The Amish: Back Roads to Heaven | Full Movie | Burton Buller

[Music] for the amish the road of life leading to heaven is not a highway traveled by many it more resembles a back road a road traveled by those few who choose to identify with the amish community the back road of amish life meanders through the countryside turning and twisting occasionally passing in the shadow of and sometimes intersecting with the main travel roads then it veers once again into the rural landscape [Music] the amish are considered to be unbelievably holy and unbelievably hypocritical of course amish life is neither unbelievably holy or unbelievably hypocritical it's it's something other than that the amish began in the late 1600s in the mountains of switzerland founder jacob ahman was born near the mountain village of erlenbach in the zementol valley the church where he was baptized as an infant still stands its ancient frescoes overlooking the baptismal fount later he joined other peasants from these mountain valleys seeking to reform the state church in 1680 ammon moved from ireland bach to the steffiesburg region here he urged anyone who would listen to join the anabaptists a group of reformers who were renouncing their membership in the state church by being baptized into the adult community of faith the state did not look kindly upon this new underground church the castle in tune was used as a prison and torture chamber for anabaptists the clock-towered church in schwarzenegger was built with money garnered from confiscated anabaptist property in 1693 jacob almond led a split with the anabaptist swiss brethren over issues of church discipline his followers came to be called amish although there are no amish left in europe the french city of saint mariel mins commemorates the founding of the amish faith in its area with an annual exhibition featuring quilts created by amish artisans a museum interprets amish beginnings to the curious [Music] today 200 000 amish inhabit 27 states and the province of ontario their common use of horsepower and distinctive clothing mask the diversity found in their many communities [Music] documenting their life requires working near the edges of boundaries set by the amish historically the amish have objected to photographs because the photograph really calls attention to the individual so in many amish communities there would be a strong feeling that you shouldn't pose for a photograph some of them will let you take a photograph from a distance or if they know the photographs being taken they're okay but it would be a violation of a moral standard to consent to have their photograph or to peer to appear directly face on on the camera for the amish carefully prescribed boundaries keep the spiritual community together and the world at bay happiness is not defined by individual explorations rather a deep sense of well-being while living among close family and friends brings a lifetime of fulfillment and contentment [Applause] the community is organized around a church district what we might call a congregation but this is a physical geographical area if you don't like your local bishop you can't get in your horse and buggy and drive down the road to a more lenient bishop but you worship with the 25 or 35 families that live close to you that they are the ones that constitute your church district [Applause] every other sunday congregations gather in homes for fellowship and worship hosting the congregation requires preparations that involve the entire family it takes a couple weeks to clean up and all you know but it's not like boom it's here tomorrow you know you have a couple weeks to work on it a fellowship meal for more than 100 people involves careful planning for lunch we have meat jam and bread and peanut butter and shimyakis and most times apple pie or snitz pie i take care of the pies it takes about 20 loads of bread to accommodate the worshipers the family clears a large space in their home or sometimes in the barn benches used for the service arrive in a special wagon [Music] the benches are arranged so that worshipers will sit facing each other women on one side men on the other ministers stand in the center chairs are reserved for ministers and guests an amishman describes the service the men would gather in in a separate place you know they would put away their their horses soon after eight o'clock the ministers will go inside and they'll greet the women with a handshake and then they'll take their seat and then later the the men will come in usually the oldest ones would take the lead and then followed by the visitors and then in in descending ages when the rest of them file in then after they're all seated the young boys and girls would also come in and take their seats hymns are selected from the ausbin the oldest protestant hymnbook in continuous use afterwards there started with the hymns the the ministers will file a way into into another room to have their council session and they'll select the speakers for the day the first minister he would then make his opening sermon at that time and that usually lasts for 15 to 25 minutes and then the deacon reads the text and then the second minister preaches the main sermon all kind be true and then the closing hymn of song and that's usually around between 11 and 11 30. amish life is regulated by the ordinance it's just basically a guideline that the the community can follow together to promote unities the ordnung prescribes what is expected of an amish person how they would trim their hair for men that they would wear a beard