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Weavertown Amish Mennonite Church is a Beachy Amish Mennonite congregation located in the village of Weavertown, between the somewhat larger villages of Bird-in-Hand and Intercourse in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
Weavertown shares a history with the churches known as Old Order Amish, and its origin is rooted in issues very important to the Old Order Amish church community of the 1890s. The fundamental issue behind the church division which led to the formation of the Weavertown church was disagreement with the Amish practice of Streng Meidung, the shunning or social avoidance of individuals who had left Amish church fellowship to join other churches. This Streng Meidung was an important issue long before more obvious secondary issues like acceptance or non-acceptance of automobiles, electricity, tractors, central heating, or telephones became significant distinguishing characteristics. On shunning, some Amish felt that it was wrong to pronounce strong social excommunication for what amounted to changes of church membership. Others maintained that church membership was a lifelong commitment, and that the Streng Meidung was a reasonable response toward one forsaking that commitment. In 1910, a group of Old Order Amish church members (about 85 people in 35 families, representing about one-fifth of Old Order Amish membership in Lancaster County at that time) who strongly disagreed with the practice of Streng Meidung commenced meeting as a group somewhat distinct from the rest of the Old Order Amish; this group eventually became the Weavertown Amish Mennonite Church.
The first church services of the group had been held on September 29, 1909, though no ordained ministers were present. The break with the Old Order Amish began on February 27, 1910, when bishops from outside the community were invited to ordain ministers for the new church. This may have occurred at the home of George W. Beiler, near the village of Gordonville, Pennsylvania. Worship services were conducted on alternating Sundays in homes of members, as the Old Order Amish still do today. However, in the fall of 1909, the first meetings were held every three or four weeks. The church group was at first called the Peachey Church (sometimes the Peachey Old Order Church) after an influential preacher and organizer, Samuel W. Peachey, and later the Crist King Church (sometimes the Crist King Old Order Church) after an early bishop, Christian L. King. Christian King separated from the church in 1925, whereupon the church was called the John A. Stoltzfus Church after its new bishop. At this time, church members were very similar to the Old Order Amish in appearance and practice; there was little difference between the two until the new group gradually began to accept the use of telephone and electricity. Use of automobiles was first permitted in 1928. A meeting house, originally built by the Old German Baptist Brethren in 1888, and later part of the Church of the Brethren, was acquired around 1930. The location of the meeting house contributed a permanent name to the congregation: though the building had been named the Bird-in-Hand Church House, it was located nearer the village of Weavertown: from that time, both the building and the people came to be known as the Weavertown Amish Mennonite Church.
Weavertown church members still dress somewhat plainly and distinctively. Women wear the prayer covering, married men grow beards, and members do not make use of broadcast television or radio in their homes or cars. Acceptance of electricity, telephone, central heating, field tractors, and automobiles, however, marks them as quite distinct from the Old Order Amish. In matters of belief, however, except for the difference about the practice of Streng Meidung or shunning, they are quite alike. Amish churches are generally not evangelistic, nor do they generally embrace doctrines like the assurance of salvation, and on these points they are also different from the Weavertown congregation.
Church services at the Weavertown Amish Mennonite Church had been conducted exclusively in High German and Pennsylvania Dutch until 1966; since then services have been conducted in English. Congregational singing has always been unaccompanied by musical instruments. Youth generally attend high school and occasionally college. Youth from the Weavertown church have served terms of voluntary service in Germany, South America, Central America, northern Canada, and various areas of the United States, and generally tour for a week each summer as a choral group.
The term Beachy Amish was first used after a similar Amish church division occurred in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, in 1927. In that case, the church opposed to the Streng Meidung came to be called Beachy after their bishop, Moses M. Beachy. In 1950, the Weavertown church was welcomed into full fellowship with the Somerset County and other Beachy congregations. Churches in that group are frequently called Beachy Amish, though in Lancaster County, the term Amish Mennonite is still more common. They have similarities to the Conservative Mennonites.
