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Show The Salt Lake Tribune RELIGION WORLD VIEW Saturday, December25, 1999 EvenIsolated Amish Aren’t Insulated From Possible Ripples of Y2K KNIGHT RIDDER NEWS SERVICE i LANCASTER, Pa. — Here in | the heart ofAmish country, where “Acaris notsnnbastnrity worldly or evil. Itidelads on howit is used. We keep ourselves awayfrom it because it could lead to evil. With the Internet, children could have access to some bad things. Sometimes I thinkit would be nice to have a computer. But, we'll befine without one.” religion requires the faithful to shun modern technology, a cartoon tacked to the wali of Riehl’s Quilts and Crafts shop shows just Compiled by Peggy Fletcher Stack how worried people here are Homeless Shelter Turns Away LDSVolunteers aboutthe Y2K computer bug. The cartoon shows an Amish Jake King farmer clutching a pitchfork. “Y2K ready,” the caption reads. Amishlantern maker oT More than 300 years ago, the Amishresolved to avoid the moral corruption of modern society by swearing off involvement in it. battery or compressor power. One of Calgary’s homeless shelters has turned away a group Today, devout Amishlive a rural lifestyle little changed over the parked beside the local bank. And someof the charity’s supporters centuries. They drive horsedrawn buggies, farm with preindustrial tools and consequently of Mormon volunteers because consider the churchto be a cult, accordingtoa story in the Calgary Herald. Jim Grady of the Mustard Seed Ministry said Mormon volunteers have been banned in the past because ‘their teaching is not in line with historical orthodox Christianity and we take exception to that’.” LDS mission president Don Ostler responded by denying the “cult” label and saying the church’s “reputation for helping the community stands for itself.” He said the volunteers wouldnot have beenproselytizing at the shelter, but will find other areas to serve. — LDS World-GEMS Q DINNER WITH ALBRIGHT Secretary of State Madeleine Albright Tuesday hosted American Muslim representatives at her department's first “iftar” dinner, the evening meal that breaks the day’s fast during Ramadan. Albright also pledged to hire more Muslims for the State Department. “We are recruiting hard,” she said. The dinner, held after sunset in accordance with Islamic law,was thefirst time the Muslim holy month of Ramadan has been marked at the State Department with an event. In previous years, the Congress and the White House haveheld Ramadan events. —Religion News Service a MILLENNIUM RABBI Shmuley Boteach, a former Lubavitch rabbi, author and founder of the L’Cl iety, has been named “Preacherof the Millennium”bythe Times of London. Actually, he won contest for clergy worldwide, sponsored by the newspaper. Boteach won with aoe preach-off in Westminster Central Hall, opposite Westminster Abbey. His winning sermons included “Sabbath; A Cathedral in Time,” which the Jewish perspective of time vs. space, and “Nakedness,” w! rela the story of Adam and Eve to modern-day role playing. The L’Chaim Society is a Jewish education organization that invites world figures to lecture on valuebased leadership. —The Associated Press Q ee INQUISITION strong support from Pope saPoul TI, the Vatican has eel process of reversing the Inquisition’'s condemnation of the 15th-century priest, theologian and churchreformer Jan Hus as a heretic. A renowned preacher and writer on the faculty of the University of Prague, Hus was in- spired by the viewsof British reformer John Wycliffe. He ran afoul of the Inquisition because of Quite a few buggies can be seen back in the summer of 1998, two Amish youths were caught helping an outside motorcycle gang sell drugs to Amishaddicts. Only about 20,000 Amish are still trying to hold ontotheirtraditional lifestyle amid 450,000 have no fear of Y2K computer breakdowns disrupting their ives. God is looking outfor them, the Amish say. people in Lancaster County. Amish farmslie minutes from major outlet malls. Enormous “Whatever comes, wewill take it. I'm not worried aboutit,” said Ruth Ann Riehl, whooperates the craft shop's battery-operated cash register. “There is plenty of food in thecellar.” Yet modern America has be- power-line towers sprout across the rolling fields. Many Amish watch light-rail trains to Philadelphia rocket through their yards each morning. “TY2K] crosses their minds,” said Dean Baker, manager of Amish Country Crafts near Strasburg.