Preservings $20 Issue No. 26, 2006 - Home at Plett Foundation

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patch. Every fall, all the Fairholme Dienen are hired by local potato growers to help sort potatoes. This translates into 3 weeks of potato sorting, with every Diene working an 8 hour shift, every 2 nd day. If your colony is in financial difficulty, as is the case with Fairholme, the money goes toward paying off debts. Otherwise, the money could go to any charity. This venture was initiated by Chris Vetter, after he received inquiries from interested growers. Still, this is largely a volunteer project, because if the Dienen had said, “No, we don’t have time,” Chris Vetter would have accepted this. Selma developed a computer program for Weinzedl, farm bosses. She also spends a great deal of time in school, doing administrative work for Anna, as well as volunteer administrative work for the HBNI IITV system. Clearly, we should be asking, “What can I do in Oak River, for Oak River? Or even, for the larger Hutterian community, for the world? When the tsunami disaster hit, did we Hutterites do our part in helping the unfortunate people whose lives it devastated? Yes! Each colony contributed $1000 or more in financial aid, on the advice of Jake Vetter, our Elder. Still, it’s fair to ask: Is that enough, considering the great material wealth we enjoy? What about the poverty that exists right here in Canada, in Manitoba, in Winnipeg? Do you think Hutterites could help? How? I don’t mean for the Haushalter simply to sign a larger donation, say for $10, 000, rather than $1000, because that doesn’t really require much from you or me, now does it? If we want our Hutterite community to change for the better, then we need to be a fixer, not a finger pointer. My volunteering examples all involve women, because no one in Hutterite society has more free time than Hutterite female graduates. In main-stream society, after graduation comes either university (and a part-time job!), or a full-time job. Not so for Hutterite Dienen. They have free time, and lots of it, especially in winter. Yes, there are arts, crafts, sewing, but those are hobbies, and mostly, activities you do for yourself, not for the benefit of your Hutterian community, or the wider world community. In fact, it can lead to Eigennutz (selfishness)! Young Hutterite Buem (young men) do generally get a job assignment after graduation. So, is there room for volunteer work for Buem? I say, “Definitely!” Both before and after graduation. Remember, in the colony, many of our needs are taken care of by others. That gives us even more free time than Liz Basel! She must prepare 3 meals a day, every day, do all the shopping for all the groceries, as well as the shopping for all household goods. She must do banking and accounting. The list goes on and on. We need to ask ourselves: how are we Hutterites using all the glorious time our wonderful system provides us with? I was talking to a friend of mine about volunteering, and he stated: “One of our high-schoolers started helping our electrician with electrical work, on his own, whenever he had free-time. Now, he’s our electrician’s right-hand man.” My friend concluded by saying, “Now, who do you think is going to be our colony’s next electrician? There’s a good chance that this highschooler’s volunteer work will pay off big time! Even if he won’t be our next electrician, he’s establishing himself as a hard worker, someone willing to do more than his share. People notice this; they keep it in mind whenever there is a role to play or an Amtle (job) to fill.” Another area to think about is bake or garage sales. More and more Hutterite colonies are trying these. Most of the money goes straight into more material goods for their own community. Maybe this generation of graduates could start bake sales where the proceeds would go to a soup kitchen in Winnipeg, Winnipeg Harvest, or Habitat for Humanity, or any other charity, rather than the acquisition of one more material “thing” we can well do without. In addition, Hutterite children need their own books! We teachers have absolutely NO BOOKS to give our students where they will see their own Hutterite lives reflected and validated. We now have one, the very 1 st children’s book, by Linda Maendel, Elm River. Several more are on the way, all from BUHEP students or teachers, who are already very busy with teaching. Why can’t Hutterite graduates write children’s literature, about Hutterites, for Hutterites? Do you know what a need there is for children’s book tapes, stories recorded on cassettes, English, German and Hutterisch? What a fantastic amount we could amass, if even 25% of the graduates at every colony volunteered just an hour of their time daily! This doesn’t mean it will be easy, or that volunteer work doesn’t require sacrifices on your part. When Oak River students first informed me that they wanted me to be their guest speaker for their September graduation, I knew it would be a very busy time of year for me. I was still marking work from last year’s IITV course, and starting a new school year, as well as planning for the IITV orientation day in Baker. I could have said, no, but I’ve learned that while I can’t do it all, I can do more today than I did yesterday. So I said, “Yes.” However, months ago, I bought some beautiful fabric for my family, in anticipation of a Glenway Hulba. I wanted to make new outfits for my 3 little girls, a new shirt for my husband, and a dress for myself. This is a Hutterite tradition – any really special occasion usually calls for new clothing. I planned to make these outfits last week, but I was busy teaching in the mornings. The only time I had for writing my speech was in the afternoon, while my girls were sleeping. When they awoke after 3, writing was impossible until they went to sleep at night. As the week wore on, I continued to use all my afternoons and any spare minute on my graduation speech. It became clear that I would not have time to make a new dress for my baby. By Tuesday, I realized that sadly, my two older girls would also go without. By Wednesday, I saw that Ray’s shirt would have to go, and late