Joining the Amish after 50?
If you’re thinking you’d like to join the Amish, odds are it’s the wrong decision.
As we’ve discussed many times (see “If you left the English, what would you gain?“), there are too many challenges for most people to adopt an Amish life.
Still, some kindle a desire to become Plain. Many are younger individuals. But sometimes it’s older adults. A few days ago Don Curtis wrote about a relative of his on the “So you want to join the Amish” post:
I just thought you’d like to know that “Outsiders” do indeed join the Amish. I know this, for sure, because my son joined the Amish. He was no teenager either. He was 50 when he joined. He’ll be 59 the end of next month. He waited until he retired from teaching public school.
He got to know the folks in the community that he is no a part of almost 25 years ago when he got the opportunity to visit an Amish school. Over the years he just became more and more a part.
The handful of people I’ve met who have joined the Amish have all been younger to early middle-age. On that point, Don’s comments made me recall a conversation I had recently.
Some Catholic religious orders (ie, monasteries and convents) have upper age limits. From what I understand, there are a few reasons. One is adaptability. Another is a person’s productivity levels as they get older. Sounds cold but it is a reality in a close-knit self-supporting group.
In my mind, 50 is hardly old. And even though I still have a ways to go to the half-century mark, I can understand what they mean about “adaptability”.
I’ll be 33 this month. Thinking back a decade to my 23-year-old self, there are just many more things now that I’m less flexible about. Opinions, beliefs, heck, I’m even less tolerant about the toppings on my pizza. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
Seems like this natural tendency would make it that much more difficult to leave non-Amish life behind. How has Don’s son taken to Plain living?
As far as changing to Amish ways. He looks, talks, and lives Amish. He can jabber away in Pennsylvania Dutch and I can’t understand a word they’re saying. I tell him he should speak English when I am around. He says he does unless it’s something he doesn’t want me to know about. Hmmm. That’s comforting!
Mark has two horses and several different kinds of buggies. That’s the one thing I’m not really comfortable with. I’m a 100% city boy. Riding in a buggy pulled by a big horse scares me. If he takes it in his head to run off all you’ve got to control him with are two little strings coming from his mouth. Doesn’t reassure me.
I hear you Don. If I shout “stop” at the top of my lungs is he gonna listen?
One more interesting thing Don heard:
As my son always says, “Being Amish isn’t for everybody. Not even for all of the Amish. But it was right for me.”
One out of 100 (or is it higher?) people who attempt to join the Amish will do so successfully (meaning not just join, but stay with the church).
Don’s son has apparently been Amish nearly a decade. He’s one of the minority, and given his age, even rarer. We might not be as adaptable as we get older, but perhaps the decisions we make are in fact wiser ones.
Photo credit: cadfael1979
Joining the Amish after 50?
I am 51 years old and seriously thinking about joining the Mennonites. Yes, Amish life is hard and can be difficult to adapt to. Mennonites on the other hand, are less stringent in many areas. Many fit into mainstream socitey and do not live off the land. But they are conserative when it comes to diligently studying the Scriptures and other lifestyle preferences.
I feel I am too old for the rigid life of the hard working Amish. For me the Mennonites is just right. I get the deeper spirituality I am looking for and the sense of community.
Craig so you are obviously not considering the Old Order Mennonites, but also not the more progressive churches, somewhere in between it sounds like.
Hi Erik, By the way, Erik is my middle name. Anyway, There is a Mennonite church about a 15 minute drive from my house that I plan on attending. I don’t know yet what kind of Mennonite they are. My wife attended once a while back and said the men sit on one side, ladies on the other. No beards on the men and they wore dark slacks, light shirt. The ladies wore the plain dresses and prayer covering. This is all I now about this church and I like the fact that it is not liberal at all. Could it be what they call Beachy Mennonite?
Craig, and you’ve got the “good” k spelling like me!
Hard to say but the church sounds like a Conservative Mennonite group. Beachy Amish men wear the beard, perhaps there are exceptions to that in some churches but I’m not up to speed enough on Beachys to say.
Beachy
Slightly off topic, sorry, but I thought you might know an answer to this dilemma. I’m engaged and my fiance has been looking for a church for us to join once I move to where he lives. (Presently, he attends a Charity type church and I don’t have a church.) They have had contact for some time with a Beachy church in the next state over (VA) and he is very impressed with the Christian love these people have shown. Their standards are somewhat more conservative than ours, but we are willing to submit to them. However, there’s one problem. I’m seeking to be re-baptized, but we believe strongly that the Biblical model for baptism is by immersion rather than by pouring as most Anabaptist groups practice. Do you know if Beachy church leadership might extend grace in a situation like this (or even do both!)? Other than the baptism issue our beliefs are fully Anabaptist and we have found very few like-minded churches.
joining the Amish after 50
Hi craig, I am 56 years old, I would love to be Amish, only problem I have is that there aren`t any in England! I know this message is 2 yrs old – I love their way of life, hard working, self suffcient, and they are happy with their lot (probably not always). There doesn`t appear to be many mennonite churches at all, and Anabaptists seem to be non-exsistant – only on the internet. So the most I can do is change the way I live but even that is hard as I have a family who are not all willing to change.
Craig - Erik
Greetings,
Craig have you checked into some of the new order Amish? They are not as stringent as the old order. Also you will find some Mennonites that can be just as stringent. I think it depends on the community and what part of the country you are in as they vary from location to location.
Erik, I sometimes think older would be better for becoming Amish or Mennonite. We are more mature and capable of really thinking our decision through before jumping into something. And in some cases I believe an older person will make that choice and be successful because they have already tried everything else and was not satisfied with life in the outside world. I am finding my maturity in spiritual matters is well past many around me and it frustrates me at times. I am constantly seeking out people on my level. That might be the case for those seeking to join the Amish or Mennonites.
Also I am just old enough that I remember life before computers, cell phones and other gadgets. I know what it is like to have a sense of community because I was alive when the outside world still had that. Younger folks grew up on technology and would have less of an understanding of life without it. I readily admit, my computer has become a major part of my life but I could easily walk away from it as well.
Just some thoughts, LOL.
Blessings, Alice
Memories of a lower-tech world
Great thoughts Alice. Having this conception of life without 2011 tech–and that things actually functioned back then–would probably help.
I found your point on community interesting–I think you’re implying that nowadays that sense of community is degraded due to proliferation of technology. We’ve been having this discussion lately, does tech help or hurt community…I guess it’s not black/white. Great food for thought.
Erik
When I was a kid, I knew all my neighbors, there were paths that ran from back door to back door. If someone was sick or hurt the neighbors pitched in and helped. We just don’t do things like that today. I have no clue who my neighbors are. People just don’t watch out for each other any more like they used to. Whether its the technology or just plain self-centeredness, or selfishness I can not say. But in general we do not have that sense of community as we used to. But the Amish and Mennonites do.
Blessings, Alice
Joining the Amish after 50?
I am British and have lived in England my whole life. Like many others, my interest in the Amish came about with the 1982 film Witness and grew from there – it touched something already chipping away inside me. I am heartened and uplifted by the comments and advice here. I am a widower, aged 56 and without children. Despite being relatively wealthy, I have been essentially living the plain life (computer and electricity excepted for business purposes)for over 10 years – even in the high pressure cooker environment of the manic getting-and-consuming driven Britain of the 2000s it is possible to do so. However, what we lack here is community – it is, sad to say, a completely atomised and in many places broken society with no sense of itself or God. It would be my wish to join the Old Order Amish and I am going to make steps to do so – despite all the obstacles. My intention is to write a journal of the rest of my days living simple and working simple according to the good book. I intend this journal to be a signpost for my homeland towards a better society. I would welcome any comments (positive or negative) and any help or advice. My thanks and blessings to everyone who reads this far! It is much appreciated.
British Amish perspective
John, very glad you found us and thanks for bringing an English perspective. We do have a good handful of UK readers and I’ve noticed by the statistics for this blog that visitors from your part of the world has really shot up lately.
