amish life in indiana

While visiting my family up in southern Indiana, we drove through an Amish community near my parents' house. The pictures I took do include photos of people, but since they are not portraits, they show everyday life, they are permissible. A portrait is the sin of vanity, while depiction of everyday life is simply documentation of their life.


An Amish farm, the main farmhouse is on the right, the barns and other outbuildings on the left.



An Amish family on their way home after attending Sabbath Meeting at someone's house. Members of the Community take turns hosting Sabbath Meeting at their homes. There is no such thing as an Amish Church.



A social gathering of young, unmarried men and women. The young men and women mingle, get to know each other, and hopefully fall in love. Marriages are not arranged, couples are free to choose to marry whomever they want, as long as the couple are not closely related (no closer than second cousins, I think).



Another farm, the house is at the far left, behind the tree. In the foreground is a grapevine and the garden is ready for planting



The same farm as above, two barns and a windmill. Electricity is allowed in some communities, depending on the rules set by the community, as long as it is not from the municipal source. Windmills, batteries, generators are allowed, since they are creating the electricity themselves. One member of this community, a carpenter who has done some work for Dad, uses deep-cycle marine batteries to run his electric fence, and takes the dead batteries to Wal-Mart who will re-charge them for free. Other electrical appliances used include refrigerators, freezers, and microwaves, things which help with cooking, storing food, and not entertainment.