The Pennsylvania Dutch

1. The Pennsylvania Dutch May 7th 3:30pm-5pm Host: Michael

2. The Amish Working the fields Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that ye may prove what is good and acceptable and the perfect will of God." (Romans 12:2)

3. Be not conformed… • The Amish society has little, if any, desire to participate in our modern world, doing so only when necessary. However, because of songs such “Amish Paradise,” movies such as “Witness,” and the huge Amish tourist industry, each Amish person accounts for $30,000 dollars per year in tourist revenue most of us know some basic facts about the Amish.

4. “Weird Al” Yankovic’s Amish Paradise

5. Witness (1985)

6. For example, we know that they are very religious people. • We know that they dress in a particular way with clothes that look old-fashioned to us. The Amish refer to this mode of dress, and living, as “plain.” Amish Youths

7. We know they do not use electricity or drive cars. • We know that they do not like to have their picture taken. Amish, Intercourse Pennsylvania

8. We know they tend to live in certain areas of the country, such as Pennsylvania and Ohio. • And, we know that family plays an extremely important role in their culture. Amish Family

9. But beyond these basic facts, the Amish remain a mystery to most of us and questions still remain such as: • Why can the children use roller blades but not bicycles? • Why will the Amish ride in cars but not own nor drive them? • Why can they use calculators but not computers? • And, is it true that some of the Amish have adopted some items from our modern world, such as computers and televisions?

10. Historical Background of the Amish • In 1517, Martin Luther led the Protestant Reformation and the breaking away from the Catholic Church. Finally fed up with the many scandals and the general corruption in the Church, after 1,000 years of uninterrupted rule. One of his complaints was the sale of indulgences to finance the building of Rome's St Peter's Cathedral.

11. Anabaptists In Zurich Switzerland, a group of students and craftsmen became impatient with the slow progress of reform. They thought that: • Christian practices should be based more in Scripture • Baptism should occur only after a person is able to recognize sin • There should be more separation between church and state In 1525 the students petitioned the local church and civil authorities for change. When their appeals were rebuffed, they baptized each other in a secret meeting and the Anabaptist movement was born. Anabaptist means “re-baptize". Church and state authorities recognized this new movement as a threat to their institutions. They quickly declared that the Anabaptists, also known as the Swiss Brethren, were heretics and moved to stamp them out. The Amish history of persecution began.

12. Less than five months after they had rebaptized themselves, a member of the Anabaptists was executed for sedition against the government. Anabaptist being burned alive

13. Dirk Willems (? - 1569) was a martyred Anabaptist who is most famous for, after his escape from prison, turning around to rescue his pursuer, who had fallen through thin ice while chasing him. Compassion for the enemy

14. Despite the persecutions, the movement grew and spread throughout Sweden, the Netherlands, and Germany. • However, the persecutions also continued and increased. Over the next two centuries, thousands of Anabaptists would be killed for their religious beliefs. Special “hunters” would even be trained to seek them out, torture, and kill them.

15. The persecutions continued in various forms and gradually subsided in the 18th century. By then, thousands of Anabaptists had sought refuge in other countries, including America. • Today the stories of the early days of the Amish religion are contained in the Martyr’s Mirror, originally printed in 1660. The Martyr’s Mirror is one of the Amish’s most beloved books from which they draw strength to continue in their faith and beliefs.

16. Another Anabaptist, Michael Sattler, was sentenced to “be delivered to the executioner, who shall cut out his tongue, then throw him upon a wagon, and tear his body twice with red-hot tongs; and after he has been brought without the gate, he shall be pinched five times in the same manner” After the torture, Sattler was burned at the stake.

17. John Menno and Jakob Amman • In 1537, a former Catholic by the name of Menno Simons joined the Anabaptists. His followers would come to be known as Mennonites and some of them would later settle in the Alsace region of modern-day France. One of these men would be Jakob Amman, who, in the 1690s, began to have problems with Mennonite and Anabaptist doctrine.

18. The church had drifted from many of its original ways, Amman declared, becoming too lenient in the process. He called for reform and renewal within the Mennonite and the Anabaptist church. • Some of the problems he had with the church revolved around communion. Amman thought that communion should be held twice a year instead of the annual service that was then being held. He also contended that foot washing should be part of the communion service; something the Mennonites had drifted away from.