I know there has been a lot of press on the Amish in the UK; an English filmmaker I spoke with this summer mentioned the recent riots and the effect that has had on people, causing some to question the society and values being promoted. Anyway, glad you are here.
On joining the Amish, I am always a bit torn on what to say–as you can see I start off on a pretty discouraging note on this post. But it’s not impossible to do and for some people that may really be their place. There is a good thread on this topic with many comments from people, some of whom have actually gone through the experience of joining the Amish:
https://amishamerica.com/so_you_want_to_/
Thanks again and hope you’ll chime in whenever you feel like it.
Talk to my son, Mark
If you want help or advice on joining the Amish I would recommend that you write my son, Mark. I don’t think he’d mind. He joined the Amish after teaching public school for thirty years and was fifty when he joined. Here is his address:
Mark Curtis
9417 County Road 101
Belle Center, OH 43310
USA
Hi Don,
Have a question for Mark….why don’t they have seats and pedal on their bicycles ?
You’re not referring to the man on the blue scooter? I don’t see any bicycle photos!
Thanks Sadie, LOL it looks like a bicycle to me except for the pedals and seat…..I was just wondering if they are not allowed to have these things on their scooter as you call it ? Does anyone know ?
Thanks Sadie, LOL it looks like a bicycle to me except for no pedals and seat…..I was just wondering if they are not allowed to have these things on their scooter as you call it ? Does anyone know ?
Amish Scooter
Kentucky Lady,
You can check out these links:
https://amishamerica.com/where-amish-sco/ (Where Amish scooters come from). Don Curtis and Erik wrote comments on this post.
https://amishamerica.com/do-amish-ride-bicycles/
https://amishamerica.com/amish-scooter/
https://amishamerica.com/amish-scooters/ (from 2009)
People don’t always know why they do what they do.
Joining Amish- Learning German
I know this will be a silly question, but here goes– I too have been drawn to the simple, God focused lifestyle of the Amish — but learning a new language well would be really difficult… Are there any Amish that do not still use the old German? Thank you for any information. Kathleen
Kathleen,
I don’t know of any Old Order Amish that don’t hold fast to the PA Dutch and High German. However, there are New Order Amish that will preach in English if there are people present that do not know the German languages. In addition, the Beachy Amish and Charity churches are plain lifestyle but are much more evangelical and use cars and power line electricity while using the English language primarily. That said, for most of these people, PA Dutch is their first language and they may still prefer it. Search google for ‘Beachy Amish’ and ‘Charity Ministries’ for more info on these groups.
Hello John,
How interesting to find another British person who wants to join the Amish. My family and I are also British, but I have always admired the Amish ever since visiting Pennsylvania as a child.
I would love to know how you get on with things like getting a US visa. That has been a big obstacle for us in thinking about moving over there – it seems to be so difficult to get in in the first place, and then there are restrictions in some states about non-residents owning land. It’s frustrating because in many ways my family thinks the same as the Amish, and we would love to develop the same practical skills they have, but it is hard to get into the US!
Joining the Amish after 50?
Hello Liz, Yes, it is almost impossible to get a US visa unless one wishes to start a business or is sponsored in some form (too late for me to go to college I think). However, of late I have been wondering about starting an embryonic Amish community in England. We live in a crowded island so the practical hurdles are significant. But the more one looks the more one sees that there are embryonic communities scattered around. Coalescing in my mind is the possible joining together of Amish/Plain-minded people with the off-grid/new-age community. It needs more thinking through, but there is something there. Off-gridders in the UK have popped up on farm land bought relatively cheaply because it doesn’t fit the agri-industrial economic model. The part one would need to acquire are the Amish farming skills – these are not inconsiderable. I am continuing my research and would welcome any thoughts.
Groups in U.K
Hi, John,
I too am over 50 and have been living a ‘Plain’ lifestyle for many years. Until the last few years I never really thought about different communities as such, I just felt that I needed to live my life this way. It is only in the last 12 yrs or so that I became aware of the Amish and Mennonites. I truly thought that I was the only person outside America, and certainly in England that was drawn to this way of life! How lovely to know that there are others out there.
Family commitments have always kept me away from any form of community life, even to the Beachy Amish in Ireland, but it would be wonderful to think that one day there may be a community in U.K.
I must say that I believe that older people would be more aware of what it entails to live an Amish or Conservative Mennonite life.
I have never owned a car, been in a plane, or got involved with modern technology (apart from the laptop which is really needed for shopping etc as I live in Devon and the transport is appalling!) I do not watch t.v or listen to the radio, although I must confess to owning a washing machine and fridge freezer.
Please keep us updated on your progress. The U.K. truly needs a community.
Blessings, Karen.
Joining the Amish after 50
Thank you Karen. I will keep everyone updated. Parenthetically, part – and I stress it is only part – of what has driven me towards a plain life in the UK these last ten years and the Amish in general is that I have been ruminating since the 70s on the the coming energy crunch. Peak Oil, sustainability and the limits to growth have been abiding interests for me. We would all do well to take the shale oil and gas “bonanza” with a healthy shovelful of salt – I do extensive research as a by-roduct of my work with investment banks and I can reliably inform all of us that as a species we are pitting ourselves against the laws of physics, nature – and God – in an increasingly desperate attempt to preserve unsustainable economic growth (take a wild guess which side will win?). The result is that almost everyone (probably everyone) will have no choice but to live a “plain” life of sorts in the not too distant future – almost certainly in our lifetime. Here in the UK we are more vulnerable than most to this shift, so we had better get on with being “plain” as soon as possible. As always, I very much enjoy reading the opinions of the folks here. They always teach me something. Do let me know how you are getting on.
Very well said. I also feel that within a generation we all will be living much simpler lives, out of necessity.
So many “civilized” or modern people have technology as their only true God and religion!
Hello John,
After graduating from college, I lived, dressed and worshiped with the Amish around Apple Creek, Ohio for 3 years. I spent one of those years teaching the upper four grades in an Amish parochial school.I was happy and fulfilled but always wanted to get married and didn’t see it happening there. I returned home, eventually married a wonderful, Christian man and now have 2 excellent children. When my husband died 5 years ago, I relocated to Holmes County, Ohio, which is more densely populated with members of the ‘plain’ churches then anywhere else in the country. My daughter teaches in a public school in the area where half the students are Amish. I have many Amish friends and work with a several lovely Amish women. If you’d like,I think I could get you in contact with an Amish minister whose Mother is one of my closest friends. I’ve been a Christian all my life and have studied most religions. From my experience, more then any other,the Amish faith endeavors to adhere most closely to the entire Bible. The aspects of their lifestyle that set them apart from mainstream America are found not in the Old but in the New Testament. There is virtually no divorce, and the young still respect the old.They are a happier, calmer people and suffer less from depression, and ‘scholars’ (which is how they refer to children who attend parochial schools) often do better on standardized tests then children in the public schools. I, too, am considering ‘going Amish’.
I am very familiar with the Amish in Holmes county. The most concerning thing is the rise of all the tourism and Amish sponsored business. Near Walnut creek they are building a very large hotel and conference center. I fear that some of the Amish are beginning to get caught up in the commercialism of people’s fascination with the Amish.
My wife and I decided to stay away from the Holmes area and instead purchased land in Harrison county. There is a thriving Amish population present without all the ties to tourism.
My wife and I are conservative Christians who love The Lord and believe that Gpd intends for us to live more simply. We have learned so much from the Amish and have been going through the process of simplifying our life.
I hope to be able to become Amish someday but one thing keeps holding me back. I feel that as Christians we are to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. Most of the Amish I know do not go out among the English and share the truth. That is something I cannot give up.
Update
Hi,
I have now moved house and county. We have moved to Shropshire where there are better public transport links (so less online grocery shopping) we have open fires with a fuel burner in one room that I can also use for cooking. I too am very aware of the impending fuel crisis!
I am beginning to make my own clothes, as buying from American websites (Plain clothing) has become too expensive due to customs charges etc. There seems to be a growing desire for modest dress and a simpler life here in U.K. Although I don’t read newspapers, I do stumble across articles online when searching for suitable attire for myself and my girls.
