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Life in community is no less than a necessity for us, an inescapable ‘must’ all life created by God exists in communal order and works toward community. - Eberhard Arnold Elmo Stoll (March 5, 1944 – September 2, 1998) was a former Old Order Amish bishop, writer and founder of the "Christian Communities". He was one of the few Amish who "have risen to prominence over the years". [PHOTO SOURCE: https://share.google/KQzBJjLr7QWbRMJ2m .... https://www.fotocommunity.com/photo/ex-elder-elmo-stoll-lee-nelson-hall-junior/20829481] |
March 5 is the birthday of the Christian Communities founder, Jakob Ammann, who was born in 1944. This year 2024, would have been his 80th birthday. I will post information about him from Wikipedia and other sources before giving my thoughts on the Para-Amish Group.
UPDATED: INFORMATION AS OF FEBRUARY 28, 2O26:
Elmo Stoll (March 5, 1944 – September 2, 1998) was a former Old Order Amish bishop, writer and founder of the "Christian Communities". He was one of the few Amish who "have risen to prominence over the years".
Life
Elmo Stoll was born in Litchfield, Michigan, son of Peter and Anna Stoll, née Wagler. He was one of eleven children. Elmo still being a small child, his family moved to Piketon, Ohio, and then, in the early 1950, to a new Amish settlement of Aylmer, Ontario. In 1966 and '67 he was a teacher in a Beachy Amish school in Wellesley, Ontario. In 1968 he did not follow his family, who moved to Honduras, but stayed in Ontario, where he worked for Pathway Publishers. On June 4, 1970, he married Elizabeth Miller. He was ordained by lot as an Amish minister on April 14, 1971. He was ordained bishop by lot on October 10, 1984, and as such he forced the members of his church to dress plainer and he also enforced other changes in the direction of stricter plainness and less technology, e.g., he forbade the use of electronic calculators. Moreover, he became an ardent preacher. He also wrote a regular column in the Amish magazine Family Life, until he left the Amish and created the "Christian Communities".
Elmo Stoll helped a young couple, seekers of French-Canadian background, Marc Villeneuve and his wife, to join the Amish community at Aylmer. This young man started to raise questions about several religious practices and was backed by Elmo's sons and more and more by Elmo himself. In December 1989 the ministers of the Aylmer Amish settlement met to discuss five issues, Elmo and his followers had raised: Evangelizing outside the Plain churches, the use of the English language to reach seekers, Christian community of goods (like the Hutterites), the mandatory wearing of hats for men and the question of fellowship with other plain churches. Elmo Stoll was favoring fellowship with the Noah Hoover Mennonites and the Orthodox Mennonites. No decision was made after this meeting. Elmo Stoll then explained his ideas in the Book Let us reason together.
In July 1990 the real crisis came. Elmo, being a bishop of the Ayler community, challenged the Ordnung (set of rules of the community). The other bishops of Aylmer consulted with outside bishops and the decision was made to let Elmo start a new community, separated from the Aylmer community. Elmo and his followers were not excommunicated, but it was not allowed that individuals could freely move between the two communities. So Elmo Stoll and his followers withdrew from the Amish church in Aylmer in September 1990 to organize a plain, horse-and-buggy, English-speaking community in Cookeville, Tennessee, that should be rooted in Anabaptism. Cookeville was chosen because of its proximity to the like-minded Noah Hoover Mennonites in Scottsville, Kentucky
“Whether you are
Calvinists, or Arminians, or anything else, dear friends, be first and chiefly
Christians—Christians—following Christ, receiving him as the great Expositor to
you of God, and of the great truths of revelation. You will tell me you have your
“bodies of divinity;” there never was but one “body of divinity,” and that was
the “body” of the man, Christ Jesus; do you, abating all prejudices and
self-formed opinions, receive our Lord as the great embodiment of truth.” ― Charles
Spurgeon [PHOTO SOURCE: https://share.google/2z7eg2mwOU8YkIR9I] https://lutherandcalvinbrigade914.blogspot.com/2016/06/charles-spurgeon-on-jesuss-death-on.html https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2026/02/490th-martyrdom-of-jakob-hutter.html
"Christian Communities"
Main article: Christian Communities (Elmo Stoll)
In 1990 Elmo Stoll founded an intentional community in Cookeville, Tennessee, called "Christian Community", that spread to other places. When Elmo Stoll died in 1998, there were five "Christian Communities": Cookeville, Tennessee; Decatur, Tennessee; Holland, Kentucky; Smyrna, Maine; and Woodstock, New Brunswick, Canada. Not only Amish people, but also people with an Old Order Mennonite or an Old German Baptist background, as well as people from non-plain churches, were attracted by the "Christian Communities". After the early death of Elmo Stoll by heart failure, two of the "Christian Communities" disbanded while the one in Holland, Kentucky, and part of the one in Decatur, who moved to Delano, Tennessee, joined the Noah Hoover Mennonites, a very plain horse and buggy Old Order group, that is rather intentionalist minded than traditional. The community in Smyrna, after having lost most of its members without Amish background, developed a fellowship with an Amish community of the Michigan Amish Churches in Manton, Michigan. Some of Elmo Stoll's sons and others with Amish background returned to the Amish community in Aylmer, Ontario.
