Books'nSundries

     The AMISH and the MENNONITES
                       An article By Emil T. Miller (Tony Miller)
     ~ A brief Overview and History, & links to More Info. ~

         My benevolent view of the Amish and Mennonites I believe to be shared by the great majority of Americans in this country, and most of the rest are merely ambivalent. I would be very sad if that were not true. They as a people are reserved but are intelligent, gentle, friendly, industrious, honest, moral and as devout a Christian people as any country could be blessed to have amongst them. They intrude on no one, exclude no one, leach off no one, accept no welfare dole (our tax money), and indeed, live completely self-sufficient. They are a flower in our society, and are the most helpful and neighborly of any I have ever come across. They seem clannish to be sure, and it appears to many to be their very nature. Indeed this must be so in a sense, else they would loose their identity and could not help and support each other or live without the amenities we "worldly" people mistakenly believe so necessary. But if they appear aloof, stand-offish and reluctant to talk freely with you at first, and if they fail to grip your hand with the tight enthusiastic handshake you are used to, it is not because they are "clannish" or unfriendly. There are many reasons, and this article I sincerely hope, will begin to open your understanding of these quiet, gentle people. Above all you must understand that they believe they are at all times behaving in all the ways which will gain your respect, friendship and understanding. Their solemn, forthright and "plain" ways are generally not our "worldly" ways, and since they for the most part try to keep to themselves so as to not be a bother to anyone, it is we "worldly" or "English" folk who should make the greater effort to understand them.
    Contrary to popular belief, they are not "clannish" to the extent they exclude others not like them. They exclude no one at all. They are reserved but friendly to all and good neighbors to all, and will help anyone in need as best they can however they can. Indeed I have seen them take into their homes perfect strangers who have come to them down and out, needing a place to live, and with no pre-set conditions except the willingness to do their fair share of the farm chores to earn their keep. I have seen such people eating at their tables, sleeping in bedrooms with family members, attending church with their hosts, and treated in every way as a family member until they can get on their feet and make other arrangements to either live elsewhere in the community on their own, or go back out into the world again. Any others who come professing a desire to live "plain" among them as they do (like my wife and I once did), to worship in their church meetings, to work the soil for their living, and to interact among them, are readily accepted at face value straight into their lives and communities unless or until they turn out to be a bad influence or detrimental to the peace and tranquility of their lives and community.
   I do not hold myself out as qualified to speak with absolute authority nor from a position of close intimacy with Amish and Mennonite people, but I do however, claim far closer contact and interaction amongst them than most Americans. We have lived close with them and amongst them in the past, to the extent we considered ourselves one of them and they regarded us in much the same way. Only circumstance prevents us from living amongst them now, completely "plain" and just like them. Indeed, such is my heart's desire as I write these words. We have many wonderful friends among as they say, the "plain" folk. Indeed, my own Miller Grandparents lived exactly like most of them all the days of their lives. The REA brought electricity to a pole they set 5 feet from Grandfather Miller's house in 1930 (some say it was 1937) without his asking them.   He said, "Thankee. Much obliged," and there it remained up on that pole for the next 27 years until the day he died in 1957 of an apparent heart attack while plowing his mule in his "bottoms". My Miller ancestors came directly from Glasgow Scotland and on myh mother's side (Brock) from Ireland, and though I am not absolutely positive, I strongly suspect that I will find that before Ireland the Millers came out of Prussia with the Anabaptists, either the Mennonites or Amish, during one of their two main exodus, either in the early 1500's or the late 1600's.
     What I share with you here is my personal knowledge and experience as I have interacted with and among these fine, plain and wonderful people. And limited though that may be, I believe that overall, I have a reasonably correct knowledge and a balanced view of them. "What is the difference between the Amish and the Mennonites?" many ask. Do you have several hours? Perhaps it would be better to first think of them collectively as one, and only then separately as "Old Order Amish" or Mennonite, and "New Order". Both hold to strict Christian principles to guide their lives; i.e.,"By their fruits shall ye know them," Matthew 7:20. Both implement Jesus' teachings by using very similar "traditions" which the world finds mighty strange. The Old Order folk are far more devout and "strict" in both scriptural interpretation and application to their daily lives, they look more inward, keep more to themselves, and adhere closer to the "old ways" of living and farming. This is a contradiction in a sense because Jesus said Christians are to go forth and bring the gospel (good news) of Christ to everyone they can, and Old Order appear to place too little emphasis on what is called Jesus' "Great Commission". We "worldly" folk can also see that some of the "New Order" Amish/Mennonites are a little more relaxed as to "modern" ways and the limited use of things such as gasoline engines to power their equipment and the limited use of automobiles, but here one needs to understand that New Order also means that these are more filled with evangelistic zeal than Old Order and feel strongly called to bring the word of God to as many others as they can, including reaching out to "worldly people" as well. Again, to us "worldly" folk, this represents a confusing contradiction, but not so to those Amish and Mennonites who understand these differences and must decide as to Old Order or New Order. Notwithstanding the above observations, the fact is that the most of their differences have to do with many other ways they seek to implement their scriptural beliefs into their daily lives, and yet it all more or less comes back to the many-faceted and constant conflict they find themselves in, with a world that seeks and prefers the material and physical pleasures of life over a closer walk with God and closer to the land of their substenance. A more definitive discussion on these matters would be too extensive to attempt in this brief overview.
