Tricia Pursell
WATSONTOWN — Tim and Linda Stoltzfus, both born into the Mennonite faith, have been married for 16 years, and their family is everything to them.
They have seven children ranging in age from 1 to 14.
“We love the family. We feel our family is a ministry,” Tim said. Sadly, there are so many families that have been broken. The family unit is under assault, he said.
Amish and Mennonite churches in the region may have varying degrees of tolerance for technology, but they share a world view which is focused on building strong families and living as the Bible commands.
The Mennonite church has taken a strong stand against the area of divorce and remarriage. “As long as you both shall live,” included in the wedding vows is taken very seriously, so the church frowns upon someone marrying another while his or her spouse is still living.
“We respect others, and living this way, we do not condemn or judge others because they are not as we are,” Tim said. “We live the way we do because we love the world, and we generally live our faith and our convictions.”
The Mennonites believe in a strict, literal interpretation of scripture.
One distinguishing feature of the Mennonites in the Stoltzfus’s church is the head covering that the women wear. “Paul speaks of the women’s head to be covered; we take that literally for today,” Tim said. “Others say that is cultural or for back then.”
They also take Christ’s words in scripture, in which he said to “not swear at all,” to be literal. The Mennonites do not take any oaths in court; rather, they “affirm.” When Christ said to not go to court or sue, this is taken literal as well, Tim said. “Generally, we would avoid lawsuits, or taking someone to court.”
One of the main beliefs in the Mennonite faith is non-resistance. “A lot of people in today’s world would use the term ‘pacifist,’ but we see it a little different,” Tim said. “Pacifists would have a social agenda, would picket or try to reform, use political expression. We believe in separation of church and state. We would not go to war because of our belief that we should not resist evil, but turn the other cheek.”
Mennonites also do not hold political office, and most do not vote, Tim said. “In our church, it isn’t a requirement, but we feel that crosses the line to becoming politically involved. We see our position more of praying for authorities, that you may lead a quiet and peaceable life in the land, leave a Christian witness, to do good.”
While many of his church’s congregation members are involved in business such as farming and carpentry, some are getting involved in other professions, such as health services. “We try to lead productive lives, not become a liability of the state. We are self-sufficient in a lot of ways.” He said they rely on each other in the church, and even share health bills through a deacon fund. Some Mennonites, he said, actually live in colonies, where they have buildings and live together in them.
Very often, people confuse the Mennonites with the Amish. Though they are quite different in many ways, there are some similarities. “Historically, we are a lot related, from the same stock,” Tim said.
They can trace their roots to the same people group that fled religious persecution in Europe, and sought a place where they could worship freely. “Our history is pretty rich in Pennsylvania,” he said.
After settling in America, this people group developed into different branches. The Mennonites are more mission-minded, and seek to evangelize, Tim said, whereas the Amish have adopted a more reclusive mindset.
While the Mennonites have different constituencies, and different church groups, they share the same Anabaptist beliefs. Anabaptist means “rebaptizing”.
“Most of our church groups would share the same core values, and scriptural beliefs. The difference is how we live out our faith.”
Outwardly, the Mennonites vary quite a bit with the Amish. For example, while Mennonites may drive cars, the Amish don’t.
“One criteria to be Amish is that you don’t drive cars,” Tim said. There is a group of Amish that will drive tractors, however. This group is often called the Tractor Amish.
Tim points to the fact that the Mennonite group varies in its practices and standards. “In our area, there are more than two dozen churches of varying sorts. In our particular church, we belong to a district, which has four churches in central Pennsylvania.”
Tim and Linda moved to the area in 1995, and Tim taught at Maranatha Christian School — in which five or more churches pool together to send their children. They then served as missionaries in Granada for several years, and moved back to the area in 2001. This is when Tim was chosen to be one of the pastors at East District Mennonite Church in rural Watsontown. He serves as the lead pastor. There are three on staff, who share pastoral roles.
Some orders of Pennsylvania Amish are also known for their use of tobacco. But, according to Tim, his church, as a brotherhood, has decided to take a stand against this.
They have also taken a stand against having television in their homes. And while a lot of their homes do have the Internet, the church asks that a filter be used.
There is one word that sums up how these stands are taken and enforced — accountability.
“What we do during the week, my brothers have a right to know,” Tim said. “If they think it is unscriptural, they would approach me, and I would be accountable in that area. The way you live during the week is really important.
If someone is approached by a brother on a certain issue on which the church has taken a stand, this person would have to decide if he wants to remain in the brotherhood or continue doing what he is doing. They are never forced to follow the Mennonite beliefs, but if they don’t, they cannot remain a part of the brotherhood.