Here in Shropshire there is a community of Amish/Conservative Mennonites, but I have not been able to visit them without a car! I would love to one day though.
My children are becoming of an age now where they are finding it difficult to be ‘different’. When we are out and about they see young girls in high heels, short skirts, skimpy tops etc etc. it is very hard to bring children up in a simple, modest way when they are surrounded by consumerism and fashion! The fashion industry have a desire to push inappropriate clothing on even very young girls, which I find appalling. Hopefully change is around the corner!!
Amish after 50
Hi Karen, I forgot to say that I live in Basildon essex, we live right on the edge of woods and some farms but most of it is rather commercialised. I am finding this hard as I so wish to live the Amish life, but my family are not too keen, my 2 daughters are in their teens, my husband I think I may be able to persaude apart from the religious side, as he loves make do and mend, which saves a lot of money!
Amish after 50
Hi Karen,
I am so pleased I came on this site, as I am from the UK also, and thought I was the only one! I have only started researching since March this year. I love their lifestyle and simplicity. I don`t have many plain things in the home, apart from my kettle! so any advice you have I would be truely grateful. I am also looking at the religious side, and am very confused as there doesn`t appear to be much in the way of Mennonites or Anabaptists.
Joining the Amish after 50
I think at any age it will be difficult as the Amish/Mennonite do expect you to work and carry your load. I have always wanted to join. As a single mother of a female teenager and caring for my widowed Mother. I would like to have the community caring that you have with the Amish. I would join in second if I thought we would be accepted. Research their beliefs and their religion along with what is expected with everyday life. Sometimes Amish families will take in people and give them a trial time to see if they can make the switch.
It is a reoccurring theme on Amish America to have single women and often mothers seeking the stable community of the Amish. I don’t blame them based on what the world has become. It breaks my heart to have to keep saying that the Amish do not acknowledge divorce. I hope that is not your situation. Still, you are a single mother. Unless you are a widow, the Amish women in the community will think of you in rather uncomplimentary ways, as they think the world is satan’s gutter and all people out there are terribly immoral. They are afraid that you will seduce and sin with their husbands or even draw them away from them. That is their only spouse, for life, so they don’t want you near their man. It is a sad reality. My recommendation is to look at Conservative Mennonites, Beachy Amish or Charity Ministries as these plain churches are more used to meeting people in your situation and are better prepared to help you. Search the internet for those names. Sorry to be so dismal with this reply.
For Lisa
Have you ever considered being part of a community of spiritually like-minded believers who espouse the cultural values and morality of the Amish yet do not practice the rigidity often expressed toward outsiders(English)? I mean the plain style of living w/o all the trappings of the modern world yet maintaining certain practical ways of life?
Also, would your mom and teenaged daughter agree with your decision to change lifestyles? Resistance on their part could doom your choice to failure.
Some might find this interesting. A community similar to what you describe was once attempted in Tennessee. My understanding is that it ultimately faded away (I think there’s a handful hanging on).
Anyway this link is a fabulous article/letter from Elmo Stoll, who was one of the founders. For those who desire to join, it gives excellent advice:
http://www.anabaptistchurch.org/community_by_elmo_stoll.htm
Thank you Lattice
Thank you for that link–what profound wisdom expressed in that man’s life. Obviously you must have done extensive research to have access to that link.
For over 20 years I have desired to be part of such a community and have wondered afresh whether it might be successful today. I am an ordained pastor of the Baptist faith and have served as an associate and assistant in many churches over the years, always leaving once concluding those churches have departed from the true faith and are more interested in numbers, programs, dollars and prestige than in true sacrificial servanthood. I always stayed long enough to try and make a difference but finally left realizing you just cannot fight against the system. After all these years the Lord has finally placed me in a situation where establishing such a community, beginning with a home-church, is finally a real possibility. My approach is almost with fear and trepidation, knowing it must be of God, founded on His Word and adhering to Biblical principles or I am wasting my time. I have been praying for the Lord to send me or direct me to like-minded believers who are also tired of “established religion.” It seems God has perhaps directed me to this website and blogs so that I might further consider His call on my life. I have always known that the truly godly Biblical shepherd-leader of such a community must be humble, broken, committed, patient and with a heart to be a true servant-leader rather than a rigid tyrant or rule-enforcer
God has faithfully provided many years of fiery trials in my life perhaps to mold and shape me into a proper vessel. I am excited to witness what He may have planned…..
Thanks again for your assistance!
Blessings, Wayne
To Lattice and Wayne
Hello Lattice and Wayne,
I have actually been in contact with that group and they are wonderful! They were in Cookeville, TN, but have now settled in Caneyville, KY.
Blessings to you!
Mark visiting Britain
My son Mark, who joined the Amish, asked me to post this for him. He has always wanted to visit Great Britin. England, Scotland, Wales, maybe Ireland. Mark isn’t that interested in big cities like London. He would like to spend time in rural villages or farms. He’d like advice on what area of the country would be best and how best to go about visiting in rural areas. Also, as he is Amish and doesn’t drive what kind of public transportation is available in Great Britain to get around by. If any British folks would be kind enough to reply you can post on here or you can write to Mark directly:
Mark Curtis
9417 County Road 101
Belle Center, OH 43310-9589
USA
Hi Don,
Did you notice in THE BUDGET, that someone writes from Shropshire County, England? Someone else writes from Waterford, Ireland. Those should be fairly plain people if they are BUDGET scribes.
There is at least one Beachy Amish-Mennonite church in Ireland, and my own affiliation (the Nationwide Fellowship Mennonite Churches) has an outreach church in England. Neither is “Old-Order plain,” but definitely conservative enough that some members might be interested in the Budget. My church here in Canada is far enough away from the big Amish and Mennonite settlements in the States that some of the families enjoy the Budget as a way to know what’s going on in the wider plain community.
Hi all , there is a Mennonite church forming here in uk.Some menninite families moved here from usa early last year .They have church every second Sunday of month in old sodbury near Bristol . The rest of the sunday services are aston on clun Shropshire .
You can get in touch with the Mennonites by looking up
Shepherds hills Christian book shop in craven arms Shropshire . There someone can give you more Information .
Mark visiting Britain
Hi Don,
I live in South Devon in England. I live in a small town called Ashburton which is on the edge of Dartmoor. I would love to have Mark come and visit us if he is still planning a trip to England? He can stay in our home (me and my husband). I would love to learn more about his way of life with the Amish and I can help him to visit this more rural area of England.
If you think he will be interested then please let me know my email is lianne.avery85@live.co.uk
Regards
Liannee
I feel exactly the same way Alice.!!!!!!
Hi Alice. Nice to meet you. Ys, some Mennonites can be strict. Then you have the very liberal that have drums and guitars in church, wear sneakers there and even endorse female pastors.
After being in the other denominational churches, my desrie to join a people who aren’t just “Sunday Christians”, but live it out everyday. Simple folks who are not into material things but the spiritual. I know there are no perfect churches out there, but joining a community of like minded believers is so important.
Converts' circle letter report
One of my friends who joined the Amish in his 20s belonged to a converts’ circle letter. The circle members compiled a comprehensive list of people who had joined “over the years.” They reporte that X number of people had joined throughout the U.S. and Canada. Stop a moment and guess how many converts they reported. Ten years ago, they listed three hundred people who had joined the church “over the years.” Now guess how many of the three hundred remained Amish? The answer was one in three–one hundred stayed. Since that time, my friend dropped out of the circle letter (“It was filled with constant gripes and complaints,” and he has subsequently left the church.
My rule of thumb for those who contemplate joining is to think, pray, seek counsel from trusted Amish and non-Amish friends and associates. I would also try to talk to both successful and lapsed converts to get a realistic picture of what challenges you will face. If the interested person is married, they need to be sure that their spouse is supportive of this change. If they are an unmarried male, realize that many, if not most Amish, will wonder about their motivation and worry that they might marry one of their daughters or sisters. (This is not a trivial concern for families in light of the two-third dropout rate.) Also, I would avoid Lancaster County, not because these are bad people, but b/c they, more than most, recognize the difficulties of a person making a successful and permanet transition and life–and,again, worry about the repercussions of leaving on the converts’ families.