     I have visited Amish and Mennonite homes in Iowa, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Tennessee, done business with them, attended their church services, and interacted with them on a personal, business and family basis. Joseph Miller (no relation that I know of) who lived on Cane Creek near Hohenwald, Tennessee was as good a friend as I've ever had until he died a few years ago of colon cancer, and my wife and I still visit his wife Mary and some of their now grown children, mainly Timothy. My Miller grandfather and my Mennonite friends have greatly influenced my later life (as I wised up) and from their influence my wife and I are able to live more "plain", self-sufficient and content than most would believe, even though we live in town. There are ways, my friends, wonderful ways to be happy, to live good, to live economically and without burdensome pretense, even in town. I have gone into this fact a little in other places in our website and will say more as we go along.
     It surprises most "worldly" people, or "English" (as the "plain" folk refer to us), that there is an extremely wide and varied set of beliefs, traditions and practices amongst the Amish and Mennonites. Although certain aspects of their lives and traditions are more or less constant wherever they are in the world, they can have profound differences and practices even between those whose communities are only a nice buggy ride apart. They are all devout Christians of course, and all the absolutes which Christians hold dear and true they all share as well, but there are differences also in their lives, beliefs, traditions and practices from church to church and from community to community, much less state to state and country to country. It is no surprise that they depend greatly on their traditions to keep them in harmony with each other and in the center of God's will for their lives, and this is a very good thing generally. If I had a criticism of them at all, it would be that perhaps some of them may put a little too much stock and faith in "tradition" than they might otherwise should, a mistake of the Jews of Jesus' day - but that is just my opinion. Just as an example, the Jews believed that if a man took more than 528 steps (I think this number is correct) on the Sabbath that he had committed a grievous sin warranting excommunication, whether his "ox was in the ditch" or not. Such of course had a good purpose behind it but it was a "tradition" added by man to judge other men by, a thing the Bible says must never be done. What I found most surprising, was that Mennonites can sometimes have strong, even bitter disagreements and disputes within their churches, causing church splits and new communities to spring up somewhere else (sounds like us Southern Baptists, n'est pas?). Perfect harmony, even among these "plain" folk, is only found in Heaven. As another example, they in their own way sometimes have trouble with rebellious teenagers, particularly in their courtships, just like anyone, except far less disruptive or profound. One of my greatest blessings was when my friend Joe Miller honored and trusted me, a "worldly" Christian man, by asking me to come and mediate an extremely difficult courtship matter involving one of his daughters. All his family as well as the suitor attended my examination and counsel in his home. The two have been happily married for some years now, and have several children.
     The Mennonites and Amish generally have a small, one-room, centrally located school building in their communities. They look exactly like my first grade room back in 1943, with a "cloakroom" just inside the door. Contrary to popular belief they generally do not teach past the 8th grade, since by this time they have learned all they need to in order to function productively in their own communities. They usuallyhave only one teacher for all 8 grades. Neither is religion taught per se, although they do have a bible reading and usually the Lord's Prayer is prayed in unison every day. They believe religion is more properly taught at home. English is the language of instruction in their schools. "Dutch", being more or less one of their identifying traditions, is learned at home as well. Teaching materials are selected by the community leaders and the teacher is usually a young unmarried woman. Parents volunteer to help the teacher and drop in anytime to show support to their child and to the teacher. School expenses are supported by whatever means decided upon by the community as a whole, usually an honor system based on the means of individual families.
     Another thing that many will find rather amazing about these people is that most of them believe they are not to feel resolutely tied to any particular home, farm, or area of any country. This is partly because historically they have been a mission church (people). And yet this question is one of many which has caused strong differences and splits into other groups; some wanting to continue being known as "the quiet in the land", others more willing to risk adversity in their evangelistic zeal. They, as all true Christians, believe they have a basic missionary calling and are apt to up and abandon a wonderful farm and home they have created from nothing, and to go halfway around the world to be a witness of Christ if they feel God is calling them, and will do it just when they have things all set up and can begin really enjoying the fruits of their labors. My friend Joseph Miller was just such a one, and he did exactly that earlier in his life. He sold for a pittance to other Mennonites, left all, took his wife and children and traveled by all and whatever means he could (a story in itself), to get to the South American country of Belize where they started from scratch again and were a witness of God to all the people around them there. I met Joseph years later, not too long after he had returned and then moved to the Cane Creek community of Mennonites some miles from Hohenwald, Tennessee, and I will say on a personal note that he was being criticized (unfairly I believe) by others of the community for being too strict in his application of the scriptures. I did not understand at the time, that this meant he was New Order in this respect, but Old Order in the ways he ran his farm and home. Without either of us realizing it, we became close friends because our beliefs were so near alike.
