Amish Grace: How Forgiveness Transcended Tragedy (28 page)

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Authors: Donald B. Kraybill,Steven M. Nolt,David L. Weaver-Zercher

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APPENDIX: THE AMISH OF NORTH AMERICA
 
Anabaptists, Amish, and Mennonites
 
The Anabaptist movement emerged in sixteenth-century Europe at the time of the Protestant Reformation. Sometimes called the radical wing of the Reformation, the Anabaptists emphasized an often literal interpretation of the teachings of Jesus, especially the Sermon on the Mount. They rejected infant baptism, arguing that baptism should signify a voluntary adult decision to follow Jesus—and on that basis they proceeded to baptize one another into the movement. Because these radicals had all been baptized in the state church years earlier as infants, their detractors called them
Anabaptists,
meaning “rebaptizers.”
The Anabaptist call for a voluntary church separate from government oversight infuriated Catholic and Protestant religious leaders as well as civil officials and brought severe persecution. During the movement’s first century as many as twenty-five hundred were executed, often burned at the stake or decapitated. Hundreds more were tortured or imprisoned. This persecution fortified the Anabaptist view that the true church would always be a minority, and it produced a countercultural ethic of separatism. Small, scattered groups with diverse interpretations of faith and practice characterized the early Anabaptist movement.
In 1536 a Dutch Catholic priest, Menno Simons, converted to Anabaptism and eventually became a prolific writer and influential leader. In time many of his followers became known as
Mennonites.
A century and a half later
,
in the 1690s, another Anabaptist convert named Jakob Ammann led a renewal movement in Switzerland and the Alsatian region of France. According to Ammann, Anabaptists in his area had become enamored of their social standing; he therefore encouraged stricter Christian practices enforced by vigorous church discipline. Ammann’s followers eventually became known as
Amish.
Sharing a common Anabaptist heritage, the Amish and Mennonites have been separate groups within the Anabaptist family since 1693.
Amish and Mennonites migrated separately to North America but often settled in the same areas. The Amish migrated in several waves, first in the mid-1700s and again in the 1800s. They established settlements in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana and eventually spread to other states. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the Amish struggled with how to respond to changes produced by the Industrial Revolution, evangelical revivalism, and the encroachments of a mass, consumer-oriented society. During this time some of the Amish joined various Mennonite groups. The Amish who held to the older customs eventually became known as
Old Orders
.
In the twenty-first century there are numerous Mennonite groups as well as Amish groups in North America. Although some Old Order Mennonites use horse-and-buggy transportation, many Mennonites drive cars, wear contemporary clothing, support higher education, and use modern technology. Almost all Amish groups reject these things, and for that reason they have become renowned in the United States and beyond for their distinctive way of life.
Family, District, Settlement, and Affiliation
 
The key building blocks of Amish society are the extended family, the church district, the settlement, and the affiliation. Large extended families are the basic unit of Amish society. It’s not unusual for an Amish person to have seventy-five first cousins and for grandparents to have fifty or more grandchildren. Amish men and women assume traditional and well-defined gender roles. Husbands are considered the religious leaders in their families. Wives typically devote themselves to housekeeping and motherhood. Women with young children almost never work outside the home, although some manage at-home stores, greenhouses, or bakeries. Most Amish women share in household decision making and child discipline, even as they affirm the man’s role as the religious head of the home.
Amish society is organized into self-governing local church
districts
. With geographic boundaries marked by such things as roads and streams, the district is the socioreligious home for twenty-five to forty households. The Amish do not have church buildings but instead gather every other Sunday for worship in members’ homes, rotating from home to home around the district. The close physical proximity encourages face-to-face interaction in daily life.
Each church district has its own leaders—always men—typically a bishop, two or three ministers, and a deacon. The bishop provides overall leadership for the district, assisted by the ministers. Deacons coordinate mutual aid and determine how the members will share the costs of an expensive medical bill. None of the leaders has formal theological training. Living a consistent Amish way of life is their most important credential. Ordained for life, they receive no payment for their church work and must support themselves in other occupations.
A cluster of districts in a particular region is known as a
settlement
. A settlement might contain only one district or might encompass more than a hundred districts. Holmes County, Ohio, the center of the largest settlement, includes some two hundred districts. The Lancaster settlement is the oldest surviving Amish settlement in North America. About twenty-eight thousand Amish children and adults live in the Lancaster settlement, which currently has about 180 church districts.
Church districts that have similar practices and whose leaders cooperate with one another are known as
affiliations
. Unlike districts and settlements, which are geographically defined, affiliations are based on shared lifestyle regulations and church practices. Members within an affiliation fellowship together, often intermarry, and permit their ministers to preach in one another’s services. There are more than two dozen affiliations of Amish in North America, each with its own unique practices. No central organization or national church authority holds the subgroups together. Most districts in an affiliation have similar practices, but even so, the ultimate authority for Amish life and practice lies in the local district.
Growth and Diversity
 
