Book Review: Mennonite Women in Canada

Mennonite Women in Canada: A History
Beginning of the review in "Tuponia: Canadian History Blog":

They wear head coverings and plain dresses. They quilt, make food that "schmecks" and ride horse-drawn buggies. They talk little, obey their menfolk and produce huge broods.

Marlene Epp knows that's the stereotype of Mennonite women. After all, she's a Mennonite woman herself. She's also a university professor, a mother of two, a feminist, and a stylish dresser, by the looks of her funky Mary Jane shoes and the richly coloured scarf draped over her shoulders.

Epp teaches history and peace and conflict studies at Conrad Grebel University College, part of the University of Waterloo. She has spent years researching Mennonite women. Now she has written a book that chronicles the rich diversity of their experiences in this country.

See also: University of Manitoba Press

Quote of the Week

"Old hat is new again: Classic styles taking center stage among fall accessories"
By JOY SEWING, HOUSTON CHRONICLE, Nov. 14, 2008

In this photo-accompanied article on the fashion of hats, for men and women, fashion shows and designers, and even a little helpful list called "hat basics", I came across a very neat observation:

“Hats are coming back because women are embracing their femininity.”

Just made me smile. :)

Headcovering Christian Bloggers - More

Are you researching Christian headcovering? Prayer veils? Mantillas? Women in Christian worship?

Head covering in the Bible is not a subject to be dismissed, nor is it something which all the law and the prophets hang on. It could be assumed by some people that the continual subject matter of this blog makes it look like I (and others whose posts I share) are just harping on a subject which is of little consequence. I assure you - I (and I think the others whose posts I share) realize that there are many, many matters of daily living in Christ which are important to attend to. Because the subject matter of this blog centers upon headcoverings does in no way imply that one should think that covering the woman's head is in some sort of 5 step plan to salvation, and that if she does it, she's in. Head covering is but one small obedient thing, done by only the women of God's children: one small thing found in a Book full of commands, precepts, laws, prophecies, proverbs, illustrations and wisdom (among other important things). And head covering is one obedient thing that is overlooked, misunderstood and even frowned upon in our day. But why should anything, no matter how small, be overlooked, when it comes to living for the One who I believe gave up heavenly living to dwell on earth as a person and then be treated and later killed in a most disgusting way, for my sake?

Head covering is one of many things that "come along" at some point in our growth, and for those whose hearts are full of seeking, I believe it is shameful to dismiss as some cultural thing or other that we don't need to even think about today.

I actually think there's a movement afoot. (Or should that be, "ahead"?) Please, be encouraged by what you read here. Please, continue to press on.


aloveofthetruth.blogspot.com - November 15, 2008
"Head Covering" - hopefully one of more essays to come by a lady who covers her head, believing that obedience is indeed a part of salvation

thebibleprayerline.blogspot.com - November 15, 2008
"Bible Questions Answered: Veil-The" - a question and answer lesson from an elder pastor who desires revival of - not just the old ways, but - the ways of the all of the Bible

deesclosets.blogspot.com - November 15, 2008
"Headcovering.. Such a topic for all. Those who do and those who don't and those that are confused" - includes a listing of yet a few more links where one can study this subject for themselves

And finally, a thought for the day:

sparrowinthesnow.blogspot.com - November 15, 2008, in:
"Various thoughts and updates" -

I am not sure if all y'all know, but I headcover. You have probably seen it in some of the pics I have posted. I do not feel that one must always headcover. And last night, because we were on a date, I considered not covering . . . . I decided to put it on anyway, and I am glad I did. I ran into our neighbors who seem very nice but are most definitely witches (as in, that is what they proclaim as their religion, not that I am being catty). She had on her cape and amulets or whatever, and I was standing in my headcovering. We said hello briefly, I talked to her husband for a moment, and then it was over. However, I was very thankful to be wearing my faith when I ran into someone who was wearing their beliefs. I was thankful that I was ready "in season and out of season...".

Yes. Headcovering is just a small thing. But so is a cup of water. A child. The rod of Moses. A stone and a sling. A tent peg. An arrow. A visit. A coin. A parchment. ... Nothing is small. Not really.

Some Headcovering Christians: Hutterites

In "Livin the Dream", November 14, 2008:
"Peoples Of North America - Hutterites"

A personal essay, it looks like, and well written. An overview of the Hutterite Christians living in the prairies, with photos. Lots of information you probably didn't know at the linked title above.

Hutterites have a dress code. The dress code is more pronounced with some groups, i.e. the Lehrerleut and the Dariusleut in Alberta and Saskatchewan. The Schmiedeleut Hutterian Brethren's dress code is typically as follows: men wear suspenders, usually black or dark trousers, and any kind of buttoned shirt. Married men traditionally wear a beard.

Women wear below-knee-length dresses; younger women and girls wear brighter colored dresses than older women. Women also wear a Kupf-ti'echle or a black, polka-dot-peppered head covering. Girls between the ages of 3 to about 10 wear a mitz which is bonnet-like head covering.

EDIT: He's got another article on the Amish folks, who also practice headcovering, here.