     Let me mention just a few of their more noticeable traditions. I know a great lot of them (but not nearly all), and their reasoning behind them as well, although even the ones I know are far too numerous to list here. For example, before marriage young men keep must keep their face shaven clean. Afterwards they grow beards but never a moustache. Why? Because this symbolized (and still symbolizes) their objection to the military and to wars of conquest. The history of the Austrian Empire was filled with the various Hapsburg Emperors pressing the peasantry into their wars of conquest, and all the Prussian officers had moustaches. These people shaved theirs off to show their refusal to fight in such wars or put up with the religious harassment they were enduring, and this was a large part of why they left en masse and are now spread to almost every corner of the world with the exception of Europe (where they originally came from) and Central and South America where attempts to bring settlements have been largely unsuccessful. At last accurate accounting some 25 years ago, these people were in 44 countries.
     The harsh history of the Amish and Mennonites, and misunderstandings with the larger American society (and others) has instilled in them a certain sense of persecution and martyrdom, and is yet another reason they are filled with a feeling that they "must be ready to move on at any time." This is both ironic and regrettable since I know there are many "worldly" folk who would put their life on the line to protect them from any sort of persecution.
     These two Christian peoples (who even some of them have difficulty making a distinction between) are closely connected religiously and historically, dating their beginnings back to the Anabaptist ("Rebaptisers") movement in Switzerland in the early 1500's. They were located in Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands, all part of the once great Prussian Empire. They were founded as a Protestant Evangelical denomination in Zurich, Switzerland in 1525, and their principal tenets were promulgated during the "Conference of Faith" held at Dordrect, Netherlands in 1632. During the Reformation when Martin Luther and others were making their break with the Church in Rome, these people represented a third group and a third option, one which believed in the priesthood of all believers (no Pope is needed to interpret the Bible for everybody else), and with the belief that the church should be made up of baptized adults who voluntarily confess their own faith (generally, those having reached the age of accountability of somewhere around age 8 to 12 more or less - as opposed to automatic and unknowing baby baptism). The Southern Baptists of this country (like me) and these "plain" folk among us are exactly together on these two and all other basic Christian precepts and beliefs. But because of these differences, those of this third movement were harshly persecuted by both the Reformists and the Church of Rome. This caused the Amish and Mennonites to do as the early Christian church had done; separate themselves from both the world and the state. Their movement spread quickly and the Anabaptists (meaning "rebaptizers"), were put to death by the thousands. They had begun as educated urbanites but became a rural peasant movement as they fled to the hills, mountains and caves.
     One leader who did much to hold the fragmented movement together was Menno Simons, a Dutch priest from Friesland. His group were called "Mennoists" and later, "Mennonites." Menno was not autocratic, he shared leadership with others. The surviving founders of the Mennonite Church moved to America in 1683, forming the settlement of Germantown in Pennsylvania. There is some confusion among the ignorant and mis-informed between these people and the Society of Friends (Quakers), which are entirely and totally two different peoples and denominations. The Amish became a distinct group in 1693. A Mennonite named Jacob Amman from Alsace felt the church was loosing its purity and broke with the brethren to form a new fellowship. The debate centered around the question; "If a member is excommunicated, how severe should the censure be?"
     Both groups have since had numerous ruptures, always involving purity and faithfulness of the fellowship, and they both have always struggled with the paradox that without persecution to hold the faithful together, prosperity and social freedoms threaten them with disintegration and loss of identity. Most Amish, I am told by them, consider themselves to be more conservative than the Mennonites and generally this may be true. But I am compelled to say that my experience with the Mennonites of this area of Tennessee that the exact opposite seems true. For both groups the Bible is their guidebook for both their faith and their lives and they struggle mightily to find the right path through this life for their existence. Another book, The Martyrs Mirror which they also read and study, constantly reminds them of the sufferings of their ancestors and therefore it justifies their feelings that the world is against them and is not to be fully trusted. Two other books can be found in most of their homes; the Ausbund, their hymn book, and the Christenpflicht, their prayerbook. Among their publications is also an Amish/Mennonite “newspaper” named the Budget, published in Ohio, which serves to keep especially the lives of the larger community of plain folk in the south central U. S. informed and bound together in common news and business, religious, and family matters. Our Cane Creek friend Mary Miller writes a regular article in this publication, and she has also written a very interesting and informative account of their missionary work in Belize when she and husband Joseph and family lived there years ago.
