Blog Mirror: A Movable Feast – Trinity Sunday at Heun

A Movable Feast – Trinity Sunday at Heun

Traditionalist Anabaptist In Wyoming?

Starting at some point about six or so years ago, which means its actually probably more like ten years ago as things that occurred about that time seem more recent to me than they really are, I started running into some type of traditionalist Anabaptist from time to time here in Wyoming.

The first ones I ran into were at the rest stop outside of Waltman.  There was a travel trailer there with a flat tire that was being repaired and the people with it were outside of the trailer.  In my naivete, as I didn't expect to run into Anabaptist here, I thought at first "oh. . . reenactors", as the women were all wearing what appeared to me to be very traditional 19th Century style dresses with sun bonnets and the men were wearing straw broad brimmed hats, blue shirts, and jeans; and sporting that type of beard which lacks a mustache.  Very quickly I realized, however, that they weren't reenactors, they were some sort of community of Anabaptist adherents or perhaps a family of Anabaptists traditionalist.

Now, for those for whom this term is a mystery, what I'm referring to is Christians who are members of a traditionalist Anabaptist denomination, such as the Amish, traditionalist Mennonites, or Hutterites.  The most famous of these groups is, of course, the Amish, but there are some Mennoites in Colorado and Nebraska and there are Huttertites in Montana and the prairie provinces of Canada.

This is the Greeley Mennonite Church in Greeley Colorado.  The church was originally a Lutheran church but I don't know when it the Prairie Gothic church was built. 

 

Now, while these groups are all Anabaptist, they are not all the same, and I don't want to suggest that they are.  That is not my intent at all.  And while it is my understanding that all Amish are traditionalist in the sense I'm using it (which would likely be grating on their nerves and be regarded as singularly unfair by them), and I think that this is also the case for Hutterites, it is not true for Mennonites.  Indeed, there are Mennonite congregations that are not distinct in dress and which are not otherwise traditionalist such as limiting the use of technology over time.   I'm frankly unclear on which denomination the group I've been seeing belongs to, and that's what I'm curious about.

 

I've noted above the first instance in which I encountered them.  The second time was, oddly enough, in Sam's Club. There were a group of women who met the description set out above, except I see that their head covering is a simple covering, not a sun bonnet, buying huge lots of flour and other baking goods.  Since then I've run into them here and there, most recently at the past two gun shows here in town.

On the first of those occasions two men and a boy were present selling old farm equipment.  A woman was present selling baked goods, and seemed to be married to one of the men.  The men were all dressed as described save for wearing cowboy boots, which causes me to lean towards Hutterites.  This past weekend they were back but it was two different women and a different man, and they were all selling baked goods. The man was wearing heavy work boots.

The presence of traditionalist Anabaptists in Wyoming would be a new thing and I'm curious.  Does anyone know who they might be, what group they're actually in, and where their community or communities are located?

Post Chapel. Prisoner of War Camp. Ft. Robinson Nebraska

This is the second time I've posted a photo of a bare remnant of a church, but in this case, it's a much more recent structure. This is where the Post Chapel for the Prisoner of War Camp at Ft. Robinson Nebraska once was.  None of the original structures of the POW camp remain, and most is grass prairie, but where the chapel was is now this small stand of bushes.

Christ the King Catholic Church, Gering Nebraska

I did a very poor job of photographing this church, as I failed to really investigate the full architecture at the time. What is visible in this photo is the 1996 addition to the 1958 church. The spire for the 1958 church is visible.  Had I paid more attention at the time, I would have photographed that portion of the church.

Anyhow, this Catholic Church in Gering Nebraska is an interesting example of a church having been substantially added to.

First Christian Church, Sidney Nebraska

This is the First Christian Church in Sidney Nebraska.  Other than that, I don't know anything about this church.

St. Patrick's Catholic Church, Sidney Nebraska

This is St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Sidney, Nebraska.  It's a striking church that was built in 1913, although I wonder if part of the structure may have been added on to much more recently.  If so, the architects did an amazing job of keeping later construction consistent with the original design of the church.