Are there Catholic communities with a lifestyle similar to the Amish

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ATeutonicKnight

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I, like many other people, I’m fascinated with the Amish. I think they’re very awesome people, and their only down-turn is that they’re not Catholic. Are there any Catholic communities like the Amish? I’m very interested in joining a culture like theirs, but it seems the only way is to convert, which, being raised a cradle Catholic and having been bathed with traditional Catholicism since I can remember, I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon.

:knight1:
 
The closest I’ve found is Madonna House in Ontario, Canada (www.madonnahouse.org).

It’s a devout Catholic lay community of about 300 people who live simply and also take turns working at Madonna House’s small missions and prayer houses around the world. There are major differences from the Amish, however, especially in that Madonna House members remain single and celibate instead of having families (but they have a special summer program for families). Madonna House also uses electricity but tries to keep these conveniences to a minimum. They run an organic farm with horse-drawn plows, bake bread in an outdoor wood burning oven, etc.

In this day and age when we’ve worn out our earth, I would love to see more Catholics set the example of living simply and making things by hand.
 
I am not aware of any such Amish-like Catholic groups. I’m also fascinated by the Amish and have often wondered if such an approach to technology and community could be emulated by members of the Church. I’d definitely be interested in such a venture.
 
ChristIsTheWay said:
I am not aware of any such Amish-like Catholic groups. I’m also fascinated by the Amish and have often wondered if such an approach to technology and community could be emulated by members of the Church. I’d definitely be interested in such a venture./QUOTA

As would I…👍
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Interesting post, My daughter has stayed in a Mennonte home on one occasion. What do you all think Christ would think of a similar Catholic movement?
 
i guess with the multitudes of retreats available they are a break from the modern world if only for a few days, Madonna house sounds interesting & i will do some research.
A retreat in my Diocese is very good & i have enjoyed several retreats usually around a week long in time.

towersretreat.abundance.org.au/
 
annecatholic said:
The closest I’ve found is Madonna House in Ontario, Canada (www.madonnahouse.org).

It’s a devout Catholic lay community of about 300 people who live simply and also take turns working at Madonna House’s small missions and prayer houses around the world. There are major differences from the Amish, however, especially in that Madonna House members remain single and celibate instead of having families (but they have a special summer program for families). Madonna House also uses electricity but tries to keep these conveniences to a minimum. They run an organic farm with horse-drawn plows, bake bread in an outdoor wood burning oven, etc.

In this day and age when we’ve worn out our earth, I would love to see more Catholics set the example of living simply and making things by hand.
Click to expand...
Well, the Madonna house sounds interesting, but with the way they run things, I might as well join the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal (Which I’m almost sure I’m supposed to do anyway).

I was looking for more of a town-like thing. And I gotta say, I’m a little disappointed, the biggest appeal in the Amish are buggies and, the Madonna house doesn’t have any. 😛

:knight1:
 
ATeutonicKnight said:
I, like many other people, I’m fascinated with the Amish. I think they’re very awesome people, and their only down-turn is that they’re not Catholic. Are there any Catholic communities like the Amish? I’m very interested in joining a culture like theirs, but it seems the only way is to convert, which, being raised a cradle Catholic and having been bathed with traditional Catholicism since I can remember, I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon.

:knight1:
Click to expand...
I can’t answer your question. However, I once saw what I’m almost sure by their dress was an Amish family on a New York City subway car. Now, NYC consists of just about every culture in the world; still this family seemed to stand out. I also wondered what they were doing taking the subway, considering what I thought was their avoidance of modern technology.
 
meltzerboy said:
I can’t answer your question. However, I once saw what I’m almost sure by their dress was an Amish family on a New York City subway car. Now, NYC consists of just about every culture in the world; still this family seemed to stand out. I also wondered what they were doing taking the subway, considering what I thought was their avoidance of modern technology.
Click to expand...
Amish rules on the use of technology are complicated and sometimes ad hoc. They use generators to power farm and industrial equipment; they use motorized wheelchairs and medical devices that run on electricity; they generally have telephones in the community, though not inside the house. Likewise, although they don’t drive cars themselves, they will allow themselves to be driven, and can take the bus and trains.

The Amish like their lifestyle – and they don’t have any sort of “religious prohibition” about the use of technology, as the Orthodox Jews do on Shabbat; more like a set of shared cultural and societal values which simply choose not to adopt them – so they don’t have to worry too much about the fear that if they make one or two little exceptions here and there they will tumble down the slippery slope and end in worldly havoc.

There’s also a good chance that these were not Amish but Mennonites, Hutterites, or some similar group. Unless you have a very skilled eye (which I don’t), you would be unlikely to be able to tell the difference.
 
In the current issue of Christianity Today (a magazine for evangelicals), there is a fascinating article called “Why We Love Amish Romances.” Here’s a link to the article:

christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/april/loveamishromances.html

In case some of you are not aware, “Amish romance novels” are wildly popular in Protestant bookstores and catalogues. This CT article gives quite a few specific examples of popular Amish romance novels.

To me, this is interesting because it makes no sense that there are dozens and dozens of Amish romance novels, but few Catholic romance novels other than online (ebooks) novels. I’ve been Catholic now for seven years, and I still don’t understand why Catholic publishing houses don’t jump on this market and publish publish publish romance novels with a definite Catholic flavor. (I currently have such a novel under consideration at a Catholic publishing house.)

We have a small community of the Amish near our city. My father knows them because of their expertise with horses. He says that the Amish have a rule that they take care of their horses first, and then themselves. It is a delight to drive through their section and gaze at their beautiful horses–even someone like me who doesn’t know much about equine matters can tell that the Amish horses are superior. Their farms are also quite pretty, and it’s a pleasure to see the young children playing outdoors. I never drive fast when I drive through our Amish farms.