but not a mustache it would prescribe the appropriate dress for women and it would also proscribe certain things that they shouldn't do such as having a television or having an automobile it's verbal it's uh there is no written ordering that the point of that is so that it doesn't become scripture children learn it by growing up inside the community the amish live in a supernatural world and they believe that god is active around them there is a religious canopy over all of amish life that provides a focus and a direction and meaning an interpretation for what they are doing very early a child becomes conscious of its amish identity by school age the child enters a unique educational experience that prepares it for life in the amish community amish youth attended public schools until small rural schools were consolidated in the 1950s and 60s since then amish in many communities created their own one and two room schools to reflect their beliefs and values formal schooling ends with the eighth grade the rise of amish owned and operated schools is a very important change in protecting amish identity and providing a strong sense of environment for young children in school in recent years amish schools have all been constructed new construction by amish parents someone donates some land a school board is formed usually comprised of three fathers of children who will be in the school they get together a committee to build the school and then the school board manages it thereafter they hire the teachers they help to set up the rules and regulations there may be a total of 25 to 30 pupils the education tends to be very practical it focuses on reading focuses on writing business math some geography science is not taught nor is any technology used in the amish school psychologically and socially it's a very secure place you are an individual you're not a number you're known as joe or john the amish teachers are amish women who themselves are the products of ami schools amish teachers are not certified they don't receive training beyond the fact that they were good students themselves they're selected because of their interest in academic things one of the most important qualifications for an amish teacher is to have a good moral character and to be a representative of what a good amish person should be to live one's life within the ordnance i'm going to try yeah the education of amish teachers is very informal much of it is self-taught amish education extends beyond the classroom the most important type of education is watching and observing parents other adults aunts and uncles and family members so the amish really amish children learn by doing and watching more than by formal study and formal education amish children taught to be obedient to respect their elders to speak when spoken to to work hard to be responsible [Music] in this amish home the boys are raising guinea pigs father and sons built the cages great for them and it gives them chores and responsibility and it teaches them about making decisions and uh cooperating with each other and and doing business dealings with you know suppliers and buyers and and so forth these are authentic organic now if that pin would have like 12 little ones in and the biggest ones were born a half week earlier or a week we'd get those the older ones out so the smaller ones would have a chance because the mother can only feed two at a time as youth mature they are given more freedoms when they're 12 or 13 on a weekend they're at home with their family but then something magic happens when they're 16 or 17 and for the first time they're able to go out and be with their peers one of the first independent decisions an amish person makes is to decide which youth group to join this period is often called room spring it means running around and it's when a young man may get his first carriage at the age of 16 he'll select a youth group and he'll spend time with them every every weekend it's during that period of time after they're in room springer that they begin dating dating tends to be done while participating in groups he's growing up and he needs to learn to make his own decisions the amish household operates without electricity if an amish family purchases a house with electrical wiring the connection to the power lines will be severed the house is laid out with large open areas friendly for entertaining groups of visitors large tables can be extended to accommodate feasts with family and friends powered conveniences are few when allowed for domestic activities they are powered by air rather than electricity light is supplied by gas lamps after marriage an amish woman almost never works outside the home her days are filled with cooking sewing gardening and caring for her children she sews most of the clothes worn by her family on an air-powered or foot-operated sewing machine and maintains a garden sufficient to keep the family and vegetables most of the winter washing is often done with an old style ringer washing machine run by air power her house may be decorated with family histories and heirlooms almost never will a print of a photograph be displayed although paintings are becoming more acceptable than in the past the amish are partial to wood furniture and use it extensively throughout the house many homes have a small cottage business attached that supplements family income these home-based enterprises are often run by women it is a place where children and parents work side by side where children learn the practical side of business activity the horse is central