The Amish Cook from Oasis Newsfeatures

Strange terms and interesting observations by the author.  I wonder which area of Indiana he visited... Shipshewana, Nappanee, or Berne? 

Hi Kevin,

Thanks for inviting me to drop by!  I could understand the vocabulary being used perhaps by someone not as familiar with Amish.  Technically the bishop and ministry on the whole are the spiritual leaders, but I don’t know that I’ve ever heard any Amish refer to them in English directly using that term.  IMHO I think the writer using it is mostly harmless and descriptively accurate, though you’re right, taking the lingo of the Amish into account, that it might seem a bit out of place, as Amish would typically just use “the bishop”, “the ministers”, etc. 

As for “council”, a few things came to mind, but I don’t know that any are exactly what was meant:  there is the “Counsel” meeting taking place 2 weeks before Communion in spring and fall.  That of course has a different spelling and different function than what what was meant here.

I also thought of the annual gatherings of bishops in settlements such as Lancaster County;  Kraybill refers to these as “Bishop’s Meetings”.  And it sounds like this happened twice as a recurring local meeting, so also a no.

A better guess was that he could have very well meant a “counsel” not “council”, as in an individual you speak with for advice, which could have (likely would have been) ministry of the church. 

So I might guess that council may just be the writer’s language here, and perhaps a mistaken spelling of “counsel”. 

Though it could very well have been a term of description used by the Amishman in this part of the country at this time for a meeting with the ministers, though it sounds a bit formal.  Since this was the 1950s, English language usage even among Amish would likely have changed a bit since then. 

It also may be that since this was 50-plus years ago, that’s a lot of water under the bridge.  Perhaps the writer is misremembering the actual vocab used. 

On a side note, I was most surprised that the writer describes the Amish in question as seemingly being excited when learning that they would get a lot of TV exposure.  That reaction seemed a bit “un-Amish”, the eyes getting wide almost like a reality show contestant learning that he'd made it to the next round!!

Okay-whew!  That’s my two cents, for whatever it’s worth (I hope at least 2 cents!).

If you don’t mind me sneaking a link in here, here is a post I did that describes a bit more about Amish church ministry:  http://amishamerica.com/2008/07/the-amish-ministry.html  Great discussion over here by the way!  And always enjoy reading your great blog, thanks again!

PS just moved my blog over from typepad to wordpress.  Lot of work, but I do like wordpress a lot better!

Maybe I'm missing something but I don't understand what's wrong with referring to the person who guides and supervises a group or an organization as a  "leader."  That's what a minister, bishop or deacon does.  They lead.  It doesn't mean control or dominate. And "council" is a word commonly used by churches of varying denominations to identify the group of "leaders" who guide and supervise the people in the ministries of their congregations.  I thought it was highly appropriate and respectable for this man to seek out the "leaders" of the Amish community in order to pursue the potential documentary.  That he referred to them as "leaders" is so incidental as to be a non-issue, in my humble opinion.

I had read that the bishops, deacons and ministers were selected by the casting of lots (Acts 1:26) and that they accept these roles humbly not proudly.  Being referred to as leaders is so contrary.

Goodness gracious! He used "leader" like their some kind of cult! I'm not sure of the "counsil either, I will check with my Amish friends here in Lancaster County Pa and let you know too. Last I heard it used was in my research on Amish history back to Zurich Switerland in the 1500's!  www.amish-info-goods.com  psss. new to your site and I'm liking it!

yes I would be interested in viewing that film also.

Thank you Kevin for checking in to this.

Marge 

I wonder if the film still exists in the archives of any of the "sister" stations?  Any way to find out, Kevin?