Several months passed in which things remained unsettled. Somewhere in the course of conversation one day at my parents house we mentioned what the farrier had told us about the limits on prayer. My parents weren't impressed and the next time they got to see the bishop (Mom's brother) they asked him about. After talking to the bishops in the neighboring districts he confirmed that yes, prayer was not something they wanted lay members to be doing a lot of. He couldn't support that and it kind of worked as the last straw for him as well and before long he announced that their family would be moving to a new community that was starting in Kentucky.
With my parents planning to move, plus all the uncles and their families we were beginning to feel desperate again. After talking to LV's parents about everything they convinced us we would love the community where they live. That there is so much love there for everyone and it's so much more spiritual. It sounded good so we made plans to go visit them again and to check out the area a little more.
It was snowing when we left but when we arrived at their house we loved how everything was green and warm and the weather felt delightful. They gushed on and on about how wonderful everything was until we decided that yes, this is the place for us. They quickly made arrangements for us to meet with all the ministers for our interview and the reading of their ordnung. The one minister was really friendly but had a way of mumbling into his long beard that it was hard to understand what he was saying. It was late and we had to struggle to stay awake until they got done explaining everything. Before he left he reached into one of his pockets and handed us a copy of the ordnung. It was well worn and creased with several big splotches of grease on it. I didn't want to touch it but LV accepted it and after we had tucked the children into bed we held it gingerly with the tips of our fingers and read it again. Most of it was just the regular do's and don'ts that were a part of any Amish community but at the very end they had a little piece that bothered us a little. There was to be no discussing of any scripture unless a minister was present. We shrugged it off though since we didn't think it would affect us. We weren't prone to launch into the discussions of anything concerning scriptures.
The next day we went land shopping and found a three hundred acre farm a little ways down the road from LV's parents and made an offer. The owner accepted and we went home with a lot of packing and things to do before our moving day that we set for three months later.
Coming home we let the person who wanted first chance at our farm know that we were planning to move. They immediately made plans to move in the day we moved out. It seemed a little surreal that we were actually leaving the place we loved so well.
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I have enjoyed your journey! Our family went to an independant church where the Pastor frowned on members getting together for a Bible study. We are still independant Baptist, but no longer go to that church.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine not discussing scriptures, and I can't wait to read more. :)
ReplyDeleteI have been reading your blog for some time but have not commented before. I would like to thank you for writing such an interesting, thought provoking story but also heart warming story
ReplyDeleteJane
I personally am so glad you made this decision. We might not have ever met :)and got to know each other.
ReplyDeleteWow! Must have been a tough decision...
ReplyDeleteAh, ha! I smell trouble brewing.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine not being allowed to discuss scripture without a minister present. Our parish has a very loosely coordinated women's group that meets once a week to eat, do needlework, eat, discuss a scripture passage, eat, digress,get back on topic, and oh, did I mention we eat?
And our rector is almost never there. Even if she's in her office, she seldom joins the group, unless it's to - um, have a bite to eat!
I remember when we moved from OH to NC, I was sitting in Sunday School one day. I had been thinking about having a Bible study and the minister told me that we shouldn't have one without him or one of the other ministers present. That made me feel really sad. Where they afraid we'd find some truth that they weren't preaching or something they preached wasn't in the Bible? It's been several years since I left that denomination, and I think that is indeed what they were afraid of. B/c if you don't live by their set of legalistic rules, then you cannot be one of them. How truly sad for them. I am so thankful for the freedom I have in Christ today! :o)
ReplyDeleteI just can't believe anyone would tell you how much you can pray or discuss scriptures.
ReplyDeleteI sure wouldn't be welcome there!! : )
I'm glad you were able to find a place so quickly.
ReplyDeletePaul says to Timothy, who is younger than him, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching. Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message..." (I Timothy 4:12-14)
ReplyDeleteand
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
If you are gifted to teach, then teach.....It helps to pray beforehand and read up in commentaries, concordances etc on the context of the passage etc, but that's what a good Bible study leader is all about....with or without a pastor present. N'est-ce pas? (Isn't it?)
Your posts are such cliff-hangers! :) I can't imagine being limited to talk about Scripture with a minister present.
ReplyDeleteI am glad to hear that you did find a nice place so quickly.I am trying to catch up with the past posts.
ReplyDeleteI have enjoyed reading everything so far.
How how hard that would be scripture just comes up in conversation about things at least it does with hubby and I cant wait for the books you are going to be doing to be published
ReplyDeleteChanges are always though, but it sounds like you made the right decesion.
ReplyDeleteWow that is so brave and very scary at the same time. Blessings, Joanne
ReplyDeleteMary Ann, I enjoy reading your blog. You have a real gift of writing..
ReplyDeleteBecca, last week, when you commented on my blog. That day or the next, BLOGGER had some problems, & I lost all the comments on that day.. I didn't want you to think I had deleted them!! Love makin' new friends!!
I'm reminded of a dear old friend of mine who had a bible study in her home for years and years. Her church got a new pastor who declared that no one could host a bible study without him present. Her reply was classic: "I had a bible study before he came, and I'll still have one after he goes." Ha! She outlasted him.
ReplyDeleteThis is so interesting - a real difference in religious culture, compared to what I'm used to.
ReplyDeleteI was raised as an Episcopalian, although my mother was a Methodist. My husband and children are Catholic. I can't even imagine a priest/minister/rector trying to tell members of the congregation they couldn't discuss scripture, or have Bible studies on their own. Not that I'm interested in either - I'm an atheist. But at least in the churches I or my family have attended, a clergyman who tried to pull that nonsense would either be ignored, or be gone.