Why Nancy Sleeth Wants You to Be a Bit More Amish
Nancy Sleeth wants all of us to think about becoming a little more Amish. And then she wants us to act.
Sleeth, who cofounded the creation-care organization Blessed Earth with her husband, Matthew, isn't advocating that we sell the family car in order to buy a horse and buggy. Sleeth lives in a small urban townhome, drives a Prius, owns a computer and cell phone, and does her farming in a community garden plot.
But in her new book, Almost Amish: One Woman's Quest for a Slower, More Sustainable Life (Tyndale), Sleeth does invite readers to rethink their choices through the lens of simplicity, intentionality, and careful stewardship. The readable, gently provocative volume combines observations about the values that shape the Amish lifestyle, scriptural support for the Amish-style values that Sleeth's family has come to embrace, and plenty of anecdotes showing readers how these values were integrated into their lives over time.
When she was in her early 40s, Sleeth came to faith in Christ along with her husband Matthew, an emergency room physician, and their two preteen children. Energized by their faith, the deep concern about the state of the decaying world around them led the family to make significant lifestyle changes. They gave away half of their possessions and moved to a home the size of their old garage. They reduced their energy usage by two-thirds, discovering a deep sense of family unity and purpose in the process.
I recently had an opportunity to talk with Sleeth (also the author of Go Green, Save Green) about the message of Almost Amish.
Your ministry and the book encourage Christians to become intentional about simplifying in every area of life. Who is the audience for this message?
The majority of the e-mails and workshop and retreat requests we receive are from 25- to 60-year-old women. A lot of them are mothers, and they care very deeply about the future of their children and this planet. They sense that our lives have gotten crazy. The hours the average couple works has increased significantly over the past half-century. With the increase in technology, we're expected to be working all the time. Where does the time come from to care for family, our homes, and our relationship with God?
I think a lot of women sense we're not heading in a good direction. We're not advocating that everyone becomes Amish, but maybe we need to incorporate some Amish answers.
Some of the solutions you advocate include viewing technology as a tool instead of a master, buying local, and living into the conviction that true community is built upon surrender and submission. Those solutions look very different in non-Amish context, don't they?
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Goansb
I do believe that the "theoretically perfect" transit system can only come from a merging of all these contributions. In a way in Europe we are trying to do something on these lines bestessays it is not always easy and/or successful, but I believe it is the only sensible way to go.
Doreen Ashley
Jennifer, I agree! Sounds a lot like my grandmother's life,(born 1903) and while I think we can be over-technologized these days still I would not want to go back to that back-breaking way of life!
Jennifer
I'm not sure if Amish people live more "simply" than I do. Amish women make all the family's clothing, have enormous kitchen gardens to care for, wash clothes by hand, make most of their food from scratch, ride buggies that make a 5-mile trip mean over 90 minutes of time spent traveling each way, raise chickens and bees, raise and slaughter their own animals...That sounds like a life of little more than backbreaking labor to me. In the Amish community it is the rules/Ordnung that lead to salvation and not faith in Christ. We "English" are doomed. The love of the Amish seems to me a bit of American nostalgia for a world that never was.
Dave Crozier
Ms Sleeth is living a God moment. These choices she and her husband made to change their lifestyle enabled better alignment with Godly & Christian living. Our culture worships individuality, personal rights, personal freedom, materialism, sexuality, industrialism,and impersonalization. Her comparison to Amish core values; self-surrender, submission, yielding to the will of God and to others, contentment, and a calm spirit is better for living a Godly life. I hope she continues to write on the subject and finds joy. We can learn for this.
