After Mennonites in Gaines County were singled out in discourse about the spread of measles in Texas, local pastor Jake Fehr hopes to set the record straight.

The number of people with measles in Texas increased to 146 in an outbreak that led this week to the death of an unvaccinated school-aged child, health officials said Friday. The number of cases — Texas’ largest in nearly 30 years — increased by 22 since Tuesday.

The Mennonite population being affected by a measles outbreak in West Texas is part of a larger, loosely affiliated group of churches worldwide with varied beliefs and leadership structures — and with sometimes strained or distant relations with public authorities.