The Elmendorf Christian Community (or Elmendorf Hutterite Colony) is an independent Anabaptist community of

Hutterite Hutterites (german: link=no, Hutterer), also called Hutterian Brethren (German: ), are a communal ethnoreligious branch of Anabaptists, who, like the Amish and Mennonites, trace their roots to the Radical Reformation of the early 16th century ...

tradition. Even though the majority of the members are ethnic Hutterites, there are also members from different other backgrounds in the community. They are located in rural Mountain Lake, Minnesota. As of 2016 the ministers are Gary Wurtz and Dwayne Wipf and the manager is William Wurtz.

History

The history of Elmendorf Christian Community goes back to the times of the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and ...

, when

Anabaptists Anabaptism (from Neo-Latin , from the 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-baptizers"), considering it biased. ...

under the leadership of Jakob Hutter established

community of goods Common ownership refers to holding the assets of an organization, enterprise or community indivisibly rather than in the names of the individual members or groups of members as common property. Forms of common ownership exist in every economi ...

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The m ...

in the 1530s. After a long and complicated history of migrations in

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic connotations. The vast majority of the region is covered by Russia, whic ...

, Hutterites arrived in America in 1874, forming three communities, that practiced community of goods, of which one was Bon Homme Colony, the mother colony of all

Schmiedeleut The Schmiedeleut, also Schmiedeleit, are a branch of the Hutterites that emerged in 1859. It is divided into two subgroups. Name The founder of the Schmiedeleut, Michael Waldner (1834–1889), was a blacksmith and therefore called "Schmied Mi ...

Hutterites. Because of population growth, Hutterite colonies frequently branch out to form new colonies. Upland Hutterite Colony in

Letcher, South Dakota Letcher is a town in Sanborn County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 159 at the 2020 census. Letcher has the name of O. T. Letcher, a local landowner. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total ...

, branched out in 1994 to form the Elmendorf Community. Upland had branched out of Spring Valley Hutterite Colony, located at Wessington Springs, South Dakota in 1988, Spring Valley had branched out of Platte Colony in 1964, and Platte had branched out of Bon Homme in 1949. In 2003 Elmendorf was excommunicated from

affiliation with the Hutterites and became an independent colony. It was soon followed by Altona, which was always in good standing with Elmendorf. In 2006 Elmendorf Christian Community started a new community, named Detention River Christian Community, formerly known as Rocky Cape, between Smithton and Wynyard on the Australian island of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. In 2013/14 they started another new community, named Grand River, near the town of Jamesport in Missouri.''First Hutterite Colony in Missouri Moves Here'' at The North Missourian
/ref>

Customs and belief

Belief

The doctrine of the Elmendorf Christian Community does not differ markedly from the doctrine of other Old Order or Conservative

. Like other Hutterites, they believe in and practice

and separate from the world

Plain dress

They reject fashions of the world in clothing and hair styles and the wearing of jewelry. Women are expected to wear long hair and to keep it covered and not to wear trousers. Men and women are expected to dress in a "simple uniform way".Elmendorf Christian Community: ''What We Believe and How We Live''
/ref> In practice their Plain dress is similar to the dress of other Schmiedeleut Hutterites.

Restriction on technologies

Like other Hutterites they have only few restrictions on technology, they mainly forbid public television and do not have internet in private homes, but in a common computer room at the colony. They pool their ownership of cars because they live in a community of goods.''Elmendorf Hutterite Colony (Mountain Lake, Minnesota, USA)'' at Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online
/ref> They operate their own website.

Openness to outsiders

The Elmendorf Christian Community is much more open to outsiders, so-called

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 ...

, than all other Hutterite communities. They welcome all visitors for at least one visit but "subsequent visits of an extended or indefinite duration should be petitioned for and arranged."

Affiliation

They are affiliated with the Altona Christian Community at

Henderson, Minnesota Henderson is a city in Sibley County, Minnesota, United States. The population in was 886 at the 2010 census. History Henderson was founded in August 1852 by Joseph R. Brown, and was named for his mother's maiden name. By 1855, Henderson ha ...

, and with the Fort Pitt Farms Christian Community. Elmendorf branched out to form Detention River Christian Community (formerly known as Rocky Cape) in Australia and Grand River Christian Community in

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

.''Peter Hoover’s Newsletters'' at scrollpublishing.com
/ref> They do not belong to one of the four established ''Leut'' (branches) of ethnic Hutterites and therefore it is not totally clear if they should be seen as Hutterites. Sometimes Elmendorf and Altona are listed as independent Schmiedeleut colonies and Fort Pitt an independent

Dariusleut The Dariusleut, also Dariusleit, are a branch of the Hutterites that emerged in 1860. History Russian Empire In 1859, Michael Waldner and Jakob Hofer (1830–1900) successfully reestablished a community of goods among some Hutterites in Hutte ...

colony, because this is where they originally came from. The ''2016 Hutterite Directory'' of the James Valley Hutterite Colony lists Elemendorf along with Altona, Fort Pitt, Grand River and Detention River as "Independent" Hutterites. These same five "Independent" Hutterite colonies compose a group of Hutterites known as the Hutterite Christian Communities, which Elmendorf is associated with.

Population

In 2014 there were altogether some 170 people living in the two communities, Elmendorf and Grand River. In 2016 there were some 160 people living in Elmendorf, some 50 in Grand River and some 25 in Detention River.

References

External links

* {{Hutterite Colonies, state=expanded Anabaptism Christian communities Hutterite communities in the United States Intentional communities in the United States