Time of Renewal

     We are a week away from the first day of spring, but this week feels like spring is here. The snowdrops and crocus are in full bloom. Geese are flying north and a few robins already showed up. This week I used the wash line for the first time this year and we also saw 70 degrees for the first time. The farmers around us are busy spraying and hauling manure. Planting season is just around the corner.
  Spring is my favorite season. It is a time of revival, renewal, and promise. I am always amazed how quickly things turn green with a few days of sunshine and rain. Spring is known to throw us a few curves and dump some snow. But if that happens, we know it won't last long.

 Spring is invigorating and especially so this year. We have gone through one issue after another this winter, beginning with a trip to Boston for a wedding in November. Then I had hip replacement surgery a week before Thanksgiving. That was followed by weeks of therapy to build up the strength in that leg. I had a cold that dragged on for a month and later a sinus infection that lasted three weeks. Leroy's 101 year-old mother died in January which required a funeral and disposing of her things. That was barely over when our son was in the lot for minister. The week of suspense ended with one of the other nominees being ordained. After that, things finally started to settle down into a dull roar the middle of  February.

    We never know what a day will bring forth, but spring gives me hope and an energy boost. The puzzles are back in the box and the crochet hook is put away. The scrub bucket and window cleaner came out this week. I am fully recovered from my hip surgery and feel better than I have for years. This week I revived my habit of a daily walk I gave up four years ago. It is such a blessing to walk a mile without pain.  I'm looking forward to working outside again without an aching leg.

   And finally this weekend we can make the trip to Ohio to see our newest great-grandchild who was born the end of October. God is good and I am thankful we survived another winter with only speed bumps and no traumatic life-changing events.

The Peace Oak

     During the last half of the 1600s, many Mennonites left Switzerland to escape persecution and went to France. The king of France knew they were good farmers and wanted them to come and restore the land that had been ruined in the Thirty Years War.
    Wherever they settled in the Alsace-Lorraine area, the Mennonites met in one of their homes for Sunday worship services. In the late 1600s, when Jacob Amman was their bishop, they adopted more strict rules and separated from the Mennonites. Their neighbors called them heftler (stapler) because their clothes fastened with hooks instead of buttons. Eventually, the Amman group was called Amish.
   The Amish were not allowed to buy land but they rented farms and worked hard. After a few years, the ruined land grew good crops. They had nicer farms and made more money than their neighbors. They were jealous and complained to the king. He forced many of the Amish to move to other places in France. In 1708, a few of these families went to Salm in the Vosges Mountain area where they lived in relative peace and prospered.

    The peace on the secluded Amish farms was a stark contrast to the turmoil of the French Revolution that began in 1789. After the king was executed in January 1793, the National Convention struggled to bring the outlying principalities such as Salm into the new Republic of France and recruit enough men for the military. In March, Philip Charles Aime Goupilleau of Montaigu and two other men were sent to Semones (the capital of the principality of Salm) to bring it into the Republic of France and have people swear allegiance to it. While there, Goupilleau met an Amish man from Framont. He invited Goupilleau to visit them, which he did. During this visit they gave him a copy of the Dordrecht Confession and recommended he visit their bishop, Jacob Kuperschmidt, in Salm. Goupilleau kept a diary of his travels and described his encounters with the Amish. 

    In April Philip Goupilleau, George Couthan, and Michel visited Jacob Kuperschmidt. Michel seems to have been an assistant for Couthan who was crippled. Goupilleau and Couthan were supporters of Maximillen Robespierre, the ruthless leader of the Jacobian party who sent wagon loads of people to the guillotine for suspicion of disloyalty to the Revolution. Refusing to swear the oath of allegiance or serve in the military was evidence of disloyalty. How would these officials respond to the Amish who refused to do both?

    Goupilleau's diary reports that they were impressed with the well-kept farms of the Amish. At their request, some of the Amish men led them up the mountain to see the ruins of the castle of the Prince of Salm which was slated to be torn down. Jacob Kuperschmidt then explained their beliefs on swearing an oath and defenselessness (nonresistance) and invited the visitors to join them for dinner. At the end of the meal it was the family's custom to sing a hymn. Goupilleau wrote that they sang the third hymn in the Ausbund and it sounded like a chant from hundreds of years ago. 

    According to the legend, at the end of the meal Goupilleau said with tears in his eyes, "You take care of the farming and we will take care of the fighting." That is where the often-told story ends but it was not the end of the story. Goupilleau's diary does not include that sentence. He does say he thought these humble hospitable people were some of the most upright and sincere he had ever met. And he said it was almost with tears he said goodbye and wished he had been born among these good citizens. Jacob exchanged addresses with Goupilleau and promised to keep in touch. Some of the Amish men accompanied the visitors to Framont where they would spend the night.

