Horse-and-Buggy Mennonites: Hoofbeats of Humility in a Postmodern World

Pennsylvania German History and Culture

by Donald B. Kraybill, James P. Hurd

On a May Sunday in 1927, progress and tradition collided at the Groffdale Old Order Mennonite Church in eastern Pennsylvania when half the congregation shunned the cup of wine offered by Bishop Moses Horning. The boycott of this holiest of Mennonite customs was in direct response to Horning’s decision to endorse the automobile after years of debate within the church. The resulting schism over opposing views of technology produced the group known as the Wenger Mennonites. In the nearly eighty years since the establishment of this church, the initial group of fifty dissenters has grown to a community of 16,000 Wenger Mennonites. They have large families and typically retain 95 percent or more of their youth. For many years their main community was based in Lancaster County, but in recent decades they have expanded into eight other states, with new communities most recently established in Iowa and Michigan. Despite their continued rejection of modern technology, the Wengers―popularly known as horse-and-buggy Mennonites―continue to thrive on their own terms. In this first-of-its-kind study of the Wenger Mennonites, Kraybill and Hurd―a sociologist and an anthropologist―use cultural analysis to interpret the Wengers both in and outside Pennsylvania. They systematically compare the Wengers with other Mennonite groups as well as with the Amish, showing how relationships with these other groups have had a powerful impact on shaping the identity of the Wenger Mennonites in the Anabaptist world. As Kraybill and Hurd show, the Wengers have learned that it is impossible to maintain a truly static culture, and so examining the ways in which the Wengers cautiously and incrementally adapt to the ever-changing world around them is an invaluable case study of the gradual evolution of religious ritual in the face of modernity.

Genres: Nonfiction

376 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Lavon Herschberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly this or similar non-fiction should be required reading for anyone who interacts with Old Order Mennonites or Amish (the author has written books on other groups, though this one is about the Old Order Mennonites). It really helped me think through why and how we structure church. Fascinating and insightful.

He was a bit hard on the group, but in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way. He didn’t directly give opinions on their practices, but he’d make very subtle comments and I think I could smell his disapproval. It actually made for kind of a fun reading experience, since I largely agree with his between-the-lines assessment, but it also came across slightly derogatory sometimes.

Here’s an example:
“Martin often said that an automobile reflected a ‘high and haughty’ spirit… citing the verse ‘that which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God’. The first abomination arrived in the village of Martindale in 1910, when Eli Z. rigged up a homemade horseless carriage by mounting a one-cylinder engine on a spring wagon… Soon tempted to buy a real car, Eli yielded. He was promptly excommunicated, abomination and all.” pg. 20, abridged slightly

I think I would have rather that he either wouldn’t have used any of that sly poking-fun language, taking more of a reporting the facts style OR if he would have committed fully to a reporting plus analysis style. We have enough trouble as it is with the natural temptation to disparage more conservative groups while castigating more liberal groups. Even though it’s not a predominant part of this book, some of Kraybill’s language may widen sectarian gaps we desperately need to close in conservative Christianity.

That’s why this book gets 4 stars instead of 5 from me.

[Denise Kettering · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kraybill and Hurd provide an excellent narrative about the Wenger Mennonites. The authors carefully outline the cause of their split from other Mennonite groups, particularly around the issue of cars and technology. Kraybill is a trusted voice about Old Order groups and provides not only an academic analysis of the Wenger group, but also a discussion of their theological views and family life. The extensive fieldwork completed among the Wenger Mennonites also allows for the frequent addition of their own words to explain aspects of their religious life.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fairly academic book, but the authors' use of excerpts from field interviews gives it a lively voice. Their argument, that Wenger Mennonites selectively adapt technology to support a community based on small-scale farming, is well-reasoned and thoughtfully presented. They do an excellent job of helping the reader see the logic behind "rules" of Wenger society that seem arbitrary and foolish to outsiders. Well worth the time invested in reading.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating and informative account of the Wenger Mennonites (an Old Order Mennonite group in Pennsylvania) that is both scholarly and easy to read. Donald Kraybil is a well-respected figure in the study of Plain People and this book is fair to them yet does not overly romanticise them. It provides a fascinating insight into a wholly different way of life and Christian living.

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an excellent study of the Horse and Buggy Mennonites and their doctrine and lifestyle. Mr.Kraybill is an author that I trust since he will go into the community to thoroughly research the people, and doesn't add and reports honestly. He is very trusted in PA.

[Christopher Good · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nine out of ten.

This book, as far as I know the first of its kind, is a fascinating study of the Joe Wenger (Groffdale Conference) Mennonites. Kraybill and Hurd carefully and compassionately document the physical distinctives that limit their mobility as well as the theological emphases of Gelassenheit.

I was really impressed with the amount of direct observation and personal interviews that went into this book--a testimony to the authors' sensitivity and trustworthiness.

As I've had a bit of experience with this group myself, I found myself chuckling at times when details that made it into the book resonated with my own memories.

I'd really like to see an updated version of this book with an extra chapter or two investigating Wenger responses to the Technological Revolution in the past couple of decades, perhaps accompanied by a level-headed prognostication of the future of the group. It's not that the authors ignored this topic, but they would certainly approach it differently now.

Well, von Hatzen yo und Amen. I definitely recommend this book to students of Anabaptism or of anthropology and sociology more broadly.

[Douglas S]

A good representation of an Old Order community.

[T.A. Munroe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five stars because it gave me great insight to the Old Order Mennonite culture which is central to my current WIP, Zook's Corner. I found it very readable and although it has an academic tone, it's not bogged down by it. It gave me insight into the whys and wherefores of this group of people who choose to separate themselves from the world. I don't know if I would have even thought of reading it if I didn't want to research, but it was more interesting than a few bestsellers I've tried to read.