As of 1996, there were 92 Beachy Amish congregations in the U.S., eight in Canada, one in Costa Rica, two in El Salvador, four in Belize, two in Paraguay, and one in Ireland. Missionary work continues in all the countries named, and also in Kenya and Uganda. 7,238 baptized members were counted as of 1990. Particulars of dress, acceptance of technology, and use of German vary greatly from congregation to congregation. All congregations honor the Schleitheim Confession of 1527 and the Dordrecht Confession of Faith of 1632 as summaries of Christian doctrine and practice.
Because of growth of the Weavertown congregation, three daughter congregations have been established over the years: two in Lancaster County — Pequea (pronounced "peck way") Amish Mennonite Church in 1962, and Mine Road Amish Mennonite Church in 1969; another daughter congregation was established in Washington County, Pennsylvania, in 2000. Other Amish Mennonite churches in Lancaster county include Gap View Amish Mennonite Church, Summitview Christian Fellowship, and Westhaven Amish Mennonite Church.
Membership of the Weavertown congregation in 1990 was about 110 households, with 220 baptized members. Weavertown Mennonite School is across the street from the church. Sunday church services include Sunday School at 9:00 AM and a worship service starts at 10:00 AM. The church has a strong tradition of hospitality and welcomes visitors.
Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radical Reformation, Simons articulated and formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders, with the early teachings of the Mennonites founded on the belief in both the mission and ministry of Jesus, which the original Anabaptist followers held with great conviction, despite persecution by various Roman Catholic and Mainline Protestant states. Formal Mennonite beliefs were codified in the Dordrecht Confession of Faith in 1632, which affirmed "the baptism of believers only, the washing of the feet as a symbol of servanthood, church discipline, the shunning of the excommunicated, the non-swearing of oaths, marriage within the same church", strict pacifistic physical nonresistance, anti-Catholicism and in general, more emphasis on "true Christianity" involving "being Christian and obeying Christ" however they interpret it from the Holy Bible.
Plain people are Christian groups characterized by separation from the world and by simple living, including plain dressing in modest clothing. Many Plain people have an Anabaptist background. These denominations are largely of German, Swiss German and Dutch ancestry, though people of diverse backgrounds have been incorporated into them. Conservative Friends are traditional Quakers who are also considered plain people; they come from a variety of different ethnic backgrounds.
The Nebraska Amish, also called Old Schoolers, are a relatively small affiliation of the Amish. They are the most conservative subgroup of Amish, indicated not only by their use of technology but also by their particular style of dress. They emerged in 1881 as a conservative split from the Byler Amish, who themselves emerged as the first conservative splinter group from the Amish mainstream in 1849.
The Rosedale Network of Churches is a Christian body of Mennonite churches in the Anabaptist tradition. Rosedale Network of Churches was originally formed in 1910 by a group of Amish Mennonites to promote unity while preserving autonomy of the local congregation.
The New Order Amish are a subgroup of Amish that split away from the Old Order Amish in the 1960s for a variety of reasons, which included a desire for "clean" youth courting standards, meaning they do not condone the practice of bundling during courtship. Tobacco and alcohol are also not allowed. They also wished to incorporate more evangelical elements into the church, including Sunday school and mission work. Some scholars see the group best characterized as a subgroup of Old Order Amish, despite the name.
Moses M Beachy was the founding bishop of the Beachy Amish Mennonite churches in 1927 and a former bishop in the Old Order Amish churches.
Amish Mennonites came into existence through reform movements among North American Amish mainly between 1862 and 1878. These Amish moved away from the old Amish traditions and drew near to the Mennonites, becoming Mennonites of Amish origin. Over the decades, most Amish Mennonites groups removed the word "Amish" from the name of their congregations or merged with Mennonite groups.
The Stauffer Mennonites, or "Pikers", are a group of Old Order Mennonites. They are also called "Team Mennonites", because they use horse drawn transportation. In 2015 the Stauffer Mennonites had 1,792 adult members.
