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"Women, whether subtly or vociferously, have always been a tremendous power in the destiny of the world, it’s up to the women.” – Eleanor Roosevelt PHOTO CAPTION: Mud clinging to their dresses, Mennonite volunteers from Virginia and Pennsylvania take a break after mucking out the basement of a Barre home last week. Photo courtesy of the Vermont Daily Chronicle. [PHOTO SOURCE: https://montpelierbridge.org/2024/08/mennonite-women-remove-45-tons-of-muck-with-joy-and-singing/] |
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What is a virtuous woman
according to the Bible? Let us read in Proverbs 31:10-31. [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/MCGI.org/photos/a.2069583319722478/2069584466389030/?type=3&] https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/07/wiedertaufer-frauen-bei-der-arbeit.html |
Wiedertäufer Frauen bei der Arbeit – translated from German as Anabaptist women at work. We know that Amish women do work both at home and outside. We learn that even the Amish women assisted the men to help rebuild places wrecked by Hurricane Helene. Not just the Amish women, but also their ‘cousins’ – Mennonites and Hutterites. I will post an article on how the Conservative Mennonite women from Mennonite Disaster Service helped in Barre, Vermont after the flood, before I give my thoughts.
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Mennonite women from the MDS (Mennonite Disaster Relief) helped out at Barre, Vermont. [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/08/23/metro/mennonite-women-help-rebuild-house-vermont/] |
Mennonite Women Remove 45 Tons of Muck ‘With Joy and Singing’
August 21, 2024
by Guest Author
Mud clinging to their dresses, Mennonite volunteers from Virginia and Pennsylvania take a break after mucking out the basement of a Barre home last week. Photo courtesy of the Vermont Daily Chronicle.
By Paul Bean
This story comes to us with permission from the Vermont Daily Chronicle and was originally published on vermontdailychronicle.com on Aug. 15, 2024.
Last week, Mennonite Disaster Relief Service sent a group of 15 volunteers from Virginia and Pennsylvania to help clean up the aftermath of the July 11 floods in Barre.
Mennonites share common historical roots with the Amish, with this key difference:
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Leadership is about the team—the culture they keep and embrace, it’s about empathy for your customers, clients, employees and the communities where you do business, it’s about doing the right thing for the right reasons, being confident enough to take risks and responsible enough to think of those who your decisions and risks may affect.” - Kat Cole, COO & President of FOCUS Brands [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.zerogap.co/blog/leadershipquotesbywomen] |
“Mennonites believe in simple living but express that simplicity in a spirit of stewardship and awareness of the needs of others rather than completely separating from society as the Amish continue to do.” Vermont has active Mennonite (in Wolcott and other places) and Amish (Brownington) communities.
Apparently the Mennonite volunteers are quite aware of the needs of others, as shown here in Vermont during their July 28–Aug. 3 disaster relief trip to Vermont.
These women carried out 2,700 buckets of muck from one homeowner’s basement in a single day. Their website says that is 45 tons of muck and they did it “with joy and singing,” and they left their client with a muck-free basement and “tears in their eyes.”
Homeowners across flood-torn Washington County expressed gratitude to the volunteers.
”We are grateful for the love that we felt from all of you. I truly felt the kindness and kinship from all of you…. Your presence at this time was a healing balm,” writes one Barre resident.
“The night of the flood we heard the sound of boulders being tumbled, in what is usually a babbling brook, and by the time we got our cars moved and a bag packed our house was surrounded and we couldn’t get out,” says a Barre resident who nearly lost their entire home to the July 11 floods.
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She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. – Proverbs 31 vs 17 (ESV) Mennonite women from the MDS (Mennonite Disaster Service) helped out at Barre, Vermont. [PHOTO SOURCE: https://images.app.goo.gl/D54fJYFGdqALgFFy6 https://www.facebook.com/MennoniteDisasterService https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/07/wiedertaufer-frauen-bei-der-arbeit.html |
The persistent natural disasters we are facing here in Vermont have been challenging, and downright depressing for many Vermonters. Vermonters are feeling neglected by their local governments considering the fact that many are still recovering from last year’s floods and the local government is still not making progress on what to actually do about the continued flooding. Many are feeling like they have nowhere to turn and there’s nothing we can do.
This Barre resident has learned, however, there is one place you can always put your faith.
“We listened to the sound of our deck and small barn rip away from our house, where we heard the crashing of the apartment building coming apart and we heard the bridge breaking up,” wrote the unnamed Barre resident. “We prayed and watched and we were fortunate to have a home when it was done…. You will forever be in my grateful heart and prayers. Bless you all and know that you are bringing God’s love with you and it meant the world to us.”
