The Plain People
Kathie Fetveit
, Simple, sincere, fun-
loving, devoted to
family, generous,
faithful,
loyal, hard-working –
these are the Amish! Many
are unaware that they
have a lovely community
is tucked away in a
valley and within plain
view of the majestic
Cabinet Mountains ten
miles outside of Libby,
Montana. Last month,
Robert and I had the
privilege of presenting
an
Elijah House Seminar at
their Amish Community
Church. It was our very
first visit and we didn’t
know quite what to
expect!
People tend to judge what
they don’t understand, so
the Amish have
been the brunt of jokes,
ridicule, rejection and
persecution for many
generations. Just to give
you a short history
lesson, I found this on
Google at PaDutch.com:
“The Plain People trace
their origin back to the
Protestant
Reformation in Europe,
where there was an
emphasis on returning to
the
purity of the New
Testament church. In
1536, a young Catholic
priest
from Holland named Menno
Simons joined the
Anabaptist movement. His
writings and leadership
united many of the
Anabaptist groups, who
later became known as
“Mennonites.”
One of the teachings of
the Amish faith is called
the ban or shunning.
This is based on the New
Testament command not to
associate with a
church member who does
not repent of his sinful
conduct. The purpose
of this discipline is to
help the member realize
the error of his ways
and to encourage his
repentance, after which
he would be restored to
church fellowship.
This excommunication was
at first only applied at
the communion table.
However, the followers of
Jacob Amman felt the
unrepentant individual
should be completely
shunned or avoided by all
church members. This
belief, along with other
differences, led to
Amman’s split with the
Mennonites in 1693. His
followers were later
called Amish.
These Anabaptist groups
were severely persecuted
throughout Europe.
Thousands were put to
death as heretics by both
Catholics and
Protestants. To avoid
this persecution many
fled to the mountains of
Switzerland and southern
Germany. Here began the
Amish tradition of
farming and holding their
worship services in homes
rather than churches.
Many Amish and Mennonites
accepted William Penn’s
offer of religious
freedom as part of Penn’s
“holy experiment” of
religious tolerance.
They settled in what
later became known as
Pennsylvania. The first
sizable group of Amish
arrived in Lancaster
County in the 1720’s or
1730’s.
Today, the Amish can be
found in 23 states here
and in one Canadian
province. Their
settlement in and around
Lancaster County is their
second largest. Because
of their large families,
the total Amish
population has more than
doubled since 1960 to
over 85,000. Very few
of their children leave
the church.
Old Order Amish women and
girls wear modest dresses
made from
solid-colored fabric with
long sleeves and a full
skirt (not shorter
than half-way between
knee and floor). These
dresses are covered with
a cape and apron and are
fastened with straight
pins or snaps. They
never cut their hair,
which they wear in a bun
on the back of the
head. On their heads they
wear a white prayer
covering if they are
married and a black one
if they are single. Amish
women do not wear
jewelry.
Men and boys wear dark-
colored suits, straight-
cut coats without
lapels, broadfall
trousers, suspenders,
solid-colored shirts,
black
socks and shoes, and
black or straw broad-
brimmed hats. Their
shirts
fasten with conventional
buttons, but their suit
coats and vests
fasten with hooks and
eyes. They do not have
mustaches, but they grow
beards after they marry.”
The Amish feel these
distinctive clothes
encourage humility and
separation from the
world. Their clothing is
not a costume; it is an
expression of their
faith.
Lloyd and Mary Etta
Miller are the pastors of
this group which has
grown to 20 households
plus other local
families. The Millers
roots
are from the farmland of
northern Indiana. In 1975
they moved from
there to Montana. Then in
1992 they, along with
another family,
decided to make their
home on 800 acres near
Libby. They are log home
builders and the beauty
of their skill and
creativity can be seen in
all of their homes,
barns, outbuildings and
the Meeting Hall, where
they worship on Sundays.
The warm welcome we
received made us feel
right at home. When we
arrived, there was a
delicious smell of
freshly baked whole-wheat
bread from the oven.
Three of the Miller’s
nine children played
happily in the next room.
They eyed us cautiously
with shy grins, but
we easily made friends
with them before sitting
down with the whole
family to enjoy a
delicious home cooked
meal.
In January, the Millers
had come to Elijah House
to meet Mark Sandford
and us and to plan the
seminar. They said, “We
need help!” Their
“spiritual father” in
Switzerland knew John
Sandford, and had
encouraged them to
connect with us to
receive healing in their
community. In 1995 the
Libby community began to
experience the Holy
Spirit’s ministry. Many
members began to realize
that God wants them
to have a deeper
experience of the faith.
Relationship with God
should
be more than just obeying
rules and traditions—it
should be a living,
vital, personal
fellowship with a loving
Father who longs to set
us
free to joyfully love and
obey Him! They longed for
this kind of
freedom in Christ.
Four years ago they made
the decision to go from
horse and buggy to
motorized vehicles. Their
whole identity as an
Amish Community was in
jeopardy as they
struggled to find the
balance between
maintaining the
good aspects of their
traditions while
embracing the new.
Sometimes
the old and the new are
in direct opposition to
each other. At times,
there have been clashes
between those who felt
committed to their old
traditions and those who,
like the Millers and
others, wanted to walk
in more spiritual freedom
in the areas of dress,
music and creativity.
At the seminar in
February, the people
soaked up the teaching
like
sponges. We taught them
about bitter roots and
how they defile us and
others, how to be healed
from shame, how shame,
fear and control can
be an enemy stronghold to
keep us in bondage, how
to be healed from
wounds of rejection, and
the importance of
honoring the Holy Spirit.
We confirmed to them
something that others
have prophesied to them
as
well, that God has called
them to be a healing
community. In talking
with several of the
individuals, we sensed
their hearts of love and
compassion. One morning,
our host family told us
about a call she had
received the previous
night. A young woman
phoned her from a motel
in
Libby. She had randomly
chosen the church’s phone
number out of the
phone book. This stranger
was calling out of
desperation for prayer
and proceeded to pour out
her hurting heart to our
precious Amish
sister on the other end
of the line! We all felt
the incident was
further confirmation that
their community will be a
place of “refuge”
for those looking for
help and healing.
The seminar ended on
Sunday, but one of our
Elijah House Prayer
Ministers arrived that
afternoon and stayed
until the following
Saturday to counsel and
pray for anyone who
wanted personal ministry.
She took 30 appointments
that week! Healing is
happening in the Amish
Community!
On March 10-14 Elijah
House along with
Restoring the Foundations
sponsored a free “Turning
Point” Retreat for
wounded and burned out
pastors and leaders.
Thirty-two pastors and
leaders from various
backgrounds and cultures
attended the retreat at
Ross Point Bible
Camp, including three
from the Libby Amish
Community. More healing
happened, and they are
being equipped with tools
to help others. An
added bonus was how
warmly they were welcomed
by pastors from many
different denominations.
We are so blessed by our
relationship with the
Amish community in
Libby. They are truly our
brothers and sisters in
Christ. They are
family.
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