NEW YORK, NY
Popular Facebook page The Margarine Mennonite Society has attracted thousands of people with its rather radical views within the Mennonite community, particularly when it comes to margarine consumption. MMS founder Charlie Kraybill says his page is intended to support Mennonites who don’t feel comfortable with the current Mennonite obsession with baking that is high in butter content.
“We don’t do bottazup and butter tarts around here,” said Kraybill. “But our page is not just for Mennonites who are lactose-intolerant. We welcome anyone who feels outside the conventional Mennonite eating experience.”
Kraybill posts the Margarine Mennonite Society’s Declaration once a month to remind visitors what the page is all about.
“We are Mennonites who prefer margarine. But we don’t judge those who use butter,” says the declaration. “We believe in peace, but not butter. We believe we are the true heirs of the Anabaptist tradition before it was corrupted by butter-users.”
Kraybill believes his Facebook page draws attention to issues that are often neglected within the mainstream Mennonite community.
“We are Mennonite and we are margarinal because no self-respecting Mennonite church would have us,” says Kraybill. “But, of course, we might be wrong about all this.”