Thursday evening, I came to the tragic conclusion that my own dress would also fall by the wayside. Did you notice that my dress isn’t brand new? Wasn’t it a small sacrifice to make, so that I could find time for more important work, like writing a speech. How often do we say, “I don’t have time,” instead of considering what frivolities (like new dresses) we could eliminate, so we have more time for volunteering, for giving of ourselves to others? I would like to conclude by reflecting on our shared Hutterian heritage. Volunteering is not really a completely new idea to Hutterites, as perhaps you might think. It just has a different name in Hutterite society. It’s called “G’ma Orbit”. In community, if you manage your cook week, your Obwosch wuch, your weekly Friday cleaning job well, that’s not good enough. If you just do what you absolutely know to be your part, your job, then you haven’t done your part. If you are strong and able, your part is to work until all the work is done. You MUST do more than what is absolutely necessary, in order to fulfil your duty to the community. Community work ALWAYS comes first. As my Suzanne Basel used to say, “If a colony has even one member willing to do more than his or her share, then the colony is lucky and has been blessed.” These sayings are uniquely Hutterite, and reflect the sacred heritage our ancestors left us. All focus on fulfilling Christ’s commandment of love - daily acts of loving service for our neighbour. Remember, our repentance for sin, and our faith in Christ must be made visible in doing God’s will. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in? Or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to You? And the King will answer and say to them, “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these, My brethren, you did it to me.” This is the ending of the familiar story Jesus tells us in Matthew 25, verses 37-40. If you read Matthew 25: 41, it becomes clear that the unrighteous are not condemned for doing evil, but for their failure to do good. Scary, isn’t it? Thus, it comes back to volunteer work. Work for others. Work for the community. When you leave Oak River, or your own Hutterite faith community, either because of death, or simply because of marriage, or because you moved away, we know that your family and close friends will miss you. The question is: “Wie wetn die G’ma dich vermitzen? What legacy will you leave behind?” I wish you courage, strength, and wisdom as you seek to capture and revitalize this precious essence of what it means to be Hutterite, a disciple of Christ, living out His commandment of love. God be with you! Der Herr sei mit Euch! 90 - Preservings No. 26, 2006
Our Christmas Wonder by Linda Maendel Elm River Hutterite Colony, Newton Siding This year Christmas will be different, Without dad‘s jovial presence at our house, Leading us in song, “Der Tag, der ist so Freudenreich…” O day, so rich in joy! Gently reminding us that Christmas is more Than receiving and giving presents. Sharing his favourite from our school Christmas concert Reminiscing over coffee, with a childhood crony, Reflecting on Christmas teachings Heard throughout the Holy Days Adding his sense of humour to our gathering, “If things don’t get fixed in this house, It won’t be because I didn’t receive tools!” Still despite the ache of missing him Christmas will be … The quiet joy of Singing German carols with family, “Stille Nacht” with the choir and “O Du Fröhliche” over communal Christmas dinner, Creating handmade gifts, Sharing home baked dainties with a neighbour, Planning a celebration supper for our children, Writing letters to loved ones seldom seen, The whole community preparing Gifts for disadvantaged children, Visiting elderly friends and receiving A clumsy card with a childish message, “I like you. You are a good teacher.” So… Our ongoing Christmas peace Is celebrating Christ’s birthday by Continuing to build community, Faithful to the way dad taught us -- Patient and steadfast to the end. Anticipating the time when we Celebrate together again in that Other Home! Preservings No. 26, 2006 - 91
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~ A Journal of the D. F. Plett Hist
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D.F. Plett Foundation Names Executi
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Interior of the church in Witmarsum
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An engraving of Menno Simons by Pie
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this first wave of persecution. Som
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The Frisian-Flemish Division Causes
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practice actually prevailed, such a
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Inter-church conversations with the
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concerning the Points of the Christ
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to their children, for all inherita
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Hamburg (after 1641 the Danish mona
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Dutch-Flemish Words in Mennonite Lo
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Henkel und Deckel. goblet, mug with
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According to definition, any means
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The history of Mennonites in Amster
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Rembrandt van Rijn 1606-1956 . Van
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Wife of Cornelis Claesz Anslo. Deta
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Some Rembrandts In America John F.
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Biographies Aeltester Johann Loeppk
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Page 45 and 46: Tribute to Aeltester Herman J. Buec
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Page 85 and 86: Another Look at the Creation-Evolut
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Preservings $20 Issue No. 26, 2006 - Home at Plett Foundation

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