19. He also disagreed with the manner of excommunication of those who disobeyed church doctrine. Amman argued that not only should they be cast out of the church, but they should also be shunned in social circles as well, with true believers breaking off all contact with them. • Amman began to have open disagreements with the Swiss Anabaptist bishop, Hans Reist. These disagreements came to a head the day that Amman and his followers excommunicated Reist and other leaders of the church.

20. Despite later efforts to heal this breach, the damage had been done and Amman’s followers split from the Mennonite church in 1693. They would later come to be known as Amish, named after Jakob Amman. • After the split, Amman followers adopted their own doctrine that included, among other things, prohibitions against trimming of beards, “fashionable” dress, and the use of buttons. Amman’s followers would forgo the use of buttons, utilizing hook and eyes instead. They often referred to the Mennonite church they had left as the “button people.”

21. Amish Genealogy

22. 1710-1732 - Immigration to America • Another benchmark in Amish history came when some Amish decided to join other suppressed religious groups and seek freedom in America. William Penn, himself a Quaker, was granted a tract of land in America to form a colony. Penn’s Woods became known as the great religious freedom experiment in the new world. • Penn invited many persecuted religious groups to Pennsylvania where he promised religious freedom. Some Mennonites had been in the new world since before the Amish- Mennonite split in 1693. Between 1710 and 1732 several groups of Mennonites settled near present-day Lancaster.

23. Settling in Pennsylvania • The Amish were but a small part of a large group of German speaking peoples that settled Southeastern Pennsylvania. English soon identified this whole group as Pennsylvania Dutch. This term comes from the word “Deutsch” which means “German”. • They were a diverse group with many political and religious beliefs. They eventually developed their own regional dialect which was also referred to as Pennsylvania Dutch.

24. These loosely organized communities were subject to Indian raids, droughts and crop failures. As time went on, some communities failed. But the Amish didn’t accept failure. They just moved on and tried again and again until they found somewhere compatible with their Amish lifestyle. New Amish communities were formed as more and more Amish immigrated to Pennsylvania.

25. 1816 - Post War of 1812 This second wave of Amish settled in: • Butler, Fulton, Stark and Wayne Counties in Ohio • Adams, Allen and Daviess Counties in Indiana • Woodford and Tazewell Counties in Illinois • Henry and Washington Counties in Iowa • Lewis County in New York • Somerset County in Pennsylvania • Waterloo and Perth Counties in Ontario

26. Amish Demographics • There are over 250,000 Amish people living in over 28 states. • About two-thirds of the Amish live in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, but they continue to spread west, particularly into the Midwestern corn belt. • Every 20 years, the Amish population roughly doubles in size, largely due to an 80 to 90 percent retention rate of Amish children.

27. Amish Past and Present

30. Old Order Amish • It is the picture of the Old Order Amish with their plain clothes and buggies that comes to most people’s mind when they think Amish. • The Old Order Amish today have deviated little from the regulations established by Jakob Amman over 300 years ago. Old Order Amish at a horse auction

31. They still dress plain, do not use electricity, do not own or drive cars, do not have telephones in their homes, and forbid the use of most modern farm equipment, including air-filled tires. • In an Old Order Amish home, all lighting is supplied by candle or oil and gas lamp. Bottle-gas appliances are acceptable under the Ordnung. The Ordnung, a verbal standard that the Amish live by, will be discussed in detail later.

32. However, look inside an Old Order Amish cow barn and you will find a modern automated milking system with refrigerated tanks. Because the Amish must trade with the outside world to survive, they must conform to modern health and agriculture laws mandated by the various federal, state and local agencies. Thus, the modern equipment is necessary. However, it is all powered by gas generators, not electricity. Old Order Amish with farm equipment

33. Old Order Amish follow strict clothing regulations. Men wear black suits without lapels or buttons, white or blue shirts, black suspenders, black shoes or boots and broad-brimmed hats in black felt or natural straw. Old Order women wear a frock type dress of mid-calf to ankle length with black stockings, an apron, black shoes or boots, black cape, and either a white "prayer cap" (if baptized) or a black hood. • Only solid colors are worn, with darker colors favored over lighter ones. The idea behind the dress code is not only that it sets them apart from the world, but that is also eliminates pride and envy.

34. Men crop their hair, and wear beards, if married, but not mustaches as they are associated with the military. • Women do not cut their hair but wear it tied in a bun on their head, which is always covered once she is baptized. Amish women

35. The Old Order Amish make their own clothes, although they do purchase the fabric. Hats, suspenders, and shoes can be bought ready-made. • The buggies they drive vary according to purpose. The “family” buggy will always be covered. Young people drive open buggies, such as the one in the photo above. Young Amish out for a ride

36. Old Order Amish use High German for church services, and their Bibles are also printed in High German. All Amish can speak English, but they use a form of Low German amongst themselves in everyday activities. • The name they give to those outside their order, the “English,” is not viewed by the Amish as derogatory, but simply refers to the language used most often by the world outside the order.

