To spur blood donations, a Red Cross chapter in Northern Ohio is offering people who give a pint of blood the chance to win a car -- or, for the Amish who live in the region, a horse-drawn buggy, the Associated Press reports.

Spokeswoman Christy Chapman in Cleveland says the Red Cross didn't want to leave its many Amish donors out of the giveaway. The organization's Northern Ohio blood services region includes three counties with one of the nation's largest Amish populations.

The Red Cross regional operation has a board member who is Amish and who is arranging to have a buggy custom-made for the contest, which wraps up Sept. 6.

Blood donors who prefer a more modern mode of transportation can win a 2010 Nissan Versa.

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 4:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
        

The population of Amish is growing in North America, and their search for affordable, fertile farmland is sending them into new areas to accommodate a population currently estimated at 249,000, the Associated Press reports.

A study released Wednesday by Elizabethtown College's Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies shows settlements in 28 states and Ontario. Amish have even been scouting for land recently in Alaska and Mexico.

The number of Amish has increased nearly 10 percent in the past two years alone, and it's more than doubled since 1992.

Nearly all Amish are descended from a group of about 5,000 in the early 20th century.

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Regular readers of this blog likely will have noticed that we have had little information here on the Amish, and even less on Verne Troyer. Which is why we are delighted this morning to address both circumstances in a single post.

It turns out that the actor, best known for playing Mini-Me in the Austin Powers movies, grew up around the Amish. Even considers himself ex-Amish, in a way.

“I used to be Amish,” Troyer tells something called Bang Showbiz. “I had to stay a lot with my grandparents or aunts and uncles who are Amish, so I was sort of partially Amish. When I go back there now I still get into that culture. I can drive a horse and buggy because they don't use cars. And, of course, there's no electricity. I respect them a lot. The Amish like to live a very plain lifestyle, the way they think God intended. It sort of brings you back to like 'Little House on the Prairie' days or something."

Posted by Matthew Hay Brown at 7:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
        

In the months since we started In Good Faith, we've attracted readers and commenters from all over the world. Ties to the Baltimore area will be helpful in spotting some familiar faces in the video above (the list appears at the end).

I wanted to take a moment to say a sincere thank you to all who have stopped by, and particularly to those who have joined in the spirited debate taking shape on these pages. During this holiday season, we wish the very best to everyone of every faith, and no faith at all.

I expect to be posting only lightly over the next few days as I take time off to spend with my family. As my father would say: Talk amongst yourselves.

Best,
Matt

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Four Amish leaders have been charged with failing to report suspected child abuse after they chose to shun an accused child molester in their community rather than turn him in to authorities.

Each of the four bishops in rural Webster County, Mo., has been charged with a misdemeanor charge of failure to report child abuse as a mandatory reporter, according to the Associated Press. Under Missouri law, the AP reports, people with “responsibility for the care of children” – including doctors, nurses, teachers, social workers and ministers – are required to report suspected abuse.

Charged were bishops Emmanuel M.S. Eicher, 44, Peter M. Eicher, 59, Jacob P. Schwartz, 79, and Christian J.F. Schwartz, 41.

Authorities say the four men knew that a member of their community, Johnny A. Schwartz, 36, had abused two underage children from June 2007 through June 2008. Schwartz was charged in mid-October with six counts involving sexual abuse of children.

Authorities would not say how Schwartz and the bishops with the same surname are related, the AP reports. They also would not release the ages of the children or their relationship to Johnny Schwartz.

Sheriff Roye H. Cole said authorities found out about the alleged abuse from someone who works among the them, the AP reports. That individual, who has not been identified, had heard about Schwartz being shunned by the community and asked why.

Continue reading "Amish accused of shunning, not reporting, molester" »

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Categories: Amish, Church and State