Peter J. Dyck – longtime MCC Service Worker – Mennonite Pastor and Author – Died on Jan. 4, 2010.
MENNONITE CENTRAL COMMITTEE (MCC) NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Blurb: Peter J. Dyck – longtime MCC service worker and administrator, renowned storyteller, Mennonite pastor and author – died on Jan. 4, 2010.
Peter J. Dyck leaves legacy of service
By Linda Espenshade and Ed Nyce
Jan. 5, 2010
AKRON, Pa. – Peter J. Dyck – storyteller, Mennonite pastor, author and lifelong servant to people in need around the world – died of cancer on Monday, Jan. 4, 2010. He was 95 years old.
Dyck, who lived in Scottdale, Pa., is well known in Mennonite, Brethren in Christ and Amish communities throughout Canada, Europe, Paraguay and the United States, especially for his work with Mennonite Russian refugees and with Mennonite Central Committee (MCC).
Born in Lysanderhöh, Am Trakt, Russia, on Dec. 4, 1914, Dyck was a child when the Russian Revolution ushered in the start of the Soviet Union. At 6 years old, he almost died of typhoid and hunger that accompanied the Russian Famine of 1921.
Dyck and his family were rescued by food shipments sent from Mennonites in Canada and the United States, a kindness he would not forget. Six years later his family, including eight siblings, fled Russia and settled in Saskatchewan.
Dyck attended the University of Saskatchewan and Bethel College, North Newton, Kan., and graduated from Goshen (Ind.) College with a bachelor’s in English in 1950. In June 1968, he completed his master’s of divinity degree from Bethany Theological Seminary, Chicago.
During World War II, he served with MCC in England. MCC is a world-wide ministry of Anabaptist churches that responds to basic human needs and works for peace and justice.
Motivating his decision to work with MCC was his memory of the food aid he received as a child. The food had come through a newly formed MCC.
“I knew these were people that do good…. They fed our family. They fed our community. Now they are asking me to go and do something like that for others? To me, it would almost have seemed immoral not to say yes,” Dyck told author Robert Kreider, editor of Interviews with Peter J. Dyck and Elfrieda Dyck.
His decision to go was fortuitous not only for MCC, but also for Dyck. In 1944, he married Elfrieda Klassen, a nurse who also was serving with MCC in England. She too was a Russian refugee who moved to Canada.
Once the war ended, the Dycks moved to the Netherland to direct a massive relief effort. Dyck was later knighted by Queen Juliana of the Netherlands in recognition of MCC’s feeding and clothing program.
In 1946, the Dycks set up refugee camps in Germany for thousands of Mennonites who had fled the Soviet Union. Over time, they led 5,500 Mennonites by boat to South America, predominantly Paraguay. This experience provided content for Dyck’s stories and was the basis of the book, Up From the Rubble, that he co-authored with his wife.
Dyck also recorded MCC’s work in Europe and Paraguay with 8 mm and 16 mm movie cameras. He used the movie as he traveled around Canada and the United States in the late 1940s, educating people about the plight of the European refugees.
“Peter was an exceptional and admired communicator who was also a pioneer Mennonite film maker,” said John A. Lapp, executive director emeritus for MCC. He produced the first MCC films.
“Peter was a key voice in helping MCC supporters in Canada and the United States be aware of need in the world,” said Herman Bontrager, chair of the MCC board of directors. “Peter and Elfrieda were bridges in that they built linkages and relationships across continents.”
From 1950 to 1957, Dyck served as pastor of the Eden Mennonite Church in Moundridge, Kan. The Dycks returned to Germany with their two daughters, Ruth and Rebecca, to direct the MCC program there and in North Africa for the next 10 years.
Peter Dyck then moved into an administrative position with MCC in Akron, Pa., where he was responsible for East-West relations in the midst of the Cold War. In this role, he made numerous trips to encourage Baptist and Mennonite congregations in Russia, Siberia and Central Asia, Lapp said.
