Groffdale Conference Mennonite Church
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The Groffdale Conference Mennonite Church, also called Wenger Mennonites, is the largest
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 ...
group to use horse-drawn carriages for transportation. Along with the automobile, they reject many modern conveniences, while allowing electricity in their homes and steel-wheeled tractors to till the fields. Initially concentrated in eastern
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Lancaster County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Lengeschder Kaundi), sometimes nicknamed the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the south central part of Pennsylvania. ...
, their numbers had grown to 22,305 people resided in eight other states as of 2015. They share the pulpit with the
Ontario (Old Order) Mennonite Conference The Ontario (Old Order) Mennonite Conference is a moderate Old Order Mennonite group in the Canadian province of Ontario, that was formed in 1889 as a reaction to modernizing trends among the Mennonites in Ontario. The members use horse and buggy fo ...
but have some differences in
Ordnung The Ordnung is a set of rules for Amish, Old Order Mennonite and Conservative Mennonite living. '' Ordnung'' () is the German word for order, discipline, rule, arrangement, organization, or system. Because the Amish have no central church governme ...
.


History

The Groffdale Conference Mennonites have their roots in the
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- ...
movement of
Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and Southwest Germany, including the German-speaking
Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
, that came under French rule starting in the 17th century. In the first two centuries or so this movement was known by the name Swiss Brethren but later adopted the name
Mennonite 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 Radic ...
.


Anabaptist beginnings

The early history of the Mennonites starts with the Anabaptists in the German and Dutch-speaking parts of central Europe. These forerunners of modern Mennonites were part 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 in ...
, a broad reaction against the practices and theology of the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. Its most distinguishing feature is the rejection of infant
baptism Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost inv ...
, an act that had both religious and political meaning since almost every infant born in western Europe was baptized into the Roman Catholic Church. Other significant theological views of the Mennonites developed in opposition to Roman Catholic views or to the views of other Protestant reformers such as
Martin Luther Martin Luther (; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, theologian, author, hymnwriter, and professor, and Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. He is the seminal figure of the Reformation, Protestant Refo ...
and
Huldrych Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland, born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swiss mercenary system. He attended the Unive ...
. Some of the followers of Zwingli's
Reformed church Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...
thought that requiring church membership beginning at birth was inconsistent with the
New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
. They believed that the church should be completely removed from government (the proto–
free church A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions fr ...
tradition), and that individuals should join only when willing to publicly acknowledge belief in
Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
and the desire to live in accordance with his teachings. At a small meeting in Zurich on January 21, 1525,
Conrad Grebel Conrad Grebel (c. 1498 – 1526), son of a prominent Swiss merchant and councilman, was a co-founder of the Swiss Brethren movement. Early life Conrad Grebel was born, probably in Grüningen in the Canton of Zurich, about 1498 to Junker Jak ...
,
Felix Manz Felix Manz (also Felix Mantz) (c. 1498 – 5 January 1527) was an Anabaptist, a co-founder of the original Swiss Brethren congregation in Zürich, Switzerland, and the first martyr of the Radical Reformation. Birth and life Manz was born an ...
, and
George Blaurock Jörg vom Haus Jacob (Georg Cajacob, or George of the House of Jacob), commonly known as George Blaurock (c. 1491 – September 6, 1529), was an Anabaptist leader and evangelist. Along with Conrad Grebel and Felix Manz, he was a co-founder ...
, along with twelve others, baptized each other. Despite strong repressive efforts of the state churches, the movement spread slowly around western Europe, primarily along the
Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , so ...
. Officials killed many of the earliest Anabaptist leaders in an attempt to purge Europe of the new sect. In the early days of the Anabaptist movement,
Menno Simons Menno Simons (1496 – 31 January 1561) was a Roman Catholic priest from the Friesland region of the Low Countries who was excommunicated from the Catholic Church and became an influential Anabaptist religious leader. Simons was a contemporary o ...
, a Catholic priest in the
Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
, heard of the movement and started to rethink his Catholic faith. In 1536, at the age of 40, Simons left the Roman Catholic Church. He soon became a leader within the Anabaptist movement, and was wanted by authorities for the rest of his life. His name became associated with scattered groups of nonviolent Anabaptists whom he helped to organize and consolidate.


Migration to North America

In the 18th century, about 100,000 Germans mainly from the Palatinate emigrated to Pennsylvania, where they became known collectively as the
Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ), also known as Pennsylvania Germans, are a cultural group formed by German immigrants who settled in Pennsylvania during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. They emigrated primarily from German-spe ...
. Of these immigrants, around 2,500 were Mennonites and 500 were Amish. These two groups settled mainly in southeast Pennsylvania, many of them in the Lancaster and adjacent counties. During the Colonial period, Mennonites were distinguished from other Pennsylvania Germans in three ways: their opposition to the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
, in which other German settlers participated on both sides; resistance to public education; and disapproval of religious revivalism. Contributions of Mennonites during this period include the idea of separation of church and state, and opposition to slavery. From 1812 to 1860, another wave of Mennonite immigrants from Europe settled farther west in
Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
,
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
and
Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...
. These Mennonites, along with another wave of Amish, came from Switzerland, Southwest Germany and the Alsace-Lorraine area.