     For all these reasons mentioned above, most of these people are opposed to serving in government in any capacity. They were the first to espouse the fabricated and erroneous concept of "Separation of Church and State" but only as applied to their own communities and traditions. The concept foisted on the American people by the unelected Liberal judges appointed by the Leftist,

socialist Democrat Party, seeks to remove every vestige of the acknowledgement of a God from all public places and public speech - a position inactively opposed by these plain people and in some measure of active opposition by other Christians everywhere. The Amish and Mennonites do not vote in public elections, and do not accept any form of government aid or welfare, knowing there are always strings attached which will put them at variance with their beliefs and way of life (e.g.., "vote for the Democrats"). They will not be a part of lawsuits nor will they join a labor union. They are very opposed to Social Security, not because they object to paying into it but because they are loath to accept money from it, and also because they believe they can provide for their old age better and more economically than can the government. They were among the first to oppose Slavery, and (correctly) believe that as a people of God, they have a calling to be separate from the world. They believe (also correctly) that the Christian way will not be chosen over the worldly ways, and this also undergirds their feelings of persecution. Many of these people however, believe they are the only true Christians, a position they know meets strong disagreement among other devout Christians everywhere, and therefore this position is almost never stated outside their own communities.
     They wear plain clothes more or less alike so that no one of them appears to set themselves apart from any other out of vanity or self-importance and so that they can more easily identify with each other as a people the world over. Plain, simple, and modest are the keywords. Most of their women cover their heads and do not have "hair-dos" for the same reasons, and their dark-colored dresses are long and buttoned at the neck for reasons of modesty, not wanting to tempt the menfolk with the sight of a finely formed calf or such like. They wear no makeup for these reasons also, none wear jewelry, and vanity is to be purged from all their lives completely.   Generally these people do not wish for their picture to be taken for many of all these reasons. The Colonial style "broadfall" pants and shirts of the men that I am most familiar with, do not have pockets in their belief that they should have no place for worldly things they might covet or need to be keep in them, and their coats do not have lapels. The "Beachy" Amish, overall, hold more strictly to the "old Order" dress codes. Most will not own or drive cars, nor use gasoline engines because of the complexity, dependency and disruption they bring into their lives.
     Did you ever stop to think of how much total money it takes to purchase, maintain, insure and operate a car? Or the unwanted exposure they bring? These "plain" folk have little need for money, but they would otherwise have to abandon their agrarian lifestyles and get a job just to pay the cost of a car to then hustle to and from work - to pay for the car itself. It is a vicious circle and so instead of something good gained, they lose much more than their identity when they take up driving cars and taking jobs, and the sight of this when it happens, makes me truly sad for their sakes. To most of them (and to me) this vicious circle and the debt, dependency, temptation and exposure it brings, makes no sense at all! They will not have radios or TV sets in their homes because of their bad influence, promoting laziness and the material things of life, not to mention the vanity, violence, lust, unrestrained and rampant sex, other despicable kinds of immorality, perverted lifestyles and foul language they teach children as well as adults. In this sense, they literally believe and incorporate into their lives the scriptural teaching that "if thy right eye offends thee, pluck it out."
     As to their transportation, it should be by foot, buggy or farm wagon as appropriate, as all know. Bicycles or any conveyance with rubber tires are shunned for the most part because they encourage traveling longer and farther, however some communities in Pennsylvania allow children rubber tired scooters, and a thin layer of rubber is increasingly allowable on the iron-shod wheels of the family buggy. Surprisingly there are over 100 varieties of buggies and a wide variance of belief as to what is proper about them, and try as they might there will be those who are more pleased with their fast and nice gaited buggy horse than others think they should be. They are only human. Some hold that full enclosures are proper, others that only a top is acceptable, others that no top at all in any weather is prerequisite, even to the exclusion of so much as an umbrella. To some any color but black or gray is outrageous. Even these people themselves are hard-pressed to keep up with all the traditions (Ordnung) that exist among them, except for those in their own community. Each community comes to terms with such things and are happy and content in them. They do not like having to use the same roads as automobiles as much as some narrow-minded others who complain about it. Thankfully such as what happened in Indiana is a rarity. Some miscreant youths threw a bottle from their speeding truck into a buggy and killed the couple's little baby.
    The Amish/Mennonite people support relief efforts around the world through their Mennonite Central Committee through which millions of dollars are dispensed to whoever is in need "in the name of Christ", and through the Mennonite Disaster Service when crews of volunteer Amish and Mennonites go throughout North America to help cleanup and rebuild, some staying as long as a year or until the work is done.  Among their educational undertakings, the Goshen College in Goshen, Indiana was established in 1894. They are basically a missionary people (as are all Christains according to Jesus' "Great Commission"). Communities will if they decide to, send delegates to a state-level conference to decide on and implement missionary activities.