Dyck assisted Baptist World Alliance as the organization successfully negotiated with Soviet authorities for permission to make biblical commentaries available. “This project gave credence and moral support to all Russian-speaking churches,” Lapp said.
“Clearly, Peter played a very important role in how Mennonites, Brethren in Christ and the wider Christian constituency related to Christians in the former Soviet Union in a difficult era,” Bontrager said.
For two decades after his “retirement” from MCC in 1981, Dyck traveled to speak at churches, schools and retreats. He was well-known among Amish and Mennonites for his inspiring stories and was popular among young people at Mennonite high schools and colleges in the 1970s and 1980s for his ability to engage them. At 90, he could still pack auditoriums.
“He was a passionate advocate for peace, conflict resolution, justice and tolerance,” his family said. “He promoted and embodied active participation in bringing about peace in the world.”
Dyck authored five more books. Three were children’s books: The Great Shalom, Shalom at Last and Storytime Jamboree. He also wrote a collection of his stories, Leap of Faith, and a meditation on growing old gracefully, Getting Home Before Dark. His spellbinding storytelling was captured on three videos produced by Menno-Hof in Shipshewana, Ind.
From 1983 to 1985, Dyck was pastor at Kingview Mennonite Church, Scottdale, Pa.
Arli Klassen, executive director of MCC, said Dyck was very effective, not only in his ability to bring hope to many affected by World War II, but in influencing hundreds of MCC volunteers to learn new languages, skills and worldviews.
“Peter’s capacity as a storyteller, as a leader and as a grandfather has always impressed me,” said Klassen. “I pray that MCC will continue to be blessed with leaders who have the ingenuity, initiative and inspiration that Peter has modeled for us all.”
Dyck believed that credit for his efforts should be directed toward God, not him.
“It is gratifying and also humbling to think that (God’s) purposes are accomplished through ordinary people,” he told Kreider.
Surviving are two daughters: Ruth, married to Jack Scott of Scottdale, and Rebecca Dyck, married to Peter Deslauriers of Montreal, Quebec; five grandchildren: Peter Eash-Scott of Lancaster, Deborah Scott of Highland Park, N.J., Cornelia Scott of Abingdon, Va., Sasha Dyck and Michael Dyck, both of Montreal, Quebec; and two great-grandsons. He is also survived by one brother, CJ Dyck of Normal, Ill., and two sisters, Clara Dyck and Rena Kroeker, both of Winnipeg, Man.
Dyck was preceded in death by his wife, Elfrieda; one brother, John Dyck; and four sisters: Elise Quiring, Anna Neufeld, Irma Balzer and Helene Funk.
Dyck donated his body to the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, the last service that he could perform for humankind.
A memorial service is planned at Akron Mennonite Church, Akron, Pa., for Saturday, Jan. 9, at 2 p.m.
In lieu of flowers and as a memorial tribute to his life of service, the family asks that contributions be made to the “Peter J. Dyck Peace and Justice Scholarship” at Goshen College (www.goshen.edu/give
– END –
Linda Espenshade is MCC news coordinator, and Ed Nyce is media and education coordinator for MCC.
Travis Wipf – Tennessee Flat Top Box
Travis Wipf – Tennessee Flat Top Box
This is one of my friends. He is is very good with the guitar and you can find him on YouTube as user buddy20090.
Subscribe to him 
Enjoy
Enya – O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel – Enya
The Amazing Enya
Zu Erinnerung an Bernd Längin, Den
This video is from YouTube User toujoursmontreal …
Below is the the Authors Description….
————
Die deutschsprachigen “Hutterer” leben auf Farmkommunen in der kanadischen Prärie.
Der aus Karlsruhe stammende Buchautor Bernd G. Längin hat mir einen seltenen Zugang zu diesen Menschen ermöglicht.