Old Order Movement

The Groffdale Conference has its roots in the Old Order divisions, that occurred in Indiana in 1872, and in
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Lancaster County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Lengeschder Kaundi), sometimes nicknamed the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the south central part of Pennsylvania. ...
, in 1893, over the question of
English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...
preaching,
Sunday School A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...
s and other questions. The trigger for the split in Lancaster County was a quarrel about a pulpit that was to be installed in church instead of the traditional preacher's table. The modernizing trends that changed the form of religious practice were pushed among the Mennonites especially by two men:
John F. Funk John Fretz Funk (April 6, 1835 - January 8, 1930) was a publisher and leader of the Mennonite Church. Funk published the ''Herald of Truth'' from 1864 until 1908 when it merged with the ''Gospel Witness'' to form the ''Gospel Herald''. Jacob Clemen ...
and John S. Coffman. The Groffdale Conference Mennonites still call modernized Mennonites ''Funkeleit'', that is Funk people. The traditional minded people left the old conferences to form new ones, not the modernizers.''Old Order Mennonites''
at Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online.


The emergence of the Groffdale Conference

The Groffdale Conference arose in 1927 at the conclusion of a seventeen-year disagreement within the Weaverland Old Order Mennonite Conference, over use of the automobile. Five hundred of the more traditional members of the Weaverland conference, about half of the congregation, formed this group in order to retain horse-drawn transportation. The name of the conference comes from the Groffdale churchhouse where Joseph O. Wenger led the first worship services.