37. New Order and Beachy Amish • The important thing to remember when studying the Amish is that there are many variations within the culture. Some are more strict then others in matters of religion and society codes. Adherence varies from affiliation to affiliation: some allow one thing while banning another.

38. For example, the New Order and Beachy Amish vary greatly from the Old Order in daily life, but not in religious practice. • The New Order Amish are more progressive than the Old Order but still restrictive in the use of modern items. They use telephones in their homes, allow air operated equipment, electrical generators, bicycles, and gas pressurized lights.  They also allow the use of rubber air-filled tires, milking machines and milk bulk tanks. However, horses are still mandated for field work and transportation. They do not own or drive cars.

39. The Beachy Amish have telephones, more modern clothing, and utilize modern farm equipment. They are also are allowed to own and drive cars and meet for worship in meeting houses instead of private homes. All but six of the Beachy districts now use English in their worship instead of German. They refer to their churches as fellowships and maintain just enough centralization to maintain the sense of congregationalism that is so highly valued by all Amish.

40. There are approximately 150 districts of Beachy Amish. They have fellowships in America, Latin America, Africa, Australia, and parts of Europe. They are considered by many in the Amish and Mennonite communities to be a combination of both groups • The New Order Amish are found almost exclusively in Ohio and Pennsylvania.

41. Both groups still hold to the Ordnung, like the Old Order, but in varying degrees. • Both groups also differ from the Old Order in the issues of Meidung (avoidance), Streng-Meidung (strict banning): what we today refer to as shunning. • The New Order and the Beachy Amish practice, for the most part, avoidance and not total shunning, like the Old Order.

42. Amish Religious Life • Amish are Christians, with all traditional Christian beliefs in the Divinity of Christ, the Trinity, salvation, etc. • The Ordnung, roughly translated it means order, is a set of oral laws that regulates all aspects of Amish society, from religion to family life. It is not something that is written down, instead all Amish “just know it, that’s all”

43. The Ordnung is something that all Amish grow up with and learn by observing adults and their behavior. • In some aspects of life, the Ordnung is very specific, such as in the case of how hair should be worn. Other areas, such as food issues, are more open to individual interpretation.

44. New issues are constantly being addressed in the Ordnung as technology advances. It was recently decided that transplanting cow embryos was not to be allowed but that battery operated calculators could be used. • However, unless a practice begins to cause problems within the community, or is something that would obviously be forbidden, it is usually either overlooked or not addressed within the Ordnung.

45. Exemptions are made in some cases. A mental challenged child may be allowed to have a bicycle, for example, or a family with medical problems may be allowed to connect to electricity to run needed medical equipment.

46. Examples of Practices Prescribed by the Ordnung: • color and style of clothing • hat styles for men • order of the worship service • kneeling for prayer in worship • marriage within the church • use of horses for fieldwork • use of Pennsylvania German • steel wheels on machinery

47. Examples of things prohibited by the Ordnung • air transportation • central heating in homes • electricity from public power lines • entering military service • jewelry, including wedding rings and wrist watches • joining worldly (public) organizations • owning computers, televisions, radios • using tractors for fieldwork • wall-to-wall carpeting

48. Amish are typically baptized around the age of nineteen to twenty two. Baptism is viewed as a vow that the person agrees to submit to the church, the community, and the Ordnung. • Worship services are held every other Sunday in homes of members. The services traditionally last three hours, starting around 8:00am, lasting until 3:00pm with the meal that follows.

49. Men and women enter the house through different doors and sit separately for worship and eating. • Except in some New Order or Beach Amish districts, services are held in High German. • The worship service usually consists of fellowship, followed by congregational singing, a sermon, prayer, reading of Scripture, another sermon, more prayer, and a benediction. A meal is served afterward.

50. Who will preach is not decided until that morning: this precludes any feelings of pride. However, only ordained men are allowed to preach. • There is no music, offering, cross, candles, or any other items likely to be found in a modern worship service. The Amish worship as they live: simply. • Sunday is considered holy; a day when no work is to be done or money transacted. Even those few who smoke refrain from doing so on Sunday.