    Back in Paris, Goupilleau and Couthan gave the Committee of Public Safety a glowing report of their visit with the Amish and recommended they be allowed to serve in peaceful ways or pay an exemption tax. In August, Jacob Kuperschmidt and his son-in-law, Christian Gerber, went to Paris to personally present a written petition to the Committee of Public Safety. Goupilleau was out of town but Couthan was there. The committee read the petition and after lengthy discussion signed a recommendation that the Anabaptists be allowed to serve in peaceful ways or pay an exemption tax. The recommendation was signed by the blood-thirsty Maximillen Robespierre, George Couthan, and four other committee members. 

     Although it was only a recommendation and did not have the teeth of the law, the jubilant Amish and Mennonites considered it a law. According to the legend, Jacob Kuperschmidt planted an oak tree as a memorial of the great answer to prayer. Anabaptist tour groups go to see the huge old tree every year. The printed recommendation was treasured and safely stored in Jacob Kuperschmidt's house until it was yellowed with age. In 1857, Nicholas Augsburger (who was then the Amish bishop and a son-in-law of Christian Gerber) showed the paper to Alfred Michiels who wrote a book about his visit with them.

    It's a great story, but unfortunately it was not the end of the Anabaptist's struggle to maintain their peaceful beliefs. The recommendation proved to be only a temporary relief. As it was only a recommendation, some local officials did not feel bound by it. Those who resented the Anabaptists ignored it and some young men were forced into the military against their wishes,

    The turmoil of the Revolution continued with Robespierre and Couthan being executed in 1794. It finally ended when Napoleon Bonaparte assumed power in 1799. In 1803, he revoked exemption from military service. An appeal for exemption was denied and the Amish began moving to Germany, Bavaria, and Prussia. Another appeal presented in 1809 was also fruitless. In 1829, Christian Gerber, Joseph Hirschy, Christian Engel, and John Hirschy of Salm petitioned the Minister of the Interior for exemption without success. 

    The Amish and Mennonites who remained in Alsace, Lorraine, and Montbeliard realized they would not be able to escape military service and many of them immigrated to America. Christian Gerber's daughter Barbara and her husband, Johannes Gingrich, immigrated in 1840 and settled in Metamora, Illinois. More than 3,000 Amish crossed the ocean to settle in the United States and Canada in the first half of the nineteenth century. The last Amish congregation in Europe was located at Ixheim, Germany, about five miles north of the border of Lorraine. They merged with a local Mennonite congregation in 1937.

   When James Hershberger visited the 200-year old Peace Oak in Salm, he thought it was a great story and picked up some of the acorns that had fallen from the tree. He became the "Johnny Appleseed" of the Peace Oak and planted oak trees multiple places in Virginia and Ohio.

   And that's the whole story of the Peace Oak.

Sycamine Tree

   Yesterday I learned something in the Sunday school lesson from Luke 17:5-19. Verse 6 mentions a sycamine tree. In Luke 19, Zaccheaus climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus as he passed by. When I read that, I always pictured a North American sycamore tree with white peeling bark. Wrong! The sycamore in Israel was a fig tree. There were two kinds of fig trees, the sycamore fig and the mulberry fig. The mulberry fig was sweet and good to eat but the sycamore fig was bitter. 

   In the first four verses of Luke 17, Jesus told his disciples that if someone asked for forgiveness seven times in a day, they should forgive. The disciples said they needed more faith to do that. Then Jesus said, "If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you." Jesus was saying a small amount of faith can do great things, even the ability to forgive the same person seven times in one day. 

   Why did Jesus use a sycamore tree for this illustration? 

   The sycamore grows wild everywhere. It is a tall tree with deep roots. It is difficult to get rid of. If you cut it off, the root will send up a new shoot. The fruit is bitter. It can only be eaten in small bites. The wood was preferred for coffins. 

   The sycamore is like unforgiveness. Anger, bitterness, and grudges (unforgiveness) grow naturally in every human being around the world. The root of bitterness goes down deep and is difficult to remove permanently. Unforgiveness produces a bitter fruit. If harbored and chewed on a bite at a time, it can poison your life and even make you physically sick. Jesus said if you can't forgive others, neither will God forgive you. So the fruit of unforgiveness is death.

   Unforgiveness is hard to get rid of but it can be rooted out by faith in Christ who overcame death. As we follow Him and live by the principles He taught, we can forgive like God forgives. Ezekiel 18:21-22 says, "If the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live." God forgives and forgets, never mentions the sin again. The fruit of forgiveness is life.

   Although North American sycamores do not produce figs, they will always remind me of the high cost of unforgiveness.

