Lent and Ash Wednesday

[mike]

Or a family could simply celebrate them privately at home instead of expecting the entire fellowship to do so. Personally I do not see this as being mandated outside of RCC or EO. Pray as you can, not as you cannot; just pray is my motto.

The NT makes it clear no holidays are mandated at all: "One person esteems holy days, but another esteems all days alike." Nonetheless, at a congregational level, it brings much more peace and harmony if people celebrate holy days together. In my own congregation, our days we celebrate together are:

- Easter school program
- Last day of school + play day afterward
- Thanksgiving, although this seems to be fading away
- Christmas school program

Usually on Memorial Day and/or July 4 we will have a churchwide gathering.

The rest of our special days like revivals don't happen on a fixed schedule.

What is the Anabaptist perspective on Jesus’ celebration of the Passover (the Last Supper)? Jesus as a Jew celebrated Jewish holy days.

He kept that feast because he was a Jew, just like many of the apostles likely continued to keep Jewish feasts for a time. But the Jewish mandated feasts and holy days were part of the law, which was considered as not binding on Christians at an early date as you well know. So Anabaptists generally don't keep any of them, and are generally not even aware of them. Some Anabaptists, notably old orders, have some holy days they still observe in some way, such as Ascension Day or Pentecost Monday, even though observing some of these days basically consists of taking days off work and playing ball and having picnics.

[Josh]

We celebrate the Last Supper when we gather for communion.

[JayP]

I always was particularly annoyed by one Mennonite family that did Roofing and would particularly schedule a very visible location to do work on Good Friday to prove their point of view on not observing holidays.

I do not presume to have the perfect answer on the subject but I am pretty sure Jesus is not an advocate for using your view of holidays (observe vs. not observe) as a hammer to hit someone else on the head.

[Josh]

I guess I see zero problems with working on Good Friday. I give my workers the day off but they usually choose to work anyway on that day.

[ken_sylvania]

I always was particularly annoyed by one Mennonite family that did Roofing and would particularly schedule a very visible location to do work on Good Friday to prove their point of view on not observing holidays.

I do not presume to have the perfect answer on the subject but I am pretty sure Jesus is not an advocate for using your view of holidays (observe vs. not observe) as a hammer to hit someone else on the head.

I'm curious - did they tell you that's why they scheduled work there, or was it just something you observed over the years?

[Szdfan]

This is a progressive Anabaptist thing that seems to mostly exist on the pages of Anabaptist World - when I went to a mainstream/evangelical Anabaptist church (now FEC), there were always devotionals and other material for Ash Wednesday, Lent, Advent and so forth in the The Mennonite, which the entire congregation ignored.

I don't understand why some churches try so hard to be like denominations that they really don't fit with. If people want to be Presbyterians or Lutherans or Catholics or Pentecostals, they are much better off going and joining those churches than they are joining a Mennonite church that is trying to be like those groups.

I never sensed that progressive Mennonite Churches engaged in these practices were trying to be like another denomination. I think these were situations where churches felt that adding some liturgical elements had value, even though they still identified as Mennonite.

[ohio jones]

Usually on Memorial Day and/or July 4 we will have a churchwide gathering.

Well, that is certainly not derived from the liturgical calendar.

[mike]

Usually on Memorial Day and/or July 4 we will have a churchwide gathering.

Well, that is certainly not derived from the liturgical calendar.

I know. I guess the God and country crowd have their own unique liturgy

[barnhart]

Our church has, for several years, been going to the park in evening of ascension day to sing and read scriptures. The most exciting thing that happened so far was our son decided to be born several weeks early and chose that exact time. We raced off and just made it to the hospital.

[Josh]

Usually on Memorial Day and/or July 4 we will have a churchwide gathering.

Well, that is certainly not derived from the liturgical calendar.

I know. I guess the God and country crowd have their own unique liturgy

As I understand it, part of the original rationale was to make sure there was activities to keep young people and young families busy so they would be less tempted to watch a fireworks show or a downtown parade.

Nowadays it’s just something done because it’s a civic day off.