By the way, do you know how some people cannot understand how you can have driver's licenses without photos? Usually that is a complaint about women who want to cover their face, or at least part of their face: their hair. But sometimes...

Alberta Hutterites won the right to avoid having their photograph taken for their drivers' licenses. In May 2007, the Alberta Court of Appeal ruled that the photograph requirement violates their religious rights and that driving was essential to their way of life. The Wilson Springs colony based their position on the belief that images are prohibited by the Second Commandment. About eighty of the photo-less licenses were in use at the time of the decision. Besides the Alberta Hutterite groups (Darius and Lehreleut), a handful of colonies in Manitoba (Schmiedleut) do not wish their members to be photographed for licenses or other identity document.

Just a funfilled fact to know and tell.

Ongoing Story of Muslim Teen Killed by Her Dad

Listen to This podcast: Toronto Life's Aqsa Parvez cover story, "Girl, Interrupted"
Posted by Graham F. Scott, November 14, 2008, This Magazine

The current issue of Toronto Life magazine features a cover story on the murder of Aqsa Parvez, the Mississauga teen who was killed last year, allegedly by members of her own family, over a dispute about — well, it's tough to say what it was about. Toronto Life's cover calls the murder an "honour killing" because Parvez decided not to wear a hijab, the head covering that some Muslim women wear to observe their religion. As writer Mary Rogan says in her story, there were plenty of other disputes between Aqsa Parvez and her family over all kinds of things, and what truly happened is still frustratingly unclear. But the hijab became the focal point in media reports about the murder last year, because it was an easy-to-grasp symbol that resonated with those Canadians who still feel ambivalent, or outright hostile, to immigrant groups, particularly Muslim immigrants from South Asia.

Last week, a coalition of groups representing women, immigrants, and social service agencies called a press conference in Toronto to formally condemn Toronto Life's story, calling it racist and Islamophobic. There is also a Facebook group that goes into further on the problems that these readers had with the article.

This podcast features excerpts from my interviews with one of the participants in the press conference, Sumayya Kassamali of the group Our Collective Dreams: Muslim Women Speak Out Against Violence, and with Sarah Fulford, Editor of Toronto Life.

Listen to the podcast at the title of the blog linked above. Other links are also available at this article.

And now for something different

After coming across this article: Legacy of the Phrygian cap", in the Aurora History Blog, I also looked up the Wikipedia article on the Phrygian cap. Amazing, the symbolism of headgear in history. Of course, we knew about that. But did you know that besides becoming a symbol of the French Revolutionaries (this link has some disputable statements, but also a lot of illustrations), it "also appears on the state flags of West Virginia, New Jersey, and New York, as well as the official seal of the United States Senate , the arms of the North Carolina Senate, and on the reverse side of the Seal of Virginia"?

Bust of Attis wearing a Phrygian cap (Parian marble, 2nd century BC), from Wikipedia.

"Big Step of Obedience"

Grace In Bloom: Growing in the Grace and Knowledge of Jesus Christ: Big Step of Obedience

May you be encouraged, wherever you are.

"Hats and a Haircut"

A young man who is serving as a missionary in Southern Sudan writes about his prayerful decision to follow the teachings of 1 Corinthians - and not only those verses in chapter 11.

November 8, 2008: "Why I cut my hair and thoughts on the relevance of passages from 1 Corinthinas to life out here in Sudan", by Ryan Weeks.

Spending some time reading through his reports has been interesting and enjoyable too.

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For more thoughts on the woman's headcovering from 1 Corinthians, see:

November 09, 2008, "A call for a new Reformation in the church: Headcoverings?", by Arthur Sido at "the voice of one crying out in suburbia" [Michigan] blog.

"Headcovering". An article with links found at TheOpenScroll.com. The conclusion from this article:

Our freedom in Messiah allows the Lord to bless us without regard for anything beyond simple faith - to a degree. While we are young, and, for a season, the Lord allows us to be weaned on the milk of the word, and there is in that early season of our development relatively little expectation about our behavior. As we mature, we come to a place of greater expectation, learning the Lord’s discipline for those whom he loves, and we are brought into a place of abiding. The Lord draws us closer and we learn to enjoy Him particularly as a friend, while at the same time coming to greatly respect his holiness and authority. The Lord deals with us individually, in a way very personally suited to who we are. Now, you may rightly say that the Lord has blessed you greatly despite any prior ignorance and neglect of certain practices. However, there comes a time when the holy spirit convicts us of the need to change. Perhaps the spirit has been moving upon you with regard to headcovering.

Headcovering as a practice of the church is similar to the practices of baptism and the bread and wine communion.They should be practiced in the proper ways giving the Lord due honor; bringing blessing to those who practice them and bearing the appropriate and intended powerful testimony before witnesses. They should not be viewed as merely carnal practices but rather as they are in truth; spiritual. Proper instruction concerning them is certainly the duty of those appointed to minister to the assemblies of saints through teaching, but, indeed, each man is personally responsible to search out truth for himself whether what he is being taught is actually so.

Are you the only one covering?

Read a conversation between members of the ChristianForums.com community: "if you wear a mantilla.. ". Regarding Catholic women who desire to wear a head covering, but what if you're the only one? Be encouraged.