Sycamore in Israel

Fire of God

    You may have figured this out long ago but I recently became aware how often God showed Himself as fire. The first one is in Genesis 15 when God appeared as a burning lamp while making a covenant with Abraham. Fire from heaven was used as judgement on Sodom and Gomorrah. 

    Jump ahead to Moses and God speaking to him from a burning bush. The children of Israel were assured God was with them by a pillar of fire every night. Fire from heaven was used several times to punish the Israelites during their wandering in the wilderness. 

    When Elijah prayed on Mount Carmel, fire from heaven consumed the altar and licked up the dust to prove God was the one true God. A chariot and horses of fire took Elijah to heaven. Elisha was surrounded by horses and chariots of fire. Fire from heaven fell on the altar at the dedication of Solomon's temple.

     Jesus told His disciples they would be baptized with fire. On the day of Pentecost, tongues of fire sat on each of the believers. The fire was confirmation it was an act of God and His presence was not just with them but in them.

     Deuteronomy 4:24 says "The Lord they God is a consuming fire." That is repeated in Hebrews 12:29, "For our God is a consuming fire."

Remembering Mom

   We had our family dinner on Christmas Day. Our children and spouses took time out to go visit Grandma Stauffer. She was sitting in her chair as usual and they had a nice visit with her. No one guessed how near she was to the end of her life. From that point on things went rapidly downhill.

    On January 2 the Home where she lived put Mom in a hospital bed. She was very weak and not eating or drinking more than a few sips or bites. She grew too weak to speak clearly but once in awhile we could understand a few words or a sentence. From January 5 -10 we went to the Home and sat with her (and whoever of Leroy's sisters were there) all afternoon. 

   On January 8 Mom had what they call rallying. She was awake most of the day and talking clearly a lot. I sat on a chair beside her bed. When she heard my voice she looked at me and said, "Romaine, it's good to see you again." That was the last thing I remember her saying to me personally. Her mind was clear. When the nurse told her it was snowing she said, "Oh schmatza!" She had told us repeatedly she wanted to go before it is icy cold. She didn't want us to be cold at her burial.

   The next day was a different story. She only said a few mumbled words and slept most of the day. The day after that she was totally unresponsive. At 3:10 a.m. January 11, she left us for her eternal Home. She lived on earth 101 years 4 months and 10 days. She outlived all of her immediate family.

   A viewing was held on January 15 at our church where she was also a member. Her ten children were all there.

   One of the many quilts she made and other things she used or liked were on the memory table.

    She wanted to be buried in white. A pink quilt she made was used as a cover.

   One of her grandsons led the singing and another delivered a powerful message to the living. Six more grandsons served at pall bearers. Our church is in town and has no cemetery so the burial was at the Mennonite church on the other side of town. It was snowing when the service ended. We were very thankful arrangements had been made for a tent that was large enough for everyone to be inside.

   A mother-in-law is never exactly the same as your own mother, but mine came pretty close to it. I'm sure I did some things she would have done differently but she never said an unkind or critical word to me. She lived a consistent Christian life and had a great concern for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. When she was in her nineties she said with tears to some of her grandchildren, "Walk with the Lord, children. It's a dangerous world out there." Her life was an example to all of us, showing us how to live and endure faithfully to the end.

Photo on her 101st birthday

Sarah S. Stauffer, 101, left time for eternity with her Lord on January 11, 2025, at the Richland Christian Home, Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. Born September 1, 1923, in Ephrata, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, she was the daughter of the late Amos R. and Amanda (Shaub) Wenger. She was the last of her immediate family.

Sarah was the widow of Phares B. Stauffer who died July 12, 2004. They shared 61 years of marriage. She was a member of the Fairhaven Mennonite Church in Myerstown since its founding in 1973.

She was a dedicated dairy farmer’s wife and mother of their ten children. She enjoyed quilting and gave many quilts to her children and grandchildren. The greatest legacy for her descendants was her example and consistent faith in God.  She was active in the Sewing Circle at the church and in her later years volunteered at Jubilee Ministries. The story of her early life was written in the book A Home for Sarah.

She is survived by her children: Leroy (husband of Romaine), Bernville; Kathryn, West Willow; Edwin, (widower of Carol), East Earl; Sallie Martin (widow of Luke Martin), Greencastle; Irene, Myerstown; Jane Martin (wife of Clifford), Ephrata; Rose Boll (wife of Randy), Manheim; Bonnie Hurst (wife of John), Newmanstown; Nelson (husband of Teresa), Elverson; and Gloria Hurst (wife of Paul), Myerstown. She is also survived by 26 grandchildren, 74 great-grandchildren, and nine great-great-grandchildren. In addition to her husband, she was predeceased by four grandchildren, Beverly, Benjamin and Steven Stauffer, and Ryan Boll.