     Here are some examples of some of the wide variation in their tradition and beliefs. To most "plain" folk the drinking of coffee, smoking a pipe, a cigar of tobacco of their own raising, or a hand-rolled cigarette, and the making and drinking of home-made table wine is both outrageous and "verboten". Yet in certain areas of Ohio and Pennsylvania, one can come across those who find one or more of these acceptable, and I personally have seen them all. My Cane Creek friends would not think of doing any of these things, yet many came from and have close relatives in these same places in Ohio (perhaps their reeason for leaving). I saw pipe-smoking in a Mennonite community not 35 miles from them here in Tennessee (which surprised me), and those use gasoline engines to power much of their equipment, which is also frowned on by some of my Cane Creek and Rutherford Creek friends. To the "plain" folk these are glaring extremes but there are so many small, subtle differences between these good people that it would take volumes to list them all. Yet the fact is that it is these things AND their differences and their feelings of persecution, along with their common Christian faith and heritage, which bind these gentle people together.
          My friend Doug Sims told me recently that a new group of families have settled near his homeplace a few miles out of Summertown, Tennessee between there and Hohenwald, Tn. He was glad of this, and said they are fitting in nicely, Doug having just come from attending one of their "get-togethers" for the benefit of one of them who had cancer. These families have apparently come from someplace in Ohio mostly, and are definitely "New Order". One family (who came first but then left the Cane Creek Community) has a van, and another uses a tractor. This to my knowledge is the first Mennonites in Tennessee to use a tractor, and it made me very sad to hear of it.
    I have never seen or been inside one of their church buildings. I believe I am correct in saying (at least among those I have known) that they have none. We "worldly" folk attach a "building" to the word "church", but in fact the biblical meaning of a church is a body of baptized believers with New Testament Christian beliefs who meet in their homes or someplace regularly to worship and sing praises to God, and to study and discuss the scriptures together. That is what Jesus meant when He said He is coming again for his "church", meaning His people, not a building or a particular denomination. Hence, they have "church" in their homes, usually at a different home each Sunday, with pews (benches) hauled in by wagon as needful. Their Preachers are not paid money, they feel called of God from amongst the other farmers to exhort the faithful, and otherwise live like everyone else. If this work takes too much of his time away from his farm work he is either "paid" by donations of farm produce or help with his farm work.   Foot-washing, as was listed at Dordrect, is practiced by some of the more devout Old Order among them as a means of achieving the proper attitude of humility and service to others which Jesus taught. This practice is still recognized and practiced today in the remaining active Primitive Baptist churches in America, mainly in the South. The observance of the Lord's Supper is also practiced but it is symbolic in nature, and not used as a sacrament as do the Catholics. The Southern Baptists hold this same position as do most Protestant denominations. These I know in Tennessee use no musical instruments at all, but in certain areas of Pennsylvania fiddles, guitars, harmonicas and banjos are used. All people are welcomed to their worship services, no one is ever excluded, but one problem as far as “worldly” people are concerned, is that many know that “Dutch” (German) is the language of the Mennonite services, not understandable to most, and therefore they do not visit. This hurts the Christian witness of the “plain folk and most are painfully aware of this. However, it should be made known that when visitors are present, and especially if asked, the service will be in English for their benefit. As a matter of information locally, I am told that the services in the one outreach Mennonite Church (at Summertown, Tn) are always in English, and all are invited to attend.
    Courtship is fairly secretive, but parents are usually very aware of any courtship, which takes place primarily at "singings", other social gatherings, and inter-family picnics, etc. Touching physically is forbidden. Engagements are short and marriages are usually after the harvest season. At weddings the bride has made her own plain white dress and she wears her black head covering for the last time (previously she wore white during the week and black on Sunday). The groom and other young men usually wear the traditional black suit, white shirt, black felt hat and black shoes, though there is variation here as well from area to area. There are scripture readings, sermons, and much singing, but otherwise the ceremony is like any other Protestant Christian wedding and with the same vows, except that there are no rings exchanged, no photographers present, and no kisses (in public). The rest of the day is spent in feasting, singing, and visiting. Marriage is for life, divorce is not an option (except for adultery - which is almost unheard of among them) and is otherwise unthinkable, and they quickly get about raising a big family, believing that no other expression of faith and love surpasses the care and nurture of children, and that it is God's will that they bring forth and populate the world with like-minded believers. They understand as well that there is no greater blessing nor provision for their security, fulfillment and happiness, especially in old age, than a large family of loving children. Amish and Mennonite children are raised with a profound sense of community, of who they are, of where they belong, of their place in their world and with the security of knowing they are treasured and loved. As in all Christian denominations, the husband is the "spiritual high priest" and the head of the family, but if the required caring, loving relationship is present it is difficult to see just who it is that has the last word.
     Do these people go to doctors and accept their treatments? Yes they do and contrary to what you may have heard they are not opposed to modern medicine. But home remedies, holistic practices, eating balanced meals and their active, healthy lifestyle is emphasized, and stand out.
