Amish singing
Posted by tom | Aug 28, 2010On Thursday, I picked up some Amish for a night of acapella Ausband singing at the Allegheny Mennonite Meetinghouse. It was a long drive from the Oxford, PA, area, for them to be with some of their Mennonite friends [particularly from Franconia Mennonite Conference (Mennonite Church USA)], but they didn't want to miss the opportunity for this annual event.*
Sitting among and hearing the songs of these brothers and sisters in Christ brought forth a beautiful vision of the countercultural nature of the Kingdom of God. And I really enjoyed the rich travel conversation regarding daily life and the laughter over some English-PA Dutch cross cultural encounters (including language slips). What a way to cap off several days engaged in "Theology of the Church" (Brethren in Christ Core Class).
Hoping for future opportunities to serve the Amish culture, maybe in relationship to the work at PSU-Hershey. You might find of interest that I was picking up the tunes and the pronunciation -- at least that was what I was told by an "English" neighbor." Will this inspire me to return to learning German (or PA Dutch)? More reflections on the evening and thoughts regarding the Amish coming.
*Note: Interested in samples of this style of singing? Click here.