I think that Ohio and Indiana, especially among the New Order Amish, are more open to the idea of converts. Also if the potenital convert is not gifted in learning languages or is not accustomed to a rigorous work ethic, he–or she–will face additional challenges. Making the change is not impossible, but it is a decision that one cannot take likely. As in marriage, once one makes his/her lifetime commitment to the church, divorcing the church is not an option.
I hope this is not too depessing, but this is how I see it. Feel free to contact me if you are contemplating such a move.
Richard Stevick rstevick@messiah.edu
Thanks Richard, for your comment. You see the over-all picture with clear eyes.
Rich my thanks as well. Fascinating comment. I understand the Lancaster Amish have had very few modern-day converts.
Thanks Richard. All information is good information and extremely useful for those of us entering with our eyes open.
Craig
Its nice to meet you too Craig. I understand what you are saying and I agree with you. Being with like-minded Christians is extremely important if you are going to grow in your faith. I too seek a group of like-minded people who truly walk in the spirit rather than of worldly things. I am sure you have prayed about it and have researched everything before considering this move. I wish you all the best and with God’s blessings!
Alice
Thank you Alice
Alice, I find your comments in particular keen-eyed, clear, thoughtful and immensely useful. As you can probably guess, you and others on here are like water in the desert compared to UK. I shall keep coming back to drink.
Anabaptists UK
Hi John
There are some conservative anabaptists in the UK, one is the Society of Brothers or Bruderhof with about three church communities in England. Charity may also have a church by now. Certain brethren groups will also offer something similar, try looking up Gospel Hall or Meeting Room brethren, they are a bit stricter than the Bible Chapel brethren and collectively have over 1000 assemblies in the UK.
They may not be Amish, but it is a start to biblical Christianity and if you find them too strict….. they are childs play compared to the Amish.
This was a good post because sometimes I think people want to join the Amish having their lifestyle in mind – simplicity, slower-paced, and don’t think about the actual religious part. I’m not saying at all that’s what was going through Don’s son’s mind, especially with him being older and knowing how to think things through, but with SO many variations of beliefs I think it would be hard to find one that’s the right fit. I always wondered if the Amish dressed like everyone else, how many would want to leave the world they know to join. Not that they join to dress differently, but I think people like that they stand out – even though their thought is to be alike. Does that make sense? Like why don’t more people join the Mennonites who have a “plain” lifestyle as well, but are a little more “mainstream” with the way they dress, etc? I like posts that make me think – I bet Don’s son’s story would be an interesting one!
Amish visual attraction
I think I know what you are saying Beth–more likely Amish would be overlooked by seekers if they didn’t stand out so much visually.
It’s more likely Amish will get attention by someone on a spiritual journey, than say a Mennonite group which the individual would find it easier to join and more in line with their beliefs.
Since the relatively higher Mennonite group resembles “us” more closely visually, they aren’t “advertising” in the same way as the Amish and thus don’t get the same attention. Even though maybe that church is where a given seeker should end up.
I was once a part of a wanna-be-Amish circle letter. We were all young women, in our late teens. The woman who started it was a convert, and recently married.
One girl had to drop out because her father forbid it.
Eventually it just fell apart.
As far as I know, no one became Amish. The woman who started the circle letter left the Amish and divorced her husband, and has most of the custody of the children now.
As I tried to say in my other comments on joining the Amish, I think that success in joining requires a choice to accept the Amish as they are without lusting for the things you cannot have. Even those born Amish who don’t do that struggle with being Amish. You must be able to accept the church’s leading without question to be at peace with being Amish. Without the peace that comes by acceptance and faith, it is next to impossible to be Amish without a lot of frustration.
I noticed that Mark took a number of years to adapt to the Amish way before joining and that the group (Belle Center) is a New Order church that has been around for a long time. It takes years to adapt, Amish do it themselves as they grow up learning throughout their childhood, converts need the same learning and it takes longer as an older adult, but it is by no means impossible. Also, by picking a higher group, it was less of a leap then say the neighboring Hardin Co, OH Amish, who are rather conservative. It is hard to find a stable New Order. Many Amish use New Order as ‘stepping stone’ to the more worldly churches so they don’t stay very long. Charity churches have a lot of success getting New Orders to make the jump out of the Amish.
I think that you could join the Amish at any age once you are an adult. It is all about choice, acceptance and peace. Indeed that is basically what ‘Gelassenheit’ is. And gelassenheit is a much preached about Amish virtue.
Good luck Mark, and may the Grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ be with you.
Hi Alice,
You know I remember when we knew all of our neighbors too, and kids were allowed to be kids.I remember when you helped your fellow neighbors or family out without expecting anything in return but a Thank You!And when you needed help they were there for you too.When you took folks in because it was the right thing to do. Not what praise you would get for doing so. I am only in my late 40’s but that is the way I was brought up. I could also live with out alot of the technology and such, except for a few things. As a child we would go camping for 3-4 weeks at a time and not come out of the mountians, except for Ice. With some of my health concerns, I need a/c, I have sleep apnea, and I use a compression machine on my legs. But other then that I think I could do without alot, but now my husband lol that is another story. I read alot about the Amish and Mennonites, My husband ask me if I want to become one, In a sence yes. Alice it is nice to meet you.
God Bless Robin
Robin
Robin, it is nice to meet you as well. I think those were the good ole days when people helped each other. Sure wish we could go back to them. The world just might be a better place.
Blessings, Alice
Becoming Plain
My husband and I were more influenced by Quakers than Amish in our commitment to living Plain, although we had both had contact with Old Order or Conservative Mennonites. We have lived off-grid, and we both like the life. We have two handicaps in joining the Amish, although we are conversant and accepting of Anabaptist theology: We are both divorced, and while I acquire languages quickly, my husband doesn’t, and post-stroke, never will learn a new language. We practice our Plain life within the context of the Anglican Church, and we aren’t the only ones living in this faith group Plain or Plain-esque. It is more than a liefstyle commitment; it is also a faith commitment that many people would not understand or find acceptable.
If any of you are in the area and would like to visit a conservative Mennonite fellowship, our church is on Wolf Trap Road just outside of South Boston, Virginia. Ebenezer Mennonite Church, Kelvin Good is the pastor. Worship service is at 11 AM each Sunday, and everyone is welcome.
I thought I’d chime in here since I’ve met Mark Curtis and his father and consider Mark a friend…Mark is really an amazing, great guy…To have made the full journey from non-Amish to Amish and to have done it so late in life and so thoroughly (right down to the language, he speaks PA Dutch fluently and with the accent) is rare. He had to learn how to hitch a horse, steer a buggy, home-can food, etc…But he’s happy and has carved a real role for himself in the settlement. He told me that if he was going to do it, he was going to go in 110 percent and he definitely has
Erik,
Looks like you struck a nerve! I am 50 and feel that would be a great time to join. I have never been more in tune with myself or my spiritual walk as I am now. I find many parallels between Anabaptists (Old Order Amish) and Catholicism. I think an understanding of the “outer” world could actually compliment a person looking to convert to Amish. BTW: what is your age Erik?
Hi Paul, I’m happy if the post gave some food for thought…and I will be 33 in a couple weeks here. I had to remind myself it was this month and not next–seem to notice birthdays less and less each year!
Erik,
Get ready for responses…..I think you will get many……I for one admire the Amish so much and I love reading and learning about how they do things…..but myself I definitely could not make it being Amish….I love my computer too much, could give up tv, nothing worth while watching anyways unless it’s “DANCING WITH THE STARS ” LOL…..that’s my favorite tv program…..I do like the news and watch GOOD MORNING AMERICA….other that these I could do without tv…..but I love my washer & dryer and since I have carpet, love my vacuum cleaner…… don’t want to do without indoor plumbing either :)…..
