No, they are Christian. Their society follows the teachings of the Bible. They believe in living a simple, basic lifestyle. Adults must go through an adult baptism to become a member of the Amish church. They also believe in a close knit community with the separation from popular culture. Separation between church and state is important. They do not want politics to interfere with their way of life. Also, members of the Amish church are pacifists.
The roots of the Amish church started in 1525 with the Protestant Reformation during the Anabaptist Movement.. Jakob Ammann, the founder of the Amish church, started the church in 1693 with their own branch of Anabaptism in Switzerland and Eastern France. All of the Amish communities in America were started there. #AllAboutAmish by #MissouriAmish A typical Amish church service is done in the homes of the families in the Amish community. Most of the Missouri Amish normally have some type of service on every Sunday. Some of the communities have a major church service with everyone in the church district attending. When it is not a normal church Sunday, the families will still conduct their own service in their homes with some extended family or neighbors attending. The smaller communities are able to have everyone attend, but the large communities are broken up into multiple church districts. There will be a Preacher for each one.
Each service will be held in a different home each Sunday Service. One of members of the Church District will be appointed to drive the bench wagon to the church services. This is a very important responsibility. Could you imagine over a 150 adults and children coming over to your house for church? These bench legs are of a folding type without backs. They are designed to be light weight and not built for a lot of comfort in my opinion. They set up these benches throughout the house. Yes, they will use every room. They even use the kitchen, but leave some room so that they can have a light meal at the end of service. We will talk about that next week. #AllAboutAmish by #MissouriAmish The Amish grow and raise most of the food they consume. Almost every Amish home I have been to have large gardens and livestock for food. I will discuss their gardening practices in future blogs. They preserve an abundance of food for the non-producing months. In Missouri, the months of November through March are considered too cold to produce much vegetables or fruits.
The Amish have gotten around this a lot by using greenhouses, hoop houses, and cold frame units. Ok, most of you understand that a greenhouse is a permanent structure that is used to recreate the growing environment that the plants are used to having. Slightly different is a hoop house which is normally located in or close to the garden using plastic rods (PVC) as a frame with a outer plastic liner. This allows the plants an extended growing season. Some people are surprised that the Amish can get almost four extra months. Cold frames are used to start plants and to also extend the growing season. The drawback between a cold frame and hoop house is that a cold frame is usually small and needs a building or something to lean against. #AllAboutAmish by #MissouriAmish Like most cultures and societies, they are based on rules. By following the Ordnung, the members of the community observe who follows and who does not. Being part of the community is very important to every Amish person. These rules are not in place to get people in trouble. They are designed to assist the Amish live a Christian Life. The Ordnung is based on a lot of Scriptural principles.
This is why the Amish have a rule regarding plain dress. Plain dress is based on several Scripture passages that say Christians should not adorn themselves with jewelry, expensive clothes, and braiding of the hair. The Amish believe self-expression is not a Christ like trait and prevents pride and envy. The Ordnung provides guidance on everything from the use of technology to type of clothing to use of appliances and all aspects of their way of life. Following the Ordnung cultivates a humble spirit and simple living. This is done for the benefit of the entire Amish Community. We will talk more about this in a future Blog… Why don’t the Amish drive cars, have phones, indoor plumbing, etc… Many of us English do not understand all of the rules for the Amish and wonder how they have come up with them. A lot of the ways the Amish live do not make a lot of sense to us English.
