Donald Kraybill’s new podcast is called “What I Learned from the Amish”. Following up last week’s podcast on community, we have the next in the series, on technology. A snippet from this episode: “For starters, let’s just cancel the big fat myth that the Amish reject modern technology. It’s just not true! What is true, is that Amish communities selectively screen new technology, trying to…
I saw and was sent a story on the Amish, COVID, and specifically herd immunity, and I wanted to share a few thoughts on it. It is an interesting report which I learned a few things from – but I’ve also got a few issues with it. Do Amish communities have herd immunity? So we heard stories sharing beliefs that certain Amish communities had reached…
In a culture that emphasizes marriage, how do single Amish people fit into the community? For the Amish, marriage is the ideal for most people in the community. Most young Amish people expect to get married, or want to get married, and have a family. Being married with a family in a sense reflects the values of the community. There is a degree of…
Unlike the Swartzentruber home last week, this week’s home was clearly built by the occupant, or someone from their community. The style is a plain and simple one. A one-story design with an attic, which looks intended to one day serve as a shop (some Amish build shop homes – a simple structure which they reside in for some time, before building their more permanent…
The accident here does not at all appear to be the motor vehicle driver’s fault, to make that clear right off the bat. The buggy had four children in it, ages 13, 10, 8, and 6, one of whom was driving (presumably the 13-year-old) when the accident happened on Monday afternoon. The buggy passed through a stop sign without stopping, and was hit by a…
Via the Ottumwa Courier: CORYDON — The Wayne County sheriff says he is considering filing criminal charges against dog breeder Daniel Gingerich for animal neglect. “We are definitely looking at filing some criminal charges,” Sheriff Keith Davis said Thursday. “After reading the (federal inspectors’) reports, I believe some charges are warranted and that we are able to do that.” Davis said he has been contacted…
No, this isn’t an actual dinner at an Amish wedding – but the name of a fundraising event held at a Geauga County Amish woman’s home. The event is to raise funds for an anti-domestic violence group. The dinner, hosted by Mary Miller, will include baked chicken, stuffing, seven layer salad, pies, and more. The Geauga County Maple Leaf reports that registration needs to be…
“This is not a sales pitch for the Amish team, but an invite to tap some of their communal wisdom.” I’m happy to share that Donald Kraybill has a new book coming out soon, called What The Amish Teach Us: Plain Living in a Busy World. It’s a bit different in its approach than his many previous books on the Amish: It sounds audacious, but…
It was 15 years ago – October 2, 2006 – that the school shooting at the West Nickel Mines School took place. I made a video looking back at that day, but especially focusing on what came afterwards – the forgiveness shown by the Amish. The forgiveness story went around the world, covered in media far and wide. In the book Amish Grace: How Forgiveness…
What makes this home particularly interesting is that it is another, originally English-built, home that a Swartzentruber family converted to their needs. This is actually the second home from this community at Whitefield, Maine (previously we had a look at the home I nicknamed “blue barn”). You can tell instantly that it’s not built in the distinct Swartzentruber style, going by features you’ll see below…