Segment 2: AMISH Life in the area
The Amish are a religious group
whose roots come from the Reformation period of the 1400-1500’s.
an Anabaptist minister named Menno Simons
became concerned that the Anabaptist congregations were becoming too worldly
and were being drawn into the religious wars of the period, furthermore he felt
some of his flock were trying to pass themselves off as members of the other
religions so they would be left alone….
Menno’s answer to this was a code
of strict UNIFORM NON-CONFORMITY, followers of Menno soon became obvious by
their different clothing, hair style, beards and other outward behavior which
were NON-CONFORMIST, and these people were soon known as MENNONITES.
About 150 years later a young
Mennonite minister, Jacob Ammon, became concerned that his fellow Mennonites
were not being strict enough in their Uniform-Non-Conformity and were dressing
too much like regular 1600s people! He demanded dress so obviously different
that no one would mistake the non-conformity of his members. Jacob was a strong
preacher and soon a following of men and women who identified with his strong
views of pacificism, strict dress code that was obviously non-conformist and
behavior that focused on extended family living, not what we today call the
nuclear family became separate from the other Mennonites.
These different
looking and acting people demanded adherence to the old ways their ancestors had
lived and soon became targets for the larger populations that thought them
strange! They were followers of Jacob Ammon and gradually became known as
“AMISH”’.
About this time, in the late
1600s-Early 1700s, Wm Penn who had founded the colony of Pennsylvania on the
promise of religious freedom sent representatives to Europe inviting those
suffering from religious persecution to come to his Colony and settle the vast
lands! When some of the Amish heard this offer, they figured, Why Not, and
began the migration to Pennsylvania and the lands surrounding Wm Penn’s Colony!
It is thought that the first Amish arrived on a Dutch ship and when
disembarking the locals coined the term “Pennsylvania Dutch” to describe the
strange looking people and the language they spoke.
Donna Justen
2019-07-25
We have been lucky enough to visit there too. Beautiful country! We leave Sat. for NC where we will visit the Amish there too. How about that? Have noticed you were gone and wondered just last evening why there was no blog yet. Have a great time, or glad you had a great time!