     Do they believe in having fun? Of course they do, and it comes in many forms. Innovative handmade toys are enjoyed, they have Bible School with many activities, games of ball are played, table games like Rook, Canasta, and even Monopoly, etc., are played in different communities, and singings are enjoyed by all. Children play at most all the things any others do. Books however are sparse and there is little modern writings in their homes. Fun for the adults is in the form of the joy they experience in "get-togethers" such as firewood cutting, barn-raisings, sales, etc., or just simple visiting. Fun spontaneously happens when working together at their farm chores. This is always their most precious times of fun, and spontaneous singing can break out at any moment. I have seen 25 to 30 men and boys at "get-togethers" spontaneously break out into joyous songs of praise to God while going from farm to farm cutting firewood for the winter for those needing this help. It is true also that many adults believe that "too much fun" can happen if there is too much free time and chores are not properly attended to. Extreme gaiety and silliness in adults is absolutely frowned on, and they are expected to set an example of solemn and respectable deportment at all times. I might offer here, a word that may sound like undue criticism but is not so intended. I have seen almost no expressions of endearment between parents and children (or friends), such as a heartfelt hug or an arm around the shoulders. Plain folk do these things alright, but consider them to be private and not to be seen in public. I believe in hugging my children at every opportunity wherever we happen to be, and I will hug any friend or person who I feel needs one anyplace at any time, because I need a hug myself from time to time. And hugs I feel, cannot wait.
    Death is as difficult to bear for these people as for anyone, and their faith carries them through the bereavement in the same way as Christians anywhere. Simplicity and quietness governs all. There are no eulogies or praise of the deceased. The deeper the faith, the easier to bear. Bodies are embalmed as the local law requires but otherwise they handle all funeral arrangements themselves within their own communities. Coffins are usually handmade as in our early history with the style according to their local tradition; usually a plain box out of pine. The body lies in state in the home for viewing. There is a short graveside service and burial is in a hand-dug grave at their own cemeteries and many times on their own farms or in family cemeteries. As in life, no individual is elevated above another in death, and this means no flowers at the grave and just a simple gravestone. The Bible says we must "bear one another's burdens" and these people take this as literally as it is meant, whether in bereavement or getting together to replace a barn that has burned. Whole families remain with that of the deceased until they have helped them in acceptance and return to normal life. They oppose commercial insurance and usually are their own health, life and property insurance "company", which is generally governed by mutually agreed rules. They pay into it accordingly and dispensations are by committee determination.
     Homes are only as spacious as necessary, simple and unpretentious, utilitarian in design and layout, and with shades but no curtains and generally no floor coverings. The outside is painted white as a matter of reflecting the sun's rays and preservation of the wood. No painting is inside. Furniture is usually of their own making, their cookstoves are plain but of the best and latest airtight design and materials, and made mostly by the Amish themselves, the best ones being made by the Amish in Canada. We have one of these ourselves, (a "Baker's Choice") and it works like a charm, bakes fantastically, holds a fire a long long time, and is easy to regulate. It is a joy to cook on which we do all winter, keeping the house toasty warm in the process. Older cookstoves are moved to the back porch and used there for canning in the summertime. Refrigerators are seldom used by these people, and if they have one at all it is on the adsorption principle and runs on kerosene. Washers are usually hand-powered (the James type being preferred) or sometimes rigged up to a gasoline engine. Bathing facilities are indoors (in the creek in summertime, in a covering at all times) and toilets are outside away from the back of the house and of careful design and maintenance. There is usually gravity flow running water in the house from an overhead tank pumped there buy a hydraulic ram or windmill, or gravity flow from a spring. There is no electricity, lighting is by kerosene lamps or pressurized lanterns of efficient design. Kitchens are big and spacious, it being what we might otherwise call the "family room". All retire early and rise early in the mornings. The light of day governs, Daylight Savings Time is not observed. They go by "God's Time" all year round.
     Church leaders and their responsibilities are entwined with community responsibilities. There is usually a bishop who holds the greatest respect and therefore the most authority, and who performs the marriages, excommunications, baptisms, funerals and takes the lead in matters of faith and community.   Two or more ministers preach and counsel, and there are deacons who act in the same ways as the deacons of the Early Church of biblical times; i.e., they see to the needs of the families, help with marriage and funeral arrangements, make sure widows are cared for, etc. The ways these positions are filled are many, and vary from area to area, usually by several nominations by any church member and selections are after lots are cast several times. Amish and Mennonite churches are autonomous and are accountable only to their own flock, though there is much conferring among different bishops of different communities.
    Amish/Mennonite life is governed by traditions called Ordnung which are normally not written down but have been developed over many years, passed down my mouth, and are modified only rarely and then only at special meetings. Not only can they vary, but do indeed vary widely, but within limits, from community to community and from area to area.
