Martyrs Mirror, a massive tome telling the stories of 16th-century Anabaptist martyrs, along with earlier Christian ones, is one of the most important books in Amish homes. Now it’s getting a new translation – this time straight from the 1685 Dutch, replacing English that dates to 1886. Hat tip to Al in KY who brought this story in Anabaptist World to my attention. In it,…
The Journal of Plain Anabaptist Communities (JPAC) is dedicated to publishing a variety of articles about the Amish, Mennonites, Hutterites and other plain Anabaptist groups. The recently released Volume 6, Issue 2 is no exception. Holmes County Amish Demographics The lead article is a demographic profile of the Greater Holmes County Amish settlement. Located in northeast Ohio, it is the second largest Amish community. Previously,…
Volume 6, Issue 1 of The Journal Of Plain Anabaptist Communities is now released. This issue of JPAC includes an “in memoriam” to Dave Luthy, one of the founders of the Pathway Heritage Historical Library, located in Aylmer, Ontario. It includes brief statements of appreciation for his contributions to Anabaptist studies and the assistance and advice he generously provided to numerous scholars. Two articles in…
Allen Hoover makes toned-down, “offline” computers for the Amish and Mennonite community. And not everyone in the community likes him for it, according to a new interview. Hoover is an Old Order Mennonite man in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania who has been providing “Plain” computing solutions for Amish and Mennonites for over two decades. The appeal of these machines: devices which provides business functionality – but…
This is a disturbing story, but one that needs covering, for multiple reasons. Fresh reports describe what appears to be a second man from the same plain Mennonite community being charged with sex-related crimes within the span of a few weeks. And in this second instance just being reported, it seems that action by the Mennonite community was pivotal in making the suspect’s arrest. First…
Impressions from the conference “Early Anabaptism in Global Perspective: Past, Present, and Future at 500 Years” As a rural sociologist steeped in statistical analyses of data to test hypotheses, I had my doubts about attending a conference focused on the 500th anniversary of the Anabaptist movement. Too much history for me, I thought! Organized by the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, and held…
Journal of Plain Anabaptist Communities, Volume 5, Issue 2 now released New milestones have been reached for both the Journal of Plain Anabaptist Communities (JPAC) and Anabaptist scholarship in general. JPAC is blessed with nearly 500 registrants, but there is room for many, many more, as its tenth issue is now released. It is now the “go-to” journal for Anabaptist studies, particularly scholarship about the…
This is a sad – and maddening – story about a special employee of a bakery that we’ve covered here on the site before. Schlabach’s Bakery has been in business since 1970. It’s located in the area of the “electric New Order” Amish community at Guthrie, Kentucky (Todd County). From what I’ve heard, it was Amish-founded, but is not currently Amish-owned (though it has stayed…
Just in time for Christmas! The newest issue of the Journal of Plain Anabaptist Communities (Volume 5, Issue 1) is now released. It is chock full of goodies for your reading stocking, with articles and reviews on a great range of topics. Amish Relief & Development Work The dynamics of continuity and change in Plain communities are especially evident in the opening article by Joseph…
Last year I made a Christmastime visit to a plain Mennonite bakery in Snyder County, Pennsylvania. Weaver’s Market and Bakery is run by Stauffer aka “Piker” Mennonites, essentially the plainest of horse-and-buggy Mennonites. The group settled here from Lancaster County decades ago. They would be plainer and more traditional than some Amish. I was excited to have a chance to return. Especially since last year…