The Caneyville Christian Community, founded in 2004 by a former bishop of Elmo Stoll's "Christian Communities" and one of his sons, still adheres to Elmo Stoll's vision.
Family
Parts of Elmo Stoll's family, including his elder brother Joseph Stoll, went to Honduras in the late 1960s to establish an Amish settlement there, but most of the Amish settlers returned to North America several years later. Joseph Stoll was one of the two founders of Pathway Publishers and is author of several books. Elmo was the cousin of bestselling author Ira Wagler (Growing Up Amish: A Memoir). A nephew of Elmo, Jerry S. Eicher, is also the writer of several books.
Works
· ——; Weaver, Sarah M. (1969). The midnight test. Pathway Publishers. OCLC 7928760.
· ——; Miller, Elizabeth Russell (1972). No empty seal. Pathway Publishers. OCLC 10652398.
· —— (1972). One-way street. Pathway Publishers. OCLC 10652775.
· ——; Stoll, Mark (1980). Pioneer catalogue of country living. Rexdale, Ont., CA: Personal Library Publishers : John Wiley and Sons Canada Ltd. ISBN 0-920510-13-2. OCLC 7402637.
· —— (1990). Let us reason together. E. Stoll. OCLC 27457253.
· ——; Stoll, Joseph; Luthy, David (1995). Our Heritage. Pathway Reading Series. Pathyway Publishing. ASIN B000QDQWB2.
· —— (1996). Why we live simply. Christian Community. OCLC 38887660.
· —— (1999). Give me this mountain : a selection of Views & Values. Published by the author's family. OCLC 43673080.
INTERNET SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmo_Stoll
Elmo Stoll
Birth: 5 Mar 1944
Litchfield, Hillsdale County, Michigan, USA
Death: 2 Sep 1998 (aged 54)
Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee, USA
Burial
Elmo
Stoll was born in Litchfield, Michigan, son of Peter and Anna Stoll, née
Wagler. He was one of eleven children. Elmo still being a small child, his
family moved to Piketon, Ohio, and then, in the early 1950, to a new Amish
settlement of Aylmer, Ontario. In 1966 and '67 he was a teacher in a Beachy
Amish school in Wellesley, Ontario. In 1968 he did not follow his family, who
moved to Honduras, but stayed in Ontario, where he worked for Pathway
Publishers. On June 4, 1970, he married Elizabeth Miller. He was ordained by
lot as an Amish minister on April 14, 1971. He was ordained bishop by lot on
October 10, 1984, and as such he forced the members of his church to dress
plainer and he also enforced other changes in the direction of stricter
plainness and less technology, e.g., he forbade the use of electronic
calculators. Moreover, he became an ardent preacher.[3][4][5] He also wrote a
regular column in the Amish magazine Family Life, until he left the Amish and
created the "Christian Communities".
Elmo Stoll helped a young couple, seekers of French-Canadian background, Marc
Villeneuve and his wife, to join the Amish community at Aylmer. This young man
started to raise questions about several religious practices and was backed by
Elmo's sons and more and more by Elmo himself. In December 1989 the ministers
of the Aylmer Amish settlement met to discuss five issues, Elmo and his
followers had raised: Evangelizing outside the Plain churches, the use of the
English language to reach seekers, Christian community of goods (like the
Hutterites), the mandatory wearing of hats for men and the question of
fellowship with other plain churches. Elmo Stoll was favoring fellowship with
the Noah Hoover Mennonites and the Orthodox Mennonites. No decision was made
after this meeting. Elmo Stoll then explained his ideas in the Book Let us
reason together.
