Читать книгу Elders of the Faiths 15 - Mark McGinnis - Страница 5

born 1941

Henry Decker is a member of the Pembrook Hutterite community south of Ipswich, South Dakota. He was an educator of the community’s children for over a decade and is now the group’s business manager.

Question: What is your spiritual tradition and how does it form a foundation for your life?

Answer: The Hutterites trace their beginnings to the Reformation, but they also differed from Martin Luther in that they did not believe in the practices of child baptism and communion. We have based our religion on the teaching of Christ and in particular the book of Acts in the New Testament. We believe in practicing the community of goods as well as we can possibly do it. Having grown up in a Hutterite society, I do not want to own things. Christ had no desire for personal ownership, and I don’t either. We have very nice homes to live in, we have plenty of food to eat, and we work very hard for our living, but we believe in sharing totally. I own nothing but my clothes, and they were given to me by the community. We work for posterity. We are here for our children to have a home. I’m not working for myself, because when I go I will take nothing and leave nothing in the way of worldly goods. Our community is a corporation, and we pay regular corporate taxes to the state and federal governments. We feel obligated to pay our share for the services we receive. All Hutterite communities do this. We are pilgrims here on this earth as far as God is concerned. We believe we are here for a chance to get to heaven; that goes for us in the Hutterite communities and for all those living in other types of communities. As Hutterites we feel we are doing what God wants us to do. Others may certainly do what they feel is the best way of life for them. The door is always open in our community. Anyone may leave at any time, and those may come that can live by the rules of our forefathers.

Q: How has your religion and religious practice given meaning to your life?

A: My religious experience gives me a sense of positive feelings. I try to live as well as possible the way Christ taught us and is teaching us. In the Old Testament God told Moses to teach the children every day. That is what we try to do every day with our children. We teach the German language and our religion together to our children.

Q: What has given you the most joy in your life?

A: The most joy comes from being put to the test every day and being able to take and stand the test. The only thing that has given me the necessary spiritual strength is the fact that I have a good family. My immediate family and many members of the community are my strength, and without them I know I would break down at times because the tests are very difficult. Helping each other out keeps me going. And, of course, the joy and strength of prayer are foundations in my life.

Q: What has given you the most sorrow in your life?

A: The most sorrow in my life comes from the fact that everyone does not live by our way of life both in our community and outside our community. Everyone wants to do their own thing. In our way of life that is not the way to live. When we need to do something in our society, even small things like going to town for supplies, we have to consult with others; it is the way we live — we live as a group.

Q: What are your hopes for the future?

A: My hope is for us to become better in our way of life. I hope we can be sounder and more stable. I hope we can build stronger constitutions in our hearts. The example we set for our young people today is what will be in the future.

Q: If there was one thing you could communicate to youth, what would it be?

A: To youth outside our community, I would like them to understand we are people like everyone else. We were put here by God for the same reason everyone else was. I hope people won’t jump to conclusions about us and believe rumors about who we are. To our youth I would like to say that we need to educate the outside world on who we are. We are in a cocoon too much; we need to tell people what our purpose is here.