everyWEDNESDAY
The weekly feature page of the University Daily Kansan December 7.1977
The Dunkers: a gentle people
Jessie Wray, 80, a native of the Centropolis area and the German-Baptist Church's chief minister, is retired now but stays busy. He tends a small flock of sheep, makes his own soap, sharpen tools and does woodworking in a backyard shop. He is also strictly orthodox. "The church in town was losing attendance," he said. "so they started dancing at their services. Can you believe that, dancing!"
Each week they worship in the small white church building near Centropolis. With the men on one side of the room and the women on the other, the members sing the hymns and listen to the sermons.
The 70 members that gather there each Sunday are members of the Greek Baptist Church, a Protestant denomination that claims about 4,000 members in the United States.
Also known as the Dunkers, because of the German baptismal practice of total immersion, the German Baptists sometimes are mistaken for Amish. However, the three churches are not connected.
The men wear simple dark suits, black hats and they usually have beards. Women church members wear dresses of a similar style They also wear shawls and black bonnets.
Most of the members of the church are farmers who live near Centropolis, a small communal village.
Before the service begins, the members socialize. Groups of men and of women talk, on separate sides of the room. As the desciens and members enter the room, the members take their seats.
Deacons and ministers sit around a long wooden table in front of the room, leading the service, while the congregation sits on the gray. Checked jeewels, listening to the ministers and singing.
The hymns, unique to the German Baptists,
are sung without music. With very little variation
in the melodies, the congregation sings, interrupted only by the cries of infants.
The service, usually lasting about two hours,
consists of hymns, scripture lessons and ser-
vices.
There are children in the church, but they do not pay full attention to their surroundings. The children are dressed differently from the adults, and as they sit they sometimes squirm.
Youths of the church also dress differently from their parents. They conform to the dress code for the church.
Covy Wray, 76, has attended the same German church she has her birth. The church was organized in 1820.
German Baptist ministers are elected by the congregation, but receive no pay. They also are
One of the basic beliefs in the church that Wray
Rows of hats line the German-Baptist Church, which has about 70 members. Each male member of the church wears the traditional dress.
Photos by Randy Olson Story by Allen Holder
The German Baptist church is an advocate of modest dress and nonviolence, but it also places a high value on personal dignity.
and Edna, his wife of 49 years, attend is the literal interpretation of the Bible.
German Baptists are not allowed to take oaths, go to war or divorce and remarry.
"It doesn't matter what you or me believe," the white-bearded Wray said. "What matters is what I tell you."
The church also places restrictions on certain slide presentations, record players and televisions.
Wray's son, Alvin, was raised in the German Baptist Church, where he joined the Church of the Bischofs in 1948.
Alvin Vray said the basic beliefs of the two churches were the same but he became split with the German Baptist Church because of his belief of salvation through a religious commitment, not through church membership as the German Baptist Church teaches.
Wray does not own a television, but he does have a stereo, a tape recorder and a slide projector, things he would not be permitted to own if he were a member of the German Baptist Church.
However, many members of Alvin Wray's family, including his parents and brothers, still are members of the church. An uncle, Jesse Wray, is head minister.
The German Baptist teachings are simple, but may not be easy for members to follow. Members believe in leading a simple life, without extravagance, centering on their worship.
Susan Wray caims her sometimes frenetic 4-year-old daughter Sharon.