In July 1990 the real crisis came. Elmo, being a bishop of the Aylmer
community, challenged the Ordnung (set of rules of the community). The other
bishops of Aylmer consulted with outside bishops and the decision was made to
let Elmo start a new community, separated from the Aylmer community. Elmo and
his followers were not excommunicated, but it was not allowed that individuals
could freely move between the two communities. So Elmo Stoll and his followers
withdrew from the Amish church in Aylmer in September 1990 to organize a plain,
horse-and-buggy, English-speaking community in Cookeville, Tennessee, that
should be rooted in Anabaptism. Cookeville was chosen because of its proximity
to the like-minded Noah Hoover Mennonites in Scottsville, Kentucky.
Inscription
Aged 54 years 6 months 28 days
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Picasso’s First Cart Ride. Yay!! with Titus Morris [PHOTO SOURCE: https://share.google/bzyAgS5grh9x0lZRy..... https://youtu.be/SF8eiJb-hh8?si=amQeugledU_hFEXs] https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2026/02/titus-morris-and-henson-creek-house-of.html |
MY THOUGHTS:
Para-Amish refers to newer, similar Christian groups that adopt Old Order Amish lifestyle elements like horse-and-buggy travel and plain dress but are often founded by seekers from outside the traditional Amish faith, aiming for a simpler, communal life with more English language and openness to new members, exemplified by groups like the Christian Communities founded by Elmo Stoll. They mimic Amish ways for spiritual renewal but aren't official Amish affiliations, focusing on community and avoiding modern materialism while sometimes differing in doctrine or technology use.
I love the idea of the Para-Amish Groups – they also follow the 4 core values of the Anabaptist Trio: faith, family, community and simple life. It is good that they keep the Amish lifestyle by living off-grid and using horse and buggies. It is a good survival skill too. They also follow the Hutterites using the common purse.
As for their Christian communities, I believe that they follow the bible verses from I Corinthians 1 verse 10 to 17, where they prefer to be non-denominational. As mention above, they do use the 4 core values, which is biblical.
The Christian Communities or Para-Amish Groups are like Titus Morris and the McCallum Family. One of them is that they love horses and they use it for work and transport around their area. They have their own church buildings and their communities are growing.
I will close with the saying:
“History does not survive by accident. It survives because people care enough to preserve it.”
PARA-AMISH PHOTOS:
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homeschooling_thevillagepeople
Our amazing Twin Oaks
Farm visit🌾🐄☀️🐴 [PHOTO SOURCE: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cx84NkihNTt/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=YTMxMzNhZDZmYw%3D%3D …. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cx84NkihNTt/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link] https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/11/einfache-leben-mccallums-and-their.html |
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I have a motto: it's never too late to give up. It's never too late to give up what you are doing, and start doing what you realise you love. - Hans Rosling Titus Morris standing on his two horses. [PHOTO SOURCE: https://share.google/ZCHPlJg4kI8CXhaqJ .... https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCp7JHpE4DSzqBQHU2QkA41w] https://www.facebook.com/titus.morris BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2024/02/simple-living-quotes-part-1-meet-titus.html BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2026/02/titus-morris-and-henson-creek-house-of.html |
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Are You Mad at God? | Sabbath 06.07.25 | Titus & Stephanie Morris [PHOTO SOURCE: https://share.google/NaerizdoTxyV21ned.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4Vj41j6_sk] BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2024/02/simple-living-quotes-part-1-meet-titus.html BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2026/02/titus-morris-and-henson-creek-house-of.html |
RELATED LIN/KS:
https://www.amish365.com/5-plain-communities-ive-never-visited-like/
https://www.uniquemainefarms.com/uniquemainefarms.com/Bark-Eater_Farm.html
https://www.irawagler.com/?p=595
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2024/02/simple-living-quotes-part-1-meet-titus.html
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2026/02/titus-morris-and-henson-creek-house-of.html
VIDEOS ON PEOPLE ON SIMPLE LIVING LINKS:
16x9 | Lasqueti: Living off the grid an hour from Vancouver
https://rumble.com/vqtj6o-16x9-lasqueti-living-off-the-grid-an-hour-from-vancouver.html
Jill Redwood has lived 'off the grid' for more than 30 years in East Gippsland
Woman Living Off-Grid in Her Tiny House in Northern Canada
