Information on BMC Directory

John Cressman
March 8, 2009

Reader 1: Here are a few glimpses from the Cressman and Breslau Mennonite Church Membership Directory. The first entries in the directory are in 1848, 18 years after the formation of the church, in 1834.

Reader 2: From 1848 until 1914, a span of 66 years, the directory is a simple record, listing membership in the church and the deaths of members.

Reader 3: In 1914, 80 years after the start of the church, two withdrawals of membership were listed. In 1915, two reinstated memberships were recorded.

Reader 4: In 1916, it is written, the first person was “dismissed”. In July 1916, 11 young people all about 13 years of age, became members on the same day, following “Buchwalter’s” meetings in Breslau.

Reader 1: In 1917, the first excommunication is listed with the reason stated as “would not hear persuasion”.

Reader 2: In 1920, there were 24 new members listed over a period of four months. In 1925, 24 new members are recorded, all on the same day.

Reader 3: Between 1919 and 1958 the record shows that members were excommunicated for causes such as adultery, joining the army, being found guilty in court, and marrying a Catholic.

Reader 4: Concurrent with some excommunications, for joining the army, are withdrawals of membership, with no reason listed. Some members are recorded as having left, “with no action taken”, with the reasons listed as backsliding, drifting away, gone to drunkards and gone back to sin.

Reader 1: After 1958, new and transferred memberships continue to be recorded and others withdrawn, but without reasons being listed for withdrawal.

( By the way, from 1848 until present day, no reasons are listed or recorded for becoming members. )

Questions

Reader 2: Do these fragments of information, from the life of our church over a period of most of 175 years, cause us to wonder?

Reader 3: Or framed another way, do these fragments, small and few, of the story of this vine and its’ branches, sprouting, living, dying, pruned, lead us to wonder?

Reader 4: What do these fragments from the past cause you to wonder about?

Reader 1: Are we provoked to judgement when hearing about the past?

Reader 2: Do we understand what the motivation and reasoning for exclusion was?

Reader 3: Can we recognize real change within our church and define its’ cause ?

Reader 4: Are we, the vine and its’ branches, better today for any of the change?

Reader 1: Is the vine growing and healthy?

Reader 2: What lessons do the fragments from the past offer us?

Reader 3: Can every “new membership” fragment remind us of our own joy and hope when committing to or witnessing new membership?

Reader 4: Does every “dismissal, excommunication and withdrawal” fragment remind us of our own frail humanity and sorrow, with sorrow rooted in failed or broken relationships?

Reader 1: Wouldn’t it be ‘wonder’…ful to study a directory of every act of kindness and grace, committed or experienced, in the last 175 years in our church?

Reader 2: Especially during lent, in seeking justice, can we disown fear and prejudice that inhibit relationships and displace it with courage and unconditional love?