Amish Mennonite

Amish Mennonites are a Christian church or constituency of Anabaptist heritage, that came into existence as a result of a division which took place in the Mennonite churches of Southern Germany, Eastern France and Switzerland in the late 17th century.

Early conferences

From 1862–1878, annual conferences were held among the Amish. The conferences produced a number of polarized groups, from which came two primary divisions: the Old Order Amish and the Amish Mennonites.^{[citation needed]} The Amish Mennonites formed regional conferences in the late 1880s after the division. During the early 20th century, most of these original Amish Mennonite groups merged with regional Mennonite conferences.

• The Indiana-Michigan Amish Mennonite Conference
• The Western District Amish Mennonite Conference
• The Eastern Amish Mennonite Conference
• The Stuckey Amish (Mennonites) of Illinois
• The Leatherville Amish Mennonites of Missouri
• The Egli Amish also known as the Egly Amish (Mennonites) were organized as the Defenseless Mennonite Church in 1865–1866. They adopted the name Evangelical Mennonite Church in 1949.. In 2003, the name was changed to Fellowship of Evangelical Churches.

Conservative Amish Mennonite Conference

The Conservative Mennonite Conference was born several decades after the original Amish Mennonite movement. In 1910, leaders from three unaffiliated Amish Mennonite congregations met in Michigan to discuss the formation of a conference that allowed for congregational autonomy yet would be able to assist individual churches with problems. This conference was to be more conservative than the aforementioned Amish Mennonite conferences. During its almost 100-year history, the church has moved closer to mainstream Mennonite groups. In 1954, a majority vote called for the removal of the “Amish” part of the Conservative Amish Mennonite Conference (CMC) name, which was implemented in the 1957 constitution revision. Proponents suggested that “Amish Mennonite” conferences were obsolete. During the 1960s, concern rose among some about the lax practice on issues such as the women’s head veiling and cut hair, television, and clothing items. Individual churches began to differ greatly in practice. Since the concerns in the 1960s, conference has abandoned a stand on the aforementioned practices. Today, the conference has 113 churches with about 11,000 members.

Other congregations

A number of other Amish Mennonite congregations exist in an independent, unaffiliated setting. Most identify themselves in name as Conservative Mennonites or conservative Amish Mennonite and may hold fellowship with various Beachy or conservative Mennonite congregations.

Two newer affiliated groups include Berea Amish Mennonite Churches and Ambassador Amish Mennonite Churches. There is also a small group of Conservative Beachy congregations which still use the German Language.

Directory

The Amish Mennonite Directory, published by Abana Books, lists Amish Mennonite congregations within Beachy, Fellowship, and unaffiliated constituencies. The directory includes detailed information, including household demographic and occupational data. The directory was published in 1993, 1996, 2000, and 2005.

See also

• Anabaptist
• Beachy Amish
• Biblical Mennonite Alliance
• Conservative Mennonite Conference

References

• Beachy, A.J. “The Rise and Development of the Beachy Amish Mennonite Churches.” Mennonite Quarterly Review (April 1955), 118–140.
• Map of CMC Congregations. Conservative Mennonite Conference, Rosedale, OH. Retrieved 31 May 2006 from http://cmcrosedale.org/about/map.shtml
• Mennonite Church Directory. 2005–2007. Harrisonburg, VA: Christian Light Publications.
• Miller, D (ed). 2005. Amish Mennonite Directory 2005. Millersburg, OH: Abana Books.
• Miller, I.J. 1985. History of the Conservative Mennonite Conference: 1910–1985. Grantsville, MD: Ivan J. and Della Miller.
• Yoder, Elmer S. 1987. The Beachy Amish Mennonite Fellowship Churches. Sugarcreek, OH: Schlabach Printers.