https://rumble.com/vrh3wk-woman-living-off-grid-in-her-tiny-house-in-northern-canada.html
Family Of 9 Live Off Grid To 'Reject Society' | MY EXTRAORDINARY FAMILY
https://rumble.com/v1130r3-family-of-9-live-off-grid-to-reject-society-my-extraordinary-family.html
“A quiet and modest life brings more joy than a pursuit of success bound with constant unrest.” ― Albert Einstein
MEET JORDAN THE JUNGLE BOY OF PAGAN ISLAND
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2026/01/meet-jordan-jungle-boy-of-pagan-island.html
RUMBLE VIDEO: https://rumble.com/v75z0ki-meet-jordan-the-jungle-boy-of-pagan-island.html
BITCHUTE VIDEO: https://www.bitchute.com/video/oAtUPe3wkrBh
Odysee Video: https://odysee.com/MEET-JORDAN-THE-JUNGLE-BOY-OF-PAGAN-ISLAND-:9?r=6RZXUgJnkkxpsTtc3czkcaUGzyX9eydr
The McCallums go
shopping in Woolworths. Elizabeth pushes Abi in the trolley.Credit:
Meredith O'Shea Money
is only a tool, not a goal. – Amish Proverb They spend only $60 each week at Woolworths for 10
people (buying essentials like toilet paper, matches and shampoo. Bananas, even
mandarins, are sometimes bought as a treat). We emerge into the blinding
sunlight and onto the front verandah. The smaller children run towards us,
squealing. One of the daily highlights has just happened: the mail delivery. We
head to the road stall, which is quiet now, but the family is flat out selling
produce from December to April. The children are paid 10 per cent of sales for
their picking work, Bethany says. "Once a year we get on the bus and go to
Launceston to Toyworld or Kmart and we have a really exciting time." BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-mccallums-one-of-australias-few.html BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-mccallums-and-their-community.html BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2024/07/the-mccallum-family-musical-group.html BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/08/springfield-farm-fresh-produce-mccallum.html BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/11/einfache-leben-mccallums-and-their.html
THE MCCALLUM AMISH-MENNONITE FAMILY LINKS:
If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world. - J. R. R. Tolkien
The McCallums – One of Australia’s few Amish families
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-mccallums-one-of-australias-few.html
The Church At Springfield
https://thechurchatspringfield.com.au/
True community arises out of transformation, and only transformation can make real community. – Eberhard Arnold
The McCallums and their community
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-mccallums-and-their-community.html
“I make music to touch the souls of people as it’s a language we all can speak.” — Andre Rieu
The McCallum Family Musical Group
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2024/07/the-mccallum-family-musical-group.html
Love Is Work Working together with others is the best way to test our faith, to find out whether or not we are ready to live a life of Christian fellowship. Work is the crucial test of faith because such a life can come into being only where people work for love. Love demands action, and the only really valid action is work. Christian fellowship means fellowship in work. – Eberhard Arnold
Springfield Farm Fresh Produce - McCallum Family
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/08/springfield-farm-fresh-produce-mccallum.html
The family that works together, eats together, and prays together, stays together. – Amish Proverb
Einfache Leben: The McCallums and their growing community
https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/11/einfache-leben-mccallums-and-their.html
“I wish you music to help with the burdens of life, and to help you release your happiness to others.” - Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Tuner Compass
From an Amish family in Tasmania, to a Chinese Australian widow in Darwin, piano tuner Martin Tucker encounters people across Australia. Through his craft the audience is introduced to a network of community, soul connection and listening, bound together by the vanishing skill of a piano tuner committed to his calling.
(ABC, Compass, 2021)
See 4:22 to 8:25 of video for the McCallum Amish Mennonite Family
BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-mccallums-one-of-australias-few.html
BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2023/11/the-mccallums-and-their-community.html
BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2024/07/the-mccallum-family-musical-group.html
BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/08/springfield-farm-fresh-produce-mccallum.html
BLOG: https://blackforestproject421.blogspot.com/2025/11/einfache-leben-mccallums-and-their.html
VIMEO SOURCE: https://vimeo.com/539429269/5a910346a1
RUMBLE VIDEO: https://rumble.com/v705yag-piano-tuner-compass.html
BITCHUTE VIDEO: https://www.bitchute.com/video/iuvkk7OjQpWM
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