to old order amish identity as one amishman said the horses are pacer it slows us down it sort of regulates the speed of our life just about every family would have a horse there are some older couples who don't and there are a few households mostly older single adults who live in town who don't have horses who just walk where they need to go or higher rides on many pennsylvania amish farms mules are preferred over horses for farm work because they are hardier than horses but in most other amish communities mules are not allowed those that are opposed to mules feel like it's tampering with god's order to mix together a donkey and a horse the debate meals versus horses is something you can find in documents back into the 1860s and 1870s when there was a discussion of whether a mule really was a natural creation of god or not once the amish established a tradition they tend to stick with it with a tenacity that's pretty strong for many years there are some amish people who use tractors in farming not many but some when tractors are allowed they are usually used to run stationary equipment and not used for field work in this way they are used for functions once performed by steam engines steel wheels ensure that the tractors are not used on roads for transportation the buggy has become symbolic of the great diversity of practice among the amish in lancaster pennsylvania amish buggies are gray so the amish bugs you see in the road are gray and in the midwest they're black in mifflin county pennsylvania among other colors buggies may be white or yellow uh the more conservative groups have old-fashioned lanterns on the buggy the more advanced they're going to have an led light they'll have strobe lights warning as flashers at the top a variety of interesting lights at the back if it's a young person's carriage buggy building a craft that has been preserved by the amish community has changed with the introduction of new materials i guess we work a little faster than some people once built entirely of wood the buggy this father and son team has introduced is made of fiberglass there it is there it is from here the shell of the buggy goes to another amish shop where it is assembled painted and upholstered while here in lancaster county pennsylvania the buggy itself is always black with a gray top the upholstery options are extensive with different types of material or different it's amazing i just had no idea there were so many choices you can you can build a new carriage for 5 000 55 if you're not going too heavy on extras and doesn't that but with some of these teenagers and they you know we want the best we want that one lights here we want lights there and we want lights on the bottom we want lights on the side and well hey you're talking about 6 500 then for the builder young amish men sometimes request more than he's willing to deliver the guy says hey uh mount me a shelf back there and then put run my wiring back there for my from my tape player well i told him okay i'll put the shelf there but i ain't gonna run the wiring that's gonna be your problem wheels once made only with wooden spokes now are often made from fiberglass or aluminum to reduce the noise level that these more resilient new materials generate the amish have experimented with adding a rubber cushion between the wheel and the rim and all you hear is a clip flap of the horse because the wheels run so quiet the amish are a rural people there are no urban amish there have been many changes with amish farming in recent years we feel farming is a noble occupation we'd like to preserve that for people that want to farm recent agricultural policies and encroachment of urban areas onto amish farmland are forcing changes in an historic way of life tobacco was consistently raised by amish families in eastern pennsylvania but not in other states it was a year-round labor-intensive crop but in recent years that has declined because of tobacco prices becoming lower and because of some concern for the the negative health impact of tobacco on many amish farms corn has replaced tobacco as the major crop this amish farmer has taken on a hired hand a young boy who has finished eighth grade but is still too young to enter the local industrial workforce [Music] [Music] oh [Music] most amish today use one or two row machinery to harvest their corn the corn ear is picked and stored in a crib where it air dries to a desired moisture content it is then often shelled and ground into feed for livestock on this amish farm the machinery is operated by gasoline or diesel engines on more conservative amish farms such power would not be allowed it's slow and tedious work which the amish don't mind [Music] they are not preoccupied with escaping hard work rather they find meaning and fulfillment and work well done the amish see farming with horses as more earth friendly than using a tractor to till the soil or harvest their crops [Music] even for those amish using gasoline or diesel engines to supplement their horsepower the amount of petroleum used is minuscule compared to most contemporary farming operations [Music] many amish farmers rely on milk from dairy cows for their primary source of income it also provides daily work rituals for the entire family here children learn early to care for animals and to be responsible with their work assignments [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] within traditional agriculture the amish are moving into specialized areas fifty percent of americans don't care what to eat as long as it's quick cheap and tastes good