John Schmid (born 1949) is an American country and folk singer and songwriter who is popular among the

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 ...

and

Old Order Mennonites Old Order Mennonites ( Pennsylvania German: ) form a branch of the Mennonite tradition. Old Order are those Mennonite groups of Swiss German and south German heritage who practice a lifestyle without some elements of modern technology, who still ...

. He sings songs both in English and in Pennsylvania German. He is especially popular in the

Holmes Holmes may refer to: Name * Holmes (surname) * Holmes (given name) * Baron Holmes, noble title created twice in the Peerage of Ireland * Chris Holmes, Baron Holmes of Richmond (born 1971), British former swimmer and life peer Places In the Uni ...

/ Wayne Amish settlement in Ohio where he lives. He may be the "only man ever to write songs in Deitsh". He is not a native speaker of Pennsylvania German, but learned it at a young age from classmates. According to Ira Wagler, author of the best selling book "Growing Up Amish", he speaks "flawless PA Dutch". He grew up north of

Fredericksburg, Ohio Fredericksburg is a village in Salt Creek Township, Wayne County, Ohio, United States. The population was 423 at the 2010 census. Fredericksburg was platted in 1824 by Jacob Frederick, and named for him. Geography Fredericksburg is located at ...

in a not very religious family, but as a young adult he became a Christian. Soon after their wedding in 1980 John and his wife Lydia moved to

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

working as teachers and hosting a house for visiting missionaries. He also was a youth minister in association with Latin America Mission and later, Young Life. In 1990 music became a full-time calling for him. In the beginning he did mostly prison-ministry journeys with his songs. According to his website, "In a typical year, John ministers in more than 50 prisons, 30 churches, four to five camps, six evangelistic crusades, 40 banquets, a street fair or two, several weekend seminars, as well as numerous concerts and living rooms," particularly in Ohio, Indiana, and Florida. He has recorded 24 CDs, three of them entirely in Pennsylvania German. He sings popular Pennsylvania German songs like "Mei Vadder un Mudder sinn Deitsch" and " Schnitzelbank". He is an admirer of

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

and has sung many of his songs. He lives with his wife Lydia in Berlin, Ohio and has three grown children.''Conversations with John Schmid''
at amishleben.com

Literature

* Denice Rovira Hazlett: ''John Schmid - Finding Common Ground through Uncommon Kindness'' in Just Plain Values, pages 6–24, September 201

References

External links

Common Ground Ministries
Official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Schmid, John 1949 births Living people 20th-century American singers 20th-century Anabaptists 21st-century American singers 21st-century Anabaptists American Anabaptists American acoustic guitarists American country singer-songwriters American folk guitarists American folk singers American male guitarists American male singer-songwriters American performers of Christian music 20th-century American guitarists People from Berlin, Holmes County, Ohio Guitarists from Ohio Country musicians from Ohio 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers Singer-songwriters from Ohio