The Caneyville Christian Community is an

Anabaptist Anabaptism (from New Latin language, Neo-Latin , from the Greek language, Greek : 're-' and 'baptism', german: Täufer, earlier also )Since the middle of the 20th century, the German-speaking world no longer uses the term (translation: "Re- ...

community, located in

Caneyville, Kentucky Caneyville is a home rule-class city in Grayson County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 608 at the 2010 census. Named for its location on Caney Creek, Caneyville had a post office by 1837 and a town charter by 1840 and was in ...

, living a

plain In geography, a plain is a flat expanse of land that generally does not change much in elevation, and is primarily treeless. Plains occur as lowlands along valleys or at the base of mountains, as coastal plains, and as plateaus or uplands ...

conservative lifestyle, true to the vision of former

Old Order Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), 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 church ...

bishop

Elmo Stoll Elmo Stoll (March 5, 1944 – September 2, 1998) was a former Old Order Amish bishop, writer and founder of the "Christian Communities". He was one of the few Amish who "have risen to prominence over the years".Kevin Williams, Lovina Eicher: ''Ami ...

. G. C. Waldrep classifies them as " para-Amish". Among Anabaptists the community is often simply called "Caneyville".

History

In 1990 the "Christian Communities" were founded in

Cookeville, Tennessee Cookeville is the county seat and largest city of Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was reported to be 34,842. It is recognized as one of the country's micropolitan areas, or smaller ...

, by

, a former bishop of the Old Order Amish in

Aylmer, Ontario Aylmer is a town in Elgin County in southern Ontario, Canada, just north of Lake Erie, on Catfish Creek. It is south of Highway 401. Aylmer is surrounded by Malahide Township. History In October 1817, John Van Patter, an immigrant from New ...

. Stoll's aim was to create a church mostly modeled on the Amish, but with community of goods and without the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and Official language, official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Ita ...

and other obstacles in order to help Christian

seekers The Seekers, or Legatine-Arians as they were sometimes known, were an English dissenting group that emerged around the 1620s, probably inspired by the preaching of three brothers – Walter, Thomas, and Bartholomew Legate. Seekers considered all ...

from a non-plain background to integrate into a very plain, low technology Christian life without materialism. He was successful in establishing a community, but without community of goods, and soon many people from

Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), 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 ...

Old Order Mennonite Old Order Mennonites (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania German: ) form a branch of the Mennonite tradition. Old Order Movement, Old Order are those Mennonite groups of Swiss people, Swiss German and south Germans, German heritage who pract ...

and

German Baptist Brethren German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

backgrounds, but also - as intended -

joined his community. In addition, the "Christian Communities" soon spread to other locations in the United States and Canada. Elmo Stoll was the charismatic leader of the communities who held them together. After Elmo Stoll's early death in 1998, disunion started among the "Christian Communities". Bryce Geiser, who has a

German Baptist The Schwarzenau Brethren, the German Baptist Brethren, Dunkers, Dunkards, Tunkers, or sometimes simply called the German Baptists, are an Anabaptist group that dissented from Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Reformed tradition, Reformed European stat ...

background, replaced Elmo Stoll as the leader of the "Christian Communities", but he could not hold together all the different people from different backgrounds. In 2001 the five congregations of the "Christian Communities" announced that they would disband the Cookeville community and the movement as a whole. That led in the end to the disbanding of two of the five "Christian Communities", while two others joined the

Noah Hoover Mennonite The Noah Hoover Mennonites, called "Old Order Mennonite Church (Hoover)" by the Mennonite World Conference, and sometimes called " Scottsville Mennonites”, are a group of very plain Old Order Mennonites that originally came from the Stauffer Menno ...

s and one affiliated with an Amish group from

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. In 2004 Bryce Geiser, Andrew Hess and Aaron Stoll, a son of Elmo Stoll, started anew and founded the Christian Community at

, in order not to give up Elmo Stoll's vision.

Customs and belief

Caneyville is an Old Order community, meaning that they use horses and buggies instead of cars, dress Plain and do not use electricity, computers, cell phones and other modern conveniences.

Internal combustion engine An internal combustion engine (ICE or IC engine) is a heat engine in which the combustion of a fuel occurs with an oxidizer (usually air) in a combustion chamber that is an integral part of the working fluid flow circuit. In an internal combus ...

s are also not used, but

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

s instead. They use wood stoves, which the community makes, and many things are propane powered, as is the custom among many

. The community makes a living mainly from

market gardens A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to som ...

and the manufacture of wood stoves. They still adhere to Elmo Stoll's vision. Donnermeyer and Anderson describe the Community as follows:

Population and communities

There are about 15 families at the Caneyville Christian Community, living on a property. The members do not all have an Old Order background, but come from

, and "seeker" backgrounds. Caneyville established a daughter community near

Brownsville, Kentucky Brownsville is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Edmonson County, Kentucky, Edmonson County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the county seat and is a certified Kentucky Trail Town. The population was 836 at the time of t ...

, some away.

Publishing

A bi-monthly pamphlet, called "Plain Things", is published by the Caneyville Christian Community.

References

{{reflist, 2

Literature

* Jeff Smith: ''Becoming Amish: A Family's Search for Faith, Community and Purpose'', Cedar, MI, 2016, pages 157-176. * Bryce Geiser: ''The Christian Communities: A Brotherhood of Covenant and Commitment'', in Old Order Notes 20, (Spring Summer 2000), pages 7–22. * Bryce E. Geiser: ''What Does SIMPLE LIVING Have To Do With CHRISTIANITY?'' published by Caneyville Christian Community, 1142 Choncie Lee Road, Caneyville, KY 42721 ithout date * George Calvin Waldrep: ''The New Order Amish And Para-Amish Groups: Spiritual Renewal Within Tradition'', in

The Mennonite Quarterly Review ''The Mennonite Quarterly Review'' is an American interdisciplinary review journal, devoted to Anabaptist and Mennonite history, theology, and contemporary issues. History, circulation and operations Published continuously since its concepti ...