Would love to hear more about MARK…. Sounds interesting……. Was he married before he joined ? Or did he get married to an Amish???? Looking forward to hearing more about Mark and his Amish life now.
I think it’s wisest for a person to try Plain Friends (Quakers) first because for English speaking people there is no separate language to learn, though you might find the odd “thee and thou” bandying about depending on who one speaks to. It doesn’t seem that they are strict about it, they let you do what is best for your condition, and if you are lead (by the Lord) to dress in plain clothes then more power to you.
I don’t know about any decent plain clothing websites on the internet for men, but for advice on women’s attire in plain the best would probably be Quaker Jane as a start. She writes about the Quaker tradition and the various Anabaptist traditions, and judging by the pictures, she has worn it all and so will her cute little daughter. Quaker Jane also seems to have links to places were a plain dresser (probably all women’s) can buy patterns to make their own clothes.
Repeating the first paragraph of my statement to complete it, I think it’s wisest for a person who seeks to find a plain life to give plain/conservative Quakerism a shot for a while and then if you want and feel led to, try the various degrees of Mennonite churches that there are out there, there are so many options to go with.
@ Rick Stevick; not sure if you have had a chance to read Ira Waglers book Growing Up Amish: The Teenage Years, but towards the very end he meets a man named Sam Johnson who had converted to the Amish faith. I forget the exact number of converts that Ira said had become full members, but if I am remembering correctly he gave it in the dozens and not in the thousands or even hundreds, so your data is in line with what he said.
Okay, now for a personal request. For those of you who include prayer in your daily life; please pray for my daughter, Sara, this coming Monday morning as she in going to interview for a job as an instructor at a college in Wyoming. She found out today that she is one of three finalists for the position. I know that two people will be disappointed. I pray that they make the choice that is in keeping with God’s will. I also pray that Sara is that choice! All kidding aside, please keep her in your prayers.
I will pray for her!
Ive often thought, I wish Id been raised Amish (though Id not trade my family for anything), or near an Amish community, the latter being so Id know my view wasnt based on romanticism or putting an entire group on a pedestal. For about 12 of my 30 years now, Ive felt I missed something very important, ignoring the pull of God toward a much more family-centered, conservative, non-prostelytizing (I cant spell it!) way of life. But who’s to say it’s God, and not simply the wishes of a young woman now grown? I know Id not be able to join any sort of Old Order group, as Id miss my family too much, and as Id like to be married someday; and, I dont think Id have too much chance at that, in such a community, at my age! So I simply try to live a life I hope is pleasing to God & creates caring for those around me. I could live the rest of my life without a television, without electricity; but I dont see it as a necessity, not being among any Plain groups. Such a fascinating post brings up many feelings Ive had over the years, and to think, someone could adopt and join such a different culture, at 50 (though far from old!), brings me to think many things are possible if one knows they are good & right. *smiles*
I live near an Amish community in upstate NY. I often run into a horse and buggy on the road. I also see a lot of Mennonites shopping at the Dollar Store, or Salvation Army. When I mentioned my desire to join the Mennonites, I had several Mennonites, including a pastor of a conservative Mennonite church warn me to do a thorough research before making any committment.They all said it can mean a lot of pain and heartache. But I think at middle age we sometimes reach a cross road. We have tried a lot of things and with those things have come stresses and disappointment. As others have already said on here, by the time one is 50, give or take, we pretty much know what we want. In my own case, God has been calling me into a faith that seriously lives it out and lives much of the cares of the world behind.
JOINING THE AMISH - NOT FOR ME
I have all of the posts and there are some truly insightful responses! One of the catch phrases that gets used alot when describing the Amish is totally mind-blowing to me: “slow-paced lifestyle”. Nothing could be farther from the truth! I used to think that the Amish have quiet, uncomplicated lives that border on boring and mundane… HAH!!! Was I ever wrong. Since we became close friends with 2 Old Order families in Ohio, over the last two years, their lives are anything but quiet, uncomplicated and boring. When we go down to visit, usually for a 5 day stretch, we rarely get to see all of them for more than a couple of hours at a time. They have lots and lots of work, errands, family committments, short jaunts up the street, grandkids coming over, widow/widower events, Red Cross drives, charity work, auctions, shopping, church preparation. If idle hands are the devil’s instruments, the Amish are assurdly going to heaven (even if they don’t believe in the assurance of salvation)… 🙂 After watching my two lady friends down there get through one week of their lives, I’ll take my truly nice, quiet life just the way it is! 🙂
My son, Mark
Hello again,
Well I wish that you could all meet my son, Mark, as Kevin William has. I remember our lunch, together, at the Round Table in Belle Center. Also, I wish he could be on-line to respond to your questions. But, in obedience to his church, he can’t be anymore. I’ll include his snail-mail address in case you want to write to him.
Mark Curtis
9417 County Road 101
Belle Center, OH 43310
I hope Mark won’t mind me posting this. I don’t think he will. He’s pretty good about sharing his journey with others.
Thank you Don for sharing about your son. I hope he’ll appreciate that we enjoyed his story!
immersion baptism
Hi, I read often but hardly comment….. This response is for Jessica. I am a member of the Apostolic Christian Church of america, an offshoot of the anabaptist movement ( later in the reformation 1800s) We would be most like conservitive mennonites, But baptize by immersion after testimony of conversion before the congregation. We stress a true repentance (die to the old man) re-birth and Holy living. We have 90 plus churches through the us and canada, (many in amish/mennonite areas). We have a church website you can google it. When our church was started it was nicknamed new amish because of the similarities and many amish/mennonite converts. We meet Sundays for worship, morning and afternoon service with a light meal at noon, and weds nights. Men and women sit seperately , women covered , greet with holy kiss, acapella singing, KJV, no TV and many other plain similarities. We have a beautiful brotherhood.
God Bless!
Amish after 50?
VT Farmer, your church sounds wonderful and one that I completely agree with. It is really sad that the Amish and Mennonites can’t all be One faith and not have offshoots. But, alas, we are humans and disagreements run rampant. Every faith group has splintered. The important thing is to belong to a community of believers in Jesus Christ who adhere to the Holy Scriptures as their final authority on all matters of faith.
Anabaptist Groups that Baptize by Immersion (for Jessica)
Jessica,
There are a number of Plain Anabaptist groups that baptize by immersion including the Old Order River Brethren and Old Order German Baptists and the Charity group you mention, though these groups are definitely less in number than conservative Mennonites (which include the Beachy Amish-Mennonites).
As for a Beachy Church baptizing by immersion, it would be best to submit your request to the ministry at that particular church and see if they will oblige.
Thank you VTFarmer and Matthew. Although there are no Schwarzenau or River Brethren groups in our areas, I have never heard anything but good about them. The Apostolic Christian Church also sounds good (very similar to Mennonites in most ways?) but there are none here either. Where I live the only Anabaptist groups in any real number are the Hutterites and Holdeman Mennonites. Occasionally I’ve heard things that make me wonder if there is a “Charity” church in the area, but I notice that if there is, they are nearly impossible to find. Many don’t call themselves Charity or Remnant specifically, don’t have websites or listings, and also don’t show up on the fellowship lists of conservative Mennonite groups. I am hoping he will talk to the Beachy leadership and see.
IMO the attraction to the Amish and why it has grown and grown over the years, including now the increase of fake romantic Amish novels, is we realize for the most part that deep inside us all, the values that the Amish have struggled to maintain for centuries, have long been forgotten or is rapidly disappearing from us outsiders with our every increasing world of consume and spend…
What the Amish represents to an outsider – Order, symmetry and calm, people who have a direct hand in their own affairs, who do their own work, who are responsible for the life around them and each other, sanctity. Most of these are long lost amoung western outsiders living in a modern world, especially the young folks…
Joining the Amish after 50?
