Groffdale Conference Mennonite Church

Horse-drawn buggy painted in the Mennonite style, such as the Groffdale Church would use.

The Groffdale Conference Mennonite Church, also called Wenger Mennonite, is the largest Old Order Mennonite 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, their 10,000 members resided in eight other states as of 2008/9.

History

The Groffdale Conference has its roots in the Old Order division, that occurred in 1893 in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, over the question of English language preaching, Sunday Schools and other questions. The trigger for the split was the a quarrel about a pulpit, that was to be installed in church instead of the traditional preacher's table.[1]

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.[2] 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.[3] The John W. Martin Mennonites, a group of Old Order Mennonites from Indiana, merged with the Groffdale Conference in 1973.[4]

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.[5]

Belief and practice

The black carriages of the Wenger Mennonites distinguish them from the Amish in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, who use gray ones.[3] They are mainly rural people, who work small farms. Initially concentrated in eastern Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, they resided in eight other states as of 2002.[6]

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.[7] 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 farms that provide manual labor for all of the family members.

The German language is used in worship services[6] and Pennsylvania German is spoken at home.[8] They meet in plain church buildings to worship, but do not have Sunday schools. Practicing nonresistance like other traditional Mennonite groups, during World War II they advised young men not qualifying for a farm deferment to accept jail terms instead of Civilian Public Service, the alternate used by other Anabaptist conscientious objectors.[6]

Demographics

The group consisted of about 500 members in their beginning in 1927 and grew to about 1,200 members in 1954.[9] In 1957 there were 1,450 members.[10] In 1992 there was an estimated membership of 5,464.[11] 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.[12] The population has an annual growth rate of 3.7 percent, doubling about every 19 years.[3] In 2008/9 membership was 10,000 in 50 congregations.[13]

The Groffdale Conference Mennonite have a growth rate of 3.7 percent a year which is comparable to the growth rate of Old Order Amish.[14]

About half of the members live in Pennsylvania, with additional congregations in Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio and Wisconsin.[4]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Stephen Scott: An Introduction to Old Order: and Conservative Mennonite Groups, Intercourse, PA 1996, pages 20-24.
  2. ↑ Kraybill 2006, pp. 63-74.
  3. 1 2 3 Kraybill 2006, pp. 2-3.
  4. 1 2 Donald B. Kraybill (2010). Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hurtterites and Mennonites. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 157.
  5. ↑ Reid, Judson: Old Order Mennonites in New York: Cultural and Agricultural Growth, in Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies 3(2):212, 2015, pages 107-129.
  6. 1 2 3 Landis 1959.
  7. ↑ Kraybill 2006, Chapter 3, Mobility and Identity, pp. 63-89
  8. ↑ Kraybill 2000, p. 108.
  9. ↑ Landis 1957.
  10. ↑ Old Order Mennonites at Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online.
  11. ↑ Stephen Scott: An Introduction to Old Order: and Conservative Mennonite Groups, Intercourse, PA 1996, page 30.
  12. ↑ Kraybill, Donald B; Hurd, James P. (2006). Horse-and-Buggy Mennonites Hoofbeats of Humility in a Postmodern World. University Park, PA. p. 3.
  13. ↑ Donald B. Kraybill (2010). Concise Encyclopedia of Amish, Brethren, Hurtterites and Mennonites. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 258.
  14. ↑ Kraybill, Donald B; Hurd, James P. (2006). Horse-and-Buggy Mennonites Hoofbeats of Humility in a Postmodern World. University Park, PA. p. 2.

References

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