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Josh wrote:Lancaster hasn't had any new Amish settlements in a while, even though many new settlements are happening elsewhere. Holmes County is bigger now and communities in Wisconsin are growing fast too. Eventually, Lancaster might just be another suburb of NYC/Philadelphia/DC.

It's sad to think an area with so much history is at risk of one day being abolished. On the flip side I'm glad to hear other communities are continuing to grow and thrive. I'm sure we'll see other sizable communities pop up in the next 20 years or so throughout the midwest as they seek available farm land.

Haystack wrote:

Josh wrote:Lancaster hasn't had any new Amish settlements in a while, even though many new settlements are happening elsewhere. Holmes County is bigger now and communities in Wisconsin are growing fast too. Eventually, Lancaster might just be another suburb of NYC/Philadelphia/DC.

It's sad to think an area with so much history is at risk of one day being abolished. On the flip side I'm glad to hear other communities are continuing to grow and thrive. I'm sure we'll see other sizable communities pop up in the next 20 years or so throughout the midwest as they seek available farm land.

At some point I hope the brakes get out on mass society and endless "growth" whilst other areas of our cities either become empty or turn into crime ridden ghettoes. Of course, I personally work in the business of ever expanding sprawl in a city whose population is not growing, so I am even complicit in this, but maybe that's why it bothers me so much.

I always thought conservative Mennonites in general practiced a quiverfull mentality, even as diverse in theology as it can get. While it’s true the economy is moving out of the farm and into cities; there is still many stay back.

Chiruso78 wrote:I always thought conservative Mennonites in general practiced a quiverfull mentality, even as diverse in theology as it can get. While it’s true the economy is moving out of the farm and into cities; there is still many stay back.

The ones I've met do not. The only people I've ran into practicing that are the so called "long coats" or the charity groups.

Those sound like old order

Chiruso78 wrote:I always thought conservative Mennonites in general practiced a quiverfull mentality, even as diverse in theology as it can get. While it’s true the economy is moving out of the farm and into cities; there is still many stay back.

This is generally not the case. My own group (Holdeman) teaches birth control is to be avoided for young couples, but it is acceptable for health reasons particularly with an older wife, for reasons of mental defect making it harder for one or both parents to handle a large family, and generally is appropriate after a family is already large. For example, if a family had 7 kids, and the husband and wife are in their 40s, avoiding more kids is seen as prudent - especially as the risk of autism or genetic defect rises.

Maybe when they’re young; what’s the median number of children per family? I heard it was 3-4 for the Holdemans.

Chiruso78 wrote:Maybe when they’re young; what’s the median number of children per family? I heard it was 3-4 for the Holdemans.

I would guess 7-8 by old age.

Holdemans marry young. Many of our couples haven’t finished having kids.

No wonder the group has a solid growth rate, those numbers are definitely high.

Chiruso78 wrote:No wonder the group has a solid growth rate, those numbers are definitely high.

We have a combination of growth from within and without.