Not so sure I agree there, Tom, about the romantic novels causing the increased attraction to the Amish. Men don’t read those. I believe the interest is more likely due to a restlessness and an inner need in most of us to get out of the big cities, work our own land and be more self sufficient. A life that is unencumbered with so many modern conveniences. and being too dependent upon the utility companies. Costs have gone up that living with less or even off grid is appealing.
I couldn’t edit my last post, but I wanted to say, Tom, that I agree with the rest of what you said.
My wife reads those Amish romance novels not because she desires to become one, but rather because she’s a hopeless romantic.
Craig – What I meant by my Amish romance novel statement was not that they themselves are attracting people to the Amish, all though there could be a small percentage that read them could become attracted to them, but I meant and maybe in a poor way was the novels are an natural outcropping of the original long term interest in the Amish.
I read alot of westerns and am big cowboy/western living lifestyle and it was the same with them and the cowboy life – the interest grew and grew and people wanted to become cowboys and drive cattle, live like Native Americans, etc. and western writers bloomed and movies, etc. for almost 35+ years and then all of a sudden you had all these fake romantic westerns out and then after that everything western just kinda of died out. Same with the Amish now as with the western life, all the orginal stuff is by us, most everyone knows what needs to be known about how Amish live and worship and eat, and go to bathroom, etc. and now comes the fake Amish stuff (like rhinestone, urban cowboys)eventually this too shall pass… hope you catch my drift better now…
Very intetested
I’m a black women who finds the Amish lifestyle very attractive for several reasons. I love God, with all my heart. Unfortunately, every religion I have tried, no longer teaches the essence of faith. They use christianity to get jobs, promotions, and self righteous titles; not following the bible at all. There are probably none or few black amish. I am 35, and it would be too late for me anyway.
I dont care about losing most of the worldly privilages. I don’t watch much tv, cars are over priced and too expensive to maintain. I have a few more classes until I have finished my bachelors degree, just to find their probably wont be jobs available and I will have major debt from student loans. I do lone for a closenit family and community, where everyone is treated the same. Somewhere my daughter would have lots of friends and women to help her in life. It would be wonderful to be able to sew and bake, not rely so much on the supermarkets and their hormone induced and high priced for food. My granmother made blankets, clothes, curtains, etc and never passed it on to us grandkids. It would be an honor to have a husband build us a house and make our furniture. I would love to cook and bake. We grew up poor and didnt have electric until my parents could pay the bill. So, washing clothes by hand is no stranger to me.
The Amish seem to have some harsh rules, but they are no more strict than some religions if you think about it. In experience, some of us english are searching for love, companionship, and modesty.
I agree about these other faith groups not teaching the essence of faith and their leanings toward liberalism. It is getting so that one cannot find a faithful church anymore. This is what has brought me to looking into becoming Mennonite.
Me too. I grew up evangelical and almost became one of the many kids who left the faith before I was even out of school. It seemed like church was all about politics and entertainment. Basically a social club for people who believe in God. There was little real and tangible about it. Plenty of words and teaching the Bible, but barely any living it. I concluded there must not be anything to Christianity. It was just when I was preparing to leave altogether that God used a close friend and a string of improbable events to introduce me to the Anabaptist faith, and honestly I was amazed. I still am, that there’s a group of people who have kept true Christianity alive for hundreds of years despite persecution and hardships. I long to be part of that.
Matthew 7:7
Karen, I am so glad to hear of someone that truly has the desire to find out how to live in a way that is pleasing to the creator. Most people today try to find a church where they can hear what suits them (2 Timothy 4:3,4) but then you can see by their actions that they really don’t want to follow what it teaches (2 Timothy 3:5). The majority of problems and wars in mans history have been caused by Religion! I need to clarify, by False Religion proclaiming to represent God. Just the Crusades alone show a complete lack of understanding for the principles that Christ outlined and yet so much of the intolerance of others today over race, social standing and such is condoned by people professing to follow the Bible. So cheers to you for being an ardent searcher for true service to God. If you ever have any questions as far as what the Bible teaches on subjects such as Why are we here? What happens at death? What will people (changed to spirit beings) do in heaven? Why has God allowed suffering to go on for so long? Are there wicked spirits that try to affect us today? How can we prove that the Bible is more that just a good book that was supposedly changed from being translated over and over? Will there ever be a time when people will live without prejudice and stop destroying the animals and the earth? If you have a Bible and you really want to know what it says about those things, feel free to email me at danielfarrar2002@yahoo.com Wish you the best in your continued search, and never forget Mathew 7:7
Plain but not Amish
Perhaps I’m an unusual atheist but I’ve always admired the Amish philosophy and lifestyle, despite lacking the necessary Faith Trigger to join them. However, I was brought up by atheist parents and taught to respect all genuine engagements with life’s questions, religious or not. While I’m content with my atheism, as well as with my family and career, I thought I’d mention that you don’t have to be religious to lament today’s lack of ethics, close communities or awareness of life’s deeper significance, or to have serious reservations about the corruptive influence of technology. Values based on compassion, humility and plain living are always admirable, not just for our individual psychological welfare but the health of societies and the planet. And, of course, whether there’s a God or not, it’s possible to live in a similarly plain life without joining the Amish.
Atheist perspective on Amish
Stella, thanks for sharing a perspective we don’t get here everyday.
Amish derive a good bit of their plain practices from religious belief (ie, modest clothing, humility which influences numerous aspects of plain living) but yes these practices are attainable outside a religious tradition as well. I do wonder if having a strong religious basis makes them easier to achieve and maintain.
I think the values you mention–community, ethics, and so on–are ones that are integral to a functioning society. When they break down (I am watching London burning today, so your comment seems particularly poignant) everyone suffers, believer or atheist.
Known Experience
I am friends with a family who had been Amish converts. Both husband and wife were desirous of joining the Amish. So they moved to an Amish community about 14 years ago. They were in a small church district whose members were very helpful and loving. They taught them to speak their languages and their ways. Their children were born that community and raised in that church. The children thrived and loved it. Their house wasn’t large enough for all of the children, and they had to move to a different district to find a larger home, as there were none for sale in their current district. Alas, after the move, is when all of their problems began.
This new district wasn’t quite so friendly, supportive or kind to the children. By this time they had 6 children, who looked like any other Amish child, and cute as can be. But, several of the children had physical problems. They were bullied by the other Amish children, were even physically beat upon. I was amazed at the troubles they had in the new district. Surprised by this bullying coming from the turn-the-other-cheek people. After putting up with this for a while and seeking help from their church leadership, and receiving little (only one deacon sympathizing), other than being told to let them work it out among themselves, the reluctant parents chose their children over the church and left. The parents had not yet been baptized into the church, as the church was still putting them off, saying they were not yet ready, after a dozen years. They were not able to move back to the first district due to the lack of property available there. They’ve been gone a couple of years, and after being back in the English world, I think they’ve decided to not go back to plain living.
I recall one Amish woman’s response to this family, she said, “We’re no different than anyone else. We’re not perfect like people believe us to be.”
Christmas Caroling
Well, it is the Season for Christmas caroling. My son, Mark, was out with the youth the last two evenings. Even though he is 59 the young people seem to accept him well and want him to do things with him. Of course, Mark taught public school for thirty years and probably does have a better rapport with young people than the average person. Anyway, they came into Belle Center last evening and stopped by my place to sing. Mark was driving his horse and wagon. There were about twelve young people on it altogether. I could hear them coming because Mark had put on a full strap of sleigh bells on his horse. It was nice of them to come in. They sang for some of my neighbors, too. Fritzi, my little three legged dachshund sneaked in to join in on the singing on my enclosd porch.
Don, really, how nice of you to share this with us. I am imagining Fritzi doing his singing to help out the baker’s dozen. I don’t know if my mental picture captures things as they really were but sounds like you have a talented dog! Wonderful story.
