Perilous Journey: The Mennonite Brethren in Russia 1860-1910, John B. Toews, 1988

d the necessary levies to cover construction costs. 38 Another agenda item involved the hiring of a doctor for the Chortitza region. 39 Dr. von Grosheim moved into his new office in Neuenburg on November 23. Generally the cases brought before the Lehrdienst were as varied as life itself; there were the two lads charged with the theft of brandy 40 and the Rosenthal villager accused of stealing a cow and an animal hide. 41 During 1842 Epp and his associates mediated disputes between two partners in a rental agreement 42 and reconciled a brother and brother-in-law. 43 During the remainder of the year the Lehrdienst investigated the theft of a lamb and a quantity of rye flour from the local schoolteacher; 45 supervised an estate division; 46 and disciplined an employee who stole from his employer 47 as well as a villager who refused to pay his church dues. 48 In another instance during April, 1843, Mrs. Abraham Reimer of Schoenhorst, whose nonresistance momentarily lapsed, beat not only the child of the village herdsman, but his wife as well. The law was no respecter of persons: she was fined ten rubles and excommunicated from the congregation. Excommunications, however unpleasant, were an essential part of Kingdom activity for Epp. Individually and collectively the Mennonites were on a serious religious pilgrimage. Most understood the conditions of that journey. There was no need to spell out its inner dynamics or precisely outline the pattern of faith. Epp's sermons reminded his listeners of the essentials. He spoke of the "Son of Man who came to save," 49 of the need for repentance, 50 the importance of faith 51 and the comfort of a Christ who sustains. 52 Epp implicitly believed in the necessity of a spiritual transformation, but nowhere in his diary does he 7 indicate whether this involved an instantaneous, cataclysmic experience or if it involved a gradual affirmation of faith. All Epp's sermons assumed an inner experiential awareness of Christ which must be expressed in the practical everyday world. Sunday worship was crucial in sustaining this view of the Kingdom. What inner spiritual journey did worship inspire in the Russian Mennonites of the mid-nineteenth century? Certainly they came to ascribe to God supreme worth, to stand in awe of His holiness, and to prostrate themselves in His presence. As the Old Testament was read they envisaged a God before whom the nations trembled. Their hymns too spoke of His glory, greatness, majesty and might. Yet the faith of their forefathers also included an all-gracious God revealed in the Son. Here was not only mercy but an invitation to imitate Christ's lifestyle. Perhaps this inclined Mennonite worship towards the functional and the pragmatic and focused it on the tangible and the concrete. The Christian community after all proclaimed the character of God by its daily walk. If godliness expressed itself in the context of community there was li