Sie selbst bezeichnen ihre Kolonien als „Archen im Meer der weltlichen Sünde”. Diesen Film habe ich im Mai 2000 für das Deutsche Fernsehen auf einem Bruderhof in Manitoba gedreht.
Bernd Längin war seit 1973 mein Freund und Kollege. Der „Doktor der Schrift”, wie die Hutterer Bernd Längin nannten, ist am 28. Juni 2008 im Alter von 67 Jahren gestorben. Dieser Film ist ihm gewidmet.
I dedicate my film about a Hutterite colony in Manitoba/Canada to my good friend and colleague Bernd Längin who passed away June 28, 2008 at age 67.
Who You Are Makes A Difference – Never Been Unloved
Please take the time and watch this video in its entirety.
Perhaps you NEEDED THIS today.
An Amazing and Inspirational Story.
Music By The Great Michael W. Smith
Song is: Never Been Unloved.
Lyrics:
I have been unfaithful
I have been unworthy
I have been unrighteous
And I have been unmerciful
I have been unreachable
I have been unteachable
I have been unwilling
And I have been undesirable
Chorus:
Sometimes, I have been unwise
Ive been undone by what I’m unsure of
But because of you, and all that you went through
I know that I have never been unloved
I have been unbroken
I have been unmended
I have been uneasy
And Ive been unapproachable
Ive been unemotional
Ive been unexceptional
Ive been undecided
And I have been unqualified
Chorus:
Unaware, I have been unfair
Ive been unfit for blessings from above
But even I can see the sacrifice you made for me
To show that I have never been unloved
PS: Please Comment With Your Thoughts! Who are you going to pass this on to?
German Wedding Song Sung By Hutterite Girls
Someone from HutteriteNetwork.com requested this song so I made a trip to a local colony and asked the ladies if they would be so kind and give us the gift of a-cappella .. They agreed.
This song is a big hit at Hutterite Weddings ..
The video effects are there for privacy reasons..
Cheers and Enjoy!
Hutterite photography project provides candid glimpse to colony life
Hutterite photography project provides candid glimpse to colony life
By DIANE COCHRAN
Of The Gazette Staff
LEWISTOWN – An art project that put disposable cameras into the hands of four dozen Hutterite children has provided a rare glimpse into one of the state’s most recognizable but least understood cultures.
“A Week in the Life of a Hutterite Child” depicts ordinary moments on six central Montana Hutterite colonies through 36 photographs taken by children who live on the colonies.
The color and black-and-white photos, taken last fall, are part of a traveling show that will be displayed at the Yellowstone Art Museum later this year.
“Giving them the ability to show their unique lifestyle to people who have had no exposure to Hutterite colonies seemed like a natural thing to do,” said Cheryl Bannes, an artist who organized the project. “I hope people who see the show will be a little less afraid to ask questions.”
About 4,000 Hutterites live in about 40 mostly self-sufficient communities across Montana.
They are religious pacifists who share the work and the wealth in their communities, but they are known to their neighbors, whom they call “the English,” as agricultural producers who wear homemade clothes and speak with German accents.
“In a way, it’s almost like stepping back in time a little bit when you come to the colony,” said Karen Matovich, a teacher’s aide at Ayers Colony School near Grass Range.
Bannes distributed 50 disposable cameras to six colonies – Ayers, Fords Creek, Spring Creek, Deerfield, Loring and King – in August and September.
She said only one colony resisted the idea, but its leaders eventually changed their minds.
“Most colonies said they didn’t want children mugging for the camera,” she said.
Instead, kids were instructed to capture scenes from everyday life. Each community selected a week during which pictures were taken.
At Ayers Colony, 15-year-old Ramona Stahl snapped photos of women in the kitchen and of other kids riding horses across a field.
“I took that picture because I think city people should do that – ride horses to go out in the field,” she said.
Other images show colony members harvesting potatoes, picking berries, skinning animals and sewing.
In one shot, a girl in a traditional ankle-length skirt and head scarf swings a baseball bat.