the other fifty percent care with twenty percent to care a lot they're willing to pay more for food that they consider is safe healthy and it supports sustainable small agriculture a number of amish farmers are developing organic products that they are marketing with everything it takes to produce what those people are willing to pay a premium for because of the the enormous investment that's required to buy a farm the cost of farming and the low profit margin from farming has really pushed a lot of amish people in the direction of small businesses it's hard to give a million dollars or a million and a half for a farm and milk 30 cows you can't pay it off you need to have 80 or 100 cows to pay off a million dollars or a million and a half and the technology they're not allowing the technology to grow with 80-100 cows i think that's where the biggest deal is right now as a result today in some amish communities nearly 90 percent of amish families depend on sources of income other than farming there would be certain businesses that would just be unthinkable for an amish person to be involved in there are amish shops that repair tractors but not televisions historically the amish have resisted business enterprises preferring the cultural and technological isolation farming with horses affords but in recent years there's been a rapid movement into businesses so it really is a kind of mini industrial revolution amish style that has happened in a lot of different communities for some amish industrialists business carries a deeply moral even spiritual dimension i want to do or create something that i feel is appropriate to what we profess to be that we create or make or sell something that is beneficial to society in general the amish approached business with the same down-home practicality that has marked their farming operations for generations they would decide they want to be whatever they want to be and open the door and start business they don't have any formal education it just kind of seems that everybody knows what they want to be or maybe they grew up in that environment and most of them are successful some of them have it easier than other ones some of the major types of businesses that have developed are construction woodworking shops building fine furniture outdoor furniture indoor furniture also a lot of machine shops have emerged where they're building equipment or modifying equipment in addition to that a variety of construction related trades like plumbing roofing drywalling most amish businesses are labor-intensive requiring small amounts of capital when money is needed they look to local banks the banks usually are pretty anxious to give it to them because they are known to be um to pay all their debts no matter what so the banks say you want money you got it but a few amish businesses have grown into multi-million dollar operations every 40 percent of what we produce goes into the non-amish community most of the things that we make are made for horses the draft horse industry has grown steadily the 27 years that we've been in business outside the amish community and it still is so that has grown something beyond our control part of this rapid growth in business is driven by the amish loosening some prohibitions on technology this has led to a curious blend of products here near new holland pennsylvania a harness shop has become internationally known for its field as well as show harness the showroom is filled with harness and related products besides local amish shoppers often include horse enthusiasts from a number of european countries you punch a hole your needle comes up grabs the thread and pulls it down that makes your stitch that's why it's called a union lock stitch the owner of this pennsylvania machine shop has invented a new way to hook horses and mules to equipment normally if one horse decides not to pull it can take a rest at the expense of the others with this new invention horses are tethered together with a system of ropes and pulleys in a way that requires all to pull the same load also the animals can be hitched in configurations that allow equipment to be hooked off center while still having all animals pull equal weight but this shop also manufactures hydraulic manifolds both for equipment they retrofit with oil powered lifts and for other commercial non-amish manufacturers the acceptance by some amish of hydraulic power is bringing changes to amish agriculture by reducing hand work an amish farmer can farm more acres without hiring extra help thereby making farming more profitable amish mechanics creatively adapt modern machinery so it can be pulled by horses equipment designed to be powered by tractors is often retrofitted with a gasoline engine for horse-drawn use pressurized oil systems some run by these gasoline engines and some run by a cam on a wheel are added to take advantage of the hydraulic systems built into such modern equipment even while the acceptance of technology is revolutionizing the way amish farm the essential identity and practice of amish life is preserved to promote the viability of farming with horses and to showcase their products the amish have banded together with non-amish to stage an annual exhibition called horse progress days amish and non-amish manufacturers from the entire region and even foreign countries come to see the cutting edge of horse-drawn machinery [Music] each piece of equipment is demonstrated under actual working conditions [Music] it becomes an outing for entire amish families when speaking among themselves the amish