    If one single activity could be pointed to as the cement that binds their lives and traditions together it is possibly the lost art of visiting. Dropping in on other families, visiting, cooking and sharing a meal together on a weekly basis is their way of life. They get their news this way, and othr special occasions are a joy to all. Quiltings, auctions, barn-raisings, birthday parties, picnics, sales, weddings and "sisters day" parties, etc., all bond them together in happiness and contentment. Six or seven men will get together to build a smaller building, shop or shed, and they call this a "frolic" because it means just about that to them in their own way, because this provides them a chance to be together. They are joyous and happy as they work at something beneficial to one of their friends. They help each other with things like butchering, hay bailing, planting, harvesting and preparing for a sale. The women help with canning, preparing food for get-togethers and visiting and helping widows, the sick, and the like. A monolithic circle of mutual help, love and fellowship would closely describe their way of life.
     I have heard it criticized of the Amish and Mennonites that they do not pay taxes. Such is said out of pure ignorance. They pay taxes just like anyone else, property taxes as well as school taxes (and in addition pay all expenses of their own schools). They pay sales tax, personal property tax, and where applicable, income tax. They also collect sales tax and remit it to the county and state as applicable like anyone who operates a business involving sales of manufactured goods or services. As to income tax they practice perfectly legal and desirable tax avoidance (as opposed to tax evasion) just like the rest of us - they are just a whole lot better at it than we are, due to their self-sufficient lifestyle. They barter amongst themselves with little need for money exchanges, and will barter anything for anything else of value with us "worldly" folk as well. If it ever gets to the point that the Socialists in our Government tries to levy taxes on us for swapping stuff, the end will surely be in sight.
     The Amish and Mennonites are overall the world's best farmers and this cannot be disputed. They love the soil and are close to it for reasons of simplicity and self-sufficiency of lifestyle, for humility, and for better adherence to the teachings of scripture. There are more productive, mechanized farms focused on specific crops and using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, but for all-around knowledge and practices, the average "plain" farmer stands head and shoulders above all. Harvest time is happy time. Getting in a good crop is one of the most pleasurable times of Mennonite life. It is hard work but it doesn't last too many days. It involves the gathering, processing, preserving (canning, curing, etc.), and storing of their produce, the sale of any excess, and then getting their land "laid by" for the next season. Food is not a part of their religion as some think, but it is a cherished and relished part of their lives. One side effect of their agrarian life and careful husbandry of the land over the years, is that many of them have become wealthy landowners. When asked as to the worst hindrance to their to their lifestyle, most would reply "affluence" just such as this. Like it or not, they are continually confronted with unintended worldly contradictions.
    If one wants to learn of healthy cooking and Mennonite recipes, the addition to your library of their 1976 publication More with Less, published by Herald Press (a Mennonite publisher), is a must. Children have responsibilities and are assigned chores. They will be seen happily helping at anything they are able to, from toddlers picking strawberries on up. Quick and active discipline when required, is administered on the spot by either parent or either grandparent. Bringing in the corn is usually the last chore of the harvest season, and the saying is "when the corn is in, the weddings begin."
     These good people "retire" early, in their late 40's usually, and yet they never retire, being always busy at something.   [It is my observation that there is no provision or mention of “retirement” in the Scriptures at all!] The mothers and fathers do all in their power to see their children set up and established, they turn all over to them and then try to step aside early and let the children take over in a setting such that they can early assume responsibility and begin raising their own children in an ordered setting where they have assumed the main responsibilities. Family farms are are held in joint ownership by the husband and wife and they are passed down in the family. The fathers then usually take up a second vocation such as wheelwrights, furniture-making, leather-working, harness-making, shoe repair, wagon/buggy making, equipment repairing, etc., which they then do at a slower pace, while the mothers continue with quilting, helping with gathering, canning and such. They will not, if at all avoidable, continue living in the same house with a married son or daughter, believing that it is an intrusion on their life and marriage. In most instances a second, smaller house will be built on the farm for them, but a few Mennonite retirement homes and villages do exist.
    I have also heard the complaints that the Amish and Mennonite people enjoy our freedoms but will not fight for them when the country is at war. There are those in this and many societies who view this position with both fear and suspicion. However this complaint is exaggerated in that many of them have and will actually fight (paraphrasing Jesus, He said, "If ye have no sword, sell your cloak and buy one."). The biography of WWI hero Sargeant York will explain. Of course Jesus meant for self-defense and the defense of others, but isn't that what all our wars are ultimately about, since we do not fight to subject any peoples or take territory? It is true that some of these "plain" folk will not use weapons to take a life in war due to their strict religious interpretations and New Testament convictions, but they will serve if required, as battlefield medics, and in any other non-combatant capacity, such as clerks, cooks, ministers, supply and equipment personnel, truck drivers, and the like. Some of our bravest and most decorated medics have historically been Amish and Mennonite medics. At any rate, I will fight in any of their places and do it gladly, and there are many that feel as I do, just in appreciation of the goodness they contribute to our society.
