The Michigan Amish Churches or Michigan related Amish Churches are a

subgroup In group theory, a branch of mathematics, given a group ''G'' under a binary operation ∗, a subset ''H'' of ''G'' is called a subgroup of ''G'' if ''H'' also forms a group under the operation ∗. More precisely, ''H'' is a subgroup ...

or affiliation of

Old Order Amish The Amish (; pdc, Amisch; german: link=no, Amische), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian church fellowships with Swiss German and Alsace, Alsatian origins. They are close ...

. They emerged in 1970 in

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

. This affiliation is more evangelical and 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 other Old Order Amish affiliations.

History

The church at Mio was founded in 1970 by

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 churc ...

people from

Geauga County, Ohio Geauga County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 95,397. The county seat is Chardon. The county is named for an Onondaga or Seneca language word meaning 'raccoon', originally the name of the ...

, and from northern

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 ...

. Other local churches that now are affiliated with the Michigan Amish Churches originally were not Amish, but were founded by evangelistic minded people from several Old Order Anabaptist backgrounds, who were more open to outsiders than typical Old Order Amish. Later these congregations joined the Michigan Amish Churches. The church at Manton, originally not Amish, was started by people, who came from Le Roy, Michigan, a horse-and-buggy, but eagerly evangelistic church that was founded in 1981 by Harry Wanner (1935–2012), an awakened minister of Stauffer Old Order Mennonite background. In 1994 the church at Le Roy disbanded. The church at Manton eventually joined the Old Order Amish. The Church at

Smyrna, Maine Smyrna is a town in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. The population was 439 at the 2020 census. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Demographics 2010 c ...

, originally affiliated with the "Christian Communities" of

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: ''Am ...

, also more evangelistic and open to seekers, affiliated with Manton after the "Christian Communities" disbanded after Stoll's early death.

Custom and belief

It is stated that there are more people among the Michigan Amish Churches that feel sure to be saved or consider themselves to be born again Christians than among other subgroups of Old Order Amish. In accordance with that,

G.C. Waldrep G. C. Waldrep (born George Calvin Waldrep III; 1968) is an American poet and historian. Biography Waldrep was born in South Boston, Virginia. He earned undergraduate and doctoral degrees in history at Harvard University and Duke University, resp ...

stated that the Michigan Churches show many spiritual and material similarities to the New Orders, while they are still technically considered a part of the larger Old Order group.

Settlements and congregations

In 2011 the subgroup was present in 15 settlements in 3 states and had 20 congregations or church districts. In Michigan the subgroup has settlements in Mio, Evart, Fremont, Manton and Newaygo. In Maine there were three settlements: Smyrna,

Unity Unity may refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpool, UK; two buildings in England * Unity Chapel, Wyoming, Wisconsin, US; ...

and

Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in Franc ...

."Maine Amish" at amishamerica.com
/ref> The Amish near

Pearisburg, Virginia Pearisburg is a town in Giles County, Virginia. The population was 2,786 at the time of the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Giles County. Pearisburg is part of the Blacksburg– Christiansburg Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Pea ...

, are partly affiliated with the Michigan Churches while another part belongs to the Believers in Christ, Lobelville, a para-Amish group.

References

External links

Scenes From Smyrna – Part I" at amish365.com

"My Amish Reality: Chapter 2 – Manton, Michigan" at amish365.com

"Smyrna, Maine Amish – Part III" at amish365.com

"Smyrna, Maine: Pioneer Place" at amish365.com

Jeff Smith: "Becoming Amish: One Grosse Pointe Family’s Journey to a Simpler Life" at mynorth.com
about the Moser family, seekers who joined the Amish and live at Marion, Michigan.

Literature

* Donald B. Kraybill, Karen M. Johnson-Weiner and Steven M. Nolt: ''The Amish'', Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2013. * Charles Hurst and David McConnell: ''An Amish Paradox. Diversity and Change in the World's Largest Amish Community'', Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2010 {{Amish Amish in the United States Old Order Amish Anabaptist denominations established in the 20th century Christian communities