Chapter Eleven
That Sunday, Elias took her to the service.
John would have, but Elias offered to walk her to the service.
She was glad to see that there were multiple people she could come to for help if she needed it.
As they walked, she wondered what she would be getting into at the service.
So far, she had covered up as much as she could, but they were taking their time making her a dress.
In the meantime, she was expected to wear the longest shorts and sleeves she could handle.
Since this was a trip they had taken in the middle of summer, she had only one pair of long pants with her.
They all understood to an extent, but it was disconcerting to see so many women in long-sleeved dresses that trailed on the grass and swooped when they walked.
This wasn’t the Victorian era, after all. Or even the Regency era with all of the swooning of Jane Austen’s famous characters. This was the modern era. How anyone could wear such long dresses and long sleeves in the summer confused her, but if that was their choice, she wouldn’t bring it up.
“You look a little confused about something, Hannah,” Elias said. “Perhaps I can offer some clarity?”
“I think I’d like that,” she replied. “The dresses that all the women wear. Do you know why they’re so long, both in length on the legs and in the sleeves?”
“I know the long sleeves are to protect their arms when cooking and doing other things that could potentially cause burns and other injuries,” he replied.
“As for the length of the dress itself, I believe it’s for the same reason.
I know there are other reasons related to modesty about the length of the sleeves and the dress, but those I don’t know as well as some of the women around here.
If you’re still that curious, I think it would do you well to speak to one of them about it. ”
Hannah nodded. She hadn’t expected him to know much about it, since he wore pants and a long-sleeved shirt.
She could understand the pants, especially knowing that Elias was a farmer in the community.
The long sleeves also made sense for him, in a way.
She wasn’t sure how she would handle the long dress, but that was something to come to when she had a long dress to wear.
They arrived at the large barn where they were going to have the service today, and she was impressed that they had enough chairs and benches to seat what appeared to be around two hundred people. She expected that this was almost everyone in the community since pretty much everyone came.
She believed the only exceptions were newborns, new mothers, and those who were ill, whether elderly or not. She supposed it was all in the name of religion, but she found it impressive that they were all so dedicated to the tenets of their faith.
“And the bishop is where?” she asked.
She had grown up non-religious, but her parents were holiday Catholics.
They did their best to live by the tenets of their faith, but only showed up to church for Easter and Christmas Mass.
She wondered if this bishop was going to have such a plain look, like the rest of his community.
In all honesty, at this point, she would have been surprised to see him walking in long, regal robes like those worn by priests of other denominations.
“Oh, he’s over there, talking to Ruth,” Elias said, pointing toward two people. “I didn’t realize she had kumm home from her rumspringa. Huh. I hope she’s all right.”
One was an older man who looked to be in his fifties.
The woman he was talking to looked to be in her late teens and wore a worried expression.
Hannah’s heart ached for her. Whatever troubled her, she hoped it would be resolved soon.
She knew how it felt to have troubles in her heart that couldn’t be so easily fixed alone.
“So, he dresses just as the rest of the community does. That’s comforting to know,” Hannah said.
Given that she was not Amish, she was allowed to sit with her Amish family members.
The rest of the congregation was split, with the men to one side and the women to the other.
Hannah was seated with John and Olivia toward the rear of the barn, with Elias beside her.
In truth, she found that she preferred to be around Elias more than her cousin.
She wasn’t sure why that was. Perhaps it was because Elias was only a couple of years older than her, while her cousin was almost a full decade older.
She sat through the service and did her best to follow the proceedings.
It was a service about showing kindness to those who came through the community.
Apparently, a few recent incidents had arisen and had been brought to the bishop’s attention.
If they weren’t going to treat others kindly, how could they find the kinship and alliances they might need later if the winter was particularly harsh?
That must have been for those who were purely practical about all of this.
She wondered what else would come of the sermon, but it appeared to end there.
She appreciated that the bishop had prefaced this sermon by noting that it might not apply to everyone, and she could hear snickers as others caught on to what the bishop was doing.