The Amish Way by Donald B. Kraybill, Steven M. Nolt, David L. Weaver-Zercher Page A
Book: The Amish Way by Donald B. Kraybill, Steven M. Nolt, David L. Weaver-Zercher
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individual privacy and personal freedom unassailable rights. Only a strong church community can make such a countercultural way of life possible or even thinkable. In the next chapter we venture further into the center of Amish church life and explore, among other things, how rules and standards are established.
CHAPTER FOUR
Joining Church
A person inside the church actually has more freedom, more liberty, and more privilege than those outside.
—AMISH MINISTER
H ave you seen this? Is this true?” asked our Amish friend Jesse. He had sent us a newspaper column on a survey reporting that about half of all Americans changed religious affiliation during their lives, and that many people changed their religion or religious denomination more than once. The article included quotations from “church hoppers,” people who had switched churches looking for a worship style that matched their tastes, or programs that better fit their family’s needs. 1
Our friend was genuinely surprised. His Amish sensibilities led him to expect the world to be faddish, so the concept of church hopping was not startling. He was taken aback, however, that a mainstream newspaper columnist’s critique would so closely mirror his own, that she would suggest that Christians “should submit to the authority of a church and not just walk away in the face of conflict.”
Church hopping is hardly an option for Amish church members. For them, joining church is a lifelong commitment to God to participate with a particular group of people in a particular place. Those people and that place in Amish life is the Gmay —what other traditions call a local congregation or a parish.
People, Not Steeples
Driving through an Amish area, you won’t see any Amish churches. That’s because there aren’t any. In fact, the Amish rarely use the German word Kirche , which suggests a church building. Instead, they use the Pennsylvania German word Gmay , a short form of Gemeinde or community, for both the local congregation and its worship services. Amish families gather for worship and fellowship in the homes of church members, underscoring their conviction that the church is a group of people, not a building or a meeting place.
The Gmay gathers every other Sunday morning, and households take turns hosting the services, which rotate around to all the homes with sufficient space. Members of the Gmay live within geographic boundaries known as the church district, often a square mile or two, but sometimes larger. For better or worse, a family’s address determines its district, which means that changing churches isn’t an option unless the family moves to a different district.
Each Gmay has its own set of leaders. Typically the bishop, the spiritual leader, performs the most important rituals, including baptisms, weddings, and funerals. The bishop is the only member who brings proposals for the congregation’s consideration and action. Two ministers assist him, especially with preaching. The deacon helps the other leaders and coordinates material assistance for members with special financial needs.
A district typically includes twenty-five to forty households, usually 130 to 175 people. About 40 percent of them are baptized members, and the rest are children and unbaptized teenagers. When the number of people grows too large for them to gather in members’ homes—as children are born or new families move into the area—the district divides and forms two new ones.
Thus congregations have a similar number of members. There are no Amish megachurches, and no communities of worship where some members know only a few others. Because members live near one another, the Gmay includes kin and close neighbors who often see one another throughout the week. This is the body to which Amish people commit themselves. Here they hold membership, and here they are held accountable for their conduct.
Certainly
CHAPTER FOUR
Joining Church
A person inside the church actually has more freedom, more liberty, and more privilege than those outside.
—AMISH MINISTER
H ave you seen this? Is this true?” asked our Amish friend Jesse. He had sent us a newspaper column on a survey reporting that about half of all Americans changed religious affiliation during their lives, and that many people changed their religion or religious denomination more than once. The article included quotations from “church hoppers,” people who had switched churches looking for a worship style that matched their tastes, or programs that better fit their family’s needs. 1
Our friend was genuinely surprised. His Amish sensibilities led him to expect the world to be faddish, so the concept of church hopping was not startling. He was taken aback, however, that a mainstream newspaper columnist’s critique would so closely mirror his own, that she would suggest that Christians “should submit to the authority of a church and not just walk away in the face of conflict.”
Church hopping is hardly an option for Amish church members. For them, joining church is a lifelong commitment to God to participate with a particular group of people in a particular place. Those people and that place in Amish life is the Gmay —what other traditions call a local congregation or a parish.
People, Not Steeples
Driving through an Amish area, you won’t see any Amish churches. That’s because there aren’t any. In fact, the Amish rarely use the German word Kirche , which suggests a church building. Instead, they use the Pennsylvania German word Gmay , a short form of Gemeinde or community, for both the local congregation and its worship services. Amish families gather for worship and fellowship in the homes of church members, underscoring their conviction that the church is a group of people, not a building or a meeting place.
The Gmay gathers every other Sunday morning, and households take turns hosting the services, which rotate around to all the homes with sufficient space. Members of the Gmay live within geographic boundaries known as the church district, often a square mile or two, but sometimes larger. For better or worse, a family’s address determines its district, which means that changing churches isn’t an option unless the family moves to a different district.
Each Gmay has its own set of leaders. Typically the bishop, the spiritual leader, performs the most important rituals, including baptisms, weddings, and funerals. The bishop is the only member who brings proposals for the congregation’s consideration and action. Two ministers assist him, especially with preaching. The deacon helps the other leaders and coordinates material assistance for members with special financial needs.
A district typically includes twenty-five to forty households, usually 130 to 175 people. About 40 percent of them are baptized members, and the rest are children and unbaptized teenagers. When the number of people grows too large for them to gather in members’ homes—as children are born or new families move into the area—the district divides and forms two new ones.
Thus congregations have a similar number of members. There are no Amish megachurches, and no communities of worship where some members know only a few others. Because members live near one another, the Gmay includes kin and close neighbors who often see one another throughout the week. This is the body to which Amish people commit themselves. Here they hold membership, and here they are held accountable for their conduct.
Certainly
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