Kathleen North
Thank you, Anonymous for the insight and for sharing part of your unique story! Whenever I read comment threads on articles I always cringe at some of the stuff that people say. Your comment is the best one I have seen yet and I can't wait to see more comments like yours in articles that I read in the future!
homebuilding
Thank you, Kate and Maryanne for pointing out that 'newsworthy' preoccupations with examples of evil do NOT define ANY group or subgroup. I believe the author is challenging us to consider Christ's commitment to justice and forgiveness, as well. (We are drowning in a consumer culture and much of her book shows how she is turning her back on it.) Do remember this five year old example of the Amish pursuit of forgiveness and reconciliation under the most severe circumstances: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish_school_shooting
homebuilding
Anything that challenges and repudiates the entertainment/amusement/advertisement culture of modern times is a huge plus. Doing so allows for much more time with parents and adults--to learn life skills and lessons--yea verily, and wisdom.
Bill
People will sieze any moment they can to get on a soap box these days, won't they? The author uses the word "Amish" metaphorically and someone goes off on a rant about "Amish abuse". All I can say is thank goodness for editors and the peer review process where (in the real world) having your opinion published is an earned right. I'm wondering if the digital world is such a great idea after all. After all, do we really want to hear anything and everything from anyone and everyone...all the time?
Kate
Former Amish speaking up here: I agree with Maryann, (and even laughed at Kirsit's comment!) it appears the author is blinded (I can only assume, as I just requested the book from the library yesterday) by the romantic notion of simplicity and enabling disguised as forgiveness. There have been books upon books written about the forgiveness issue (Amish Grace) so I won't even touch that, but yes, it can be very passive aggressive and enabling but overall the intention is to help others move on rather than dwell on wrong doings... Much like any community/religious group/household, what happens behind closed doors can be dark and dangerous. What you speak of Maryann is typical (although not always) of the Schwartzentruber Amish, the most conservative of all Amish communities. No Amish community claims to be holy society (yes like anyone we have the "holier than thou" types) but we do not outwardly or inwardly claim to be more holy than the English. That would be pride and that's a huge no-no (or should be). We value privacy, sometimes to a dangerous fault, but that also falls within the main tenant of being apart of the world, not within it. The Amish began as insular communities not because they felt they were more holy, but because the majority of Amish for many years were farmers. No longer is this the case. With the spread of urban development, many Amish have had to rethink and rework the communities needs and expectations. Each Amish community, is different. Each has it's own rules set by the community (and the baptized women of these communities vote on these issues). For example one community may welcome the use of central air/heat in the home while one community may not. One community may the use of scooters or roller skates and one may not. Music is welcomed but not in the way most English would think: singing hymns and believe or not, the harmonica. The community I belonged to welcomed art as long as there were no drawings of people/faces. I grew up with central heat but no central air. I also grew up with a washing machine but no dryer and indoor plumbing but no dishwasher. Was my life perfect? No. My parents fought, like anyone else's. My best friend growing up, her mother was very abusive to her and her sisters. But this is no more different or acceptable than in English homes. Should there be accountability for these abusive actions? Personally I think so, especially when it comes to sanitation. There are numerous ways where the Amish ideology can work hand in hand with sanitation rules. Yet there are some stubborn men for the sake of being stubborn, who refuse to comply. And yes, the widely accepted Amish ideology about animals is, in my opinion, extremely inhumane. But you must understand, that is not all Amish communities! Like any religious group, bad press and bad apples are out there. And I think it's more jarring when bad press happens to a community, most people have romantic notions and misconceptions about what it should be rather than what it is in reality. I'm not sure of anyone else's religion, but I'm sure there are skeltions in your church communities' closet (personal home, etc) and I'm sure those skeltons are not always held accountable. But you still find validation and beauty within the fellowship and the core beliefs and realize the individual does not represent the whole. Was it difficult for me when I left? Sure. Do I still keep in touch with my family? Sure. Is it difficult for them to understand why I chose not to be baptized? Absolutely. But to say I had no skills is another misconception. I worked in a bakery in many capacities, as secretary at a local Mennonite church, and my knowledge on the domestic arts and how to live sustainably worked to my advantage as a marketable skill! (I had no idea once could get a Master's Degree in Textile and Domestic Arts!) Once I had my paperwork in order (to say this was difficult is an understatement), I attended high school, went on to ...
Doreen Ashley
WOW I'd never thought of Amish as a "cult" before Alicia's comments but will certainly take that under advisement
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