English Impressions of the Amish
I have lived 37 years very near the Amish. When I was young I knew a girl that had met an Amish boy on Rumspringa and fell in love and joined the Amish church just before she married. First she lived with his family for quite some time, she was raised on a dairy farm so she was familiar with hard work and she was a junior 4H leader so had many skills such as canning and sewing, gardening and such. She had just graduated nurses school and was an RN and on her last day of work she took a lot of her things to work, in the break room we went through her stuff to buy, cosmetics, hairdryer, clothes, shoes, purses, jewelry, etc….I remember thinking how can she do this? That was 40 years ago, I never saw her until two years ago at the local broomcorn festival we go to every year, I walked across the street to a venders and I heard this voice call my maiden name out, I turned and there was Gail, I never would have known her, In 1971, she was very modern and cute and petite, and now at 61 she was an Amish woman with some of her 16 grandchildren!!!! It was so wonderful to see her, she was happy and well and yes spoke Dutch to her grandkids, all these years we have lived about 8 miles from one another, never knowing it. Her husband has been ill and in hospital and it has been such a blessing to be able to go and pick her up and take her into the hospital to visit him, she tells me it would cost her over 50.00 for each visit from the local transportation providers..I was shocked. I have also helped her with chores since he has been ill and so I think God may have brought us back together for a reason. I am a strong believer and love my church and church family very much, but am happy to rekindle my old friendship. Amish people are just like the rest of us, some are wonderful people, some are not. There is crime in their community just like anywhere else, it is important not to romanticize these people. They are people like all of us. Not all try to walk in the ways of Jesus, many fall short. Many are good people that do lots of good work in their communities. We make a grave mistake when we lump these people together and put them up on a pedestal. Only Jesus belongs up on the pedestals of our minds. We all can walk closer with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ if we just keep our hearts open to his guidance.
Thank you Barbara
Barbara, special thanks for sharing this story. Your friend has followed a pretty rare but I hope rewarding path. I can only imagine your surprise when you turned around to see who it was…and I like the good insights you added at the end.
Barbara do you live close to Arcola,Illinois?
Marcus Yoder
Yes I do Mr Yoder!!! Very Close.
I have a lot of Amish relatives that live around Arthur and Arcola, Illinois. I was just out to Arthur on friday for the viewing of my aunt in Arthur. I have several Amish cousin’s who have woodworking shops.My great great grandfather Moses Yoder was one of the first Amish to settle in Arthur. My uncle Elvan use to own Rockhome Gardens.
Marcus Yoder London Ohio
beautiful story. Could be a plot for a novel. On another note, yes, i tend to romanticize them because i’ve been reading Wanda Brunstetter’s books the past days.
Wonderful Story Barbara
I agree with Erik on your post, Barbara, I truly enjoyed it.
Also your comments on the end are well worth noting & applying, especially on Erik’s website in particular.
Thank you for sharing, I copied & sent to couple people I thought would enjoy it too.
Would also be nice to hear your friends life story on this venture, she had so much going for her in the English world & cast it aside, which is remarkable. Forsaking a nursing career meant giving up alot but I imagined not compared to what she gained in many ways.
Barbara and her Friend
Loved your story Barbara and I too appreciate the comments at the end. As we’ve gotten to know more and more Amish folks we recognize that some are simply cultural Amish, and not necessarily believing Christians. Some can be petty, vindictive, cruel, superstitious — downright human, just like the English. In our experience however, the majority of Amish are kinder, more thoughtful, and certainly more gracious than than most in society, men included.
Amen!!! They are just like us–they have similar thoughts, feelings and experiences. We are all made in God’s image–children of the Lord. This was a great article.
Thank you so much for sharing your story about your now Amish friend, Barbara. So well written. And I’m very thankful God brought the two of you together at this time when Gail can use a friend and support.
I agree with Michigan Mary….I’ll stick to my nice quiet life too 🙂 I just can’t believe at 50, a person would want to get up at 4:00 a.m. and milk cows and start your farm day !!!! Maybe in your 30’s……
I have a question….I noticed in this post , it shows a guy on a bicycle without a seat…..what is the purpose of that ???? what in the world is wrong with having a seat to sit down on ???? You still need to use both feet to pedal, and on this one, you’re only using one foot to push the bicycle !!!!! You would get more exercise pedaling with both feet , than pushing with one foot !!!!!
Can Mark answer this ????
Or Erik, you are the answer guy…..you go for it 🙂
Amish after 50
I don’t think it’s a bad idea at all, or even before 50.
I think their beliefs are more right than any other.
My husband and I ha e 6 children and no family to
help us, and we try to make it on our own, trying to
Learn farming and things on a small farm, we would
love to have a bigger farm, but have not got the
money to Get one, and no body to go in with us to
help us we are hard workers, more than most Americans,
But we can never get ahead, because we need more land.
I like the way the Amish stick together and live close together
And help each other, that’s important. Regular people just
don’t do that. If only we had crop land, I know we could
Change things and live a good life. & more loving Family
would be nice too. I think Amish is a good thing.
Some horse sense for Don.
I don’t think yelling “STOP !” would do you much good. “Whoa” and “Ho,” are better. But as far as an Amish horse getting his head and running away, not likely. Amish buggy horses are extremely well trained. They have to be, considering all of the sights and sounds that they encounter in the modern world. And those “pieces of string” are actually leather and quite strong. I have never had a set of reins break on me or anyone I know. If you take good care of your harness,etc. they are made to last.
I don’t trust cars.I don’t know how they work or why and I don’t want to. I trust horses,mine anyway,there are ways to reason with a horse but how do you communicate with a big hunk of metal?
What would be the best community for a single woman approaching 50 to join? How would she survive? Will families take her in? Are women allowed to bathe? Can you bring your horse and pets? Any Amish communities allow women to ride horses? What would be the most harmonious and encouraging community? Will they teach a trade? How would a single woman contribute to the community?
I’m tired of the concrete jungle and not afraid of hard work. I want to be closer to God and live according to His rules.
Might the Amish be closer to nature and have more instrinsic value towards the Earth?
Thank you
Women are primarily homemakers, but you are allowed to earn money on your own. Still, it is usually from more traditional ways such as quilting, baking, sewing, candle making, basket making and similar homemaker like trades. I have seen a girl sitting astraddle a horse in Nappanee, but never a adult woman. Most Amish have outdoor dogs and cats but they are often more service animals instead of pets, but you probably can treat your animals whatever way you wish. Bathe as often as you want. Amish attitudes towards modern environment issues are quite variable. Some are organic, many not, most hunt, some are less ‘in tune’ with modernity and its attitudes about treatment of animals and the earth. One thing is for sure, no Amish put the ‘Earth’ on a pedestal while all recognize that God put the ‘earth’ under man’s subjugation, as written in Genesis. Farming Amish are more in tune with the cycles of the earth, while factory/shop Amish are more like the world and loosing touch the same way. Harmonious and encouraging are subjective and variable! Amish are people too with most all of the same problems, worries and anxieties as everyone else, but probably not over the same things!
Lance, thank you.
I imagine joining a New Order community would be best. Yet, how does one contact them? One cannot just show up and knock on any door! Will they take single women? Will I need to purchase a home? Will other single women (or widows) welcome me? Clothing?
I’d appreciate any advise and how to contact a community.
For Yvonne on visiting Amish
If you live anywhere near New York State and were interested in moving there, I might be able to direct you to an Amish community which seems to be quite welcoming to outsiders.
What my Amish son, Mark thinks.
My son, Mark, joined the Amish almost ten years ago, now. He is a member of the Belle Center, Ohio Amish community. I asked him for his advice about what you should do. He offered several options:
1. Send away to Abana Books for the New Order Directory. Also, the Holmes County Directory. The directories list the different Amish communities, the church districts in each, the ministry in each district, and the members. All of the addresses are included, as well. Write to some of the ministers and ask for permission to come visit.
2. Put an ad in The Budget asking for help.
3. If you live near an Amish community then visit it often and try and strike up a relationship with a shop-keeper, roadside stand vegetable peddler, etc.
4. Mark gave me his permission for you to write to him. He doesn’t know what he can do to help but he’s willing to try. His address is:
Mark Curtis
9417 County Road 101
Belle Center, OH 43310.
Hope this helps.