In another, two small girls peer into the lens from behind a piglet one of them is holding aloft.
There is also a boy hugging a dog, a pair of worn cowboy boots, a past-its-prime jack-o-lantern and a group of women making pies.
“You could see how they progressed from ‘Isn’t this fun to take a picture?’ to really composing a picture and telling a story,” said Bannes, who is a metalsmith and photographer.
Bannes and a committee of Hutterite parents narrowed 1,200 pictures down to the three dozen that were framed for the show.
“I was amazed,” said Susan Seastrand, the teacher at Ayers Colony School. “They took some really good pictures.”
Seastrand said her students, who live on Ayers and Fords Creek colonies, have told her they do not feel discrimination when they interact with non-Hutterites.
But they and their parents would like “the English” to have a better understanding of colony traditions.
“We don’t have the same life as they do,” said Rachelle Stahl, 14.
Contact Diane Cochran at dcochran[@]billingsgazette.com or 657-1287.
Original Article from BillingsGazette.com
A week in the life of a Hutterite child
Huge Announcement – The Hutterite Social Networking Site Is Here
Hello All..
I am proud to annouce that my baby and something I have been working on trying to establish for quite a while now has finally LAUNCHED..
Introducing HutteriteNetwork.com a social networking site for Hutterites, Ex-Hutterites and those interested in Hutterites.
Create your free profile ASAP and start making NEW FRIENDS and CONNECT with people from all over the world who have the Hutterite Culture in common….
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ME
Hutterites Breathe New Life Into Asthma Research
Two teams of researchers have identified a dozen new locations around the genome that may harbor genes involved in asthma, the causes of which remain largely unknown. Over the years independent studies using different populations have revealed various candidate genes, but few results have proved robust.
“What we have right now are a lot of good clues, but no genes that all the experts in the field would agree on,” says Nancy Cox, of The University of Chicago. Cox’s work and the study from Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, NC, contribute more pieces to the puzzle.
The Chicago study screened 693 Hutterites, who were all members of a single pedigree that extended back 15 generations, for genes associated with asthma and atopy, an allergic response that can trigger an asthma attack. The team found regions on chromosome 11p and 19q that they believe play a large role in the disease because they have also been detected in studies of other populations. But it will take time to whittle down these huge chromosomal regions to find the genes responsible.
The screen also revealed the IL4RA gene on chromosome 16p, the HLA-DRB1 on chromosome 6, and the IFNA gene on chromosome 9q that may play a minor role in the disease. All of these genes could fit the bill, says Cox. They are all involved in the inflammatory and immune response.
|
In asthma, no one gene shoulders the full responsibility |
Asthma is a complex disease that affects more than 17 million Americans. It is caused by the interaction of many genes with environmental triggers like pollution, cigarette smoke, and other allergens. Unlike a monogenic disease, which is caused by a mutation in a single gene, in a complex disease no one gene shoulders the full responsibility. Each variant of a gene influences the likelihood of disease by slightly raising or lowering the risk, so it is the final tally that is important. And since the contribution made by each gene is fairly small, they are especially difficult to find.
To make the search a little easier, researchers at The University of Chicago chose to search for asthma genes in a distinct group of people called the Hutterites. The Hutterites are members of the Anabaptist religion that was founded in the early 1500s by about 64 individuals. The group was severely persecuted by Catholics and Protestants, and their leader, Jacob Hutter, was labeled a heretic and burned at the stake in 1528. In 1870 persecution drove the Hutterites to South Dakota where they formed small colonies.
The Hutterite culture makes them particularly useful to geneticists. They arose from a small number of founders and their insular way of life has kept their gene pool relatively pure for about 15 generations. They are predominantly a communal farming community in which all the members eat their meals together in the same kitchen. “These people are basically all farmers, they all share the same diet, and they are all pretty much exposed to the same environmental factors, so it should be easier to observe genetic factors affecting a disease,” says Cox.
