There are enough positive stories out there right now if you look for them. How about this one: As health care providers grapple with a severe national shortage of masks and other gear to protect against COVID-19, some Amish residents in Lancaster County are among those firing up sewing machines to help. Sylvan Stoltzfus and […]

Continue Reading Amish Sewing 13,000 Masks For Donation

Following a motion filed last week by his attorney, beard-cutting clan leader Sam Mullet will be released early due to threat from the novel coronavirus. From the AP: Sam Mullet Sr. was moved to a halfway house in Youngstown on March 4 and was scheduled to be released in January. But his attorney argued in […]

Continue Reading Sam Mullet Will Be Released To Finish Sentence At Home

Amish in Holmes County and Lancaster County have closed their schools. Holmes County churches were suspended Sunday. That appears to be the case going forward with Lancaster-related settlements as well. Meanwhile in northern Indiana, children remained in school this week. And now following a meeting of bishops, church will continue as well. From The Goshen […]

Continue Reading Indiana Amish Leaders Meet, Will Continue Church; Bishop: “Don’t let fear rule you”

I came across the following list of Amish church rules in a book called Amish Roots: A Treasury of History, Wisdom, and Lore, edited by John A. Hostetler. These were the rules of a church in Mifflin County, PA in 1897, as recorded by a woman named Sadie Newman. Sadie was a convert to the […]

Continue Reading Rules Of A Pennsylvania Amish Church (1897)

A Roundup of News on the Amish & COVID-19 Some news from different states on how the coronavirus situation is affecting the Amish. Ohio Earlier in the week we learned how church was continuing while school had been called off by the Amish in Lancaster County. There had been speculation that church would be halted […]

Continue Reading Coronavirus Update (8 States): Ohio Church Canceled; Indiana McDonald’s Welcomes Amish

Free Rein One day in late fall, snow fell and caught me unprepared for winter. Hoping to save a little time, I took a different way home, one with which I was not too familiar, yet I anticipated no problem. Old Dobbin obligingly trotted on, but I was not far until I began to have […]

Continue Reading Brad Igou on Amish Voices: A Collection of Amish Writings (Book Giveaway)

I didn’t plan to post so much on the coronavirus situation. But then again no one expected it to be this disruptive. So here’s one more piece – but one which I hope presents a different and possibly helpful perspective. I’m not going to say that I agree with everything advocated here from the Amish […]

Continue Reading 5 Reasons The Amish Are “Not As Spooked” About Coronavirus

Amish schools in Lancaster County have been closed, but church continues on a regular schedule, as do weddings. That’s from a report in Lancaster Online concerning Amish response to the coronavirus.  Here’s their summary of the situation: One-room Amish schoolhouses across Lancaster County are closed for the week, yet scores of Amish wedding goers Tuesday […]

Continue Reading COVID-19: Amish Schools Close; Church & Weddings Continue [UPDATED]

There is a certain type of driver who likes gunning his engine and waking up the residents of the local graveyard when passing through town. That driver is unlikely to heed the warning of this post. But others who drive vehicles louder than a typical car would do well to keep the lesson drawn here […]

Continue Reading Be Careful Around Buggies If Your Vehicle Is Loud

Sam Mullet was the pseudo-Amish bishop of a breakaway church who orchestrated the beard and hair-cutting attacks which terrorized an Ohio Amish community in 2011. Mullett is currently serving out the end of his 10-year, 9-month sentence in a halfway house. He would like to be released to finish his sentence under house arrest due […]

Continue Reading Sam Mullet Seeks Release Due To Coronavirus Threat