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Subject: [BRE] Alexander Mack marrying a couple in Surhuisterveen
Date: Sun, 17 Feb 2008 22:44:27 -0600

In looking at the Derde proclamatie marriages, I thought that it might
shed some light on the problem of why of the Brethren marriages are
listed as Derde proclamatie if I included this passage from "Counting the
Cost" that relates Alexander Mack's initial experience with marrying a
couple in Surhuisterveen.

"Counting the Cost" -- William G. Willoughby (1979):

Pages 108-109.

"In early 1721, Mack baptized a young Dutch convert, John Juriens, who
was probably a Mennonite. The service was held at a large pond in the
Kortwalde, several miles east of Surhuisterveen. John Juriens had
announced his intention to marry Anna Catherine Kipping, the daughter of
John and Joanna Kipping, who were two of the original eight baptized at
Schwarzenau."

"When John and Anna Catherine came to Mack to announce their plans, Mack
had a new decision to make. It was customary in both the Dutch Reformed
and the Mennonite churches to have engaged couples proclaim their
'intentions' three times publicly before the wedding. Mack could have
used either of these churches as a vehicle to record the bans. He
decided not to do this. Not wishing to endanger or compromise the
autonomy of the New Baptist community, he decided instead to go with the
engaged couple on April 28, 1721, to a local government official where
the first marriage proclamation was duly recorded in the secular records.
A week later he appeared with them for the second proclamation. On May
19, they appeared for the third time, as was required by custom, and on
this occasion Mack married them in the presence of the government
official and his secretary, who served as witnesses. This was a decided
break with Dutch tradition."

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