Amish Country
Welcome to my website! Here, you will find out about all the things you have ever wanted to know about the Amish, particularly, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, (with some knowledge of that other famous Anabaptist group: the Mennonites.)
Through my adventure to Amish Country, you will meet some of the most exciting characters, I have ever had the pleasure to come across
This excursion, coupled with some remarkable insight, provided by Amish/Mennonite historian, Dr. Donald Kraybill, I will share the story of a religious group, often overlooked, and seldom understood.
Please, enjoy!
Amish farms dominate the landscape of this area. Lancaster County, P.A.
A Mennonite school. Here, students are given a liberal arts centered education, rooted firmly in the teachings of Christianity. Their Faith is intrinsically baked into every subject, and the Holy cross serves as a metaphor for the Mennonite educational approach. Their Bible-based ideologies intersect with every aspect of the curriculum; much like the two wooden boards of the cross.
Amish Expert Dr. Donald Kraybill
*Courtesy of Elizabethtown College Faculty Page
Dr. Donald B. Kraybill is an internationally renowned scholar of sociology, who specializes in Anabaptist studies. He received his Ph.D. in sociology, from Temple University, in 1976, and shortly thereafter, began his teaching career.
Kraybill served as chair of the sociology department at Elizabethtown College, located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, from 1979 to 1985. Additionally, he directed the university's Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies, from 1989 to 1996.
He served as provost of Messiah College, also located in P.A., from 1996 to 2002, before returning to Elizabethtown College in 2003.
His concentration in Anabaptist factions has earned him acknowledgment, in numerous academic circles. He is the author and editor of countless books, and dozens of professional articles. Kraybill's books have been translated into eleven different languages, and his research on Anabaptist groups, has been featured in journals, magazines, and newspapers, throughout the world.
78-year-old Kraybill was born in Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, to a Mennonite family, and grew up on dairy farms in Mount Joy, Lampeter and Morgantown. His surname Kraybill is a form of the name Graybill which is a typical Mennonite and Amish name, first recorded in America in 1728.
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INTERVIEW WITH DR. KRAYBILL
A house on the outskirts of Amish owned farms. Many houses in this "in-between" area are owned by Mennonites, who, ironically, due to their less stringent regulations, live lives more in line with the average person, than a typical Amish one. Lancaster, P.A.