Further history

The John W. Martin Mennonites, a group of
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 ...
s from
Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
, merged with the Groffdale Conference in 1973. In 1974 a new settlement in Yates County, New York, was started. It grew quickly and steadily and with a population of more than 3,000 in 2015 it was almost as large as the Lancaster County settlement. The Wenger Mennonites ("Joe Wengers", "Wengerleit", "Fuhre Mennischte") or Groffdale Conference Mennonites experienced several smaller splits during their history: * 1942: Dozens of members refrained from communion because of the CPS issue, later several more conservative Old Order groups were founded or joined by these people: directly founded: Reidenbach Mennonites, joined: Phares Stauffer Pike Mennonites, then the new formed Aaron Martin Pike Mennonites and further groups in Snyder County. * 1991-93s: For some decades it was a sign of humility and part of the Ordnung, that the ministry has no electricity and phone, or got rid of it when ordained. Having it at neighbours' farm sites and in neighbours´ stables was however acceptable. People in the lot (for ordinations) had to accept it, otherwise they would be taken out before election. In 1991 a new ordained one refused to deinstall electricity and phone, supported by Bishop Aaron Sensenig. Deacon John Martin demanded expulsion, without success. Finally it was also allowed for the ministry, a fraction broke away and formed under John Martin(former deacon) a new group, in Missouri its leader was Noah W. Leid. The John Martin (Groffdale Conference) Mennonites(for a short time), better known as Leid Church or "Old Order Wenger Church" never grew to big numbers, mostly associated with Missouri and Kentucky. John Martin came from Lancaster County but had no strong support there. This group still exists and had 77 members in the 2010s. Congregations exist at Clearview Old Order Mennonite meeting house, Versailles, MO(shared) and Miller Valley meeting house in Kentucky(alone). Currently(2021 according to the Botschaft) one of their bishops joined the Mid-West Conference. * 1990s: The rubber belt- steel wheel issue almost created a split in the 1990s. Rubber tires on tractors are forbidden since the later 1930s when the first tractors replaced communal horse power. It is said that Joe Wenger saw people using tractors like cars and then the prohibition had to be discussed, the agreement was to forbid pneumatic tires on tractors to prevent being used like cars, oftentimes with the same speed. Over the time people created a rubber belt which was put under the steel and helped on driving a tractor on streets without destroying so much of the road. The rubber belt split could be prevented, but the issues of steel wheel tractors being used on public roads is still oftentimes a conflicting issue (because of their scratching results on pavement), especially in Western states (see Mitchell County vs. Zimmerman, where the material for roads was changed and less resistant against steel wheels of Wenger Mennonites tractors). * 2000s: Jacob Oberholtzer was a minister, who for decades tried to establish a functioning tractor-forbidding subgroup among the Wenger Mennonites, therefore moving from county to county, as the issue could hardly be hold, when tractor using families moved into settlements under his control. While in this point ultra conservative, he was more open minded to replace Pennsylvania Dutch and German as official church languages with English, so having another understanding of culture and religion, officially helping converts. Jacob Oberholtzer during his life time moved from Pennsylvania (here moving from one county to another) finally to Kentucky, and after becoming finally bishop in Casey County, Ky split off from the Groffdale Conference. This group is currently located close to Spencer, Tennessee, after moving away from Casey County, its location before. Several times Jacob Oberholtzer´s approach created problems- due to the enforcement attempts to forbid tractors and a stricter enforcement of material ruling and due to the attempts replacing German by English in obviously steps without consent of the congregation. All these former splits were smaller ones. The numbers go into the tens, instead of hundreds. In spring 2018 a big split happened. * 2018: The split resulted from the computer issue in spring 2018, while several other reasons played also a role in it, especially the conference structure of the church or more rights for the denominations in their settlements for variations. The nationwide binding of rules was more and more requested. This effected Missouri, Kentucky, New York and Indiana, Iowa where bishops, preachers and deacons left the Wenger Mennonites with a big amount of laity, but still (a sometimes high-numbered) minority locally and formed a loosely connected Midwest Conference. In 2016 already some problems were made public when a bishop of Missouri added some pages to the annual printing of Calendars and later this edition had to be destroyed and a second printing was distributed to the laity (of course without these pages). Written by bishop Raymond Shirk, he later joined the Midwest side and organized it in his area. The split resulted in about 10% of the members leaving (more than 2500 members) with higher percentages in the Mid Western settlements, like in Christian County, Ky abt. 30 %. In contrast, in Pennsylvania there weren't even any ministers that left to join the Midwest Conference. The official name is "Old Order Midwest Mennonite Conference" and they had five bishops joining them, over 21 ministers now(seven ordained since the split) and 7 deacons who joined(now 12 ordained). There are several meeting houses(places) in upstate New York, Missouri, Indiana, Illinois but also places in Tennessee, Iowa and Kentucky. The biggest percentage joining them were in New York and Missouri. Parts of a Stauffer Mennonite current split-off (Arthur Martin movement) in Illinois joined them. They exchange ministers with this group and are even present at ordinations. Current reports quote that the shifting of membership from the big Groffdale Mennonite church to the split-off still grows. The OOMMC works together with the tractor-forbidding former Groffdale Mennonite group of Spencer, Tennessee. A sign of all these combined churches is that their settlements have the right for slightly changed local rulings, instead of the Groffdale Conference nationwide rulings. That means here and there are material items forbidden or permitted which are not forbidden or permitted elsewhere under the same conference "umbrella". It is understood the special settlement variations are accepted if moving in or out from and to another settlement. A nationwide sign of this movement is the agreement on the computer issue.


