 2013. Print. Petrovich, Christopher G. "Spiritual Theology in An Amish Key: Theology, Scripture, And Praxis." Journal Of Spiritual Formation & Soul Care 6.2 (2013): 229-254. Academic Search Premier. Web. Smucker, Donovan E. The Sociology of Mennonites, Hutterites & Amish: A Bibliography with Annotations, Volume Ii, 1977-1990. Waterloo, Ont: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2015. Web. Read More