Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. April showers bring May flowers or so the saying goes. Are you blooming where you're planted as we begin the month of May?

Our Easter flowers are blooming nicely, but trees are still very bare.

Speaking figuatively, yes, I'm happily blooming where I'm planted.

2. On a scale of 1-10, with 1 being no big deal, and 10 being full scale panic, rank your fear of spiders.

I'm not exactly sure how to rate this because it depends on the size of the spider and whether or not someone else is available to get rid of it for me.

Tiny spiders are probably a two, big hairy ones a nine. I have been known to trap them under a bowl until they can be disposed of by someone else.

3. May is National Salad Month (who knew???)...besides lettuce, what are two must-have ingredients in your favorite salad?

Avocados and sour cream.

4. Joyce mentioned on her blog last week that her  Daughter1 will be moving to Washington State after she is married. Of the following sites in the Northwest, which would you most like to see in person-Crater Lake (Oregon), Seattle (Washington), Vancouver (British Columbia), San Juan Islands (Washington),  Mt. Rainer (Washington) Oregon Coast (Oregon), Mt. St. Helens (Washington), or Olympic National Park (Washington)

I would love to see all of them, but since we can choose only one I'll go with Crater Lake.

5. This coming weekend marks the 140th running of the Kentucky Derby...when did you last race (literally or figuratively) to cross a finish line?

Right now it feels as if we were racing towards a finish line. Trying to wrap up another year of school.

6. What is something little you love?

I love the little notes that appear on my pillow and other places where the children are sure I will find them.  I have a big box full of them, because I can never bear to think of throwing them away.

7. Would you say you are more of a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner? Elaborate.

I think I'm more visual, if someone shows me how something needs to be done I can comprehend, if I can read instructions I have no problems either, but if I have to simply listen to someone give instructions I feel my eyes start glazing over and I have a hard time following.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

 

Caught Buddy trying to find himself a little bedtime snack.

 

Z ~ Zeugnis

At the end of the main sermon the minister who delivered it will ask the other ministers for zeugnis. They are expected to confirm what they had just heard matches with what the Bible says, and then add some of their own thoughts.  For the most part this didn't take long, a few minutes a piece and it was time for the fifteen minute closing prayer and the last hymn.

Some ministers had a problem keeping their zeugnis short. One in particular would ramble on and on and on for thirty minutes or more. The one Sunday it had been the bishop's turn to deliver the main sermon. When he asked for zeugnis this minister again kept going and going, finally at the almost 45 minute mark, the bishop leaned forward and said, "I asked for zeugnis, not a sermon." You could have heard a pin drop.

After that, the zeugnis portion of church was much better, the long winded zeugnis giver now became the shortest, barking out only the bare minimum. We didn't mind.

Y ~ Yield

Of the basic things that makes an Amish church work, is the importance of knowing how to yield to those in authority and each other.

• Yielding to the ministry with unquestioning obedience. In a world that questions everything and wants to know reasons behind things, the Amish for the most part are free of that, accepting and yielding is the only acceptable response to the rules and regulations of the church.
• Yielding to the school board.  Next to the ministry they had the most power in the community.
• Yielding to your neighbor. Always being more concerned about his rights than your own.
• The worst yielding, and one that thankfully I never had to personally experience, was yielding to a team of men that would control every single penny you earned. This was reserved for those that had poor financial management. Filing bankruptcy is not an option, instead this team will step in and manage your money for you until you're debt free, they'll tell you what to work, how, when, and where. They'll give you a tiny grocery allowance to buy just the most basic of basic essentials. Anything you could possibly live without you will have to live without. Not fun for those involved, but this system did work.

X ~ eXcommunicate

In the Amish church if someone sins, or doesn't adhere to the ordnung they will be required to make a confession. There are several levels of confessions, first time offenders usually get the mildest form, repeat offenders have harsher consequences including excommunication.

In the event that the ministry decides somebody needs to be punished by excommunication they will ask members to remain seated after church while all non members are dismissed. The sinner is called out by name and his sin publicly announced. He is then asked to leave the room while everyone votes whether or not they agree that he should be excommunicated. The two ministers walk around the room pausing in front of each member so they can whisper their vote into his ear.  Choices were:

• Yes, I agree. God's blessings wished.
• No, I don't agree.
• Leaving the decision up to the church. God's blessings wished.

(Voting no is a huge no no, unless you don't mind getting into trouble too)

After all the votes have been taken the ministers return to their seats and announce what the votes had been, and the offender is asked to come back inside where he sits in front of the ministers. The bishop then tells him that the church agreed to his punishment, reads 1 Corinthians 5, and then proceeds to give him over to Satan. He is then required to leave the room immediately, while the bishop talks a little more about the seriousness of what just occurred.

During the next six weeks the excommunicated person can not eat with anyone, no one is allowed to take anything from his hand, or do any business with him. They are encouraged to be kind to him though, they will fill his plate with food and serve him, he can't sit at the same table as the rest of his family, but a few inches away where he can still be included in conversation.

After those six weeks are over he is reinstated into the church, if proper repentance is evident. Most times it is, because nothing is as terrifying as the thought of dying during that time and being lost forever.

If someone leaves the Amish they excommunicate them. For most Amish churches that means unless they return to the Amish church there is no hope for them.

The community we lived in when we left was a little different, they remove the excommunication if the ex-Amish join a church they somewhat approve of. We do not believe they have power to give our soul to Satan, and never worried about what would happen if we died, but after four years we decided to move to the church they okayed, for family reasons. We are no longer excommunicated, which makes it ever so much nicer when we visit our Amish families.

W ~ Weddings

An Amish wedding is an all day affair, services begin at 9:00, and are basically  like any church service except a few different songs are sung, though still in the same slow fashion. Sermons are just as long, but they focus on weddings in the Bible, and plenty of advice thrown in about love and submission. At 12:00 the couple gets married after making the vows I shared yesterday.

After they are married there is a long prayer and the final wedding song is sung.



Then it's time to head to the reception where loads of food is served, and the afternoon is spent singing. (Contrary to popular belief, most Amish weddings do not serve celery.)

Evening arrives and it's time to eat the wedding supper, but first the youth pairs up where the boys choose which girl they want to sit with. After everyone has been paired up and they found their place to sit, it is time to sing again, this time regular songs, found in the Leidersammlung, and sung to the tunes of English hymns. After two hours of singing, the wedding supper is served. Around 10:00 everything is over and people start going home.