One of the great kindnesses I’ve received from Amish friends has been regular hospitality when I visit. I don’t have to worry about a place to stay, which I know I can do in a number of homes. Usually it’s a shorter time of around a week, though the longest I’ve lived with Amish friends is about a two-month stretch. Obviously, as an English person you…
If you’ve visited more than one or two Amish settlements, you’ve probably at some point been struck by contrasts–sometimes stark differences. The most immediately obvious signs are material. Homes, buggies, clothing and other items tell stories about how the area’s residents choose to be Amish. Today Jim Cates looks at those differences in Indiana’s two largest Amish communities–the Elkhart-Lagrange County area, whose best-known place is Shipshewana,…
What are some characteristic Amish church practices? Amish do a number of things which make them different from most other Christian churches. Here are five religious customs common to the Amish, which you won’t see much of elsewhere. Five Common Amish Church Practices (Uncommon Elsewhere) 1. Home Worship With the exception of a very small minority (here is one example), Old Order Amish do not build churches…
Dr. Holmes Morton, of the Clinic for Special Children located in Strasburg, PA is planning to open a new clinic in Pennsylvania’s second-largest Amish community, known as Big Valley. The modest Lancaster County medical center specializes in treating rare genetic diseases which disproportionately affect Amish and Mennonite communities. It garners wide support from the Plain community, seen financially in donations and auctions which help provide it funding. The new…
I didn’t realize the story of the little stitches that hold Amish quilts together could be so interesting. Thanks to Janneken Smucker’s post today, I now do. I hope you enjoy her concise look at quilt stitching including the importance of consistency, the 1980s “Quilters War”, and how much it costs to hire an Amish person to do these stitches. — Quilting by the Yard In…
Do the Amish care about the environment? How do they respond to challenges like pollution, the impact of pesticides, and habitat loss? College of Wooster professors David McConnell and Lyn Loveless wrote about Amish views of nature in their last post. They return today with a look at the Amish and environmental problems in their communities and beyond. Do these issues concern Amish people? Is the Amish lifestyle “ecological” as…
The South has been the fastest-growing region in America in recent years, thanks in large part to transplants from other parts of the country. But Amish, despite their willingness to move, aren’t heading south in quite the same numbers. However, you’ll still find a number of Amish places in the region. Below, a look at five Amish communities in our Southern states. 5 Amish Communities in the South…
Contributor Don Burke recently paid a visit to the small Amish community at Garnett, Kansas. He calls the piece below “Not Exactly What I Expected to See.” Sure enough, you’ll see Don found some things not too common in other Amish places. Don’s virtual visit to Garnett gives us a good example of how Amish practices can vary–sometimes quite significantly–in different communities and regions. — After a recent…
How do the Amish light their homes? Without a public power connection, it’s not as simple as flicking a switch. But Amish do have a number of church-sanctioned ways to illuminate their houses. Like other technologies, lighting will vary across communities. 1. Propane or Natural Gas Lighting This is one of the most prevalent forms of lighting among the Amish (perhaps the most common today). Gas lighting can be…
On our recent list of five Amish publications you might like, we included the Plain Communities Business Exchange, a monthly paper for and about Amish and other Plain businesses. Today we have an interview with PCBE’s Carl Heule, who leads public relations for the publication. Carl shares what the PCBE is all about, who reads it, and his thoughts on a few of the more unusual Amish…