Monday, July 8, 2013

WELCOME ELMER-WHY AMISH DON'T USE ELECTRIC

Thank you for letting me put a post on New York State of Mind.  This is something I wanted to do since I had an interest in computers.  As I am Amish, I am not allowed to own a computer.  My son owns one, but it is in his store and used for business, so he is allowed.

This question that was asked is: Amish in this person's area don't have electric, but use wringer washer with a gas engine or some kind of engine.  What is the difference between using electric and some other kind of engine?

First let me explain us Amish a bit before I answer the question.  There are three major Amish, the  Swartzentruber, the Old Order Amish, and the Beachy Amish.  Also, there are other groups like the New Order Amish, Peachy Amish and more, but I am going to discuss the three major Amish.  Of the three major groups, I, my wife and family are Old Order Amish.  Now within the Old Order Amish, there are also different groups or divisions.

Why I tell you this?  Well say our plumbing in our Old Order Amish house.  We have three bathrooms and a powder room.  We have two full  bathrooms upstairs, one full bathroom downstairs off our master bedroom and a powder room off the living room for guests to use.  In our bathrooms are sink, full bath tub and shower plus a toilet.  We have running water in all the bathrooms, the powder room and the kitchen.  A Swartzentruber house has a pump either at the kitchen sink or outside and out houses.  The Beachy Amish have full plumbing like ours, electric throughout their house, and drive cars. So you see there are different Amish and different answers for these three major groups, but all are Amish.

Even within our Old Order Amish, some groups have pumps at their kitchen sink or outside and use out houses instead of indoor plumbing.  On the other end are a few Old Order Amish that have modern plumbing and electric in their houses.  I have a cell phone because I am a volunteer with our local fire department.  When the issue came up, it was brought up before the Bishop, deacons and then the church, where it was voted.  Myself and a couple Old Order Amish are allowed to have these cell phones as we are volunteers.  Should I, for some reason, stop volunteering with the fire department, I must get rid of the cell phone.  Discussing this with another Old Order Amish friend in another town, he was shocked that they would allow me to have a cell phone.  Old Order Amish in his area are not allowed cell phones under any circumstances.  I am not trying to confuse you, but I want you to know that different Old Order Amish areas allow different things.  What you might find at our Old Order Amish house would be different than you would find in a Swartzentruber Amish house or a Beachy Amish house or even another Old Order Amish house.

Now that I have completely confused you, let me answer the questions.  There is no evil in electric, it is what we would do with it.  My son is allowed to have electric in his store, only, for the lights and computer.  He had gas lights, but it did not show his merchandise so that customers could see it well.  Because he deals with people throughout the United States, Canada and more countries, he is allowed to do business on the computer and use a telephone.  He is not allowed to get on ebay or alike, have face book, etc.  A friend set up an advertising webb for him that gives his e-mail and phone number if they are interested in buying his merchandise.  None of this is allowed in his home.

In our Bible we follow Romans 12:2-" And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect, will of God."  If we had electric in our homes, we would put in plugs in which we could plug in our stoves, refrigerators, appliances etc.  But, we could also plug in computers, television, DVD, radio, items that we are opposed to.  Having these items could effect our attention to our church needs, doing our chores, visiting our family and friends and more.  Electric could also bring us closer to the outside world that we want to avoid.

I know when 9-11 happened, I went to my englisher neighbors to watch his television-I felt it was important to see. I also went when I heard of the Nickel Mines as I also felt that important.  Our stove and refrigerator are on gas in our home.  We milk our cows powered by generator-I remember when we did them all by hand, so in some ways, we are coming more ways of the world.   Our washing machine has a gasoline engine.  We have gas lamps in our home and more.  But, we also try to stay away from the ways of the world as much as we can.

Hope I answered your question.  I guess I will be coming back as Marilyn has another question that was asked about the difference between the Old Order Mennonite and Amish.

Trust God's Wisdom,
Elmer

ELMER HAS A QUESTION. WHEN ASKED THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE OLD ORDER MENNONITES AND AMISH-DO YOU MEAN WHAT SEPARATED THEM YEARS AGO? OR THE DIFFERENCE TODAY??????

The picture above is a handmade children's barn that was for the Haiti Auction.  I have more pictures of it.  Elmer wanted something from the Haiti Auction as a picture maybe something farming.  I hope this pleases him.

Marilyn

SUE ANN'S SAUERKRAUT CANNING IS ON TOMORROW !!!




26 comments:

Fionalina said...

Hello Elmer nice to have you here -thank you for an interesting post-looking forward to your next one as I have often wondered about the differences especially today- but also would like to know about the past

Hello Marilyn
I think it may be an Ark in the photo-I only noticed when I saw the elephant

Fionalina

plaingrl said...

thank you Elmer. I am looking forward to reading ur next post!
what is a powder room?
what kind of business does ur son have?

New York State Of Mind said...

Hi Fionalina,

I will see that Elmer gets your messages.

I never notices those elephants. It could be Noaha's Ark.

Marilyn

New York State Of Mind said...

Good Morning plaingirl,

I will have to ask Elmer what his son does. I really don't know.

A powder room is a bathroom with a toilet and a sink. It's usually for guests to use.