My father also told me that when he was a young man, he tried to persuade his cousins to all go in together and buy up a large amount of farmland and start a “communal farm.” All his cousins liked the idea, but they were too scared to invest the money (it was still close enough to the depression that they all were spooked about investing money). I had never heard this piece of family history before, and I have to admit, it intrigues me that I might have grown up in a “farm commune”, not to mention that we would all be incredibly rich today, since land is still the most valuable commodity in this section of the country, and many landowners have become millionaires after selling their land to developers. I’m actually considering writing an epic romance novel about my father’s “farm commune”!

In case anyone is wondering, my father and his family are all Reformed, which is the oldest religion in the U.S., and was started up by John Calvin. So I wonder how “Reformed Romance Novels” would sell?! Maybe I’ll write the novel and make all my family members Catholic. Would you buy this novel?!
 
As far as I knew they were many movements out from the Church going ‘plain’. By the time they deteriorated like the Cathars and similar ones in the medieval eves.

God gave us the command to subdue the Earth, not to save it, as it was in the time of out ancestors. We had to find the balance between the progress and tradition.
 
ATeutonicKnight said:
W

I was looking for more of a town-like thing. And I gotta say, I’m a little disappointed, the biggest appeal in the Amish are buggies and, the Madonna house doesn’t have any. 😛

:knight1:
Click to expand...
Amish typically prefer living on farms and in farming communities because their way of life is built on being self-sustaining. We lived in the heart of Amish country in NE Ohio for years, and you will not find better neighbors anywhere in the country. They are a shining light of faith in action.
 
MarkThompson said:
Amish rules on the use of technology are complicated and sometimes ad hoc. They use generators to power farm and industrial equipment; they use motorized wheelchairs and medical devices that run on electricity; they generally have telephones in the community, though not inside the house. Likewise, although they don’t drive cars themselves, they will allow themselves to be driven, and can take the bus and trains.

The Amish like their lifestyle – and they don’t have any sort of “religious prohibition” about the use of technology, as the Orthodox Jews do on Shabbat; more like a set of shared cultural and societal values which simply choose not to adopt them – so they don’t have to worry too much about the fear that if they make one or two little exceptions here and there they will tumble down the slippery slope and end in worldly havoc.

There’s also a good chance that these were not Amish but Mennonites, Hutterites, or some similar group. Unless you have a very skilled eye (which I don’t), you would be unlikely to be able to tell the difference.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much for this interesting information!
 
annecatholic said:
The closest I’ve found is Madonna House in Ontario, Canada (www.madonnahouse.org).

It’s a devout Catholic lay community of about 300 people who live simply and also take turns working at Madonna House’s small missions and prayer houses around the world. There are major differences from the Amish, however, especially in that Madonna House members remain single and celibate instead of having families (but they have a special summer program for families). Madonna House also uses electricity but tries to keep these conveniences to a minimum. They run an organic farm with horse-drawn plows, bake bread in an outdoor wood burning oven, etc.

In this day and age when we’ve worn out our earth, I would love to see more Catholics set the example of living simply and making things by hand.
Click to expand...
Awesome thread!👍
Thanks for the links!😃
I love the Amish as well! They are very kind, down to earth people!👍
I wish I could move to an area with lots of Amish in town!

Blessings,
Pax,
Megan:highprayer:
 
Cat said:
In the current issue of Christianity Today (a magazine for evangelicals), there is a fascinating article called “Why We Love Amish Romances.” Here’s a link to the article:

christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/april/loveamishromances.html

In case some of you are not aware, “Amish romance novels” are wildly popular in Protestant bookstores and catalogues. This CT article gives quite a few specific examples of popular Amish romance novels.

To me, this is interesting because it makes no sense that there are dozens and dozens of Amish romance novels, but few Catholic romance novels other than online (ebooks) novels. I’ve been Catholic now for seven years, and I still don’t understand why Catholic publishing houses don’t jump on this market and publish publish publish romance novels with a definite Catholic flavor. (I currently have such a novel under consideration at a Catholic publishing house.)

We have a small community of the Amish near our city. My father knows them because of their expertise with horses. He says that the Amish have a rule that they take care of their horses first, and then themselves. It is a delight to drive through their section and gaze at their beautiful horses–even someone like me who doesn’t know much about equine matters can tell that the Amish horses are superior. Their farms are also quite pretty, and it’s a pleasure to see the young children playing outdoors. I never drive fast when I drive through our Amish farms.

My father also told me that when he was a young man, he tried to persuade his cousins to all go in together and buy up a large amount of farmland and start a “communal farm.” All his cousins liked the idea, but they were too scared to invest the money (it was still close enough to the depression that they all were spooked about investing money). I had never heard this piece of family history before, and I have to admit, it intrigues me that I might have grown up in a “farm commune”, not to mention that we would all be incredibly rich today, since land is still the most valuable commodity in this section of the country, and many landowners have become millionaires after selling their land to developers. I’m actually considering writing an epic romance novel about my father’s “farm commune”!

In case anyone is wondering, my father and his family are all Reformed, which is the oldest religion in the U.S., and was started up by John Calvin. So I wonder how “Reformed Romance Novels” would sell?! Maybe I’ll write the novel and make all my family members Catholic. Would you buy this novel?!
Click to expand...
What a great idea!!
I should think that any such novel about a devout & faithful family would be welcome in a world where it is increasingly difficult to find wholesome reading material–especially for young people. (I strongly suspect that such books are popular precisely because there is a market for this kind of thing. I remember well when I was a teen, how I liked the books of Grace Livingston Hill, who was a popular author of evangelical Christian novels in my mother’s girlhood).
Why not give it a try?👍
 
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