   Most people believe the Amish and Mennonites work extremely hard and very long hours, and some even feel sorry for them. This is simply not the case and unfounded. The pity is wasted. They actually, in my observation, work less than the average person who "works out" at some craft. They work steady when they work but not long and usually not hard, and I have yet to see one worried or in a hurry. The exception is a few days in the planting season and a few at harvest time, when long hours and some hard work is required. A leisurely two hour nap after dinner in their hardest season is more the norm however, not the exception. Indeed they work little if at all in the months between the planting and harvest seasons, and spend much time hunting, fishing, repairing their equipment, having "get-togethers" such as going house to house cutting firewood for the winter, having barn-risings and the like (these are as much happy social events as work). But they don't have tractors you say! Don't feel sorry for them. The mule does all the work, they just walk along behind (or ride), guiding him.
     Are these people dynamic and growing? Or, are they dying out? Without question they are dynamic and growing, with half of the worlds' Amish and Mennonite living in North America. The largest of them in the world is the Mennonite Church of North America, and surprising even to many "plain" folk, the fastest growing are the more strict "Old Order" of both groups. The Mennonite community in Lancaster County in Pennsylvania is the largest in the world and the second largest is the Amish community there. Holmes County in Ohio is the second largest Amish community, and it is instructive to note that Holmes County has the lowest unemployment rate of any in the state.  All communities loose some of their own from time to time, but as the decaying culture of the world and especially in the United States gains headway, the numbers of the Mennonite and Amish expand as disheartened and unfulfilled people recognize the problem and decide to take action and join them to escape the devastation of lazy, sinful, immoral, and godless lifestyles. The only place in the world that has lost in number is the most "Liberal" place in the world, the Netherlands. Indeed, in view of the on-going Liberal Democrat (Godless, Socialist) gains in this country with the active suppression of Christianity that is already much in evidence nationwide, I fear for their continued ability to live among us unmolested.
      I am Old Order in my heart personally, with regard to the scriptures and their application to daily life, and New Order when it comes to believing I must obey Jesus when He said that if we are called by His Name (Christians), we must bring His word to all we can. For these reasons I am deeply saddened when I see any of the Amish/Mennonite traditions broken, allowing the irrational and wicked ways of the world to creep into their communities.
     And so in conclusion I am compelled to say straight out right here, that there is one of their traditions I would like to see changed, and changed immediately before it is forever too late. These good people must wake up to the imminent danger of just what all is afoot in this nation and exercise their right to vote NOW! This November and in every National election! The hard fact is that the Amish and Mennonite people will not be able to remain aloof and unaffected. Indeed, it is them who will ultimately suffer the worst, since there is no other place in the world they can go that is less Socialistic than here.    The year 2000 presidential election was decided by less than 600 votes in a nation of 285 million people, and the 2004 election was decided by less than 100,000 in the state of Ohio! These Atheist Liberal Democrats who lost in 2000 after 8 consecutive years of power took God and prayer out of our schools over a period of years, and through their activist unelected judges they are now in the process of taking the Ten Commandments out of all our public places and any mention of God from our public speeches. They have promoted the heinous murder of millions of babies through the abortion approved and made legal by their Liberal supreme court judges, they champion and promote homosexual lifestyles and free sex in our public schools, they are working to get homosexual marriages approved nationwide, and the Islamic religion (whose bible, the Koran, directs them to treat all Christians as infidels to be killed on sight) is given more acceptance and freedom to practice it in our schools than Christians. We Christian, patriotic Americans must not sit by, allow ourselves to be governed by these avowed Socialists, and ultimately have to go into hiding to exercise our Christian beliefs - and we need the help of the Mennonite/Amish communities NOW, not later.
    What holds these people together is at the core, their belief in God and of God's personal love for them and His personal interest in their lives and their communities. This must continue to be so, and to be unmolested.
     Yes it is also true that these people are beset with many problems. Nor are they a perfect people. But I guess what I am trying to say is that until a better people comes along, they take the cake. They have a better, happier, more healthy, fulfilled, Godly, respectable and carefree life full of peace, well-being and contentment than any of the rest of us, and that is just a "plain" fact.
     More later.
                                                             ...© Emil T. Miller (Tony Miller)
                                                                                                                   (Click here for AUTHOR'S BIO)

A message to any and all of my Mennonite friends who read the above article:
If you believe I have erred, or failed in any way, to represent you and your people as accurately and fairly as possible in my above attempt to promote a better understanding and acceptance of you by the world at large, PLEASE do not hesitate to contact me with your concerns and/or corrections at this link below:

                             Links to more views of,
                                             and
    more Information about the Amish and Mennonite people:

NOTE: There are many websites now on the internet about these people, some with much misinformation. The best thing is to do is to go visit some of these good people, and get to know them. You can also do specific searches according to your questions by using a good search engine. My favorite is Google:

Just type in keywords of your interest or question after "Amish" or "Mennonite" I will give two to start you off:

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