use an oral german dialect known as pennsylvania dutch besides also being fluent in english most will read and speak some high german use of the dialect distances the amish from the cultural mainstream it's a language they've kept alive for the nearly 300 years that they have been in north america it is used in public private and even business settings [Music] [Applause] as amish businesses grow they engage in business practices that allow them to be competitive amish business people typically are not permitted to have their own websites or to use a computer to market their products but they'll out service it so to speak to an outside distributor who may do that some of them may have dozens of distributors across the united states because many of these products are moving out of state and really enjoy a wide distribution into other into other areas each year outside lancaster pennsylvania amish businesses and manufacturers stage a large wholesale show where amish products are showcased to wholesalers and retailers from across the nation only amish businesses participate maybe 100 or 150 amish manufacturers will come together and display their products over two or three days and wholesale buyers from out of state will come and they'll have a chance to see the products meet the producers of the products and develop long-term relationships where they will buy products and distribute them sell them in their area borrowing the idea from the outside world the amish pathway here intersects with the surrounding culture amish prefer home-based cottage businesses frequently a place is built for the business on the family homestead whether the business is home-based or has grown to become a factory complex no electrical power lines enter the premise once rare the diesel engine now finds a place on many amish farms and in nearly every amish business it drives an oil pump or an air compressor and often both production equipment like saws and milling machines are retrofitted with air or hydraulic motors if welding is necessary the diesel motor also drives an electric generator even sophisticated production equipment modified to run on a combination of oil air and battery power finds its way into some amish shops while still far apart economic and technological pressures have brought the back roads traveled by the amish just a bit closer to the cultural path pursued by most americans i guess the biggest thing that the people would be facing nowadays would be the cultural shift or the vocational shift from being primarily an agricultural people to where they're getting in the in the trades the movement off of the farm into businesses is the most significant and profound change in amish life since they came to the new world in every case the the shift away from farming and amish communities produces change the kind of work that they move to when they move away from farming shapes what that change is it will have enormous consequences long term in terms of exposure to english greater exposure to technology greater exposure to the outside world changing gender roles because the father is working away from the home while the amish acknowledged the need to increase family income not all like the road on which this places them virtually every amish person you talk to will tell you the farm is the best place to raise your family i think we should farm we should be food producers and yet they will often follow that very quickly with the realities of farming particularly on the small scale that they prefer to do it they view the choices that they're making economically as making the the best of a difficult situation or the next best thing to being a farmer is having a small cottage business people have small businesses end up working probably as many hours as farmers and while they may make handsome profits they end up plowing those back into the business some of the business owners have considerable more wealth than day laborers who would work in their shop or even farmers there's much more traveling there are several sites nationally where some amish would congregate for several weeks to enjoy the the sunshine over the winter months sarasota florida draws hundreds of amish vacationers each winter where they make do without horse and buggy while maintaining their distinctive dress and lifestyle frequently the amish travel further than horse and buggy allows they are quick to hire a bus or a van in explaining why they are allowed to hire taxi services but cannot own a car one amishman asked when you fly somewhere do you buy a plane or a ticket amish communities have varying attitudes about their people working in factories in pennsylvania and ohio only a small minority work in non-amish factories but in indiana the majority have found employment in the recreational vehicle industry people who work in factories will cite as a benefit of working in the factory is that you go away to the factory you put in your eight hours and you come home you're working 40 hours a week to have an amish life the rest of the time for it factory work does separate the family pulls the father out of the home and you have mothers having to assume more responsibility for child rearing children come home from school and there aren't a lot of chores certainly not the farm chores and not even the kind of cleanup around the shop business chores that you might have with an at-home business in the last few years amish society has been opening to broader society and closing at the same time the rise of amish schools has only been in the 1970s and 80s in some