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9 Women in the Bible 26 And she said, “Oh, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. 27 For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. 28 Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there. – I Samuel 1:26-28 (ESV) [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1144274561080338&set=a.406462161528252] |
The classic saying “a picture speaks 1,000 words” could not be more true in this instance. To see seven women standing there with muddy dresses and shovels spoke volumes to their commitment to their work and dedication to serving others and their larger human community.
Gov. Phil Scott shared the photo and wrote: “We’ve been fortunate to have a number of groups helping with flood recovery through the Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters, for both last year and this year’s storms. This team is just one example of the incredible work being done — and the amount of help impacted Vermonters still need. There are still many who need help. To sign up to help your neighbors, visit vermont.gov/volunteer.”
Another disaster victim wrote on Facebook, “The Mennonites came and mucked out our basement and insulated the rafters for us at no cost. I can relate to the ‘tears in the eyes’ comment. Forever grateful.”
Many Vermonters understandably wonder just how much flooding is a for-real act of God. Whatever the case may be, it is clear that for both the givers and the receivers of flood-assistance provided by faith-based organizations, God is indeed at work in the state of Vermont.
INTERNET SOURCE: https://montpelierbridge.org/2024/08/mennonite-women-remove-45-tons-of-muck-with-joy-and-singing/
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Mennonite Disaster Relief - Volunteers in Venice, FL, had yet another productive and lively week of restoring hope! A group of twelve youthful volunteers from Pennsylvania brought energy and enthusiasm to the job sites, quickly learning new skills and making good progress on two homes. Their hard work, music, and joyful spirit made the week fly by and left homeowners deeply grateful. One homeowner, whose repairs have been ongoing since the start of this year’s Summer Youth Program, stopped by one day to check on the progress and could only say (3 times), “Wow!” [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1173700398124304&set=pcb.1173700838124260] [ALBUM SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/MennoniteDisasterService/posts/pfbid0jKMowRcj3ZS9iSuyWGdWm17zAnR8jYZHf7YK2b44NTWwWkwokF3hQhYH75Q27otl] |
MY THOUGHTS:
The Anabaptist Trio women – Amish, Mennonite and Hutterite have one thing in common: their roles are largely focused on domestic labor, childcare, and supporting the community agricultural and communal activities. While men typically handle the financial and business aspects of the community, women play vital roles in areas like cooking, sewing, gardening, and raising children.
Like the women in the bible, the Anabaptist women follow their Four Core Values: Faith, Family, Community and Simple Living. They can divide their time between work and family. They remind me of those women mentioned in Proverbs 31.
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Individual success is a myth. No one succeeds by herself. – Pat Summitt [PHOTO SOURCE: https://images.app.goo.gl/XNNN7egXy3gE7dHb8 ..... https://www.basketballmindsettraining.com/blog/coach-pat-summitt-quotes] |
As the late Basketball coach, Pat Summitt said: “Individual success is a myth. No one succeeds by herself.“ The Anabaptist women are a team player, in the sense that they always work together to achieve their goals, like those at the Mennonite Disaster Service.
I do thank my mother for quitting her job to take care me and my siblings, when we were young, she chose not to leave us at the childcare center. As Proverbs 31:28-29 said:
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28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 29 “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” -Proverbs 31:28-29 (ESV) [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10158533641272010&id=96541497009&set=a.10150728557192010] |
In conclusion, I feel that we should learn from the Anabaptist women on balancing work and family together. We admire their teamwork and learn from them, as Mattie Stepanek said:
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Unity is strength... when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved. - Mattie Stepanek [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/mattie_stepanek_319300] |
PHOTOS OF ANABAPTIST WOMEN AT WORK:
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"Women, whether subtly or vociferously, have always been a tremendous power in the destiny of the world, it’s up to the women.” – Eleanor Roosevelt [PHOTO SOURCE: https://images.app.goo.gl/rAsDVBFFXm2mDSaJ6] |
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Schmiedleut girls gathering beans [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.hutterites.org/] |
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Ladies raking during annual spring Huf aufraume. [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.hutterites.org/] |
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Hutterer - Frauen bei der Arbeit [PHOTO SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hutterites] |
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Everyone helping with the annual potato harvest. [PHOTO SOURCE: https://7nn.010.mwp.accessdomain.com/our-beliefs/community-goods/] |
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Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success. - Henry Ford Courage, hard work, self-mastery, and intelligent effort are all essential to successful life. - Theodore Roosevelt PHOTO CAPTION: Workers in the Fox Hill Community kitchen, Bruderhof. Photo by Danny Burrows (2019). (Instagram) [PHOTO SOURCE: https://honey.nine.com.au/latest/what-to-know-bruderhof-religious-cult-sussex-united-kingdom/ac1ec8b2-5262-42a2-8230-de6a7af62ffb] https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/07/wiedertaufer-frauen-bei-der-arbeit.html |
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2000 members of the Pennsylvanian Amish community had been rebuilding Chimney Rock NC. [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10231161243868519&set=a.1097651795579] https://www.facebook.com/groups/amishalltheway/posts/3970401956573353/ BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/06/amish-mutual-aid-amish-helping-to.html |
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Inspiring: The Amish Rebuild in North Carolina (11 Images) ~
“It just fills my heart with joy watching people get their life back again," said a young Amish man.