The Beachy Amish Mennonites, also known as the Beachy Mennonites, are an Anabaptist group of churches in the Conservative Mennonite tradition that have Amish roots. Although they have retained the name "Amish" they are quite different from the Old Order Amish: they do not use horse and buggy for transportation, with a few exceptions they do not speak Pennsylvania Dutch anymore, nor do they have restrictions on technology except for radio and television. In the years 1946 to 1977 a majority of the Beachy Amish incorporated certain elements of revivalist practice, such as the preaching of the New Birth. The traditionalists who wanted to preserve the old Beachy Amish ways then withdrew and formed their own congregations. Today they are known as Midwest Beachy Amish Mennonites or Old Beachy Amish.
The Amish, formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptist Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsatian origins. They are closely related to Mennonite churches, a separate Anabaptist denomination. The Amish are known for simple living, plain dress, Christian pacifism, and slowness to adopt many conveniences of modern technology, with a view neither to interrupt family time, nor replace face-to-face conversations whenever possible, and a view to maintain self-sufficiency. The Amish value rural life, manual labor, humility and Gelassenheit.
Conservative Mennonites include numerous Conservative Anabaptist groups that identify with the theologically conservative element among Mennonite Anabaptist Christian fellowships, but who are not Old Order groups or mainline denominations.
Amish religious practices are reflective of traditional Anabaptist Christian theology. The Old Order Amish typically have worship services every second Sunday in private homes. The typical district has 80 adults and 90 children under age 19. Worship begins with a short sermon by one of several preachers or the bishop of the church district, followed by scripture reading and prayer, then another, longer sermon. The service is interspersed with hymns sung without instrumental accompaniment or harmony. This is meant to put the emphasis on what is said, not how it is being said. Many communities use an ancient hymnal known as the Ausbund. The hymns contained in the Ausbund were generally written in what is referred to as Early New High German, a predecessor to modern Standard German.
Over the years, as Amish churches have divided many times over doctrinal disputes, subgroups have developed. The "Old Order Amish", a conservative faction that withdrew in the 1860s from fellowship with the wider body of Amish, are those that have most emphasized traditional practices and beliefs. There are many different subgroups of Amish with most belonging, in ascending order of conservatism, to the Beachy Amish, New Order, Old Order, or Swartzentruber Amish groups.
The Weaverland Conference, also called Horning Church or Black-bumper Mennonites, is a Christian denomination of Old Order Mennonites who use cars.
The Renno Amish, also called Beachy Amish or "black toppers" are a subgroup of Amish that was formed in 1863 in Mifflin County, Pennsylvania. They are the moderately conservative Old Order Amish group in Kishacoquillas Valley, locally called Big Valley, but still relatively conservative compared with the Amish of other regions.
The Eastern Pennsylvania Mennonite Church and Related Areas is a Church of Conservative Mennonites organized in 1969 as conservatives withdrew from the Lancaster Mennonite Conference. As of 1996 it was the largest Conservative Mennonite group.
The Old Beachy Amish or Old Beachy Amish Mennonites, also called Midwest Beachy Amish Mennonites, are a Plain, car-driving Beachy Amish group, that preserves the old ways of the Beachy Amish including the German language. They live in Kentucky and Illinois. They are part of the Amish Mennonite movement in a broader sense, but they are not an organized denomination.
The Kauffman Amish Mennonites, also called Sleeping Preacher Churches or Tampico Amish Mennonite Churches, are a plain, car-driving branch of the Amish Mennonites whose tradition goes back to John D. Kauffman (1847–1913) who preached while being in a state of trance and who was seen as a "sleeping preacher". In 2017 the Kauffman Amish Mennonites had some 2,000 baptized members and lived mainly in Missouri and Arkansas. In contrast to other Amish Mennonites they have retained their identity over the last hundred years and also largely the Pennsylvania German language and other Amish Mennonite traditions from the late 1800s.
The New Order Amish Fellowship or New New Order Amish, most commonly called New Order Christian Fellowship, is the most progressive affiliation among the New Order Amish. Because some scholars see the New Order Amish just as a subgroup of the Old Order Amish, the New Order Christian Fellowship is thus the most progressive affiliation among the Old Order Amish. In spirituality, they are close to Beachy Amish. Their use of horse and buggy transportation and their preservation of the German language distinguishes them from the Beachys, except for the Old Beachy Amish who have also retained the German language but drive cars.