Erik and I love historical re-enacting (the other blog I write is dedicated to all things of the 18th century). We were at an event this weekend in Northern Indiana and had a great time there. We were able to enjoy time with several of our good friends, participate in "battles," and even attend a church service geared toward re-enactors (I'll be talking about that in a minute). I also was able to put on my "pretty clothes" and be a girl on Saturday evening (I usually portray a ranger alongside the hubby).
Quick Pause: What is historical re-enacting? Basically it's when a bunch of people (participants) gather and recreate a time period (usually centered around a war, like the Seven Years' War - 1750s - or the Revolutionary Wary) for the public at large, usually over a weekend (these gatherings are known as "events). The participants are almost always volunteers, taking time out of their own schedules to interpret history for visitors. Generally, the participants sleep in canvas tents, eat food baked over a fire, and only take showers if "shower" means wading in the nearby creek or river.
One thing I love about this hobby is that you make some really good friends - and then you get to see those friends every other weekend during the Fall and about once a month during the Spring, and you get to spend all weekend camping together. It really is a blast. Everyone (even those who are our 'targets' during battles) becomes extended family. You develop an appreciation for these people that only comes from seeing them after three days without a shower, clean clothes, or most of the modern amenities we've come to take for granted. Try cooking a pound cake in a dutch oven over a fire. I deeply respect these people and admire them for doing their best to present history to visitors. I'm proud to be a member among them, and I definitely consider them (especially my own unit) to be my extended family.
Frequently there will be some kind of sermon on Sunday mornings at events, because it's usually difficult-to-impossible for participants to go to their regular churches (some people come from several hours away to participate in these events). The thing I truly love about my unit is that we are all born-again believers. Now, if you were a re-enactor, you would be laughing right now, because the rangers of the 1750s were known for committing a huge assortment of what would today be considered war crimes. Pillaging, killing livestock, burning farms... It was all part of a day's work. We may re-enact "ranger scum," but we're all firm believers.
There was a last-minute sermon this morning. It wasn't planned for the event (as many of the sermons are), and the man who presented the sermon was asked to do it approximately fifteen minutes beforehand. However, even with this lack of preparation and knowledge of the sermon beforehand, every single ranger in our company (all seven of us) attended the service. I was proud of our unit for stopping what they were doing and attending. My sister and I lead (or attempted to lead) a few period songs on the fly, and we had our own little service, under some trees, by a river. It was wonderful.
The man presenting the message spoke about how just as re-enactors are expected to know about their particular passion, and to study it and learn from it, so we as Christians are expected to know about our passion (Jesus) and study and learn about Him. We can use the "First-Hand Account," the Bible, or we can use "secondary sources," like a study booklet. The important thing is that we consistently and persistently pursue God's Word and His desires for our hearts. The last thing our presenter pointed out was that we will always be learning. We can never learn all there is to know about God. I think it's very important to remember that - just because we've been Christians for fifty years, for seventy years, for however many years, doesn't mean you know all there is to know. You've only begun to scratch the surface.
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