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1064060902422752&set=pcb.1064063595755816] BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/06/amish-mutual-aid-amish-helping-to.html |
“Our heart just felt drawn to
come help” said one Amish woman. |
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Inspiring: The Amish Rebuild in North Carolina (11 Images) ~
“It just fills my heart with joy watching people get their life back again," said a young Amish man.
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1064062565755919&set=pcb.1064063595755816] BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/06/amish-mutual-aid-amish-helping-to.html |
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Inspiring: The Amish Rebuild in North Carolina (11 Images) ~
“It just fills my heart with joy watching people get their life back again," said a young Amish man.
[PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1064061775755998&set=pcb.1064063595755816] BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/06/amish-mutual-aid-amish-helping-to.html |
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Nell Frizzell with Faroese women ahead of their knitting festival. Photograph: Bardur Eklund [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/apr/09/knitting-skills-knitwear-faroe-islands-festival-sweaters-knit] |
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“𝕲𝖊𝖑𝖆𝖘𝖘𝖊𝖓𝖍𝖊𝖎𝖙“ - 𝕬
𝖒𝖊𝖉𝖎𝖊𝖛𝖆𝖑 𝕲𝖊𝖗𝖒𝖆𝖓 𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖉𝖊𝖓𝖔𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖆
𝖕𝖗𝖎𝖈𝖊𝖑𝖊𝖘𝖘 𝖒𝖊𝖉𝖎𝖊𝖛𝖆𝖑 𝖈𝖔𝖓𝖈𝖊𝖕𝖙 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖒𝖆𝖉𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝕬𝖓𝖆𝖇𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖎𝖘𝖙𝖘 𝖆
𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖞 𝖚𝖓𝖎𝖖𝖚𝖊 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖇𝖑𝖊𝖘𝖘𝖊𝖉 𝖕𝖊𝖔𝖕𝖑𝖊. [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1H1JbGigAW/] https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/07/wiedertaufer-frauen-bei-der-arbeit.html |
Teamarbeit und Frauen (Teamwork and women) LINKS:
https://amishamerica.com/9-time-tested-skills-amish-women-still-use-that-are-making-a-comeback/
https://amishamerica.com/do-amish-women-have-rights/
https://amishamerica.com/our-heart-just-felt-drawn-to-come-help-amish-rebuild-in-nc/
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. – African Proverb
AMISH MUTUAL AID: AMISH HELPING TO REBUILD NORTH CAROLINA FOLLOWING HURRICANE HELENE
BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/06/amish-mutual-aid-amish-helping-to.html
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11 And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.” – I Samuel 1:11 (ESV) An Evangelical Reorientation: The Contribution of Beachy Amish-Mennonite Mothers Research Points · When an ethnic sectarian group experiences theological shifts, such as the Beachy Amish-Mennonite gravitation toward evangelical Christianity, gender roles and women’s responsibilities are reorganized in consequential ways. · Both the Old Amish and Beachy Amish-Mennonite wife/mother role is responsible for organizing the domestic environment and addressing family members’ physical and emotional needs. · While domestic success reflects religious devotion, rapid religious/social changes in Beachy churches have strained the relationship between home and church. The church is more likely seen as competing with the family for time and energy rather than integrating with it, as is more common among Old Amish. · Given rapid church changes, Beachy mothers may be socializing children toward an uncertain future rather than mere reproduction of the present church’s practice and organization, as more likely with Old Amish. This severs childrearing from church integration, disrupting intergenerational continuity. · Compared to the patriarchal organization of Old Amish, Beachys’ evangelicalism has expanded women’s formal religious responsibilities (e.g. teaching Sunday School) but also introduced more individualism, fragmenting community identity and heightening women’s isolation from role- based support networks. · Some women seek to slow the pace of change and maintain community-based stability, while others accept greater individual autonomy. [PHOTO SOURCE: https://coryanderson.org/an-evangelical-reorientation-the-contribution-of-beachy-amish-mennonite-mothers/ BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2024/10/amish-baby-boom-part-1-proverbs-about.html BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2024/12/israels-baby-boom-2024-children-are-joy.html BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/05/2025-mothers-day-sermons.html |
Amische und mennonitische Frauen (Amish and Mennonite women) LINKS:
MEET GLORIA YODER THE NEW ORDER AMISH COOK
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/03/meet-gloria-yoder-new-order-amish-cook.html
https://lucindajkinsinger.com/how-my-plain-mennonite-heritage-impacts-my-parenting/
https://mennoniteeducation.weebly.com/
https://homejoys.blogspot.com/
https://kb.osu.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/4cca1bec-552f-50e2-b5ec-f87c7420217a/content
https://undersevenstars.com/2019/08/31/5-reasons-why-i-love-being-mennonite/
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2024/10/grandfamilies-on-rise.html
11 And she vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed look on the affliction of your servant and remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and no razor shall touch his head.” – I Samuel 1:11 (ESV)
Our home joys are the most delightful earth affords, and the joy of parents in their children is the most holy joy of humanity. - Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/05/2025-mothers-day-sermons.html
Amische und mennonitische Frauen Bibelstudium (Amish and Mennonite women Bible Study) LINKS:
HIM Baby Wearing
Feb 13, 2025
HIM Helping Infants and Mothers Our mission is to celebrate and support the gift of life. Our Nurture and Nourish Parenthood Essentials series is meant to equip parents with practical tools, knowledge and resources to empower them to care for their little ones with love and intention.