A viewing will be held on Wednesday, January 15, from 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. at the Fairhaven Mennonite Church, 801 S. Railroad St., Myerstown. The funeral will be at the church on January 16 at 10 a.m. with a viewing one hour before the service. Interment will follow in the Myerstown Mennonite Cemetery.

 In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Fairhaven Mennonite Church or Richland Christian Home.

The Roma People

    Have you ever said you were gypped? Do you know the origin of that word? I just learned the answer to that question and also that they suffered genocide with the Jews in the Holocaust. The following article on the gypsies (now called Roma) says it better than I could, so read and learn with me.

By Cameron Hewitt and Honza Vihan

Europe is home to a largely overlooked population of 12 million people who share a language and a culture quite distinct from the European norm. While spread out across the continent, the biggest populations live in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Slovakia. Together, the Roma people constitute a bigger European nation than the Czechs, Hungarians, or the Dutch — and yet have little political voice or cultural presence in the wider society.

The once-common term "Gypsy" (derived from "Egypt," from where they were thought to have originated) is now considered not just inaccurate but derogatory. The Roma are now thought to be descended from several low north-Indian castes. (The language still spoken by about two-thirds of today's European Roma — called "Romany" or "Romani" — is related to contemporary Indian languages.)

A thousand years ago, the Roma began to migrate through Persia and Armenia into the Ottoman Empire, which later stretched across much of southeastern Europe. Known for their itinerant lifestyle, expertise in horse trading, skilled artisanship, and flexibility regarding private property, the Roma were both sought out and suspected in medieval Europe. Similarly, the gadjos (non-Roma) and their customs came to be distrusted by the Roma.

The Industrial Revolution threatened the Roma's traditional livelihoods, making their wandering lifestyle difficult to sustain. Many Roma became entertainers (fortune telling, music and dancing, horse shows, dancing bears), outlaws, and metalworkers. Roma were initially not allowed to enter Austrian territory, but as the Habsburgs recaptured lands once controlled by the Ottomans (including Slovakia and Hungary), they permitted the Roma already living there to stay. In the 18th and 19th centuries, as "Gypsy music" funneled into the theaters of Vienna and Budapest, a romantic stereotype emerged of the Roma as people living an idyllic, nomadic lifestyle, with dancers swirling nightly around their campfires to intoxicating music — and all while weilding mystical powers over white Europeans. This notion still persists in many corners of Europe today.

But white Europe's image of the Roma also had a sinister side. Even today, people might warn their children, "If you don't behave, I'll sell you to the Gypsies!" And when someone is cheated, many English speakers say they've been "gypped" — an ethnic slur so deeply ingrained most don't realize its origin. The widespread bigotry had long been encoded in many legal restrictions that kept the Roma from enjoying full citizenship.

In the 1930s, Nazi Germany stripped the Roma of all citizenship, and in the 1940s, Hitler addressed the so-called "Gypsy question" (how to deal with the Roma population) with full-on genocide, sending hundreds of thousands of Roma to the gas chambers on the basis of ethnicity.

After the war, communist governments in central and eastern Europe implemented a policy of forced assimilation: Roma were required to speak the country's predominant language, settle in towns, and work in new industrial jobs. Rather than producing well-adjusted citizens, the policy eroded time-honored Roma values and shattered the cohesiveness of their traditional communities. It left the new Roma generation prone to sexual, alcohol, and drug abuse, and filled state-run orphanages with deprived Roma toddlers.

When the obligation and right to work disappeared with the communist regimes in 1989, rampant unemployment and dependence on welfare joined the list of Roma afflictions. As people all over formerly communist Europe found it difficult to adjust to the new economic realities, they again turned on the Roma as scapegoats, and state-sanctioned persecution continued in many areas.

Today, many Roma live in segregated ghettos. Most children start attending school, but a high percentage drop out, and many have children of their own at a very young age. Those who make it against the odds and succeed in mainstream society typically do so by turning their backs on their Roma heritage.

Many countries have no viable, organized movement for Roma rights, leaving many Roma stranded on the fringes of mainstream society. However, Europe-wide organizations (including the European Union and NGOs such as the European Roma Rights Centre) are working to seek justice for the Roma people.

Some areas have seen success stories: In the Czech town of Český Krumlov, for instance, the large Roma community of 1,000 people — about 5 percent of the town's population — are well-integrated in the life of the town while remaining proud of their cultural identity. Across Europe, many are hopeful that with the EU's increased focus on cooperation and human rights, the Roma will find a place in contemporary European society.

https://classroom.ricksteves.com/videos/romania-s-roma-or-gypsy-population