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I was doing a bit of reminiscing of "hot topic" church issues from years ago that now seem laughable. According to past polls, the majority of us are in our late 30's into the late 50's, so going back 20 years or more shouldn't be a problem.

I often think of headcovering trends. The younger ones wanted to do away with strings, the older ones had the mindset that if we did, the coverings would get smaller. 25+ years later, no more strings, and even hanging veils are accepted.

Another was life insurance. Opt out if possible. Now its encouraged given the expense of things.

I'll think of more later...

The internet. 20 years ago, no one seemed to spend much energy worrying about it. Today it is a real cause for concern.

General fads, such as long sideburns. No one wants them now.

RZehr wrote: ↑Thu Dec 15, 2022 7:34 am The internet. 20 years ago, no one seemed to spend much energy worrying about it. Today it is a real cause for concern.

I barely heard of the web until early 2000's. Then it was on everyone's radar.

Another I thought of, depending on the group, men wearing anything but black pants and a long-sleeve white shirt to services was highly frowned upon. Some of those same groups now, its a none issue.

Well, I wasn't a child, but when I joined the Beachy Mennonites 20 years ago, some issues were:

1) solid colors on coats (it was taken for granted on indoor clothing)
2) putting any writing on your tires on the inside
3) ladies not wearing vests (like those Charity women ) or pullover sweaters

Not Anabaptist .. ..

Females began wearing pants/trousers, pants suits, eventually, jeans - in church!
When i was young, skirts+dresses for girls+women, were the norm. Jeans, denim fabric, were for men’s farm work, this would raise eyebrows even “in town” shopping. Church?! No.

For the generation just before me, denim was a big deal. Possibly a sign of poverty, dirty hard work, lack of education, lack of decorum. Those folks lived through The Great Depression. People were desperate to cling onto civility, to do anything to be human, not “animals.” i have to respect their hearts+fears+hopes. They didn’t want poverty to remove their dignity, their humanity. Their hope.

Altho not Catholic, i was aware of huge problems as Catholics removed Latin from masses; also, removal of head coverings, which struck me, a young girl, as often quite beautiful and exotic.

WIM. not discussed.

Some things didn’t seem to have much discussion. People would just quietly leave.
Like i left. WIM and homosexuals in ministry. Churches left a lot of people.

Late 70s, mainstream Mennonite church (pre-MCUSA)

dancing
rock music (any amplified music)
long hair on boys, short hair on girls
Dress in general, mostly for girls
attending church schools vs public schools and church colleges vs other colleges

more serious "hot topics" were nuclear disarmament, draft registration, etc. We had people taking serious stands on both.

VCRs

joshuabgood wrote: ↑Thu Dec 15, 2022 11:16 amVCRs

The Dunkard church called them "video machines." I would imagine that has been updated.

All of these issues are still big issues in the churches that are not transitional. Video machines in some churches now refers to cameras or phones that record videos.

True.

I get uneasy at times when big deals are made over styles of headcoverings, especially among different generations. That is something I don't miss.