What's a Mennonite?

Russian matryoshka doll -- not the one in this story.

What is a Mennonite?

That's a fair question. On our home page on the right, there is a description in the "About 2Guys" box that says, "2 colleagues working in Poznan who happen to have common Minnesota-Mennonite roots."

Actually, that is the very question I received last weekend on a little road trip to Northwest Poland. In reply, some illustrations with a common theme came to mind. So, in my broken Polish, I began to give the following examples in an attempt to answer this ongoing question. I guess this is the best way to start it.

Free dance lessons

A Mennonite, a Baptist and a Catholic were going to a gospel music workshop in Poland. The Polish Catholic asks the American Mennonite, “What’s a Mennonite?” Pausing, he reasoned that the best way to answer this would be by example. So, in his broken Polish he told a true story he recently read about a Mennonite who encountered free dance lessons.

"A mennonite out at dance class? That’s an oxymoron if I ever heard one. It was free. I didn’t know which part of my heritage should play out stronger, no dancing or free stuff. In past, both values were able to exist in harmony as they had never been juxtaposed together. It was a real internal debate for me.

In the end free stuff won out over my principles against dancing."

One gift or seven?

After the laughter ceased, the Mennonite went on to tell about one of his first days in Russia in the summer of 1994. The group he was with was visiting the Novodevichy Monastery, and he had purchased his first Russian matryoshka, or nesting doll. Back on the bus, another group member commented that it was a nice doll and she thought it would make a nice gift.

The Mennonite responded, "Yes, seven nice gifts."

"What are you a Mennonite?!"

"As a matter of fact, I am."

Save those nails

Finally, the Mennonite ended with the well-known family story about his grandfather, who was a farmer. It seems that whenever a building was torn down, Grandpa always made sure the nails were removed and straightened for reuse, despite the fact that he would have had no trouble purchasing new ones for the next building project.

After all these real-life examples about the frugality of Mennonites, the Polish Catholic responded, “Well, if that is what a Mennonite is, I am a Mennonite!”