The Ordnung is the unwritten set of rules and regulations that guide everyday Amish life. Meaning “order”, or “discipline”, this German word takes on a deeper meaning in the Amish context. The Ordnung provides the foundation for the Amish Christian community. An Amish person must follow these unwritten rules each day passing them down orally from generation to generation. Most of the Amish communities in Missouri have the same type of Ordnung. The children are taught the Ordnung from birth which makes it become second nature to everyone in the Amish Community. The national average retention rate is only 80%. I have talked to many people that think the Amish in Missouri have a retention rate above 90%. Please note that this is an estimate not a fact. We will discuss this more tomorrow… Explain the Amish Church system? We will have to answer this in a Multiple Part Blog each Sunday.11/30/2014
Part 1 – About the Clergy
The Amish attend church, but they do it differently than most of the English. In most of the Amish communities in Missouri there is one Bishop and depending on the size of the community, they will have one preacher per 10-15 families. A church district usually has around 80-90 children and 70-80 adults 20 years and older. This can vary a lot depending on the sizes of the families. If there are 2-3 small communities a Bishop may be shared between them. Normally, the Bishop and Preachers are the male Elders of the communities. There can be four to eight Preachers per church district. The Church Districts are generally divided by the geographical location of the Amish Community. As far as I know, the Amish Clergy do not go to seminary school like our English pastors. For the Amish preachers this is not a full time job; however, their opinions and guidance is sought after by the community members. They are chosen because of their character and integrity. They must have a great understanding of the Bible and Ordnung (This is the guidelines for daily living – I will discuss this next week). When the time comes that they have to choose a new Bishop or Preacher, there is a lot of excitement in the communities. Many of the Elders will get together to discuss this. They will already have talked to many of the adults in the community to find out whom they would like to see become a Bishop. There is no vote by the adults; it is all done by the Elders and the other current clergy. There is normally a large Sunday dinner for the conformation of the new Bishop or Preacher. Yes. Obviously the children do, how could children ever being kept from playing games? The children go to school from first grade to eight grade (we will go into the children’s education in a future blog). During that time the kids get to play games during recess. Understand that recess is done almost every day. Yes, sunny days, rainy days, snowy days, etc… I have been very surprised at showing up to one of my Amish Families to pick up an order and seeing children running around playing outside in the Rain. Regarding the adults, the answer varies. Surprisingly, many of the adults play Checkers, Monopoly, Scrabble, and Dice Games. More of the younger adults play games than the older adults. Eli B., a 24 year old, loves to play checkers and Mississippi Marbles. For more information check out this link: http://www.ehow.com/facts_5568991_rules-mississippi-marbles.html . The games are played for fun never for money. The majority of the senior adults “pull away” which is Amish for they do not participate in games. No matter what happens, the Amish really know how to enjoy themselves. Kyle While the Amish value hard work, they enjoy their time to relax too. They work Monday through Saturday, normally from sunrise to sunset. This may sound a lot like some people you know, but their work day is much different. They do not live the hustle and bustle of the English’s world with cell phones, computers, notebooks, etc... There is not the rush that we seem to have.
Their philosophy is: we will work together to get it done when we get it done. Puzzled? The Amish take their time to get it done right the first time. I like to call it “Amish time.” Mose, one of our basket makers has told me that, “Things get done when things get done, not much before but maybe a little afterwards.” Amish are very proud people and their word is their bond. When they tell you they will have something done on a certain date, the majority of the time it will happen. If not, they will apologetically contact you to tell you why it can’t happen. They take breaks during the day, but normally do not eat lunch. Instead they have snacks during the day. They eat larger breakfasts and dinners. Each person in the family has different responsibilities, yes even the children. Everyone in their family depends on the others to assist them when needed. I remember a few weeks ago going to pick up an order of belts on which Eli B was working. I looked at what he still needed to do and he told me he would have it done in an hour and a half. By my estimation it would take over 5 man hours. I wondered how in the world he could get everything done in that amount of time. One of his sisters, Fannie, came into to the Leather Shop and just started to help out. A few minutes later, his mother came down to help out. Then a couple of brothers and another sister showed up. I actually thought Eli’s dog, Shep was going to help out too the way he can bounding into the shop. Eli went from just himself to five workers in a matter of 30 minutes. Now that’s team work! Kyle Yes, but they do it differently. They gather at their family’s home. Many of generations live close together whether in the same house, on the same property, or in the same community. They meet together to give thanks for the blessings that God gives them.
Most Amish do not eat Turkey on Thanksgiving. They have a large meal with one to two meats as the main course and many side dishes. You have to remember that all of their meals are cooked on a stove with fire (rarely propane or gas). Do you remember those old style stoves that have burners and a flue going out of the house so that the smoke can escape? That is what we are talking about here. If you have ever camped out and cooked on an open flame you understand how hard it is to cook something. Imagine a large meal! This holiday is a time to reflect, catch up on the news of the community, be with family & friends, and give thanks to God. Kyle |
AuthorKyle G. Smith Archives
May 2015
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