This New Melody: another perspective
  (from Discovering our Wiebe Heritage, p. 281, 282)

…So this younger generation decided to bring in a new type of music and a new type of melody and they just came in and overpowered the older generation and their style of singing. As a matter of fact right in one of the church services they decided to sing at the given cue which they had practiced. So they were just taking over, forcing their type of music onto us all, even though the older generation didn't like it. It was a rude way of doing things.

 In this group of singers was also Jacob Wiebe, who was a brother of the Wiebe that had passed away. And so from that time, this new melody became more prevalent in the churches. The older generation stayed in the background and the higher educated young people took over, and carried on with their music. And the same thing happened in the Chortitza church, and that's how the old Bethaus was conquered with this new more modern way of singing in the church.

 In Burwalde the old songs were still being used for a little while, and so during this time the older people who didn't like the new style of music in the church just went to the Burwalde church. I'm not sure how long the older music was still used in this church, but with time the new music found its way into this church as well, to the point where the older fathers in the church just took their hymnbooks and walked out of the church. So it did create quite a bit of strife between this new singing and those that didn't agree with that type of music, and so they went to one of the elders of the church, Älteste Gerhard Dyck, and tried to make some kind of peace, and they decided to stay with the new music that had been started if it must be, even though many God-fearing souls had a great problem accepting this.

 In time, in 1872, we immigrated to America…We did at last arrive in America after a nine-week journey. So I was at last where I longed to be. As it says in the verse, as we left Russia , ‘So I lead you through the wilderness to speak with the elders.’

 So we had to get to work, and we chose a place where we could, with the advice of others, begin to build a church. With the agreement that each house owner should provide one log, the church was built. So we thought back with stirred hearts on that beloved land that God had promised to give to the children of Israel. So the time came that the Bethaus would be dedicated to the Lord. I was among the group that stood in front of the church and with great emotion and stirred hearts, we sang ‘Swing wide the gates of Jerusalem and let your people into the temple ....’

So the doors were opened and the old battles seemed to begin again. Here in Manitoba, the old style of singing was started, which I very much liked and was used to. But that the new song should overcome the old way of singing that we were used to in Russia, created a lot of unrest. Many were not in agreement and did not want to go with the singing of the new melody. So there was no other way to solve this division than that the people had to separate and divide…

 So the new group that did not want to go along with the old style of singing seemed to use the music problem as a bit of a reason to separate themselves from us. This was a bit of a guise, because there were also other reasons. Some of them had to do with doctrine, and the way people lived, so there seemed to be more to it than just the singing, which was used as an excuse for them to leave. So we had many meetings with the brethren, consultations, much prayer and concern, but in the end the new group left our fellowship. And many of these people belonged to the Hoffnungsfelder.

 It was not really possible to apply the church discipline in this case since there were so many that seemed to be in agreement to leave for one reason or another - some even said just to improve their economical situation. So they just banded together, not to be part of us anymore. We continued to be concerned in prayer before the Lord, that the Gospel might not be hindered and that the Truth might be adhered to concerning the doctrine that we believe according to the Word of God.

 So it was decided to carry through with this division under the verse: ‘Separate yourselves from them and touch not the unclean thing.’ So each one was sent away in peace.