ways amish children by attending private schools amish schools are being socialized into an amish way of life that their grandparents would not have been that is their grandparents would have grown up going to public schools mostly interacting with non-amish peers in school but then entered an amish adult work world in which they were mostly with other amish people on a farm their grandchildren now attend amish schools with a mostly almost exclusively amish peer group but then as adults are working in settings where they're surrounded by non-amish people when tragedy strikes an amish family they are supported by family and friends the community steps in providing comfort and support the tradition has been if a barn burns down the community comes in quickly several hundred people will help clean clean it up and an amish contractor will develop plans for building a new structure it's highly orchestrated from the outside you wouldn't quite know who the foreman is but there's clearly a charge that's giving directions the day of the barn reason the head carpenter stands back and watches he's giving almost no instructions and he as he said i slept nothing last night but he will have his three or four or five men there that know what's going on each one is at one part of the barn and giving instructions and by the day of the racing his work is done he just stands back and watches it unfold women will prepare food at noon the workers moved to a nearby farm where the women have prepared the midday meal it really becomes a frolic a work frolic where there's a lot of work but there's a lot of enjoyment and friendship and festivities and just a communal experience that symbolizes the social capital and the collective sense of care that's in the amish experience good morning hey i have a quick question in the past the amos have been known for their post and beam construction i see a lot of these things are going up now with balloon construction what's the advantage disadvantage uh usually the person beam they want they farm tobacco still the guys that are a good heavy tobacco farmer want to put some beans this guy is not a tobacco farmer that owns the farm and he wants open space with no post in the way that's the reason to go with it yeah that's the only reason well that makes sense i just wanted the clear span yeah it's not it's not much cheaper not much cheaper no but it's just does it go does it go up slower no the barn raising is perhaps the most visible symbol of the amish love for community amish never live in isolation always there are close neighbors who make up the community of faith caring deeply for each other they cut a swath of peace and tranquility in the larger cultural maelstrom avoiding fast-paced lives devoid of meaning the amish have been able to pace life at a sensible rate while maintaining a sense of belonging they find their deepest meaning in relationships within their community love of god and love of their community provides the touchstone for everything else in life by joining the community of faith and submitting to the ordinance of the church the individual signals a willingness to travel a communal path to heaven a path that is a radical departure from the road most north americans travel in their search for meaning and wholeness [Music] [Applause] [Music] great [Music] yes [Music] on monday october 2 2006 the tranquility of the amish community was shattered when an outsider barricaded himself inside an amish one-room school by the time the ordeal ended he had killed five girls and seriously injured five others before shooting himself world attention focused on the tragedy the amish community surrounded the grieving families with love and support before the sun set on that awful day the amish extended forgiveness to the family of the killer they backed up their words by acts they attended the burial of the man who had taken the lives of their daughters and contributed money to care for his widow and children the story of forgiveness quickly became international news eclipsing the story of the shooting itself the funeral procession passed sadly before the cameras and lights the school was quickly boarded up and the public kept at bay a week later before daybreak heavy equipment demolished the school so that it would not become an attraction to visitors and be a constant reminder to the families whose loved ones died there by daybreak nothing remained but memories although the wounds would last a lifetime the community of faith had proven once again its sufficiency in times of tragedy and together it began the long road to restoration and reconciliation [Music] [Applause] broad is the road that leads to destruction but narrow the road that leads to life and only a few find it it's a belief by which the amish order their lives by choosing the narrow road in this life they are assured of a place in heaven for eternity they don't expect many others to follow their example in fact they freely say that other roads also lead to heaven theirs may not even be the best way but it is they say our way you

Channel: Vision Video

Views: 633,320

Keywords: Christian Video, Christian Film, Christian Movie, Religious Movie, Film, Movie, Entertainment, Feature Film, Vision Video, The Amish: Back Roads to Heaven Movie, The Amish: Back Roads to Heaven Full Movie, The Amish: Back Roads to Heaven Documentary, Amish documentary, full documentary on the amish, Burton Buller documentary, Burton Buller, Old Order Amish community

Id: CfhbwuPehW4

Length: 46min 18sec (2778 seconds)

Published: Sat Oct 02 2021