Posts by Saloma Furlong
Traditional Amish Courtship Practices
Thanks for giving us a fuller view of “rum springa.” I was curious about what traditional courtship would entail. Going out to dinner is the most benign kind of date in mainstream American culture. That this would be more threatening than getting drunk on the regular basis, was surprising. Okay, AnnnieM, I am ready to…
Read MoreChristmas Traditions
All living things respond to the warmth of love. ~ Author Unknown I remember well those Christmases when our family would visit my grandparents (Momme and Dodde) on my mother’s side of the family. In the following vignette, I am combining several typical years when we visited Mem’s relatives. When we arrived at my Momme…
Read MoreMore on Amish Ancestors
I am ready to suffer my head to be struck off, much rather than apostatize from my faith. ~ Hans Haslibacher This quote comes out of the Martyrs Mirror, an extensive collection of stories about the the persecution of the Anabaptists, who were the forerunners of the Amish, Mennonites, and Hutterites. This book can be…
Read MoreVisiting the Site of an Anabaptist Leader
Since we are to be conformed to the image of Christ, how can we then fight our enemies with the sword?… Our weapons are not weapons with which cities and countries may be destroyed, walls and gates broken down, and human blood shed in torrents like water. ~ Menno Simons It’s been a while since…
Read MoreShunning
Someone asked me to clarify what it means to be shunned by the Amish. First I will mention that there are two different kinds of shunning –– temporary shunning and permanent shunning. In this essay I will focus on permanent shunning, which is reserved for those who have left the fold. I refer to my…
Read MoreThe Things I Miss
Hi Saloma, I enjoyed your thought provoking articles. What, if anything, have you missed about being Amish since you left? In 2004, when I went back to my original community for my father’s funeral, I was reminded of the sense of community that comes from many people working closely together. Seeing how the other families…
Read MoreTo Leave or not to Leave?
If we cease to hope, then that which we fear will surely come. ~ Christa Wolf To fully understand the pressures a young Amish person faces to stay in the faith they were born in, one needs to first understand that from the time Amish children can understand the concept, they are taught that anyone…
Read MoreIntroduction: An Insider’s Perspective on the Amish
With a blog by the name of “About Amish,” I’m sure you will want some idea of who I am and what gives me the authority to write on the subject, or at the very least what my perspective is. I find there is a scarcity of accurate information out there about the Amish. There…
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