Moderate Conservative Mennonite Churches
Posted: Sat Feb 03, 2018 8:49 pm
This is a thread to discuss Moderate-Conservative Mennonite Churches as categorized by Stephen Scott in his book, An Introduction to Older and Conservative Mennonite Groups.
This designation would include conferences and fellowships such as:
Cumberland Valley Mennonite Church (CV)
Mid-Atlantic Mennonite Fellowship (MAF)
Midwest Mennonite Fellowship (MW)
South Atlantic Mennonite Conference (SA)
Southeastern Mennonite Conference (SMC)
Post Secondary Schools: Maranatha Bible School (MN); Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute (PA); Faith Builders Educational Programs
Moderate Conservatives-
These folks would wear even bigger flowered dresses, smaller head coverings, and the designs of their dresses would tend to change based on the styles at J C Penny. However the majority of these churches would still require the ladies to wear cape dresses.
During the week, (when the weather is cool) you probably could not distinguish the men from anybody else in town. These folks would be allowed to use radios, and there would be no discouragement for reading Readers Digest, but these churches would not allow TV.
These folks would be allowed to participate in various types of modern sports such as skiing and golfing at public recreational places. Youth spend a lot of time socializing and playing volleyball together. Moderate-conservatives would allow contemporary music and most any kind of musical instruments.
The men in these groups might wear a straight cut (plain) suitcoat on Sunday morning and a Hawaiian party suit that evening at a social. The ladies might wear a dress based on a 16th century pattern but wear high heels and comb their exposed hair similar to the current Hollywood styles. When compared with intermediate conservatives, moderate conservative dresses are sometimes less modest: more form fitting, lower necklines, shorter sleeves, etc., however they are still home-sewn cape dresses.
Internet is generally accepted and members are typically encouraged to have guidelines, accountability, and/or filters in place, especially in their homes. The reasoning is that people will find junk or porn if they really want to, and so it is better to teach people how to use it responsibly.
The dominant peer-pressure in a moderate-conservative setting is to be "Biblical" and to have limited extra-biblical requirements. In moderate-conservative churches there is generally an element that feels that there should be no extra-biblical standards. (e.g. straight cut coats for men)
Since 1847, this category has been very transitional. Individuals, congregations, and constituencies are in constant flux with many people joining and many people moving on towards more evangelical style churches. This migration includes a sizable percentage of youth and young married’s.
In contrast to ultra-conservatives and intermediate conservatives, moderate conservative churches typically have an element within the church that does not follow the church standards or an element that votes is favor of removing standards that are deemed legalistic or out of date. Over the decades there is a slight tug of war between the traditionalists and the progressives until one segment of the church gets some momentum going and starts dragging the other segment with it. This often results in a schism.
Moderate Conservatives 1
Moderate Conservatives 2
Moderate Conservatives 3
This designation would include conferences and fellowships such as:
Cumberland Valley Mennonite Church (CV)
Mid-Atlantic Mennonite Fellowship (MAF)
Midwest Mennonite Fellowship (MW)
South Atlantic Mennonite Conference (SA)
Southeastern Mennonite Conference (SMC)
Post Secondary Schools: Maranatha Bible School (MN); Sharon Mennonite Bible Institute (PA); Faith Builders Educational Programs
Moderate Conservatives-
These folks would wear even bigger flowered dresses, smaller head coverings, and the designs of their dresses would tend to change based on the styles at J C Penny. However the majority of these churches would still require the ladies to wear cape dresses.
During the week, (when the weather is cool) you probably could not distinguish the men from anybody else in town. These folks would be allowed to use radios, and there would be no discouragement for reading Readers Digest, but these churches would not allow TV.
These folks would be allowed to participate in various types of modern sports such as skiing and golfing at public recreational places. Youth spend a lot of time socializing and playing volleyball together. Moderate-conservatives would allow contemporary music and most any kind of musical instruments.
The men in these groups might wear a straight cut (plain) suitcoat on Sunday morning and a Hawaiian party suit that evening at a social. The ladies might wear a dress based on a 16th century pattern but wear high heels and comb their exposed hair similar to the current Hollywood styles. When compared with intermediate conservatives, moderate conservative dresses are sometimes less modest: more form fitting, lower necklines, shorter sleeves, etc., however they are still home-sewn cape dresses.
Internet is generally accepted and members are typically encouraged to have guidelines, accountability, and/or filters in place, especially in their homes. The reasoning is that people will find junk or porn if they really want to, and so it is better to teach people how to use it responsibly.
The dominant peer-pressure in a moderate-conservative setting is to be "Biblical" and to have limited extra-biblical requirements. In moderate-conservative churches there is generally an element that feels that there should be no extra-biblical standards. (e.g. straight cut coats for men)
Since 1847, this category has been very transitional. Individuals, congregations, and constituencies are in constant flux with many people joining and many people moving on towards more evangelical style churches. This migration includes a sizable percentage of youth and young married’s.
In contrast to ultra-conservatives and intermediate conservatives, moderate conservative churches typically have an element within the church that does not follow the church standards or an element that votes is favor of removing standards that are deemed legalistic or out of date. Over the decades there is a slight tug of war between the traditionalists and the progressives until one segment of the church gets some momentum going and starts dragging the other segment with it. This often results in a schism.
Moderate Conservatives 1
Moderate Conservatives 2
Moderate Conservatives 3