Belief and practice

The black carriages (called "Carridge or Fuhr" instead of Amish "Dachwägle") of the Wenger Mennonites distinguish them from 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 ...
in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, who use gray ones.Donald B. Kraybill and James P. Hurd: Horse-and-Buggy Mennonites - Hoofbeats of Humility in a Postmodern World, University Park, PA, 2006, pages 2-3. with round corners. Groffdale Conference buggies have a small window in the back and big ones in the upper part of left and right front door. It is also allowed to put rubber on the wheels. Currently just conservative Groffdale Conference members have steel on their wheels, while all Amish must have steel, they are not allowed to have rubber put on it. Stauffer Mennonites and Reidenbachers must also have steel. Smoothly driving carriages in Lancaster County belong to the Groffdale Conference, while harder sounding carriages are either Reidenbachers(black with windows) or Stauffers(black without windows, just a frontshield). Young people during "Rumspringen" put lining on their carriages´ wheels, which is partly allowed among Reidenbachers. In former times Groffdalers drove a folding top buggy during courting time and as young couples, but that changed to the closed-up wagon type their parents use too, just with fancy lining on wheels etc.. In the late 1990s one could still see some foldig-top buggies among them. Quoted Reasonings for the change were that getting cold hands could be prevented better and protection anyhow by the box-like type during heavy weather conditions. Well, this was for decades accepted, so mainly a longing for more comfortability was prevailing, which changing times also allowed for the youth later. They are mainly rural people, who work small farms. Groffdalers rather move than are fixed to landscape like Amish of Lancaster County and have a tendency to still prefer agriculture for everything else. The Amish have instead, staying in Lancaster County mostly, sought for other occupations. Initially concentrated in eastern
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania Lancaster County (; Pennsylvania Dutch: Lengeschder Kaundi), sometimes nicknamed the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in the south central part of Pennsylvania. ...
, they resided in eight other states as of 2002.Landis 1959. Church members use modern self-propelled farm machinery and lawn mowers that have been refitted with steel wheels. Starting in the 1970s, some farmers used rubber belts and blocks to give wheels more traction, provide a smoother ride and reduce damage to public roads. This practice caused considerable debate within the community, which was resolved in 1999 with a compromise that allows limited use of rubber in the structure of steel wheels. Hard rubber or pneumatic tires are allowed on bicycles and machinery not requiring a driver, such as walk-behind equipment and wagons. Use of steel wheels ensures tractors are not used as a substitute for automobiles to run errands or to make more extensive trips than are convenient with horse-drawn carriages. The steel wheel rule prevents large agricultural operations, reinforcing an emphasis on
small farm Small may refer to: Science and technology * SMALL, an ALGOL-like programming language * Small (anatomy), the lumbar region of the back * ''Small'' (journal), a nano-science publication * <small>, an HTML element that defines smaller text ...
s that provide manual labor for all of the family members. The German language is used for Bible reading and singing in worship services and Pennsylvania German is used in worship services for preaching and is spoken at home and with other Old Orders. They meet in plain church buildings to worship, but do not have
Sunday school A Sunday school is an educational institution, usually (but not always) Christian in character. Other religions including Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism have also organised Sunday schools in their temples and mosques, particularly in the West. Su ...
s. Practicing
nonresistance Nonresistance (or non-resistance) is "the practice or principle of not resisting authority, even when it is unjustly exercised". At its core is discouragement of, even opposition to, physical resistance to an enemy. It is considered as a form of pri ...
like other traditional Mennonite groups, during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
they advised young men not qualifying for a farm deferment to accept jail terms instead of
Civilian Public Service The Civilian Public Service (CPS) was a program of the United States government that provided conscientious objectors with an alternative to military service during World War II. From 1941 to 1947, nearly 12,000 draftees, willing to serve their ...
, the alternate used by other
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- ...
conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
s.


Population and distribution

The group consisted of about 500 members in their beginning in 1927 and grew to about 1,200 members in 1954. In 1957 there were 1,450 members. In 1992 the estimated membership grew to 5,464. As of 2002, the conference has grown to 49 congregations with 8,542 members and a total population of 17,775, with 20% and 66% of population below 5 years and below 21 years respectively. In 2008/9 membership reached 10,000 in 50 congregations. In 2015 the group had a total population of 22,305 people of which 9,620 lived in Pennsylvania, 3,934 in New York, 2,395 in Wisconsin, 1,805 in Ohio, 1,545 in Missouri, 1,112 in Kentucky, 995 in Indiana, 600 in Iowa and 300 in Michigan. The population had grown to 24,060 by the year 2018. The population has an annual growth rate of 3.7 percent, doubling about every 19 years, and is comparable to the growth rate of the
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 ...
.


See also

* John W. Martin Mennonites *
Ontario (Old Order) Mennonite Conference The Ontario (Old Order) Mennonite Conference is a moderate Old Order Mennonite group in the Canadian province of Ontario, that was formed in 1889 as a reaction to modernizing trends among the Mennonites in Ontario. The members use horse and buggy fo ...
*
Stauffer Mennonite 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. History The original Church ...
*
Orthodox Mennonites The Orthodox Mennonites, also called Wellesley Orthodox Mennonites and Huron Orthodox Mennonites, are two groups of traditional Old Order Mennonites in Canada and the US with about 650 baptized members. Even though plain dress, plain to a very high ...
* Noah Hoover Mennonite


References


Literature

* Donald B. Kraybill and James P. Hurd: ''Horse-and-Buggy Mennonites - Hoofbeats of Humility in a Postmodern World'', University Park, PA, 2006. (This 362-page book about the Groffdale Conference Mennonites is the most in depth study of any Old Order Mennonite group) * Stephen Scott: ''An Introduction to Old Order and Conservative Mennonite Groups''. Intercourse, PA 1996. * Donald B. Kraybill and Carl Bowman: ''On the Backroad to Heaven: Old Order Hutterites, Mennonites, Amish, and Brethren''. Baltimore 2001. * Thomas J. Meyers and Steven M. Nolt: ''An Amish patchwork: Indiana's Old Orders in the Modern World''. Bloomington, IN et al. 2005. * Donald B. Kraybill: ''Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hutterites, and Mennonites''. Baltimore 2010. * Donald B. Kraybill and C. Nelson Hostetter: ''Anabaptist World USA''. Scottdale, PA and Waterloo, Ontario 2001.


External links


Groffdale Old Order Mennonite Conference
at Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. {{Authority control Mennonite denominations Mennonitism in Pennsylvania Christian organizations established in 1927 Anabaptist denominations established in the 20th century Old Order Mennonites