Marilyn

Countryside Reflections said...

Thank you for doing this post Elmer, it is very interesting and you've made the reason for no electricity very understandable. I also liked the explanation of the different Amish. When reading the posts on Amish America, they refer to the different types, but I didn't know anything about them. So you have made it more clear.

Regarding the Amish and Old Order Mennonites, were they once the same and then separated? I just assumed that they were separate from the beginning. I would be interested in the difference today.

Thank you again for all of your information.

Doreen

kymber said...

Marilyn - please tell Elmer that i really enjoyed his post. and also tell him that i would love to know what separated the various Amish into different groups historically...but i would also love to know the differences today. thank you Marilyn....how is your job going?

your friend, kymber

New York State Of Mind said...

Good Morning Doreen,
Am sure Elmer is glad that you understand about the different Amish groups and the electric. He was so worried that he was confusing everyone.

Elmer or Jean would have to do a better job, but I do know the Mennonites were founded first. Because of disagreements on certain things a group left and became Amish. I think I will ask Elmer to do a post on how the Amish were founded. That's what he thought people wanted, but in reading again, neither he nor I were sure that's what people wanted. Then, have him do another post on the difference today.

Marilyn

New York State Of Mind said...

Hi Kymber,

Thank you for the comments and I will pass them on. I think I will ask Elmer to do two posts. One telling how the Amish was founded and a second on how the Amish and Old Order Mennonite are different today.

I like the job, but they are still waiting to see if my boss is coming back or not. Won't know until the first of August, I guess. Thanks for asking.

Marilyn

jodie said...

I enjoyed Elmer's post very much. Looking forward to the next one.
I find it hard to tell the difference between Amish and Mennonite by the way they dress.
jodie

Chasity said...

Welcome Elmer, very interesting post! Thank you Marilyn!

Wendy said...

I enjoyed reading about the difference between the Amish and the different branches of it
Looking forward to more of Elmers postings

dynnamae said...

Good afternoon Marilyn. I truly enjoyed Elmer's post and would enjoy his sharing more with us. I wasn't confused with what he wrote and understand their reference to the Bible verse. I admire their lifestyle that does keep them more involved with family and community. Thank you for having Elmer here.

New York State Of Mind said...

Hello Everyone,
Glad that you enjoyed Elmer's post. He will do a post on the founding of the Amish and another on the difference between the Amish and the Old Order Mennonite of today. His next post is July 22nd.

I will pass all your comments on to Elmer. I know he really appreciates them as he didn't know if his post was going to be interesting or a flop (as he said, not me).

Marilyn

TOM-GA said...

Thanks Elmer, you did a wonderful job of communicating your thoughts. I appreciate the Amish and their lifestyle, their thoughtfulness in interpreting the Bible. Hope to hear from you regularly. Thanks

Anonymous said...

Hello, Elmer!
Great post! Great information! You gave me a very clear understanding about the differences! Thank-you for your time! I look forward to hearing more from you.

SueAnn said...

I am the anonymous post! At the end....! Sorry...

SueAnn said...

I am the anonymous post! At the end....! Sorry...

New York State Of Mind said...

Hi Everyone,
I don't know if Elmer will be a regular but he has more posts coming. Maybe we can talk him into it. Will forward all the comments to him.

Marilyn

New York State Of Mind said...

Elmer thanks everyone for the comments and stats. He didn't think he would get so many comments. I also thank you for the great welcome he received.

Marilyn

Anonymous said...

Hi Elmer! Absolutely, a big welcome to NYS of Mind! Thank you for your willingness to have Marilyn post for you. It's always interesting to hear from people on their communities and families etc. Looking forward to your next posting. In the meantime- Blessings to you and your family! Carol

New York State Of Mind said...

Thank you, Carol for the compliments. I will pass them on to Elmer. He has more coming up.
Bless you and yours,
Marilyn

SueAnn said...

A question for Elmer (love that name -my dad's brother was Elmer..my favorite Uncle!) I have heard of Amish groups that have a joint freezer...where they can store their meats...They each pay a fee to store there..and it is run with electric..does his group do that? If not...do they smoke their meats, or can them? How would they store sausage? I grew up with a Spring House...my German granny had one..so do they still use that too?
Thanks so much!

New York State Of Mind said...

Hi Sue Ann and everyone else that had questions,
I have written all the questions down and will give them to Elmer. His wife's name is Anna and I like that name as it was one of my Dad's Sister's name and she was my favorite aunt.

Marilyn

SueAnn said...

Oh my gosh! Anna was my mom's name!
How sweet it sounds...those two..Elmer and Anna.....!

New York State Of Mind said...

Oh my !!!! It is a small world. They are sweet people. I really enjoyed meeting them. She can really bake, too. While there I had a piece of cake and coffee. She made the cake from scratch - no cake boxes here. It was delicious. Bakes just like Jean and Martha.

Marilyn

SueAnn said...

I may just have to come visit Up State New York sometime!!!! My family all were from Boston....and they split and went to NY, NJ, one married and moved to Ohio (my granny), so...."technically" I could say....I am an easterner!!! LOL!!! We traveled a LOT up East when I was a kid.to see all the kin folks.....lots of cousins.....~