A

Amish

★938★

Beachy Amish Mennonite Churches

9650 Iams Rd.
Plain City, OH 43064

A split in the Pennsylvania Amish was occasioned by the refusal of Bishop Moses Beachy to pronounce the ban and avoidance on some former Old Order Amish who left to join a Conservative Mennonite congregation in Maryland. The conservative element withdrew fellowship with the bishop, who then, with his supporters, separated and formed a new association. The Beachy Amish have become more accommodating to modern culture. Churches have been built, and in recent years, the automobile has been allowed, as are tractors and electricity. Missionary-aid work for needy people has become a project in contrast to the strictly separatist Old Order group.

Membership: In 1996 the Beachy Amish reported 8,399 members, 138 congregations, and 425 ministers.

Periodicals: Calvary Messenger.

Sources:

Yoder, Elmer S. The Beachy Amish Mennonite Fellowship Churches. Hartville, OH: Diakonia Ministries, 1987.

★939★

Conservative Mennonite Conference

℅ Ivan J. Miller
9910 Rosedale Milford Center Rd.
Irwin, OH 43029

With the development of the Old Order Amish Mennonite Church in the last half of the nineteenth century as a branch of the Amish Mennonite Church in North America, and the development of annual Amish Mennonite Conferences, with propensity toward Mennonite Conferences, some congregations did not fully follow either of the two approaches. Some of these congregations became associated and in 1910 met in an initial conference held in Pigeon, Michigan. They adopted the name Conservative Amish Mennonite Conference. Amish was dropped from the name in 1954. Changes that were accepted in 1910 or in the ensuing decades included the use of meeting houses, Sunday schools, protracted meetings, English language services, and missionary endeavors.

The Conference's Statement of Mission reads, "The Conservative Mennonite Conference exists to glorify God by equipping leaders and congregations for worship, teaching, fellowship, service, and making disciples by providing resources and conference structures with an evangelical, Anabaptist, and conservative theological orientation." The Conference's Internet address is http://www.cmcrosedale.org.

Membership: In 2002 the Conference reported 10,429 members in 106 congregations. Congregations in the United States are located as far east as Delaware, as far west as California, south to Texas and Florida, and north to upstate New York and northwestern Ohio. The larger congregations are in Indiana and Ohio.

Educational Facilities: Rosedale Bible College, Irwin, Ohio.

Rosedale Mennonite Missions, Irwin, Ohio.

Sources:

Miller, J. Ivan. History of the Conservative Mennonite Conference, 1910-1985. Grantsville, MD: Ivan J. and Della Miller, 1985.

★940★

Evangelical Mennonite Church

1420 Kerrway Ct.
Fort Wayne, IN 46805

The Evangelical Mennonite Church was formed in 1866 out of a spiritual awakening among the Amish in Indiana, and was first known as the Egly Amish, after its founder Bishop Henry Egly (1824-1890). A preacher in an Amish congregation in Berne, Indiana, Egly underwent a spiritual experience in 1864 and began to emphasize regeneration, separation, and nonconformity to the world. His willingness to rebaptize anyone who had been baptized without repentance created a split in his church, prompting him to gather a new congregation in 1866. The conference, which has met annually since 1895, united a number of other congregations of like mind. This group adopted the name The Defenseless Mennonite Church in 1898, and became known as the Evangelical Mennonite Church in 1948.

Membership: In 2001, the church reported 5,278 members, 35 churches, and 7 ministers, 81 in the local churches. Total of 137 which includes ministers in the local church ministry in other types of work, missionaries and retired ministers. Average Sunday morning attendance 10,347.

Periodicals: EMC Today.

Sources:

Nussbaum, Stan. A History of the Evangelical Mennonite Church. The Author, 1980.

★941★

Old Order Amish Mennonite Church

Pathway Publishers
Rte. 4
Aylmer, ON, Canada N5H 2R3

The Old Order Amish are in practice the continuation of the original Amish who settled in America. They are strictly conservative and may be identified by their horse-and-buggy culture. The men must grow beards but moustaches are forbidden. The plain dark blue, gray, brown, or black suit for men and bonnet and apron for women are uniforms. Buttons are used on men's shirts and pants, but none are allowed on suit coats, vests, or coats. Marriage with non-Amish is forbidden.

The society is a rural community in which church life and everyday life are not separated. Symbolic of their life are the Amish barn raisings in which the congregation gathers to build a member's barn, usually in several days. Worship is held in the homes of the members every other Sunday on a rotating basis. During the three-hour service, the congregation is divided according to sex and marital status.

Schooling beyond the "3R's" is frowned upon within the church, and prior to a Supreme Court ruling in 1972 trouble with various state governments (such as Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio) became a major cause of immigration to more lenient states (such as Missouri). Ministers are chosen by lot from a nominated few. Since this is not a missionary church, new members generally come into the community from the children of members. In the last generation there have been converts, some highly educated, and recent studies have shown that approximately eight percent of the present membership is made up of descendents of such converts.

Membership: Not reported. In 2002 there were approximately 60,000 members in the United States and 900 in Canada. No statistics are kept. The total Amish population is estimated at 200,000, but only adults are baptized and full church members.

Periodicals: The Diary. Send orders to PO Box 98, Gordonville, PA 17529. • Die Botschaft. Send orders to 200 Hazel St., Lancaster, PA 17601. • The Budget. Send orders to 134 N. Factory St., Sugarcreek, OH 44681. • Herald der Wahrheit. Send orders to 2010 110th St., Kalona, IA 52247. • Blackboard Bulletin. • Family Life. • Young Companion. All available from Rte. 4, Aylmer, ON Canada N5H 2R3.

Sources:

Amish Life in a Changing World. York, PA: York Graphic Services, 1978.

Browning, Clyde. Amish in Illinois. The Author, 1971.

Hoestetler, John A. Amish Society. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1968.

Kraybill, Donald B., and Carl F. Bowman. On the Backroad to Heaven: Old Order Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish, and Brethren. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001.

Rice, Charles S., and Rollin C. Steinmetz. The Amish Year. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1956.

Schreiber, William I. Our Amish Neighbors. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962.