Deborah Meyers’ team at Wake Forest University is screening the genome for genes that regulate the IgE antibody levels. High levels of IgE in the serum are associated with the development of asthma later in life. Wake Forest’s study of 200 Dutch families indicates that major genes affecting IgE may lie on chromosomes 5q, 12q and 6p, which have been previously reported. The most striking association was with a new region on chromosome 7. No genes have been pinpointed at this time.
Both studies were electronically published in October and will appear in the November issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics.
Story by:
. . .
Shunning Butterballs for Hutterite Turkeys
Gary Wurtz, Joe Wurtz and Jake Hofer, left to right, unload turkeys at Rosauers in Kalispell that were raised at the Sage Creek Hutterite colony near Chester. - Lido Vizzutti/Flathead Beacon
As Flathead Valley residents sit down to gorge on Thanksgiving dinner, thousands will share an interesting connection: They’ll be eating turkeys bred and slaughtered at Montana Hutterite colonies.
The weeks leading up to the holiday are a busy time for several northwest Montana Hutterite colonies as each colony kills and cleans hundreds of turkeys, then packages and transports them to grocers. Most of those turkeys end up here, in the Flathead Valley.
“It keeps everybody busy, but it’s farm life you know,” Daniel Kleinsasser, of the Pondera Colony near Valier, said. “In ours here, shucks, just about everybody and their dog are working on this; at least 50 people.”
The Pondera Colony delivered about 1,000 turkeys this week to grocers in Whitefish, Kalispell and Lakeside. The Sage Creek Colony near Chester, brought 1,100 birds to the valley, and another 800 came from the Kingsbury Colony near Conrad.
The turkeys are a significant, annual economic boost for the self-sufficient Hutterite colonies and a consistent seller for grocers who say people seek them out over other brands. Despite a higher price, usually around $1.25 per pound, stores like Rosauers, Apple Barrel and Markus Foods had full lists in the weeks before Thanksgiving of people eager to reserve a Hutterite bird. Most don’t know much about the colonies that they’re intent on purchasing their holiday staple from, but they agree on one thing: The Hutterite turkeys just taste better.
“All of our stuff is raised natural, no antibiotics or steroids,” Kleinsasser said. “Once you eat it you notice a difference. We raise chickens too, and sometimes we’ll run out and we’ll go to the store and buy some and they just don’t taste the same.”
Some of Montana’s more unique farmers, about 4,000 Hutterites live in roughly 40 colonies throughout the state. The colonies are usually limited to around 100 people, who follow strict beliefs derived from a 16th century Anabaptist movement. These beliefs, based on early Christian teachings and a belief in a strict separation of church and state, include a form of communal living, communal ownership of property, nonviolence and opposition to war, and adult baptism. They retain the dress, customs, language and austere lifestyle of their German ancestors and are most easily identified by the women’s black-and-white polka dot headscarves.
Turkeys are hardly a colony’s sole source of income: Hutterites produce about 60 percent of the state’s pork, 50 percent of the eggs, and about 17 percent of the milk in Montana. Additional revenue comes from selling fresh eggs, and seasonal produce.
“It’s a challenge to stay competitive, but I like getting Montanans something good to eat,” Joe Wurtz, of the Sage Creek colony, said. “We raise food for Montanans. I like people in Montana; they are nice and it’s good to share this good food with neighbors.”
Wurtz and his nephew Gary Wurtz, 21, joked around as they unloaded turkeys at Rosauers last week, teasing companion Jake Hofer, 17, about his family – “There’s more Hofers than gophers in our colony.” A two-hour drive from their colony the three had several stops across the valley before returning home, where this week the colony will hold its own Thanksgiving celebration, albeit without football and lounging.
“Oh yeah, we eat some turkey and then go back to work,” Gary Wurtz said.
Story By Keriann Lynch < e-mail her your comments.. of The Flathead Beacon
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