Thanks Don, and again you are really kind to take the time to share these responses from Mark. As for point #2, I was informed that the Budget does not (or does no longer) carry requests for pen-pals, which makes me wonder how they would feel about this similar-yet-different request.
Mark's thoughts
Mark mentioned somethiing to me that I thought I should put on here. He said that folks that want to become Amish need to be serious about it. They need to do their homework before they even visit an Amish community. Read as much as they can about the Amish. Visit Amish communities, etc. When they’ve made the decision to join a particular Amish community then do it. Make the break. The Amish don’t have nominal church members like the English churches. You can’t just be a non-member visitor for unlimited time. Mark told me that there was a seeker that came to him for advice. This man wanted to become Amish. He kept visiting an Amish church in Holmes County. But after six months when they asked him if he would join if they helped him find a place to live and employment he wouldn’t commit to join. He was so upset and called Mark up because they asked him not to come back. In my church, United Methodist, this wouldn’t be a problem. You can come as long as you want and not be a member. But Mark says that in the Amish church, church membership is a very important and is taken very seriously.
Not coming back
I didn’t explain that very well. I guess the Amish church in Holmes County asked this man not to come back because he wouldn’t commit to join. He wanted to come every week with his English clothes and car and fellowship with them and yet not submit to the church and its authority through membership. The ministers, evidentally, felt that they had given this man enough time to make a decision and he wouldn’t commit to joining. Mark says they felt his car and clothes were making a poor example for the young folks. This man called Mark about it and Mark talked to the Holmes County ministers and now he’s related it to me. I guess what I’m trying to say is be informed on the decisions you want to make and then make them one way or the other.
Amish after 50 ?
Reflecting about the Amish lifestyle often. The comments some of
you have made about them reminded me how rigid and legalistic they are. I really don’t think that CHRIST himself would be welcomed for long in such a community, if his identity was unknown to the elders.
I for one believe that history reveals that the organized mainstream churches and the not so well known,have helped bring about the spiritual void many people feel in this country and around the world. The practice of Christ was to seek out the lost and the unclean and invite them into God’s Kingdom as Sons and Daughter’s of God after they repented from their sin. In the days of King Herod, the Pharasees were a strict and legalistic group who were equally as different or indifferent as the Amish yet CHRIST said their righteousness was as dirty rags.
Amish is man-made just like all religions
I’ve enjoyed reading many of the articles here on amishamerica dot com. thru my 20’s I explored many religions, from being born-again (Community of Christ) and immersion baptized, thru Quakers, Jewish-Christianity, Presybyterian, and finally decided there is no perfect religious group anywhere. My family of origin was nominally Protestant and very dysfunctional.
I greatly admire the Amish/Mennonite work ethic, and no-nonsense rejection of what I see as modern extravagances (TV, most internet, etc). Also the energy over-consumption lifestyle of most developed countries, which may be contributing to climactic changes (this is controversial).
However, after reading many of these stories about legalistic Amish, I am thinking, this wholesome Amish religion is just that–a religion, developed like any other, by men and as such it is going to have faults. I married an Eastern Orthodox Catholic, knowing full well this religion also had its faults.
I’m sure if I had found Amish/Mennonite when I was 20, I would have fallen in love with it. I do still admire it, and if my husband died, would love to live near the Amish/Mennonite.
However the very biggest hurdle would be financial–I cannot afford to purchase even a 5 acre plot near one of these communities.
I am thinking that becoming Amish/M is just for the young, they have no use for a 51 y.o. widow, even if I know how to do many of their women’s work quite well.
What the Amish/M need more than anything is young, healthy, contributions to their genetic pool, who also have money to be able to buy expensive farmland, who will submit to the Ordnung, and be willing to abandon higher education, cell phones, and cars.
I wish I had my life to live over again.
Gigi, I think part of the success of the Amish as a people is they do NOT have outside “contributions” to their gene pool. They practice endogamous marriage — marriage to others within their own group. They are more than a religion, they are a distinct culture with a distinct language.
It is an highly unusual, in this day and age, that such a group even exists, right in the middle of one of the most prosperous and polyglot nations of the world. I think that is why a lot of us are fascinated by teh Amish. Bless them.
to be or not to be
My husband and i are knocking on 50 pretty quickly. We have already raised 2children and now have only an 11yo at home. we have recently gone off grid. Raise a large garden and most all of out other food. we have a community close to us that we frequent. Today we we re at their store getting mantles for our gas lights and was told we should just join the community. It was a true honor. I have discovered since going off grid that life has slowed and so have we. Not in the sence that we dont work,but our life in general is less hurried. The community is there. But our religous beliefs are not the same. But i feel just removing a large portion of technology has cleared our minds and cleansed our souls. You dont have to BE Amish to live a clean wholesome life.
I know, this is an older post, but I figured perhaps someone might see it — I’d try anyway!
It’s really, honestly, a question mainly for Don Curtis but anyone’s answers would be so appreciated.
Don, I wondered if it’d be okay, proper, if I sent your son, Mark, a short note asking about the Amish settlement in Belle Center? I’m still and perpetually considering at least trying to find out through experience whether an Amish life is truly what I’m being led to by God.
I’m not trying to become a pen pal, no, none of that, I’m just wondering if Mark would be open to answering a note from a 30-year-old, “English” woman in Ohio, who has a couple of questions about possibly wanting to attempt joining the New Order Amish, specifically.
Would it be okay to write him? Thanks!
Mark's reply
I asked Mark about you writing him a note. He said that it would be alright to do so. He would try to answer your questions. However, as he is single he doesn’t want to strike up a pen-pal relationship. Also, he doesn’t feel comfortable inviting a single woman to visit him or his church. It would cause a lot of talk. But, if you visited shops and such in the community and asked the owner of one of the shops the possibility of visiting Amish church it might be able to be worked out.
Thank you very much, Don! It was kind of you to relay my message, and yes, that was my concern, the propriety of writing. I appreciate it!
Joing The Amish With A Disability?
I have enjoyed reading all the comments on joining the Amish, they are so enlightening and informative. When I was little my grandmother taught me many of the skills that an Amish woman would do on a daily basis, from canning to sewing, baking, cooking, hand washing clothes, gardening to a strong belief in God and following his word. My grandmother grew up on a farm in New York State, I do not believe she was Amish but I believe she did live close to a community. I have never forgotten what my grandmother taught me and still use many of the skills she taught me. My faith in God is strong and even though I am blind I do my best in all that my grandmother taught me. My question is would an Amish community take in an Englisher woman that is blind? I am not totally blind, I do have a little sight in one eye. Lost my vision from Glaucoma at the age of 16. Thank you and blessings to all of you.
Blind and Amish
The Amish would, according to what we have read on Amish America, regard you as a blessing and a unique gift from God because of your disability and the lesions that come from your life, just as they appear to regard challenged Amish children in the same way.
If you took the leap and worked to become a member of an Amish community you probably would face the same challenges any English person would, the spiritual challenges, the cultural challenges that make joining the Amish difficult for “able bodied” English men and women.
I think that if you where to successfully become a baptized member of the Amish, I think the Amish would be just as astounded as an English onlooker, because, well, you have challenges that I’m sure you have overcame that a sighted Amish person never considered, and seems daunting to them, although that’s not to say that there are not blind Amish people, the difference is you’d be coming in from the outside and likely many blind Amish you’d meet are born into the society and taught to be Amish in a way formulated to the individual by the supporting family just as you have been taught by your family.
Trust in the Lord, you’ll get to where you need to be directed in his love.
Blind And Amish
Thank you sir for your thoughts and insight. Yes I have had my challenges in life and they have helped me grow, spiritually, mentally and physically. I will say I have come much closer to God.
Joining Amish , anybody
There is an Amish Community in Smyrna Mills, Maine, where a blind woman from non-plain background joined them , and lives there with them …
She lives in her own cabin with her guide dog, on another families , property, and really loves it there,,,,,,,,,
If you are interested in checking out in that area, feel free to E-mail me, and will respond,
followjesusonly@gmail.com