“M” is for Mennonites

“M” is for Mennonites. The Mennonites of South Carolina are a Protestant group descended from the Anabaptists of the Reformation. They believe in a conscious choice to join the church (adult baptism), a disciplined church in which members are responsible to each other, and a sharing church in which material needs are met by fellow members. They reject the union of church and state and the validity of oaths and self-defense, including military service. Mennonites began migrating to South Carolina in the late 1960s. By the early twenty-first century there were twelve Mennonite churches in the state—concentrated in Abbeville, Aiken, Barnwell, and Oconee Counties. Two of the churches—Fair Play Church and Foothills Fellowship were established to minister to at-risk juveniles in a camp setting. The number of Mennonites in South Carolina exceeded seven hundred.