“It affects the different out- | come so dependenton technology that even the Amish aren’t impervious to Y2K ripple effects. Credit-card machines for tourists’ use can be seen in the corners | of most stores around Lancaster, and handmade Amish quilts can | be ordered from www.amishheartland.com, sold online by | non-Amish brokers. Broadbrimmed Amish straw hats with black bands are not uncommonin the back windowsof cars traveling these highways. In fact, “They creatively avoid directly using the technology,” said Aaron Horst, a tour guide from the Mennonite Information Centerin Lancaster, “The Amish are extraordinarily creative that way... Some havecell phones, T’ve heard.” These, in short, aren’t your grandparents’ Amish. lets they use and the raw materi- als they buy. And they make 90 percentof it [their income] from tourism. So, if that should falter after Y2K,they'll notice.” Tourists leave $1.2 billion be- ‘Bob Fila/Chicago Tribune The Amishlive in a rurallifestyle and drive horse-drawn buggies, but “{Y2K] affects thedifferent outlets they use and the raw materials they buy,” said Dean Baker, manager of Amish Country Crafts near Strasburg. Pa. Often they are wealthy business peopleor salaried workers in modern shops. Manyhavelearned to accommodate the changing sotiety around them even as they fnaintain their distance from it. The Churchof Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is rushing hu- manitarian aid to flood- and mudslide-ravished northern Venezuela, where thousands are fe to have died and thousan: more are homeless. Shipments include foodstuffs, personal hygienekits, antibiotics myvitamins,and quilts. The Baptist World Aid, the relief arm of Baptist World Alliance, sent $5,000. Among other agencies accepting donations are: The Southern Baptist International Mission Board: Box6767, Richmond, Va.28230. ™ World Vision, the evangeliai : Box 70288, Tacoma, wear the traditional hats and King runs a shop near George where he producespropanelamps: that cost up to $600. Like most Amish, hislife isn’t totally independentofthe outside world. King has heard of the Internet — and the sexual contentit contains. He has dealt with lawyers tp. arrange liability insurance if someonesues him for a lamp malfunction. Obviously, the doctrint helives by isn’t as harsh towar( outside society as the Amish stereotype implies. “A car is not necessarily worldly orevil. It depends on-how: it is used,” King said. “We keep ourselves away from it becauseit could lead to evil. With the Internet, children could haveaccessto. somebad things. King takensatisfaction from the thoughtthatliving trueto his beliefs insulates his family from. Y2K dangers, although heacknowledges that it requires sonie sacrifices, “Sometimes I think it wotffd nice to have a computer,'™\ré sighed, adjusting his hat “and looking across his lawn. “But, we'll be fine without one.” °“ Freedom Christian Fellowship plain clothes, are straining to avoid contamination. Farmhouse lights run on propane. Electric appliances run on YOU ARE INVITED TO SING IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM Noon to Midnight December31, 1999 | without temptation. Amish lantern maker Jake town, southeast of Lancaster, Evenstrict Old Order Amish, who SING 2000 Aid to Venezuela hind annually. They come to gaze at the gentle rolling farmland lined with white fences. They cometo feel the peace that rises from watching a breeze roll like waves across a grassy valley. Most ofall, they come to marvel at an exotic culture that lives by its stern moral values, seemingly Hymn Signing Meditation Bach Organ Concert 8 p.m. Midnight to Noon January 1, 2000 Vigil Cathedral Chorch of St. Mark The Episcopal Church in Utah 231 East 100 South, SLC Come As You Are - Anytime A new church with you in mind. Me You are invited to be our guest and: * : ° Meetcaring friends who will accept you with good ¢ Find God’s plan for yourlife. 1 ¢ Experience the Bible’s practical| ,, solutionsto the challengesoflife.: Bini. + the differenc at 10:45 AM. January 9 Davis High Sc arexes| aysville 2 Main Stre Come (@01).771-4314 Wash. 98481-0288, @ Adventist Development and Relief Agency: (800) 424-ADRA,or www.adra.org. @ American Jewish World Service: (800) 889-7146, or www.ajws.org. Catholic Relief Services: (800) 786-3467, or www.catholicrelief.org. Lutheran World Relief: (800) ere or www.lwr. Presiding (Epi )B Fund for World Relief: anre 6025, or www.pbfwr.org. LDS Church Affirms Its View of Jesus rch You Welcomes SO chu ny amd‘ senany "veskd services, please call the numbers listed below. au SaltLakeGly, Ba108 ‘Sunday Holy Eucharist 8:00 am, heen cana Posie meobChraenAetyAD) STAT Church | ge ae Ovistan re4 lz ln e f Methodict 4th and Hillcrest, Copperton 801-967-0104 @ Continued from C-1 Michael Mi new, nonpaying job as Sunday school superintendent at St. Paul's United poe Church mark the millennium milestone and concluded the statement would be the best. It is part of a decades-long effort to respond to the allegation among some religious groups that Mormons are not Christians. “To me, it is an important mes- sage,” said Jennifer Schiel, a member of Oaks’ ward. “Elder Oaks stressed that we believe in a bitedeo notjust the one who the Christ.” Schiel believes many people her church. Christian Science |
