Weddings are happening right now in many Amish areas. Amish weddings are joyous events but also social obligations. With the interweaving web of family connections, and weddings often happening on the same day during wedding season, Amish families may have to juggle their schedules and make decisions on which to attend. Further complicating things is being invited to weddings in other communities. I recently spoke…
Sometimes individuals and even whole communities transition away from being “classically Amish”, becoming something different while keeping elements of Amishness. We saw the example of the ex-Amish in Parke County, Indiana last week. Today Karen Johnson-Weiner shares photos from a group in Missouri which has also moved in a different direction. These people, previously considered Amish, now describes themselves as Mennonite. Karen says that the…
There is just one Swartzentruber Amish community in Pennsylvania, and it looks like they will soon be gone from the state. Following well-publicized disputes over building codes, outhouses and SMV triangles, the Swartzentruber Amish community in Cambria County, PA, is dwindling. The settlement is down to 9 families (from a peak of 21), “with the rest planning to be moved by the end of next…
A reader shares the following thoughts on his friend Ada, an Amish quiltmaker. Per request I have changed people/place names and one minor detail. I liked this: It never ceases to amaze me at the openly honest and frank relationship I have with my friend Ada. She is the daughter of my first real friend, her father Reuben who passed away a few years ago….
From Rules of a Godly Life, Part 3 “Works”. Number 8: Be a true servant to Christ, not only by attending church services or by taking part in religious ceremonies, but throughout every area of your life, shunning all sin, and with a true obedient spirit obeying all the commandments of God. Be not satisfied with a reputation for godliness: let your character be equally…
Amish began moving from Lancaster to Parke County, Indiana in 1991. Today there are six Amish church districts in the vicinity of county seat Rockville. Along with a similar group in Wayne County, the Parke County Amish are unlike others in Indiana. Here you’ll find the Lancaster grey buggy and plenty of Stoltzfuses, Kings and Fishers, all signs of the “Pennsylvania presence” in Indiana. I…
On Friday we had a look at a West Tennessee Amish community, including some signs of Amish businesses in the settlement. Today Brenda shares a little bit about one of those businesses, a local Amish doll maker: My Amish friend, Kathy, asked me to help her come up with an idea to make some extra money, which was needed to help her husband, Mahlon, pay…
Today Brenda shares some photos that tie together a few of the topics we’ve covered lately, namely Amish business, buggy safety, and small communities. The shots below are from the Amish settlement in Carroll County, Tennessee. Carroll County is in western Tennessee, about a 2-hour drive in either direction from Nashville or Memphis. The Amish community is located near the towns of Huntingdon and Bruceton…
Webster County, Missouri Amishman Emanuel Schwartz shares his road safety concerns with a news station in this video. Schwartz would like the Missouri DOT to create more buggy pull-offs on a dangerous stretch of highway. These are particularly important in hilly areas or on curves where visibility is poor. Amish take into account road traffic when founding a new community. However that is just one…
“These children are seen as important to the culture and the community. That they, through your efforts to help these children, that they teach you things that are helpful in other ways. And that that engenders within the community a sense of responsibility for everybody to take care of those who are disadvantaged.” That’s Dr. Holmes Morton discussing the role of ill and disabled children in…