Groffdale Conference Mennonite Church
Along with the automobile, they reject many modern conveniences, while allowing electricity in their homes and steel-wheeled tractors to till the fields.
The Groffdale Conference Mennonites have their roots in the Anabaptist movement of Switzerland and Southwest Germany, including the German-speaking Alsace, that came under French rule starting in the 17th century.
These forerunners of modern Mennonites were part of the Protestant Reformation, a broad reaction against the practices and theology of the Roman Catholic Church.
At a small meeting in Zurich on January 21, 1525, Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, and George Blaurock, along with twelve others, baptized each other.
[1] Despite strong repressive efforts of the state churches, the movement spread slowly around western Europe, primarily along the Rhine.
From 1812 to 1860, another wave of Mennonite immigrants from Europe settled farther west in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri.
The trigger for the split in Lancaster County was a quarrel about a pulpit that was to be installed in church instead of the traditional preacher's table.
[7] Five hundred of the more traditional members of the Weaverland conference, about half of the congregation, formed this group in order to retain horse-drawn transportation.
Finally it was also allowed for the ministry, a fraction broke away and formed under John Martin (former deacon) a new group, in Missouri its leader was Noah W. Leid.
In 2021 a one of their bishops joined the Mid-West Conference according to "Die Botschaft", a newspaper for an Old Order audience from Sugarcreek, Ohio.
Parts of a Stauffer Mennonite current split-off (Arthur Martin movement) in Illinois joined them, these are abt.
Current reports quote that the shifting of membership from the big Groffdale Mennonite church to the split-off group still grows.
Groffdale Conference buggies have a small window in the back and big ones in the upper part of left and right front door.
Quoted Reasonings for the change were that getting cold hands could be prevented better and protection anyhow by the box-like type during heavy weather conditions.
Starting in the 1970s, some farmers used rubber belts and blocks to give wheels more traction, provide a smoother ride and reduce damage to public roads.
This practice caused considerable debate within the community, which was resolved in 1999 with a compromise that allows limited use of rubber in the structure of steel wheels.
[13] Hard rubber or pneumatic tires are allowed on bicycles and machinery not requiring a driver, such as walk-behind equipment and wagons.
Use of steel wheels ensures tractors are not used as a substitute for automobiles to run errands or to make more extensive trips than are convenient with horse-drawn carriages.
The steel wheel rule prevents large agricultural operations, reinforcing an emphasis on small farms that provide manual labor for all of the family members.
Practicing nonresistance like other traditional Mennonite groups, during World War II they advised young men not qualifying for a farm deferment to accept jail terms instead of Civilian Public Service, the alternate used by other Anabaptist conscientious objectors.
[18] In 2015 the group had a total population of 22,305 people of which 9,620 lived in Pennsylvania, 3,934 in New York, 2,395 in Wisconsin, 1,805 in Ohio, 1,545 in Missouri, 1,112 in Kentucky, 995 in Indiana, 600 in Iowa and 300 in Michigan.