There are some 425 Amish settlements spread across twenty-seven states and the Canadian province of Ontario. All told, these settlements include some seventeen hundred church districts. Nearly two-thirds of the Amish population lives in three states: Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Indiana.
One might expect a traditional group that rejects higher education, car ownership, and the Internet to be on the wane. Surprisingly, the Amish population is doubling about every twenty years. Counting adults and children, they currently number nearly two hundred forty thousand. Large families and strong retention rates propel their growth. On average, families have about seven children, but it’s not unusual to have ten or more. Typically, about 90 percent or more of their youth join the church. Although the Amish do not seek converts, outsiders may join if they comply with Amish guidelines.
The North American Amish may all look alike to outsiders, but practices vary quite widely from affiliation to affiliation. Most groups have battery-powered lights on their carriages, but the most conservative affiliations use only kerosene lanterns. The vast majority of Amish homes have indoor bathrooms, but members in the most traditional groups walk to the outhouse. Power lawn mowers are permitted in some regions of the country but not in others. The women in one affiliation may use only treadle (foot-powered) sewing machines, but those in another group may power their sewing machines with batteries. Some communities are wealthy, and others are rather poor. Even within affiliations and local church districts, diversity abounds.
Ordnung
 
Biblical principles are applied in daily practice through the
Ordnung,
a German word that means “order.” The
Ordnung
consists of district-specific regulations, usually unwritten, that are passed on by practice and oral tradition. The regulations apply the biblical principle of “separation from the world” to issues such as clothing, use of mass media, technology, and leisure activities. Church leaders update the regulations as new issues arise, usually with input from district members. Controversial issues—the use of cell phones, computers, fancy furniture, or immodest dress—receive attention at Members Meetings. Disagreements over the details of the
Ordnung
can sometimes become contentious. Members of each congregation affirm their district’s
Ordnung
twice a year, before the spring and fall communion services.
All Amish groups expect men and women to wear prescribed clothing. Married men are expected to grow a beard but not a mustache and to wear an Amish-style hat and vest. Women are expected to wear a head covering and usually a three-piece dress that includes a cape and an apron. Unlike the broader American culture, where dress is often used to express personal preferences, dress among the Amish signals submission to the collective order and serves as a public symbol of group identity.
As part of their
Ordnung,
Old Order Amish forbid owning an automobile; tapping electricity from public utility lines; owning a television, radio, or personal computer; attending high school or college; joining the military; and initiating divorce. Members agree to obey the
Ordnung
at the time of baptism, with the clear understanding that they will be subject to church discipline, and perhaps excommunication, if they break that vow.
The Amish generally do not join public organizations or service clubs in their communities. Some of them, however, are members of local volunteer fire companies and emergency medical units. Although they do not develop intimate relationships with outsiders or marry them, they are usually good neighbors who enjoy many friendships with non-Amish people.
Youth and Rumspringa
 
Although children learn their district’s
Ordnung
by careful observation, Amish youth are not expected to adhere to the
Ordnung
until they are baptized. Young people eagerly await their sixteenth birthday, the traditional age when they begin
Rumspringa,
a time of “running around.” During this period they spend more time with their peers, especially on weekends, and often begin dating.
Rumspringa
ends at marriage, which typically occurs between the ages of nineteen and twenty-two.
Rumspringa
is a period when some Amish youth, boys more than girls, experience greater freedom. Betwixt and between, they are no longer under the tight control of their parents, but because they are not baptized they are not yet under the authority of the church. During this time, many Amish youth adhere to traditional Amish behavior. Others, however, experiment with “worldly” activities—buying a car, going to movies, wearing English clothes, buying a television or a DVD player. In the larger Amish settlements, an adolescent’s behavior often depends on the peer group he or she chooses to join. Amish parents often worry about which group their child will join because the choice will influence the teen’s behavior. The practice of
Rumspringa
varies greatly from community to community. Some church districts provide adult supervision, but others do not.
Traditional youth activities may include volleyball, swimming, ice skating, picnics, hikes in a state park, and large outdoor “supper” parties. The most typical gatherings are “singings.” Groups meet in a home and sing German hymns and English gospel songs for several hours and then enjoy a time of conversation and food. The “faster,” more rebellious groups sometimes drive cars, rent a building for parties, or go to bars and night-clubs in nearby towns. Given the chasm between adult Amish life and the rowdiest of Amish youth parties,
Rumspringa
provides fascinating material for the news media. For most Amish youth, however,
Rumspringa
consists of some newfound freedoms that are expressed in moderate ways.
A fling with worldliness reminds Amish youth that they have a choice regarding church membership, and indeed they do. However, most of the forces of Amish life funnel them in the direction of joining the church. Knowing they have a choice likely strengthens their willingness to obey church standards and, in the long run, the authority of the church itself.
Changing Occupations
 
Until the 1960s, most Amish people, regardless of the state in which they resided, lived on family farms. Amish farms were small, diversified operations with a dozen cows, some chickens, and a few beef cattle. Although many continue this tradition, Amish farms have grown more specialized, with dairy cows and, in some cases, chickens or hogs. Specialized farms tend to be more mechanized, but still less so than neighboring non-Amish farms. Farmers with more than twenty cows typically use mechanical milkers and bulk cooling tanks. The more traditional farmers milk by hand and ship their milk in old-fashioned cans to cheese plants.
Despite popular mythology, most Amish farmers do not practice organic farming. Many of them use insecticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers. A growing trend toward small specialty operations that produce vegetables, herbs, and flowers has emerged in some settlements. Some of these specialty operations do, however, use organic methods to target specific urban markets.

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