Baby wearing safety information
https://babyslingsafety.co.uk/ticks.pdf
A tutorial for the wrap demonstrated in the video https://www.thewrappinggallery.com/carry/semi_pwcc
A tutorial for another one that's very beginner friendly https://www.thewrappinggallery.com/carry/fwcc
How to choose your wrap size
https://wrapyourbaby.com/what-size-woven-wrap-do-i-need/
A guide to buckle carriers
https://wrappingrachel.com/2018/08/30/how-to-use-a-soft-structured-carrier/
VIDEO SOURCE: https://youtu.be/cidtuXpdzEs?si=lk-7X9Ul9ncMpMB9
H.I.M redeeming motherhood day to day
Jun 25, 2025
VIDEO SOURCE: https://youtu.be/E3LSFPp9Es4?si=J5QqA5BZ8SkdhmJ6
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"We do well to
remember dolphins. If a dolphin fails, then others come alongside and nudge him
gently through the waters; because a dolphin must keep moving in order to keep
breathing. We all need our dolphins alongside us from time to time." [PHOTO SOURCE: https://images.app.goo.gl/NhUkU4gesh7CQ4e88 ..... https://www.trvst.world/biodiversity/dolphin-quotes/] The Shocking Intelligence of Dolphins – Teamwork at Its Best! |
COMMUNITY LINKS:
" Community is like an old coat, you aren't aware of it until it is taken away." – Amish Proverb
The Amish Four Core Values: Faith, Family, Community and Simple Living.
THE FOUR CORE VALUES OF THE ANABAPTIST
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2023/04/the-four-core-values-of-anabaptist.html
Very few burdens are heavy if everyone lifts. – Amish Proverb
We do not relegate the pulpit work, or the rest of the church’s teaching, to the lead pastor to handle as much as he can alone and then fill slots when he’s on vacation. We value plurality in teaching, and preaching, just as we value the plurality of elders in decision-making, oversight, and pastoral ministry throughout the week. We begin not by asking how the lead pastor can preach as much as possible, but by asking how we can most effectively teach and preach as a team of pastors.
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2023/06/team-preaching-is-like-barn-raising.html
24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. – Hebrews 10:24-25 (KJV)
SERMONS ON HEBREWS 10 VERSE 24 TO 25 – THE GOSPEL COMMUNITY
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/02/sermons-on-hebrews-10-verse-24-to-25.html
“We must live in community because we are stimulated by the same creative Spirit of unity who calls nature to unity and through whom work and culture shall become community in God.” — Eberhard Arnold
PLAIN PEOPLE AND MUTUAL AID - WHY WE LIVE IN COMMUNITY BY EBERHARD ARNOLD
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2024/11/plain-people-and-mutual-aid-why-we-live.html
“Let every nation know... whether it wishes us well or ill... that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty.” - JFK
AMISH REPOPULATING NEBRASKA’S SANDHILLS
BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/04/amish-repopulating-nebraskas-sandhills.html
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. - Matthew 5:44 (KJV)
MARTYRS MIRROR: DIRK WILLEMS (DIED: MAY 16, 1569)
BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/05/martyrs-mirror-dirk-willems-died-may-16.html
True community arises out of transformation, and only transformation can make real community. – Eberhard Arnold
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2023/11/community-living-quotes.html
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