Once upon a time a long time ago, a large group of Mennonites homesteaded on the fertile plains of Northwestern Oklahoma and established a little town called Fairview. As the years went by, some of the Mennonites became disgruntled with the strict rules of the Mennonite faith and decided to split off and form their own church and call it Mennonite Brethren (Because obviously they were brothers to the Mennonites). Eventually, more and more Mennonite families decided they didn't want to wear little black hats over their hair and make all their own dresses and wanted to send their children to public school, so they too joined the MB church along with a lot of people who had never even been Mennonite before, until it became the largest congregation in town, and a huge church was built with a beautiful steeple that I can look out my office window and see every day of my life.
I was wrong. Really, very wrong. (Except for the beautiful steeple outside my window part.)
The really short version of the true story goes something more like this:
Once upon a time a really, really, really, really long time ago (like 1500's long ago), a man named Menno Simons decided that the Catholic church was no longer following Biblical principals in the way that he felt was right, so he formed a group of believers that eventually became known as Mennonites. Then in the mid-1800s, in a country known as Russia, a group of German-speaking Mennonite believers decided that the church had become too "cold and formal" and also had some complaints having to do with believer's communion (according to Wikipedia) and formed what is now known as Mennonite Brethren. In the meantime, between the 1500's and today, a variety of other Mennonite offspring were established, including Amish, Old Colony, and Holdeman, just to name a few. All of which, like Mennonite Brethren have their origins in Menno Simons followers, but have established beliefs and "rules" of their own throughout the years.
So, in the late 1800's when Oklahoma was opening up for settlement, a large group of German-speaking Mennonites, did settle in the area now known as Fairview, but these groups came already divided by the Mennonite beliefs of their forefathers. Therefore, in approximately 1895 two Mennonite Brethren churches were established: one north of Fairview, and the other south. They were known appropriately as South MB Church and North MB Church. Eventually, the two churches decided to join together in town as the Fairview Mennonite Brethren Church, and in the early 1980's the beautiful church I see from my window was built. The Fairview Mennonite Brethren, as we know it today, is an evangelical church whose mission is to "Reach Up and Reach Out. It is a church whose presence in the community is far-reaching and who are never to busy to lend a helping hand.
Which leads us to this past Sunday morning.....
It was cold and yucky and snow was starting to come in, so we decided it might be best to keep our Steeple Chase close to home. What could be closer than the church outside our window?
Another plus, was that not only is it close in proximity, but this particular church is close to our hearts as well. As a baby living in this town, my parents and I attended the Fairview MB Church (although at it's original location). They made many lifelong friends there, who I grew up hearing about and meeting long after our family moved from Fairview. Additionally, when our immediate family moved to Fairview 10 years ago, this is the church we began attending, and we continue to send our children there for AWANA on Wednesday and participate in various church activities and community projects. We love this body of believers, and it felt so good to worship again with them on a Sunday morning.
We arrived between Sunday School and Worship Service, in time to participate in half-time donuts and juice. My girls were extremely excited about the donuts and seeing their friends... and the donuts. Afterwards, we found seats in the large and lovely sanctuary in time for welcome and announcements followed by congregational singing. I appreciate greatly the use of so many different lay people within the worship service. Some introduced upcoming events with a fun little skit, while others played and sang in a worship band, and another led the congregation in prayer. Two of my past students did an amazing job playing Amazing Grace on their trumpets during the offering. It was so great to see so many members of the body participating in Sunday morning Worship.
The message was delivered by youth pastor Travis Schmidt who was continuing with a series focused on the book of Revelation. I've mentioned before how much I'm intrigued by this particular book, but by this time, our youngest was more than ready to go to Children's Church (She always is.), so I took her to her class and then made my way back. When I returned, the congregations was laughing hysterically at a story from Travis' childhood, and I wished I'd have sent our little one on her own...like she wanted me to. The good news is, I returned in time for the real meat of the message, and really learned a lot about the Dragon, Seabeast, and Earthbeast who Satan has created to imitate The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit...all in an attempt to deceive us into following him instead of our creator. The morning's lesson was very well delivered and well received, and I was especially appreciative of the reminder that regardless of what is to come, we do not have to worry because we have already been covered by the blood and sealed as a child of God.
The service ended with some beautiful praise songs, and we ventured out into the foyer to smiles and handshakes and hello theres from friends and acquaintances alike. As we said our goodbyes and loaded up to face the two minute drive home, we felt blessed to know that there's a Steeple to Chase in our own backyard that houses a body who's making a difference and supporting a community of those who love the Lord.
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